Can anyone help? This bread is killing me. I have failed it 3 times now. The first two times I'm quite sure my yeast was old. The third time (new yeast) it was a runny mess and never formed a ball. My issue is the tomatoes. I can't find an 8 oz can anywhere, unless it is referring to tomato sauce. But, if that it was meant to be sauce, it wouldn't have me whir them in the food processor, would it?
Baking is all science, there is no wiggle room when it comes to ratio of ingredients to flour. Recipes that use volume measurement our problematic since measuring cups and how you measure could result in significant differences in actual weight of flour to other ingredients. And too, The unknown is the measuring method used by the recipe developer.
Given there seems to be too much liquid in your dough you can try the following.
1. Flour: use King Arthur All Purpose Flour. It has a higher protein that other brands. Higher protein flour has high absorption.
2. Measure: how you measure is important.
The dip and level method produces 145 grams per cup.
The spoon and level out method will produce about 120 g per cup.
The difference in the amount of flour is significant between the two methods of measuring. So it’s important to use the method the recipe developer used.
But how do you know what method was used? It’s an educated guess. Up until the 2000s, the most common volume method for measuring flour was the dip and level method. This was the method in all the major cookbooks such as Fanny Farmer and Betty Crocker; this was the method taught to us in home economics class; this was the method that our grandmothers used.
When using a volume measurement recipe you have to take into consideration the date the recipe was developed, and what measuring method was used in that era. This cookbook was printed before 2000, I would use the dip and level method.
3. Tomatoes: the tomato and the juices are the only hydration in this recipe. Baking is best done by weight measurements as it ensures the correct ratio of flour to liquid. But if you do not have a food scale, purchase a can of WHOLE peeled tomatoes. Reserved the juice. Use about 3 tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of the juice. That should put you roughly at 8 ounces of tomatoes.
4. Mixing: Add the tomatoes and juice in two or three additions. Do not add in a steady stream. This will give the flour some time to absorb the liquid. As soon as the flour begins to form a ball stop adding liquid. If the dough seems too dry and crumbly, add a bit more liquid. You can always add more liquid, but you cannot take it out. So add the liquid and addition and give the flour a bit of time to absorb it.
Just an aside, King Arthur flour has a recipe similar to this. Although the tomatoes or not incorporated directly into the dough. King Arthur flour recipes are pretty dependable. They use the spoon and level method of measuring flour.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pane-bianco-recipe
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