← Nouns Cooking · Spanish

Ingredients

• 400 g strong white bread flour
• 360 ml cool water
• 8 g Salt
• 3 g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for the tub

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast and 300 ml of the water in a bowl until no dry flour is left. Rest for 20 min, then add the salt and the rest of the water and squeeze it in with a wet hand until absorbed. It will be very sloppy.
2. Tip the dough into a lightly oiled rectangular tub. Every 30 min for the next 2 hours, do a set of folds: with wet hands, lift one side of the dough, stretch it up and fold it over, then turn the tub and repeat on all 4 sides.
3. After the last fold, cover and leave for 1 hour more, until the dough is bubbly and roughly tripled.
4. Put a baking tray in the oven and heat it to 250°C (480°F). Dust the work surface heavily with flour and gently tip the dough out, trying not to knock out the air. Dust the top with flour.
5. With a floured scraper, cut the dough into 2–3 long strips. Slide each onto a sheet of baking paper, stretching it gently into a slipper shape.
6. Slide the paper onto the hot tray and bake for 20–25 min, until deep golden and very crisp. Cool on a rack for at least 20 min before cutting; it crackles as it cools.

Tips

• This is a 90% hydration dough: never add more flour to it. Wet hands are the trick to handling it.
• For pan con tomate, split it lengthways, toast briefly and rub with ripe tomato and olive oil.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Bon Viveur Directo al Paladar