Scali bread is an Italian type of bread with a crispy crust and a soft center. It was created by the Scali family in Boston, MA, and has become a regional specialty. Yes, it is popular, and for a very good reason. It is delicious!

I studied different Scali bread recipes via the Internet and decided to combine the best of the choices of ingredients and directions for making the bread. And then I decided to modify my composite recipe to create some needed shelf life changes in Scali bread. But if I modify the recipe to provide longer shelf life then I also have to address and avoid possible formation of mold. I figured I can improve that situation in major ways and this recipe is the result. It is fairly complex, but most definitely worth doing, especially if you already know how to make different breads. One item I skipped by intent ... the braiding of the dough to create a braided loaf of bread, for that is purely cosmetic.

This recipe is not for beginners as it entails many procedural steps, two days to complete making the bread, some special equipment, and two preservative chemicals and one risen bread stabilizer not typically found in home kitchens. That said, this is quite the educational, experimental recipe for educated/dedicated home chefs/bakers, ergo those of us who love perfection! And the two special chemicals, the risen bread stabilizer and other special ingredients like vital wheat gluten can be bought easily and cheaply via Amazon®. My overall goal was/is to make excellent Scali bread with a longer than normal shelf life, for supermarket bakery Scali breads typically degrade in quality within a day or two after the wrapper is first opened.

I decided to make Scali bread for two special reasons: 1) My family loves fresh, crispy crust and soft interior Scali Bread, buttered, and 2) I decided to use some of Pepperidge Farm's® methods for improving bread quality and shelf life, specifically the use of calcium propionate, potassium sorbate (or in their case sorbic acid), and a second bread wrapper inside a regular soft polyethylene wrapper. The idea is the Pepperidge Farm® breads remain soft and do not become moldy for weeks, if at all. What a giant improvement over typical store brands of bread ... also more expensive but worth every cent. It makes sense to follow their lead and improve the quality (enjoyment) of bread baked at home.

Beyond those changes I intended to increase the chewiness of the Scali bread by including [adding] vital wheat gluten in this recipe and reducing the corresponding amount of bread flour. The goal is to have gluten be around 15% of the total flour weight, and this is achieved by knowing the gluten content of the flour you are using and then replacing some of it in the recipe with 100% gluten so that the total flour weight remains the same but with the higher percentage of gluten in the total weight. King Arthur® bread flour is 12.7% gluten as purchased so within this recipe I needed to replace 1/4 cup of bread flour with 1/4 cup of gluten to get the total gluten amount up to 15%. You can use any all purpose flour or special flour where you know the percentage of gluten and then adjust the quantity of extra gluten as needed. Typical all purpose flours have about 9% gluten. I now use Ascorbic Acid also, at the rate of 75 parts per million (ppm), based on the weight of the flour, or 68 milligrams of ascorbic acid in this recipe for 908 grams of flour. Ascorbic acid works to maximize the size and stability of the bread dough while it is rising and after it has risen. That should accommodate the extra gluten and avoid having a dense texture in the baked bread.

Potassium sorbate kills yeast cells (as well as molds) so the only way to mix it into the dough successfully [which we will not be doing] is by using lipid coated crystals of potassium sorbate, in which there is no contact between the yeast and potassium sorbate until the heat of baking melts the lipid. Of course, by that point the yeast has already performed its function of causing the bread to rise. The lipid coated product is referred to as encapsulated potassium sorbate, and it is available to commercial bakeries but I have not found a source for the person baking at home. Instead, I have to lightly spray a solution of potassium sorbate in water all over the surface of the Scali bread immediately after it is baked, so the heat of the crust will quickly evaporate the water, leaving a fine and even coating of potassium sorbate everywhere on the surface of the loaf of Scali bread. The spraying approach is also used by many commercial bakeries.

One of the two Scali loaves made in this recipe will be spray coated with one ounce of potassium sorbate solution, so I need 0.001 times 24 ounces of potassium sorbate (weight of one loaf of bread) to get a total of one tenth of one percent potassium sorbate by product weight for one of the two loaves. So the ounce of the liquid mixture will contain one ounce of water plus 0.672 grams or 672 milligrams of potassium sorbate. Yes, it pays to have a milligram scale in your kitchen to supplement the ones that weigh in grams and ounces and pounds. For ease of handling it is better to make four ounces of the potassium sorbate solution and use that in a 6 ounce spray bottle better sized to your hand. Then, just keep an eye on the amount of liquid sprayed on to the baked bread so as not to exceed about one ounce. Following that thought you need about 2688 milligrams or 2.69 grams of potassium sorbate in 4 ounces of water.

