Pan de Cea

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Bench scraper
• •Linen proofing cloth or baking parchment
• •Baking stone or steel, at least 40 by 30cm
• •Sturdy metal tray for the lower oven rack
• •Bread lame or sharp serrated knife
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Check the masa madre

   Use the stiff masa madre when it has risen to roughly twice its original size, smells clean and lightly lactic, and shows small bubbles beneath its surface. Tear it into a large bowl and work it through 530g of the water with your fingers. It needn't dissolve completely, but no piece should be larger than a walnut.

   A starter that has collapsed and smells sharply vinegary has gone past its best moment. Feed it again and wait. The clock can't rescue weak masa madre.
2. 2

   Mix and rest

   Add the 850g flour and mix until every dry patch disappears. The dough will feel firm, rough, and slightly sticky. Cover the bowl and leave it for 30 minutes so the flour can drink the water; this short rest makes the long kneading easier without changing the bread.

3. 3

   Salt and knead

   Dissolve the 17g salt in the remaining 30g water. Work it into the dough a little at a time, squeezing and folding until the water is absorbed. Knead on an unfloured surface for 12 to 15 minutes. Stop when the dough is smooth, elastic, and tacky rather than wet, and a stretched piece forms a thin membrane before tearing. Resist adding flour; a dry dough gives a heavy crumb.

4. 4

   Give the first rise

   Return the dough to the bowl, cover it, and leave it at 24 to 25°C for 3 to 4 hours. It should expand by about two-thirds, feel aerated beneath the surface, and carry a mild wheaty sourness. It needn't double. If your room is cooler, give it longer rather than putting it beside fierce heat.

   Mark the starting height on the bowl. Volume tells you more than a timetable, especially with naturally leavened bread.
5. 5

   Re-knead the dough

   Turn the risen dough onto the worktop and knead it firmly for 3 minutes, pressing out the largest pockets but not every trace of air. This is the traditional reamasado, the second working. It redistributes the fermentation and gives Pan de Cea its firm, fibrous crumb instead of a few cavernous holes. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.

6. 6

   Shape the poia

   Pat the rested dough into a thick rectangle about 30 by 22cm. Fold the long upper edge to the middle and seal it with the heel of your hand, then bring the lower edge over it and seal again. Roll gently into a loaf 38 to 40cm long, keeping both ends rounded rather than pointed. Set it seam-side down on a well-floured linen cloth or sheet of baking parchment.

7. 7

   Prove and heat

   Cover the loaf loosely and prove it for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until it has grown by about half. A floured fingertip pressed 1cm into the dough should leave a mark that returns slowly but remains faintly visible. During the final hour, heat the oven to 250°C conventional, or 230°C fan, with a baking stone or steel on the middle rack and a sturdy empty metal tray below it.

8. 8

   Cut the fenda

   Just before baking, dust the loaf lightly with flour. With a sharp serrated knife or bread lame, cut one decisive line straight across the middle of the loaf, from side to side and about 2cm deep. This is the fenda. It controls the expansion and opens the poia into its two characteristic rounded lobes. A timid scratch seals over, so commit to the cut.

9. 9

   Bake on stone

   Slide the loaf and its parchment onto the hot stone. Pour 200ml boiling water into the lower metal tray and close the door at once. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the water tray, lower the oven to 210°C conventional or 190°C fan, and bake for another 45 to 55 minutes. The loaf is ready when the crust is rigid and deep chestnut, the base sounds hollow, and the centre registers 97 to 99°C.

   If the top is darkening before the centre is ready, lay a loose sheet of foil over it. Don't lower the heat early; the thick, well-colored crust is part of the bread, not an accident.
10. 10

    Dry and cool

    Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar, and keep the loaf inside for 5 minutes to dry the crust. Transfer it to a rack and cool for at least 3 hours before cutting. The crumb should be cream-colored, resilient, and irregular, with a restrained sourness. Cut too soon and it will seem damp and dense even when you baked it correctly.

Chef Tips

• •Build the right starter the night before. Mix 20g ripe liquid wheat starter with 110g bread flour and 60g water. Knead it into a firm ball, cover, and leave it for 8 to 12 hours at about 21°C. It should roughly double. Weigh 170g for the bread and keep the remainder to feed again.
• •Use white wheat flour, not rye, seeds, oil, or malt syrup. Pan de Cea gets its flavor from wheat, masa madre, fermentation, and the oven. Adding more things doesn't make the same bread more interesting. It makes another bread.
• •If you can buy Galician wheat flour suitable for bread, use it for up to half of the flour and keep strong white flour for the balance. With only ordinary bread flour, the loaf will be slightly less fragrant but will rise more predictably.
• •A baking stone needs a full hour of heat. A steel works too, though it browns the base faster, so place it one rack higher and check underneath after 45 minutes. A thin baking sheet cannot store enough heat for the same thick bottom crust.
• •Keep the cooled loaf wrapped in clean linen or heavy paper, with the cut face set against a board. Its thick crust protects it for four to five days. Plastic softens the crust, though it is useful once only a small piece remains.
• •Serve it in thick slices with caldo Gallego, cheese, preserved fish, or simply olive oil. Toasting brings a three-day-old slice back beautifully, which is one reason these large loaves belonged so well to a household oven day.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the stiff masa madre 8 to 12 hours before mixing the dough. Use it when fully risen and still slightly domed, not after it has collapsed.
• •Allow nearly a full day from mixing to slicing. Fermentation takes about 5 to 6 hours, baking about 1 hour, and the large loaf needs at least 3 hours to cool.
• •For longer keeping, cool the bread completely, cut it into halves or thick slices, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw uncovered, then warm at 180°C until the crust is firm again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 93g)