Pane di cereale—ancora una volta

I've made Hensperger's pane di cereale before and liked it a lot. Since I had biga left over from the semolina bread, I figured it was time to make this bread again. I used the same recipe as last time, but instead of 1 tsp each of salt & yeast, I used 3/4 each (probably scant for the salt). 1 tsp tastes better.

Pane di cereale

I accidentally let the dough stay in the bread machine for an hour or two longer than it should have, so I skipped the "stir it with your finger" rise in the machine. By the time I took the dough out, it was very, very high.

I gently shaped the dough with a bench knife, as directed, squishing out the largest air bubbles. However, I got nervous that the yeast would overextend itself, so I didn't let it rise the full 45 minutes. Maybe 10 minutes shy, I transferred it to a plate covered with cornmeal-sprinkled parchment paper. I then transferred the dough and paper to the oven, putting a pot on top of the dough for 20 minutes (as per Josey Baker's instructions).

I really like this bread, although this time when I ate it alone I really noticed how much salt I'd left out. Next time I'll use the full 1 tsp and just eat less bread.

l'interno del pane

For some reason, I felt impelled to have this bread with a little honey drizzled on it, something I haven't done in years. Delicious!