2 : c Sliced almonds (about 8 oz)
12 : oz Milk chocolate or semi-sweet
-chocolate : -chocolate chips (2 cups)
2 : Sticks (8-oz) butter, cut
-into : -into bits
1 : /2 c Firmly packed light brown
-sugar : -sugar
1 : c Margarine or butter,
-softened : -softened
1 : c Firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 : c Granulated sugar
2 : Eggs
1 : ts Vanilla
1 : 3/4 c All-purpose flour
1 : ts Baking soda
1/2 : ts Baking powder
1/2 : ts Salt (opt)
2 : c QUAKER Oats (quick or
0: Put 3,1/4 cups of the flour into a large bowl
1: Make a well in the center of the flour
2: Crumble the fresh yeast into a small bowl
3: Stir in 1/2 c
4: of the water until smooth
5: Pour the yeast mixture into the well in the flour
6: Then add the remaining water to the well and mix
7: Mix the flour from the bowl into the yeast mixture in the well with your hand or a wooden spoon to make a very sticky batterlike dough
8: Using your hand, beat the mixture for 5 minutes until very elastic
9: Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and let rise at room temperature, away from drafts, for 4 hours until it rises and collapses
10: The dough will rise up enormously, so check that it does not stick to the dish towel
11: Punch down the dough
12: Add the oil and salt to the dough and mix briefly with your hand
13: Then gradually work the rest of the flour in the bowl into the dough with your hand to make a soft, quite sticky dough
14: When all the dough is smooth and the flour has been thoroughly combined, cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and let rise at room temperature, away from drafts, until doubled in size, about 1 hour
15: Using a very sharp knife, divide the dough in half, disturbing the dough as little as possible
16: Do not punch it down or try to knead or shape the dough at all
17: Tip a portion of the dough onto each prepared baking sheet, nudging it with a spatula, to form 2 rough-looking rectangular loaves, about 1 inch thick
18: Sprinkle the loaves with flour and let rise, uncovered at rm
19: temp
20: , away from drafts, until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour
21: During the last 15 min
22: of rising, heat the oven to 425F
23: Bake the loaves for about 35 min
24: , or until they are browned and sound hollow when tapped underneath
25: Transfer the loaves to wire racks until lukewarm, and then serve
26: Or, eat within 24 hours, gently warmed
27: Freeze for up to one week only
28: "This new Italian loaf, all the rage in London, comes from the area around Lake Como in the north, and it is supposed to resemble a slipper
29: In any case, it is free-form- simply poured out of the bowl in which it has risen onto the baking sheet in a rough and ready rectangular loaf
30: It has large holes, and a soft, but chewy, floury crust
31: I find that many commercial loaves taste of stale olive oil or lack the pungency of good extra-virgin oil
32: Finding a good recipe for this bread was difficult, and I made abut 30 before I was happy with the results
33: Taking advice from chef Pierre Koffmann, I adapted his baguette recipe
34:
35:
36: adding a good quantity of olive oil to the dough, and altering the final consistency
37: As with the baguettes, it is not easy to achieve a perfect result the first time, even though the final loaf should taste very good
38: I have not had good results whth easy-blend yeast or dried yeast granules, so I have only included instructions for using fresh yeast
39: " Recipe by: The Bread Book, Linda Collister & Anthony Blake, p 105 Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #833 by Nancy Berry <nlberry@prodigy
40: net> on Oct 09, 1997