Pugliese

This is the bread depicted on the cover. So far, it's my favorite savory bread from this book. I love everything about it, from the open crumb (large holes) to the magical flavors produced by durum flour and a mellow biga.

It's worth noting that coarse semolina doesn't work well for this recipe (it calls for finely ground durum flour). As the coarse flour is easier to find, I have tried both allowing it time to absorb the water in the recipe, and grinding it in the food processor, but the substitution still doesn't work as well as the fine flour does. If the coarse flour is all that is available, you can reduce hydration a bit and the bread will still be good.