Pa Moreno Mallorquí

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Flexible dough scraper
• •Baking stone or heavy rimless tray
• •Small metal roasting tin
• •Bread lame or very sharp knife
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the flours

   Put the whole-wheat flour and bread flour in a large bowl and mix them thoroughly. Add 330g of the water and work it through with your fingers or a sturdy spoon until no dry flour remains. The dough will feel coarse and tacky. Cover the bowl and leave it for 20 minutes so the bran softens and the flour begins taking up the water.

   There is no salt in this dough. None. That isn't an omission; it is what makes the loaf Mallorcan. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh the flour and water rather than correcting the dough with handfuls of either.
2. 2

   Add the yeast

   Stir the yeast into the remaining 20g water. Pour it over the rested dough, squeeze and fold until absorbed, then knead for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it feels supple, holds together cleanly, and stretches into a thin, slightly speckled sheet before the bran makes it tear. It should remain a little tacky but must not flow across the worktop.

3. 3

   Watch the first rise

   Shape the dough into a ball, return it to the bowl, and cover. Leave it at about 24°C for 60 to 75 minutes, until it has grown by roughly half. Do not wait for it to double. Salt normally slows yeast and strengthens dough; without it, this loaf moves quickly and can overproof before you notice. That gives you a flat loaf with large holes instead of the close Mallorcan crumb.

   In a kitchen warmer than 26°C, use cooler water and begin checking the dough after 45 minutes. Trust the increase in volume, not the clock alone.
4. 4

   Shape the round

   Turn the dough onto a worktop dusted very lightly with whole-wheat flour. Press it evenly with your fingertips to release the larger pockets of gas. Fold the edges into the centre, turn it seam-side down, and draw it towards you against the worktop several times until the surface is taut. Make a firm round about 18cm across. This deliberate degassing and tight shape produce the compact, even crumb the bread needs.

5. 5

   Proof by touch

   Set the loaf seam-side down on baking paper and cover it loosely. Leave it for 40 to 55 minutes, until it has expanded by about half again. Press a floured fingertip gently into the side. The mark should return slowly and leave a shallow dent. If it springs back at once, give it another 10 minutes; if it does not move at all, bake immediately.

6. 6

   Heat the oven

   While the loaf proofs, heat the oven to 230°C, or 210°C with a fan, with a baking stone or heavy inverted tray on the middle rack. Put a small metal roasting tin on the lowest rack. Heat everything for at least 40 minutes so the loaf meets a properly hot surface.

7. 7

   Bake it dark

   Dust the loaf lightly with whole-wheat flour and cut a shallow cross, about 5mm deep, across the top. Slide it with its paper onto the hot stone or tray. Pour 150ml boiling water into the lower metal tin, keeping your face back and using oven gloves, then close the door at once. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 200°C, or 180°C with a fan, and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes. The crust should be a deep chestnut brown, the base should sound hollow when tapped, and the centre should register 96-98°C.

8. 8

   Cool before cutting

   Move the loaf to a rack and leave it untouched for at least 2 hours. The crumb finishes setting as the bread cools; cut it early and the middle turns gummy under the knife. Once cool, the crumb should be tawny, compact, and evenly pierced with very small holes. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

Chef Tips

• •Use whole xeixa flour if you can buy it fresh. Away from Mallorca, stone-ground whole-wheat flour is the sensible substitute; blending it with strong white bread flour gives enough structure for a reliable round while keeping the crumb brown and compact.
• •Do not add salt because the dough tastes plain. It is supposed to. The seasoning comes from what Mallorca puts on or beside the bread: tomato, olive oil, olives, cheese, sobrassada, or preserves.
• •For pa amb oli, rub a cut tomàtiga de ramellet, a small hanging tomato, over a thick slice, drizzle with good olive oil, and add a restrained pinch of salt. A ripe plum tomato is the practical substitute, though it is wetter and should be used more sparingly.
• •Saltless dough ferments faster than ordinary bread dough. At warm room temperature, the difference between ready and overproofed can be 15 minutes, so begin checking early and look for a rise of roughly half rather than a full doubling.
• •Keep the cooled loaf wrapped in a clean cloth or a paper bag for up to 2 days. The crust softens but the crumb slices cleanly. After that, toast it or use thin pieces beneath soup rather than throwing good bread away.

Advance Preparation

• •For an overnight rise, reduce the instant yeast to 1g. After kneading, leave the covered dough at room temperature for 20 minutes, refrigerate it for 8 to 12 hours, then let it stand for 30 minutes before shaping. Proof for 35 to 50 minutes and bake as directed.
• •The fully cooled loaf can be sliced and frozen for up to 2 months. Freeze the slices in a well-sealed bag with baking paper between them, then toast directly from frozen.
• •Bake it the day before serving if needed. Leave the loaf whole until the crumb has cooled and settled, then keep it cut-side down beneath a clean cloth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 63g)