Hoooge bread rolls!
Maltese loaves are cooked like that with the tear being the bit to fight over
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Loaves like these are baked here too, they are called batch loaves.
I always thought the answer to “how do you make a Maltese Cross” was “throw sand in his eyes” it seem it may be “nick the tear”
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The rise using the poolish is fantastic, I reckon I’ll continue with this method, as long as I remember to start it the night before!
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For those of you who live near Matlock this looks nice.
That’s not bread, that’s cake.
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Oh, that a potential can of worms we have both opened. When does bread become cake and cake become bread.
Is tea loaf bread or cake. Are cinnamon rolls bread but become cake if you put icing on top. 
Personally, if on the immediate bite, it tastes sweet, it’s not bread. Yes, if you chew bread for about 30s you start to break down the carbohydrates into simple sugars and it then tastes sweet, but it should be there right from the start.
Any fruit in the mix and it’s not bread either at that point for me, but that’s a more subjective thing.
Dependent on genetics, doesn’t ever happen for me on the cracker test.
I’m definitely going to miss the bread here, although the crumb has a decidedly yellow hue to it.Tastes great though.
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Garlic, red onion and rosemary focaccia. Tastes great but missed out on some air in the final stage which I’ve learned from.
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Could you point me to a recipe for this?
I’ll do my best - this is what I was shown by an Italian friend. Its an overnight recipe - prep today, fridge overnight (or two nights) and then pull out, rest and then bake.
Ingredients
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 400 g water at room temperature
- 3 g instant yeast
- 9 g sea salt
Plus
- 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more if needed
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced or minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Handful of rosemary and half an onion chopped into 1cm ‘squares’
Method
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Add water to a large bowl. Next, add flour, then the yeast on one side of the flour, and salt on the other, making sure the two don’t touch each other before you start mixing. Mix by hand, squeezing the dough between your fingers until a sticky mass is formed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
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After 20 minutes, perform a set of stretches and folds, then another one after 20 minutes, and another one 20 minutes later. Shape the dough into a ball and rub it with two tablespoons of olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for another 20 minutes.
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Transfer the dough to a 13" by 9" aluminum cake pan greased with two tablespoons of olive oil (or you could use butter, experiment as it gives a different result). Stretch it gently to fill the entire bottom of the pan. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight
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Remove the dough from the fridge two hours before baking and let proof at room temperature, covered.
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Preheat the oven at pretty much the highest heat your oven can reach
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Liberally drizzle olive oil over the top of the dough. Using your fingers, make deep dimples all over the surface of the dough - very gently, don’t pierce the dough and let the air out, or don’t go near it and let the topping create the dimples. Spread the toppings and finish with a light drizzle of olive oil.
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Bake at high heat for 12 minutes ish. Every oven bakes differently so start checking early, your bread may be done sooner, or you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time
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When ready remove from oven and lift from baking tin onto a cooling rack. Start eating as soon as you like!
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Still using the poolish method but this time leaving it for 48hrs before introducing it to the main dough.
Amazing oven spring, perfect (for me) crumb and I think it slightly improves the taste, although that may be just in my head
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