French country bread
Description
French country bread “Campagne” is not quick to make, but it does not need much hands-on work from you; what matters is following every stage of its development from the levain/sourdough to the finished loaf. See how to bake it in the detailed step-by-step recipe—you will not find bread like this in an ordinary bakery.
Instructions
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Step 1
Prepare the ingredients together with sponge preferment made the day before—it is best to start it the previous evening. I will explain how to make the sponge in the following steps.
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Step 2
For the sponge, use 40 g wheat sourdough starter, 140 ml room-temperature water, and 140 g high-grade wheat flour.
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Step 3
Pour water into a bowl, add the starter, and stir it in.
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Step 4
Add the flour.
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Step 5
Mix until smooth, cover with plastic wrap, and leave overnight, for 6–8 hours at room temperature.
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Step 6
In the morning, the starter will increase in volume and become covered with bubbles.
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Step 7
Pour room-temperature water into a mixing bowl for the dough. Dissolve 3 grams of yeast, add the sponge, dissolve the salt, and sift in all three types of flour.
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Step 8
Knead the dough. Work it by hand or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Cover the dough with a lid or a towel and leave it to ferment for 2–3 hours. Fermentation time depends on several factors, including room temperature and the activity of your sourdough starter and yeast.
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Step 9
During fermentation, fold (punch down) the dough twice using the folding method. Pull at the edge of the dough and, with a forward motion, stretch it toward you.
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Step 10
Rotate the bowl 180 degrees and make the same fold from the opposite side.
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Step 11
Turn the bowl 90 degrees and fold the dough from one side in the same way.
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Step 12
Turn the bowl 180 degrees and fold the dough from the fourth side. After 40–45 minutes, repeat the same fold.
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Step 13
Check whether the dough is ready as follows: if, after pressing it with your finger, the indentation does not spring back right away, you can start baking the bread.
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Step 14
Place the dough on the work surface of the table.
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Step 15
Divide the dough into two equal portions. Shape into balls and tuck under, cover with plastic wrap, and leave to rest for 30 minutes. This process is called pre-shaping the bread.
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Step 16
After 30 minutes you can start shaping. To form a round loaf, pull the edges of the dough outward and fold them into a knot.
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Step 17
For bread proving you can use a bowl or a round basket lined with a cloth sprinkled with a mixture of flour and semolina. Lay the loaf seam side “up”.
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Step 18
For shaping into a batard (“bâtard”), roll the dough out into an even slab and tuck the corners of the dough inward.
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Step 19
With the next movement, make one turn in jelly-roll style.
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Step 20
Make one more turn.
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Step 21
Using the back of your wrist, punch through the dough to seal the edges.
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Step 22
Shape the loaf, lay it seam-side up on a cloth sprinkled the same way with a mixture of semolina and flour. Along the sides, tuck cylinders made from napkins. Proof the bread for 30 minutes.
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Step 23
Preheat the oven in advance to the maximum temperature, 250 degrees. Carefully transfer the bread to a baking sheet.
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Step 24
Using a razor blade or a sharp knife, make random slashes in the loaf. Bake for the first 10 minutes at 250°C with steam, then reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 40–45 minutes.
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Step 25
Cool the finished bread on a wire rack.
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Step 26
The bread has a crispy crust and a porous crumb, and it tastes simply wonderful.