Pan de Alfacar

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital scale accurate to 1g
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Dough scraper
• •Linen-lined proofing basket or bowl, about 22cm
• •Baking stone, steel, or heavy inverted tray
• •Sturdy metal pan for oven humidity
• •Bread lame or very sharp knife
• •Cooling rack
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the masa madre

   Mix the 10g mature starter with 60g of the flour and 60g of the water. Cover loosely and leave at 21 to 23°C for 8 to 10 hours. It is ready when it has at least doubled, smells gently milky and wheaten, and still has a rounded top. Use it before that top collapses; an exhausted starter makes the bread sourer and slower than Pan de Alfacar should be.

   Mark the starting height on the jar. Eyes are unreliable before breakfast, but a mark on glass doesn't argue.
2. 2

   Rest flour and water

   Put the remaining 600g flour in a wide bowl and add 370g of the remaining water. Mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will look rough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes so the flour absorbs the water before you ask it to stretch.

3. 3

   Knead the dough

   Add all the ripe masa madre. Dissolve the fresh or instant yeast in the remaining 20g water and add it, then sprinkle over the salt. Squeeze and fold until everything is evenly combined. Turn the dough onto a clean, unfloured surface and knead by lifting, folding, and turning for 8 to 12 minutes. It will begin sticky and finish smooth, elastic, and only lightly tacky. A small piece should stretch thin enough to admit light before it tears.

   Use damp hands or a bench scraper when the dough sticks. Do not cure it with extra flour. That water is what gives the finished loaf its supple, open crumb.
4. 4

   Give the first rise

   Place the dough in a clean covered bowl and leave it at about 24°C for 2½ to 3 hours. After 30 minutes, lift each side and fold it over the centre. Repeat after another 30 minutes. Then leave it undisturbed until it has risen by 60 to 70%, with bubbles visible beneath the surface. Do not wait for it to double; an overgrown dough loses strength during shaping.

5. 5

   Preshape and rest

   Turn the dough onto a very lightly floured surface without pressing out all its air. Draw the edges towards the centre, turn it seam-side down, and use both hands or a scraper to make a loose round. Cover with a cloth and leave it for 20 minutes. The dough should relax without spreading into a puddle.

6. 6

   Shape the hogaza

   Dust a linen-lined 22cm basket or bowl with some of the dusting flour. Turn the relaxed dough over, fold its edges firmly into the centre, and pinch the seam closed. Turn it seam-side down and draw it across the counter in short movements until its skin is taut, taking care not to tear it. Place it seam-side up in the basket, cover, and proof at 23 to 24°C for 60 to 90 minutes. It is ready when a floured fingertip leaves an indentation that returns slowly but does not disappear.

7. 7

   Heat the oven

   While the loaf proofs, heat a conventional oven to 250°C, or 230°C with a fan, for at least 45 minutes. Preheat a baking stone, steel, or heavy inverted tray on the middle rack and place a sturdy empty metal pan on the lowest rack. Do not use glass for the water pan; thermal shock is a poor ingredient.

8. 8

   Score and bake

   Turn the loaf onto baking paper or a floured peel. Brush away heavy patches of flour, leave a light dusting, and score two intersecting cuts about 1cm deep. Slide it onto the hot surface. Wearing oven gloves and keeping your face back, pour 250ml boiling water into the lower metal pan and close the oven immediately. Bake for 15 minutes at 240°C, or 220°C fan. Remove the water pan carefully, lower the oven to 220°C, or 200°C fan, and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes. The crust should be deep gold and firm, and the centre should register 96 to 98°C.

9. 9

   Cool the loaf

   Move the bread to a rack and leave it untouched for at least 2 hours. The crust will settle crisp while moisture finishes moving through the crumb. Cut it early and that lovely open interior turns gummy around the knife. Patience has brought you this far; give it the last two hours.

Chef Tips

• •Spanish harina panadera, a medium-strength wheat flour, is right here. If your plain flour contains less than 10.5% protein, mix it half and half with bread flour. Using only very strong flour gives a chewier, tighter loaf.
• •Alfacar's spring-fed water cannot be copied exactly elsewhere. Use pleasant, chlorine-free bottled spring water with moderate mineral content, not distilled water. Strongly chlorinated tap water can slow the masa madre and leaves its taste behind.
• •The small amount of baker's yeast belongs beside the masa madre in this bread. It gives an even, mild fermentation without erasing the starter's flavour. Leaving it out isn't a harmless omission; the timing and character both change.
• •Fermentation follows temperature. Above 26°C, begin checking the dough 30 minutes early. Below 20°C, expect both rises to take longer. Stop the first rise at roughly two-thirds growth, whatever the clock says.
• •Keep the fully cooled loaf in a paper bag or wrapped in a clean cloth for one day. After that, slice and freeze it. Do not refrigerate it, which makes bread stale faster.
• •Pan de Alfacar needs little at the table. A slice rubbed with ripe tomato and dressed with olive oil and salt makes a proper Andalusian breakfast, but judge the bread first on its own.

Advance Preparation

• •Build the masa madre 8 to 10 hours before mixing the final dough. An evening build gives you a ripe starter the following morning.
• •If the masa madre peaks before you can mix, refrigerate it immediately for up to 18 hours. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using it.
• •For a weeknight schedule, build the masa madre before bed, refrigerate it at its peak in the morning, then mix the dough after work. Bake that evening and let the loaf cool overnight.
• •The baked loaf freezes well for one month. Slice it only after it has cooled completely, freeze the slices in a sealed bag, and warm only what you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 77g)