Walnut Bread With Poolish

What is it?

Walnut bread is a typical bread of the North, but it is now widespread throughout Italy. Like all types of stuffed bread, it was created with the aim of enhancing the flavor and making traditional bread more nutritious, especially during the winter season when a greater caloric intake is required.

 

This particular leavened bread is both rustic and sophisticated at the same time. It can be used instead of homemade rustic bread or to accompany mustards and pâtés, or prepare bruschetta by lightly toasting the bread.

 

Wrapped in a kitchen towel, walnut bread stays soft and fragrant for several days. In this recipe, a liquid pre-dough called poolish was used instead of the classic biga. Poolish is a preparation obtained by mixing water, flour, and yeast in proportions that result in a very liquid consistency (1 liter of water for 1 kg of flour). Poolish requires a fermentation period ranging from two to twenty-four hours at temperatures between 16 and 22 °C. The goal of poolish is to promote the development of the bread's aromas and a more developed crumb structure. It is recommended to use untreated walnuts.

 

Preparation

Make the poolish: in a large bowl, pour 300 g of water in which you have dissolved 1 g of yeast. Add 300 g of flour and mix with a whisk until you obtain a batter-like consistency. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 12 hours at a temperature of 20 °C.

 

Pour the poolish into the mixing bowl, add the remaining flour and crumbled yeast. Add 300 g of water and knead for 5 minutes at medium speed (4/5). Incorporate the salt and then add the remaining water in a thin stream, kneading for another 5 minutes or so, gradually increasing the speed to your discretion until you reach speed 8/10. Knead until you obtain a homogeneous mass, then add the roughly chopped walnuts while lowering the speed to the minimum; the total kneading time should not exceed 15 minutes.

 

Let the dough rest in a greased container at 25 - 26 °C for 40 - 45 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Perform the classic three-fold: take the upper edges of the dough and bring them to the center, then fold the lower edges over the top edge. Place the dough back into the greased container and let it rest for another 40 - 45 minutes.

 

Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, shape it into a ball or loaf according to your preferences, and let it rise on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, covered with a cloth for about 60 minutes. Once risen, make two cuts on the surface of the dough with a knife, preheat the oven to 220°/230 °C, and bake, steaming the walls of the oven with water. After about 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 210 °C and finish baking for a total of 50 - 60 minutes, depending on the weight of the bread.