Hogaza de León

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl, at least 5 litres
• •Flexible dough scraper
• •Round proving basket or cloth-lined bowl, 28 to 30cm
• •Cast-iron casserole with lid, about 7 litres
• •Bread lame or very sharp knife
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the levain

   Mix the starter with the 90g water and 90g bread flour. Cover loosely and leave at 20 to 22°C for 8 to 10 hours. It is ready when it has at least doubled, the top is rounded and full of bubbles, and the aroma is pleasantly wheaten and lightly sharp. Use it before the centre collapses.

   A warm kitchen shortens the rise. At 24°C, begin checking after 5 hours and trust the rounded, bubbly surface more than the clock.
2. 2

   Rest flour and water

   Put the 900g harina panificable in a large bowl and add 590g of the remaining water, holding back 30g. Mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will look rough and feel tacky. Cover and leave it for 30 minutes so the flour can take up the water before you ask the dough to hold its shape.

3. 3

   Add levain and salt

   Spread the ripe levain over the dough. Dissolve the 20g salt in the reserved 30g water and add that too. Squeeze the dough through your fingers, then fold it repeatedly from the edges toward the centre until the levain and salt are evenly worked through, about 5 minutes. It should be supple and sticky, never stiff. Pésalo, no lo adivines. Adding extra flour here closes the crumb you are trying to make.

4. 4

   Fold during the rise

   Cover the bowl and leave the dough at about 24°C for 4 to 5 hours. During the first 90 minutes, give it three folds at 30-minute intervals: wet your hands, lift one side without tearing it, fold it over the middle, and repeat around the bowl. After the third fold, leave it undisturbed. The bulk rise is finished when the dough has grown by roughly two-thirds, looks slightly domed, and shows bubbles along the sides.

5. 5

   Shape without crushing

   Lightly flour the work surface and ease out the dough with a scraper. Do not punch it down. Draw the edges gently toward the centre to make a loose round, turn it seam-side down, and leave it uncovered for 20 minutes. For the final shape, use the scraper to pull the round toward you in short movements until the surface is taut without tearing.

6. 6

   Proof the hogaza

   Flour a 28 to 30cm round proving basket or a bowl lined with a clean cloth. Set the dough inside seam-side up, cover, and leave at 23 to 24°C for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. It is ready when it has expanded visibly and a floured fingertip pressed gently into the surface rises back slowly while leaving a shallow mark.

7. 7

   Heat and score

   While the loaf proves, heat the oven to 250°C with a 7-litre cast-iron casserole and its lid inside for at least 45 minutes. Turn the dough onto baking paper, brush away loose flour, and cut a firm cross about 1cm deep across the top. Lower the loaf carefully into the hot casserole and cover it.

8. 8

   Bake a dark crust

   Bake covered at 240°C for 25 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the oven to 220°C, and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes. The hogaza is done when the crust is deep chestnut, the base sounds hollow, and the centre reaches 96 to 98°C. For the thick, dry crust that helps the loaf keep, switch off the oven and leave the bread inside for 10 minutes with the door slightly open.

9. 9

   Cool before cutting

   Move the hogaza to a rack and leave it untouched for at least 3 hours. A loaf this large continues setting inside as it cools. Cut it early and the crumb turns gummy under the knife. The old margin beside this sort of bread says espera, wait. For once, the bread is giving the orders.

Chef Tips

• •Look for harina panificable with roughly 11 to 12 percent protein. North American bread flour is often stronger, so mix 600g bread flour with 300g all-purpose flour. The blend gives enough strength without turning the crumb tough and springy.
• •If you don't keep sourdough starter, mix 105g bread flour, 105g water, and 1g instant yeast. Leave it covered for 10 to 12 hours, then use all of it in place of the levain and omit the starter and levain ingredients above. The aroma will be less gently sour and the holes a little more regular, but the long-risen loaf remains sound.
• •Temperature controls the clock. At 21°C, the bulk rise may take 6 to 7 hours; at 26°C, it may finish in 3 to 4. Stop when the dough has grown by about two-thirds and holds bubbles along the bowl, not simply when a timer rings.
• •Do not force sticky dough into obedience with handfuls of flour. Keep a bowl of water beside you, dampen your hands, and use a dough scraper. The water is what gives pan de flama its moist, irregular crumb.
• •Keep the loaf wrapped in a clean linen or cotton cloth, with the cut face against a board. Do not refrigerate it, which makes bread stale faster. By the fourth day it is excellent toasted, rubbed with tomato and dressed with olive oil.

Advance Preparation

• •Build the levain before going to bed. At a cool room temperature it will be ripe for mixing the dough the following morning.
• •For an overnight final rise, shape the loaf after bulk fermentation, place it in the floured basket, cover, and refrigerate immediately for 8 to 12 hours. Bake it directly from cold and omit the room-temperature final proof.
• •The loaf keeps well for 3 to 4 days. For longer storage, cut the completely cooled hogaza into halves or thick slices, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or toast directly from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)