[Em Português]

My home revolves around the kitchen. While I'm writing this post, my boyfriend, Riccardo, is baking another bread. It was his birthday these days and I gave him a box with all kind of flours. To many this would be an odd gift, but he was happier than a kid on Christmas morning.

Dough

500g of all-purpose flour, and a little extra to flour the workplace
250ml of water
10g of dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
3 teaspoons of olive oil

1. Put the water in a big glass and add the sugar. The water must be between room temperature and lukewarm. If you're going to heat the water don't go over 40˚C (104F), otherwise you'll kill the yeast and prevent the dough from growing and getting soft. 
2. Put the yeast in the water as well so it may re-activate.
3. In the meanwhile, mix flour and salt. Riccardo usually starts in a big bowl in order to avoid a big mess.
4. Make a hole in the center of the flour mix and add the water gradually, mixing until you get a soft and homogeneous dough (the quantity of water may vary depending on the flour's liquid absorption).
5. Flour the work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, i.e., when you press lightly with your finger and it soon returns to its initial position. A tip is to use the palm's base to knead the dough.
6. Make a ball with the dough and grease it with olive oil. Put it back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until it almost double in size (it should take about an hour and a half to two hours later). If you put it in a warm place the process will happen faster.

Bread
Makes 2 loaves

7. When the dough has finished rising, knead it again to remove the air that formed during rest. Divide it in half and form two loaves. Riccardo usually flattens each loaf lightly, forming rustically two rectangles of about 5cm thick to fold them into three parts.
8. Put the two rolls in a large baking dish lightly floured and cover it with a dry and clean cloth. Let it rise for 30 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 240˚C. Bake the bread for about 40 minutes or until golden brown (it should also make a hollow sound when you knock underneath it). Another tip is to put a small bowl with water in the oven, it helps to keep moisture in the oven and the crust crisp.
10. Let it cool down on a wire rack before cutting it. Even though we never wait! We love eating it warm with butter.

Obs .: for a loaf of bread with holes, like the photo, you can skip the part of kneading the second time, leaving the air inside the dough. Let it grow for a longer time, the one in the photo we let it grow an overnight. When shaping the dough, wet your hands so that it does not stick to the dough. Make the fold carefully, avoiding - as possible - to let the air escape, then follow the recipe as seen above.

Pizza
Makes 4 medium pizzas

7. When the dough has finished rising, divide it into 4 portions and open it in pizza baking dish. Riccardo thinks it's unnecessary to knead and let it grow again, but do as you see fit. Brush the tomato sauce, put the filling and bake in a preheated oven to bake.

In another post, we will make a pizza special with Riccardo's famous tomato sauce and a few stuffing ideas that we love to eat!