I knew I wanted to bake some bread on Sunday so Saturday evening I flipped through Maggie Glezer's "Artisan Baking" and found a recipe for a crusty Italian bread with a big hole in the middle called a Tortano. It looked like it would be tasty and the huge hole in the center was something I hadn't seen before so I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, I neglected to read the not so fine print that said it would take approximately 19 hours to make!
So most of Sunday morning and well into Sunday afternoon I was held hostage to this bread. When we were supposed to be at an afternoon party, I was stuck turning the dough at 20 minute intervals and resting it far longer that most people rest on a lazy Sunday afternoon. After baking the bread for 50 minutes, I finally pulled the loaf out of the over around 5pm. I let it cool a bit then came the moment of truth...time to cut a slice and see if the past 19 hours had been worth it.
Crusty on the outside, light and slightly chewy with good flavor on the inside. The holes could have been bigger (next time I'll use bread flour like the recipe called for) but all things considered it was a success even if it did take 19 hours.
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