Caramelized Onion Bread

Total Time: 3 hrs 16 mins Preparation Time: 3 hrs Cook Time: 16 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 onions, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 to prepare the sponge, place the water in a mixing bowl.
• 2 sprinkle the yeast over the water, stir in and let sit for 2 minutes.
• 3 mix in the 1 cup bread flour.
• 4 cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight or for 14-16 hours.
• 5 to prepare the onions, heat the olive oil and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute.
• 6 add the onions, stir well, and saute, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes or until browned and caramelized.
• 7 remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
• 8 to prepare the dough, place the water in the bowl of an electric mixer or in a mixing bowl.
• 9 sprinkle the yeast over the top, stir in, and let sit for 2 minutes.
• 10 add the sponge, bread flour, whole-wheat flour, salt and pepper.
• 11 mix with the dough hook for 2 minutes, or until the ingrediets are combine.
• 12 or beat vigoursly with a wooden spoon for 8-10 minutes.
• 13 let the dough rest for 15 mintes.
• 14 add the caramelized onions and resume mixing, continuing for 12-14 minutes or until the dough is silky and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• 15 the dough should be very wet and sticky, but still elastic.
• 16 transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• 17 let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in volume.
• 18 turn over a baking sheet and set a piece of parchment paper on it.
• 19 place the dough on a well-floured work surface, handling it gently to preserve as much volume as possible and cut into 2 equal pices.
• 20 gently pull and stretch each piece of dough into a flat round, about 1 1/4 inches thick.
• 21 transfer to the parchment paper.
• 22 you may have to reshape once you have moved it.
• 23 cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• 24 to avoid the plastic from sticking to the dough, spray the dough with some cooking spray.
• 25 place a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
• 26 using a spray bottle, spritz the oven walls with water.
• 27 work quickly so the oven does not lose heat.
• 28 you could also quickly place several ice cubes in the bottom of the oven after you have placed the loaves in the oven.
• 29 slide the loaves, still on the parchment paper, into the oven onto the hot stone.
• 30 bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the bread brown.
• 31 transfer the flatbreads to a rack to cool.
• 32 note: i could only bake one loaf at a time.
• 33 next time i will forget about turning the dough onto a floured board.
• 34 i'll gently dump half of the dough onto each piece of parchment paper and shape it there.