Jim Lahey's Stecca Bread

I mentioned in my last post that we love great bread at our picnics.  Sometimes we just tear it up and eat it in chunks with cheese and fruit and sometimes we'll do sandwiches.  For some reason, great bread just makes a picnic more memorable (and obviously more delicious).

This recipe is a perfect picnic choice, whether you're tearing or sandwiching.  It's from Jim Lahey's book, My Bread. (Yes, the no-knead bread Jim Lahey!)  You'll have to plan ahead a little for the dough to sit, but there's little effort involved.  The bread is the best on the day you make it, so plan to pop it in the oven on the morning before your picnic.  My favorite thing about this bread is the coarse salt on top. I could eat it all day (which sometimes I do).

Two of our favorite sandwich pairings we've enjoyed on Stecca bread are Caprese (tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella) and Ham with Gruyere.  You can put anything on these loaves, whatever you like.  I'd love to hear what some of your favorite sandwich pairings are.

So, tell me. What are your favorite sandwiches? What sandwiches do you order out that you wish you could recreate at home?

Jim Lahey's Stecca Bread

from the book, My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method

-If you want to keep the baguettes plain like I did, just skip the step of embedding the garlic, olives and cherry tomatoes.

3 cups (400 grams) bread flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon instant or other active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups (350 grams) cool 55-65F water
additional flour for dusting
20 pieces of the any combination of following: whole garlic cloves, whole olives, halved cherry tomatoes (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, table salt, sugar and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 10 to 18 hours (24 hours if you have a cold cold home.)

2.  When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Fold the dough over itself to her three times and gently shape it into a somewhat flattened ball. Brush the surface of the dough with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the coarse salt (which will gradually dissolve on the surface).

3.  Grab a large bowl (large enough to hold the dough when it doubles in size. you could also use a large pot) and brush the insides of the bowl with olive oil. Gently place the dough, seam side down into the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel. Place in a warm draft free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, pre-heat the oven to 500F, with a rack in the center. Oil a 13″ x 18″ x 1″ baking sheet.

5.  Cut the dough into quarters. Gently stretch each piece evenly into a long, thin, baguette shape approximately the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving about 1 inch between the loaves. Embed the garlic cloves, olives or cherry tomatoes into the loaves, about five pieces per loaf. Drizzle, tab or brush olive oil on each loaf. Sprinkle sea salt or kosher salt over each loaf, remember to go light on the olive loaf since the olives are salty.

6. Bake For 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a pan for five minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the baguette to a rack to cool thoroughly.

Note: The baguette may become a bit soggy in just a few hours because of the salt on the surface. If that happens, reheat the loaves in a hot oven until crisp.

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