The second loaf will not be sprayed with potassium sorbate solution so it can be used as a control to determine differences in shelf life (overall bread quality and mold resistance) between the two loaves during a two week testing period.

Here are the interesting results of my first experiment ... no mold on either loaf at 15 days after baking them. And bread quality was surprisingly good in taste and moisture and overall in avoiding staleness as a result of using the Pepperidge Farm® double bag method. The loaf with no potassium sorbate showed mold, finally, at day 19 after baking. The loaf with potassium sorbate solution sprayed on had no mold at day 19. I finished eating that loaf as toast on day 19. What I recognized in bread texture was the need to reduce the amount of olive oil, lower the total gluten percentage, and add ascorbic acid next time around to enhance and maintain dough rising right before baking. So I modified the recipe you see below with those changes. End of experiment number one. I now have to execute experiment number two with the changes I made.

The term Pate Fermentee used in this recipe is simply the French way of saying pre-fermented dough, which is similar to but not identical to what we often call sponge in bread making. Let's proceed now with making the Scali bread ... and remember to weigh the amounts of flour instead of relying on measuring cup accuracy.

Ingredients: (makes two, one and one half pound loaves)

One recipe of Basic Dough with Pate Fermentee, recipe follows

Raw sesame seeds, 3/8 cup or as needed

Now we get down to the dough ingredients ...

Basic Dough including the Pate Fermentee:

One recipe of refrigerated Pate Fermentee (1 3/4 pounds or 795 grams), shown below these basic dough ingredients

1 1/2 cups of 80 degrees F water plus 1.6 grams of calcium propionate, mixed to dissolve the calcium propionate [which will provide one tenth of one percent calcium propionate by weight of the baked bread].

1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar (5% acidity) [used to acidify the solution and later the dough so the calcium propionate will be maximally effective - pH 5.5 or lower in a loaf of baked bread]

If you can, measure the pH after the liquids are mixed and if necessary increase the amount of vinegar to obtain a pH of 4.5 or lower. The pH of the liquid should measure around 4.5.

3 1/4 cups of King Arthur® bread flour (422 grams)

1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten (32 grams) [You can buy it via Amazon®. Look for Anthony's Premium Vital Wheat Gluten®]

1 teaspoon of instant dry yeast

2 1/4 teaspoons of Kosher salt

68 milligrams of Ascorbic Acid powder

1/4 cup of powdered dry milk

2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil

Pate Fermentee: (Make this first and refrigerate it, covered, overnight)

3 1/2 cups of King Arthur® bread flour (454 grams)

1 teaspoon of instant dry yeast

1 1/3 cups of room temperature (72 degrees F) water

Special equipment:

Baking stone(s), bench scraper/pastry knife, two 11"x17" metal baking sheets and two 11"x17" sheets of parchment paper.

One electronic scale that measures in ounces and grams, and a second electronic scale that measures in milligrams.

A pH meter [optional, but nice, and useful in other complex or chemically sensitive recipes for many types of foods]. My advice? Get one and learn how to use it.

One six ounce spray bottle (for the potassium sorbate solution) and one twelve ounce spray bottle (for plain water to moisten the dough prior to coating it with sesame seeds).

Cellophane and polyethylene bread bags and twist ties for each baked loaf of Scali bread.

Directions:

For the Pate Fermentee:

Whisk together the flour and yeast in a large electric mixer bowl, .

Add the water and mix on low speed until it is incorporated, about 3 minutes.

Knead the dough by hand for about two minutes to create a uniform density and moisture dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place (about 75 degrees F). [I prefer using the 100 degrees F proofing option of my ovens.]

Let the dough ferment for 1 hour.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours in the covered bowl.

When ready, the Pate Fermentee will be roughly doubled in size.

For the Basic Dough mixed with the Pate Fermentee:

Mix the water, calcium propionate, and vinegar, then if you have a pH meter check the pH and if necessary increase the amount of vinegar. The pH should measure about 4.5 with the given mixture of water, calcium propionate and distilled white vinegar of 5% acidity.

In the electric mixer bowl, combine the pate fermentee, water mixed with calcium propionate and vinegar, and the olive oil. Use the electric mixer with a dough hook on medium low speed to begin mixing those ingredients.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, powdered milk, ascorbic acid and Kosher salt. Add the flour mixture to the pate fermentee mixture gradually while mixing until the dough is cohesive, about 3 to 5 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Knead the dough by using the electric mixer with the dough hook on medium speed for five minutes. Then remove the dough hook and the mixing bowl from the mixer.

