I recently saw a favorable article on a new book Small-Batch Breads by Rebecca Eisenberg, who has been running a website thepracticalbaker.com. Rebecca has been specializing in foods sized for one or two persons and is most famous for a mini focaccia baked in a bread loaf pan using 1 cup of flour (or to be more precise, since weighing flour is better than volume measurements, 120 g. of flour). I decided to make it with a few modifications to fit how I usually make bread. It turned out very well and made a nice accompaniment to a steak salad for dinner.
Rebecca’s basic recipe takes 2:20 from start to finish, but I decided to start earlier and to retard fermentation in the refrigerator since breads benefit from slow fermentations. I started about 8 a.m. had it in the refrigerator from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and had it for dinner about 5:30 p.m. (Early since we were going to a play after dinner.)
120 g. all-purpose flour
5 g. salt
5 g. sugar
3 g. yeast
90 g. water
10 g. olive oil
Cooking spray
1 Tbs. olive oil to grease the pan + a drizzle of olive oil on the top
Sprinkle of Maldon salt
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Form a well in the middle and put the yeast in the well. Pour in the water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add the 10 g. of olive oil and mix into a dough with a dough whisk. (Ensure that there is no unincorporated flour.) Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Wet your hand and perform a bowl fold. (Work around the circumference of the dough, stretching it and folding it toward the center.) Cover and rest for another 15 minutes. Wet your hand and perform a second bowl fold. At this point, you should have a smooth dough. If not, cover and rest it for another 15 minutes and perform a third bowl fold.
Spray a standard bread loaf pan with cooking spray and put a Tbs. of olive oil on the bottom of the pan. Drop the dough in the middle of the pan on top of the olive oil, and with oiled fingers stretch it until it covers most of the bottom of the pan. Cover the bread pan with plastic wrap. If in a hurry, let it ferment on the kitchen counter for about an hour., until about doubled and puffy. If there is more time, put it in the refrigerator to retard the fermentation until about 2 hours before you want to bake it, when you should move it to the kitchen counter.
About 30 minutes before the dough is ready to be baked, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, preferably with a baking steel or baking stone. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the dough and with oiled fingers create deep dimples. Allow to rest about 15 more minutes. Then sprinkle with Maldon salt and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then remove it from the pan onto a wire rack. Allow to cool another 15 minutes before cutting.