Taja Navarra

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Smooth wooden rod or straight rolling-pin handle, 2.5-3cm thick
• •Floured linen cloth
• •Baking stone or upside-down heavy baking sheet
• •Cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   Put 315g of the water in a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Add the 500g flour and mix until no dry patches remain. The dough will look rough and feel slightly firm. Cover the bowl and leave it for 20 minutes so the flour can drink properly before you knead.

2. 2

   Work in the salt

   Sprinkle the salt over the dough, add the reserved 10g water, and squeeze and fold until both disappear into it. Knead on an unfloured surface for 8 to 10 minutes. It is ready when smooth, elastic, and only faintly tacky; pull a small piece and it should stretch thin before tearing.

   If the dough tears and fights you after several minutes, cover it for 10 minutes, then continue. Rest does part of the kneading without costing the bread anything.
3. 3

   Let it rise

   Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and leave at 22-24°C for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. After 45 minutes, lift each side of the dough and fold it toward the centre once. By the end it should have risen by about three quarters and feel aerated, but it need not double.

4. 4

   Shape the hogaza

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface without crushing it flat. Draw the edges into the centre, turn it seam-side down, and rotate it against the worktop until you have a taut round about 20cm across. Cover and let it relax for 20 minutes.

5. 5

   Make the taja

   Dust the loaf, the worktop, and a smooth wooden rod 2.5-3cm thick with flour. Lay the rod straight across the middle of the round and press slowly and firmly until only about 5mm of dough remains between it and the worktop. Rock the rod once toward you and once away, widening the depression into a floury fold about 3cm across, then lift it straight up. You should have two plump lobes joined by a thin, unbroken hinge. This pressure-fold is the taja. A knife makes an ordinary scored hogaza, which is another bread.

   Press with conviction. A shallow mark heals during the last rise, while a properly compressed fold opens cleanly in the oven.
6. 6

   Proof crease-down

   Flour a linen cloth generously. Turn the loaf over so the crease rests against the cloth, cover loosely, and leave for 45 to 60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 240°C with a baking stone or an upside-down heavy baking sheet inside. The loaf is ready when a floured fingertip leaves a dent that returns slowly and incompletely.

7. 7

   Turn and bake

   Carefully turn the loaf crease-side up onto baking paper or a floured peel. Do not score it. Slide it onto the hot stone or sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 240°C. Lower the heat to 215°C and bake for another 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep wheat-gold, the fold is clearly open, and the base sounds hollow when tapped. The centre should register about 96°C if you use a thermometer.

8. 8

   Cool before cutting

   Move the taja to a rack and leave it for at least 1 hour before slicing. The crumb is still setting while the loaf cools; cut too soon and it turns damp and gummy around the knife. Once cool, the crumb should be tender and irregular beneath a firm, well-browned crust.

Chef Tips

• •Choose moderate bread flour, around 11-12% protein. Very strong flour makes this everyday loaf needlessly tough; weak all-purpose flour works if you begin with 310g water and add the remaining water only when the dough can take it.
• •Pésalo, no lo adivines. Two grams of instant yeast is enough because the dough has time to rise slowly. In a cold kitchen it may need another 30 to 45 minutes; follow the increase in volume and the fingertip test, not the clock alone.
• •The marking rod should be smooth, straight, and about 2.5-3cm thick. A narrow chopstick leaves a cut-like line, while a rolling pin wider than 5cm flattens too much of the loaf.
• •Keep the cooled taja wrapped in a clean linen cloth or paper bag for up to 3 days. The crust softens, as household bread does, but a slice revived in the toaster is still very good.
• •This dough contains no oil or sugar. Its flavour comes from wheat, salt, proper fermentation, and a well-browned crust. Adding enrichments gives you a pleasant loaf, but not this one.

Advance Preparation

• •For an overnight loaf, let the mixed dough rise at room temperature for 45 minutes, give it the fold, then refrigerate it covered for 8 to 12 hours. Let it stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes before shaping.
• •The baked loaf freezes well. Cool it completely, slice it, and freeze the slices tightly wrapped for up to 2 months; warm or toast them directly from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 63g)