Following kneading, put a teaspoon of olive oil onto the inner surface of the mixing bowl and spread it around so the underside and sides of the dough that touch the bowl do not later stick to the surface of the electric mixer bowl.

Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap [put a light smear of butter on the plastic wrap to avoid any possible later sticking of dough to the plastic wrap].

Place the bowl in a warm place (around 75 degrees F.) and let the dough rise for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes. [The 100 degrees F proofing oven is better]

After the first 45 minutes, fold the dough and turn it over in the bowl. (It may somewhat deflate the dough, but that is only temporary.)

Let the dough rise, undisturbed, for 1 hour more. (The dough will rise considerably.)

Coat your hands lightly with flour, then turn the dough out from the mixing bowl onto a lightly floured wood cutting board. Let the surface of the dough get a light coating of flour to make handling of it easier.

Shape the dough gently into an approximate cylinder shape about 18 inches long.

Cut the dough into 2 equal size pieces with a bench scraper (pastry knife). Lightly round the ends of each piece and let them rest on the work surface for 10 minutes.

Shape the rested dough halves into French bread loaves [about 15" long and 2" to 3" in diameter and rounded on each end] and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Spray the loaves lightly on the top surface with water, and sprinkle sesame seeds generously onto the moistened dough.

Transfer the loaves to the backs of 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, then cover each lightly with lightly butter smeared plastic wrap.

Put a large cast iron skillet on a low oven shelf. If you have a high oven shelf remove it from the oven. [My addition to this recipe. More details follow.]

Place a baking stone [or stones] on a middle shelf in your oven and preheat the oven to 460 degrees F. Then change it to 450 degrees F on a convection setting.

Measure and dispense 2690 milligrams of pure potassium sorbate powder into a 6 ounce spray bottle. Add 1/2 cup of water and shake the bottle to mix the ingredients. Set the bottle aside.

Put the covered loaves of dough in a warm place, around 72 degrees F or warmer and let them rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until the dough has doubled in volume. Then carefully remove and discard the piece of plastic wrap from one loaf.

Working with 1 loaf at a time, slide the Scali dough, still on the parchment paper, onto the hot baking stone. How? Put the forward edge of the baking sheet near the back edge of the baking stone and tilt the other end of the baking sheet up to help the parchment paper and dough slide off the baking sheet, which helps cause the proper placement of the dough on the baking stone. The idea is you don't want to be trying to position the parchment paper and dough by hand inside the very hot oven.

Pour 3/4 cup of plain water into the preheated cast iron skillet, quickly close the oven door, and bake the bread until it is crusty and gold in color, about 30 minutes. Rotate the bread, front to back after 15 minutes of baking by sliding out the oven shelf and lifting and using two corners of the parchment paper to rotate the bread front to back. Check the bread after a total baking time of 25 minutes. Do not let the sesame seeds darken beyond medium tan in color. The bread is done baking when it is a medium gold in color. Note that the steam produced from the skillet during the early part of the baking will greatly aid in making a crispy bread crust.

Transfer the baked Scali bread to a cooling rack and immediately spray that first loaf all over with a fine mist using the spray bottle solution of potassium sorbate in water. Make certain the entire surface of the bread [top and bottom, etc.] is sprayed evenly. The heat of the crust will quickly evaporate the water. Note that only about one ounce of the solution should be required for spraying.

Let the Scali bread cool to room temperature on the cooling rack.

Repeat the plastic wrap removal, baking and cooling with the remaining loaf of Scali dough but do not spray the second loaf with potassium sorbate solution after baking.

Wrap each cooled loaf in a cellophane bag, then in a polyethylene bread bag and use twist ties to seal both the inner and outer bread bags. Identify the bag that contains the loaf of Scali bread that was treated with the potassium sorbate solution with a marking pen like a Sharpie®.

Enjoy! Cut thin slices from both loaves during the next two weeks, one or two slices from each loaf each day, and see if mold forms on the remaining bread in/on either loaf. Also, pay attention to the quality of the bread in freshness (softness, moistness) and taste as the experiment proceeds across the two weeks. Be sure to record your findings each day.

Draw your conclusions after the two week testing period, and if necessary modify the amounts of calcium propionate and potassium sorbate to be used the next time you make Scali bread. But do not exceed three tenths of one percent of the weight of the baked loaves for each preservative chemical.