What makes Tuscan bread unique in the bread lexicon is that it is salt free, which makes it wonderful for people on salt-restricted diets. Unfortunately, the lack of salt also makes it rather dull and flat tasting. Tuscans, no slouches when it comes to full-flavored food, remedy this by lavishing it with intensely flavored spreads and pastes, or eating it with flavorful dishes, such as garlic- and olive oil–infused white bean soup. A technique that is also unique to this bread is the use of a cooked flour paste, made the day before. This is different from a pre-ferment since there is no yeast added and the paste does not ferment, but the gelatinized starches release flavors that gives this bread a distinct quality, quite unlike any other bread. This is one of those underused techniques that offer great opportunity for exploration. Once you’ve mastered it in this bread, try applying it to some other doughs, like Vienna or Italian. It is yet another way to control flavor by manipulating time, temperature, and ingredients.
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