Ingredients

Source

*	Dan Lepard The Handmade Loaf: Contemporary European Recipes for the Home Baker (Mitchell Beazley Food) * ISBN: 978-1840009668

Directions

Mix the plain and strong flours with the salt in a large bowl. Using a mortar and pestle, or a blender, grind the almonds to a creamy paste with the sugar and 100g of the water, then beat in the remaining water and the yeast. Stir this liquid in with the dry ingredients and mix it all together until you have a soft, sticky dough. Scrape any dough from your fingers into the bowl, then cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Rub 1 tsp of corn or olive oil on the work-surface and knead the dough on the oiled surface for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Clean and dry the bowl, then rub lightly with a tsp of oil. Return the dough to the bowl and leave for a further 10 minutes. Remove the dough, knead once more on the oiled surface, returning the shape of the dough to a smooth, round ball. Place it back in the bowl, cover, and leave for 1 hour in a warm (21-25°C) place.

Oil and flour a deep loaf tin (10 x 18cm). Lightly flour the worksurface and shape the dough into a baton. This time, however, tap the ends in before rolling it back and forth to form a smooth cylinder the same length as the tin. Drop the dough seam-sideupwards into the tin, and leave to rise for 1,5 hours or until doubled in height. If you’re using a Pullman tin, add the greased lid at this point. Preheat the oven to 210°C/410°F/gas mark 6 1/2. For an open top loaf, lightly dust the dough surface with flour. For a closed Pullman loaf, just check that the dough nearly touches the lid. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 and bake for a further 20 minutes, until the loaf is a good golden-brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

=====