This Tuscan Pane Bread, or Pane Toscano, will have you coming back for more, and more. It is addictive. It has a crunchy and crispy crust and a soft crumb. Also a chewiness to give it texture.

I became interested in this type of bread after tasting a few versions sold by my local supermarket that were superb. You might guess that I checked out the ingredients they used, and then I decided to look for recipes.

I found the original recipe for what I have created here on the Internet and I significantly modified the Internet version to incorporate vital wheat gluten, calcium propionate powder and potassium sorbate solution. I also incorporated some of the ingredients and techniques used in Food Nirvana for making Scali bread that promote stability in risen dough. Note that you can buy vital wheat gluten, calcium propionate and potassium sorbate cheaply via the Internet. I typically use Amazon®, or other vendor sites if I don't like the prices I see for any given item on Amazon®.

The gluten causes the bread texture to become somewhat chewy (which I love) and the chemicals prevent mold from forming for many days/weeks after baking if you keep the bread fresh by storing it inside a tightly closed wrapper. Or even better, inside a double wrapper, like Pepperidge Farm® breads. You can find and purchase cellophane and other types of bread wrappers via the Internet.

I use the term boule in this recipe, which simply means a round loaf of bread. I also use the term biga, which is the starter fermentation product, ergo a mixture of some of the flour with water, yeast and a few chemicals that develops/rises over six hours (or overnight) and thus precedes the final making of the dough.

Tuscan Pane can be made with or without salt. Salt is not used in the Italian version, but I love sea salt so I use it in this recipe.

Note: You need a high quality, strong electric stand mixer to process the dough in this recipe. I recommend using one of the large capacity KitchenAid® stand mixers, not the type with the tilting head.

If you want to make rolls instead of a boule then divide the dough into 12 pieces with a pastry cutter after the first rise, roll them to make them round, then put them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet for the final rise (covered with oiled plastic wrap), then bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes at 400 degrees F. Remember to pour the cup of water into the preheated cast iron skillet at the start of baking, as described below.

Ingredients: (makes one, approximately two and one half pound boule [round loaf])

2 tsp. of active dry yeast (or bread yeast)

2 cups of 100 degrees F warm water

4 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup of vital wheat gluten (buy Anthony's® brand via Amazon®)

2 tsp. of sea salt (optional, add during kneading)

1.5 grams of calcium propionate powder (a decent quality regular kitchen scale will measure in grams)

1 tsp. of distilled white vinegar (5% strength)

Potassium sorbate solution (spray lightly on the entire hot baked boule surface)

50 milligrams of ascorbic acid powder (You will need a milligram scale to measure that amount. Buy one via Amazon®. They are not expensive.)

1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil for the dough

2 tbsp. of canola oil for the baking sheet

1/3 cup of corn meal (to dust the canola oiled baking sheet)

Canola oil to coat one side of the plastic wrap used to cover rising dough

Directions:

Day one:

First make the biga or starter dough, per the next directions. If you make it early in the morning you will be able to bake the bread the same day.

Warm two cups of water in the microwave oven to a temperature not exceeding 105 degrees F. Use an instant read thermometer.

Bloom the yeast and water and calcium propionate and ascorbic acid and vinegar in a large (6 or 7 cup) electric mixer bowl for five minutes. Then add in 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten and mix on low speed for three minutes. Use a soft spatula to assure all the ingredients have been mixed together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside and let the biga rise in a warm place (72 to 80 degrees F), about 6 hours or overnight.

Make the potassium sorbate solution that you will use after the bread is baked by mixing 4 ounces of water with 2.5 grams of potassium sorbate powder. Put it into a 6 ounce spray bottle. Later you will use only about 1 ounce of the solution for one boule, spraying it on the crust of the boule' of hot baked bread.

Day two: (or six hours later on day one)

If you want to season your Tuscan Pane with herbs and spices, check out the Tuscan Seasoning recipe at the end of this recipe. The time to add the seasoning is during the mixing of the biga and the flour(s) and salt.

Add 3 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of vital wheat gluten and the salt to the biga, and first mix all of it with the regular mixer beater, and then knead the dough using the kneading accessory until a smooth but soft dough forms. It should come off the sides of the bowl and shouldn't feel sticky. Knead in the olive oil and continue kneading in the electric mixer for five minutes, with the speed set to medium.

