Our Recipes Everyday bread by Luca Montersino

Ingredients for the filling/topping

for 0.5kg of biga:
500g white Molino Soncini Cesare type-0 flour, 5g beer yeast, 240ml water, extra-virgin olive oil

Recipe:

to make the biga:
Place all the ingredients in a deep pot, and work them rapidly with a wooden spoon. Brush the resulting dough with some olive oil, and leave it to rise until it has doubled in size. Cover with a damp cloth, and keep it at around 16-18°C for 15-24 hours.
to make the dough:
Melt the yeast in a little tepid water. Place a little in the middle of the flour and start to work it, slowly adding the remaining water and the salt. Work it for 5 minutes, and then add the biga prepared previously. Roll the dough out into a long single piece, and beat it until it becomes soft. Now roll the dough back onto itself, and leave it to rise for 30 minutes. Now make an incision in the surface, and leave it to rise again covered with a damp cloth and cling-film until it doubles in size. Now make another incision in the same place as before. Bake until browned at 200-220°C: after 30 minutes of baking, turn the bread over, and continue to cook for 15 minutes at 190°C.