Weekly Make and Bake Rustic Bread
Serves | 4 to 5 bread loaves |
Prep time | 2 hours, 40 minutes |
Cook time | 30 minutes |
Total time | 3 hours, 10 minutes |
Allergy | Wheat |
Dietary | Vegetarian |
Meal type | Bread, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack |
Misc | Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot |
Occasion | Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentines day |
Region | British |
By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
This is a “hodge podge” of old fashioned English and French rustic bread recipes; the bread dough is made up ahead of time and stored (in the old days) in an earthenware crock or bowl, with a lid. You tear a piece of the dough off as and when you want to bake a loaf of bread. Easy!
Ingredients
- 900g strong white bread flour
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 x 7g sachets dried fast action yeast (or 25g fresh yeast, added to a little warm water with 1 teaspoon honey or sugar)
- 650mls tepid water
Note
This is a “hodge podge” of old fashioned English and French rustic bread recipes; the bread dough is made up ahead of time and stored (in the old days) in an earthenware crock or bowl, with a lid. You tear a piece of the dough off as and when you want to bake a loaf of bread. Easy! You can add other types of flour to the basic white batch, as long as the ratio remains the same – you can mix rye or whole wheat flour with the white, or add herbs, onions, seeds, fruit and other flavourings.
Directions
Step 1 | Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl – the water should be tepid or hand warm – NOT too hot, as it will kill the yeast. |
Step 2 | Add the yeast to the water and then the salt, mix well. |
Step 3 | Add ALL the flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or a dough hook until all the ingredients are amalgamated – NO need to over knead. |
Step 4 | Leave the bread dough in the mixing bowl and cover loosely – I use a shower cap to cover my dough! (That is NOT used as a shower cap any more, I hasten to add!) |
Step 5 | Allow to prove for 2 hours, or until doubled in size. |
Step 6 | The dough can now be stored in the fridge or you can use the dough to make a loaf of bread immediately. |
Step 7 | If baking a loaf of bread now, pre-heat the oven and place a baking sheet or pizza tray in there. Tear off a large ball, about the size of a small melon, and knead it for about 1 minute with floured hands and on a floured board, Shape it as desired (Rolls, Cob, Cottage Loaf, Boule, Baguette or Bannette etc) or place it in a greased and floured loaf tin. Allow to prove and rise for a further 20 to 30 minutes. Slash the surface with a sharp serrated knife if you wish, see photos. You can add a glaze or special finish at this point. |
Step 8 | Bake at 225C/450F for 30 minutes or until well risen, brown and the loaf sounds hollow when it is tapped on the underside. (If you wish, you can add a bowl of boiling water as soon as you put the bread into the oven – this steams and bakes the loaf to give a good chewy texture and keeps the inside moist.) |
Step 9 | Remove the bread when baked and cool on a cooling rack. Serve warm with butter, cheese, jam, hams and cold cuts, or slice when cool for sandwiches. Also wonderful when toasted the next day. |
Step 10 | Store the excess dough in the mixing bowl, loosely covered, in the fridge or somewhere cool until needed – this will keep for 2 weeks, but I find it has all gone by 7 to 10 days! This amount of dough will make between 4 and 5 loaves of bread, depending on the shape and amount of dough you use. |