Jim Lahey’s Stecca
Jim Lahey is the absolute BEST when it comes to bread. I’ve been a HUGE fan of his since about 2009- this bread is delicious and amazing and EVERYTHING YOU NEED in your life when it comes to bread. Top it with anything you love… within reason….
Jim Lahey’s “My Bread” Cookbook (affiliate link)
Stecca Recipe
Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon yeast instant or active dry
1 1/2 cups cool (55 to 65°F) water (I use up to 2 cups)
additional flour for dusting
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt or flakey sea salt
Toppings: Whatever you’d like! I used cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, and caramelized onions
Instructions
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, table salt, sugar and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 10 to 18 hours (24 hours if you have a cold cold home.)
When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Fold the dough over itself three times and gently shape it into a somewhat flattened ball. Brush the surface of the dough with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the coarse salt (which will gradually dissolve on the surface).
Gently place the dough, seam side down onto counter and cover with a towel. Place in a warm draft free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
Half an hour before the end of the second rise, pre-heat the oven to 500F, with a rack in the center. Oil a 13" x 18" x 1" baking sheet.
Cut the dough into quarters. Gently stretch each piece evenly into a long, thin, baguette shape approximately the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving about 1 inch between the loaves. Embed the garlic cloves, olives or cherry tomatoes into the loaves, about five pieces per loaf. Drizzle, tab or brush olive oil on each loaf. Sprinkle sea salt or kosher salt over each loaf.
Bake For 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a pan for five minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the baguette to a rack to cool thoroughly.
Note: The baguette may become a bit soggy in just a few hours because of the salt on the surface. If that happens, reheat the loaves in a hot oven until crisp.
