Lionel Vatinet, the mastermind behind the beloved La Farm Bakery, shares this treat from his cookbook A Passion for Bread: Lessons from a Master Baker
3 cups unbleached flour
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 ½ cups water (65–70 degrees)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3.2 ounces toasted pine nuts
8.6 ounces pitted fresh cherries
confectioners’ sugar
- Place the flour in a large bowl. Add salt and yeast, making sure they do not touch each other.
- Place half the water in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add dry ingredients to water and mix on low speed. Add remaining water in a slow, steady stream until dough is moist and sticks slightly to sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and the dough hook.
- Mix for 5 minutes on low speed. Stop the mixer and touch the dough. It should be soft and pliable.
- Add the toasted pine nuts and mix until nuts are just incorporated into the dough.
- Place the dough in a bowl oiled with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cover with plastic and let rest for 1 hour.
- Fold the dough: With damp hands, lift one edge of the dough and fold it over the top. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat about four times. Cover and let rest 1 hour.
- Fold dough again, cover, and let rest 1 more hour.
- Divide the dough onto sheet pans, pressing the dough with a flat hand to fit the shape of your pan. Proof for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Distribute the cherries over the top of the dough, pushing them down until they almost hit the bottom of the pan. The top should be evenly dotted with cherries. Bake for 25–30 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and then sift a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar over the top. Cut into pieces and serve.