Add additional flour, a little at a time, if the dough starts sticking to the bottom of the mixing bowl. You may add, in total, up to one half cup of additional flour, but do not add more than necessary to allow successful kneading.

Place the dough in a canola oil coated three quart size (or larger) bowl, flip the dough over to coat the top with oil, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside for two hours or until it is doubled in size. I was amazed to find it tripled in size! Use a proofing oven if you have one.

Lightly oil a baking sheet with canola oil and then dust it generously with some cornmeal. This will make it easy to lift the boule from the baking sheet after baking.

Punch down the dough, put it on a wood cutting board, and shape it into a round loaf shape by pulling on the sides and tucking them underneath. Set the boule on the baking sheet to rise.

Cover the boule with plastic wrap that has been oiled on one side with canola oil. Let the dough rise for 1 ½ hours or until the boule has doubled in size. Meanwhile, get the oven ready to bake the boule in the last half hour of the rising time.

Place a cast iron skillet on the lowest shelf of the oven. If you have baking stones then place them on a shelf in the middle part of the oven. About half an hour before baking, heat the oven to 425 degrees F, using a convection setting if you have that option.

Remove and discard the plastic wrap from the risen boule.

With a sharp knife or razor blade, make four shallow, 1/8" deep cuts, evenly spaced, from one side, over the top center of the boule, and down the other side.

Place the baking sheet with the boule into the preheated oven on the middle oven shelf, then immediately add one cup of hot tap water to the cast iron skillet you already placed on the lowest shelf of the oven. Close the oven door immediately. The steam generated is what causes the bread to have a crispy crust.

Bake the bread for 40 minutes. Turn the baking sheet around 180 degrees after 20 minutes of baking. Remove the baking sheet from the oven after the 40 minutes of baking time.

Immediately spray the hot boule of bread with one ounce of the potassium sorbate solution, over the entire surface, top and bottom, and place the bread on a rack to cool. Note that the moisture from the spray will totally evaporate very quickly, leaving an invisible, dry coating of potassium sorbate on the crust. You will not taste it later.

Store the cooled bread in a cellophane or other type of bread wrapper and use a twist tie to keep it tightly closed. Put that into a second bread wrapper and use a twist tie to keep it closed. Double wrapping works wonders for helping to keep bread fresh for many days/weeks.

After the bread has cooled you can slice it as you want with a serrated knife or a bread knife. Note also that sharp serrated electric knives can be used if you want to cut the entire boule and serve the slices in a toweled basket for a meal.

This bread is delicious simply buttered, or used for sandwiches of many types, or simply made into toast.

Enjoy!

Below is a nice recipe for Tuscan Seasoning that you might choose to include when you make Tuscan Pane.

Tuscan Seasoning

I looked on the Internet to find seasonings that might be added to my excellent, but mild, Tuscan Pane. Below is the best recipe I could find that used simple ingredients found in most kitchens where people cook yummy foods from scratch. The recipe makes a bulk amount of Tuscan Seasoning to use for making many different foods.

The herb and spice combination below imparts a lot of different flavors into whatever dish you happen to be making. In other words, go easy, like one teaspoon, until you learn how much you prefer in your foods. In consideration of a two pound plus loaf of Tuscan Pane I suggest using two teaspoons of this seasoning when making the Tuscan Pane dough with the biga and the flour.

This recipe provides an easy way to create your own Tuscan Seasoning, and you are free to exclude any ingredient you choose, or to add others. Ergo, play in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoon of dried basil

3 tablespoon of sea salt flakes

2 tablespoon of dried rosemary

2 tablespoon of dried oregano

2 tablespoon of dried thyme

1 tablespoon of powdered garlic

2 tablespoons of fennel seed

2 tablespoons of ground black pepper

1 teaspoon of dried chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Add the spices to a mixing bowl and mix with a whisk.

Store the mixture in an airtight spice jar or a mason jar for up to 6 months.

Use this seasoning sparingly (like only one teaspoon) in any dish until you have a sense of how much might be best.

Variation: You can powder the above mixture using a Magic Bullet® mixer if powdering is your preferred way to introduce the seasoning to what you are making.