Home Made Bread with Compressed Yeast Sponge
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the sponge
Make the sponge with 1 pail (4 cups) of water; dissolve the yeast and let it sit at 75°F to 80°F (24°C to 27°C).
If the cornmeal mush is lumpy, thin it and force it through a sieve into the sponge.
Make and rise the dough
Break the sponge into small pieces and mix to form a medium-firm dough.
Knead the dough well to avoid a wet, unfinished texture.
Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, then punch it down and let it rise again.
Shape and bake
Scale the dough and shape it into loaves without molding back.
Allow the loaves to proof well and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C).
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Yeast
- Ferments the sponge, producing gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and browning to the crust.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and softens the texture.
- Cornmeal
- Adds body and a coarse texture, with its starch contributing to moisture in the crumb.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour and cornmeal, forming the dough and activating the yeast.
The step that matters
Knead the dough well. Thorough kneading develops gluten so the dough holds gas and sets with an even, finished texture rather than a wet, gummy crumb.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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