You Can Take Bread Out of the Country: Dan’s French Country Loaf

You can take bread out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the bread. Especially when it’s an easy overnight sponge recipe for “pain de campagne” or French-style country bread.

I lived for 12 years above a boulangerie in Paris’ 17th arrondissement and was awakened every morning to the fabulous, lush smells of baking bread and croissants filtering through my open window. I don’t know how I managed not to gain weight just by inhaling! Each baker had his specialty and most bakeries created standard baguettes as well as pain de campagne and other specialty breads. Today, traditional French bakers must woo their customers with as large and as inventive a selection as possible to keep them loyally buying from the artisans rather than the out-of-town hypermarkets with their industrially-produced bread. Sound familiar? There are very few bakeries left in the UK, even less in the US, and France, the country that started a revolution over their bread, is losing its bakeries all too quickly, too. We are very lucky here in Tongham to have our own bakery which has a loyal following. Go out and buy a loaf of artisan bread today and support your local baker. Or else make your own as below and continue the tradition.

Adapted from “Dan’s French Country Loaf” recipe on Allinson flour’s Baking Mad website (“everything you want to know about baking”), the Thermomix version of this recipe is nice and easy and yields a loaf with a slightly yeastier flavour than regular bread yet not as acid as a true sourdough bread. Just make the overnight sponge the night before (I have even made it in the morning for the afternoon when I wanted a nice loaf at dinner) and let it do its thing. The texture is nicer and somehow more wholesome feeling than the quick loaves we’re used to these days. I love slowing down a bit and taking the time to fashion a beautiful loaf of bread that we can really enjoy. And with Thermomix it’s easier and faster than mixing and kneading by hand. Enjoy!

Dan’s French Country Loaf – Thermomix version
Makes one large loaf. Requires overnight preparation.

Ingredients
For the overnight sponge:
85 g water
1/2 tsp  Easy Bake Yeast (Allinson) or 10 g fresh yeast
1 tsp runny honey
– – – – –
100 g very strong bread flour (such as Allinson Premium White)

To finish the loaf:
200 g water
3/4 tsp Easy Bake Yeast (Allinson) or 10 g fresh yeast
400 g very strong bread flour (Allinson Premium White)
2 tsp salt

Method

1. Weigh the water, yeast and honey into the Thermomix bowl and mix 37° C/3 minutes/Speed 2 to warm the water and activate the yeast. Weigh in the flour and mix on Speed 3 until you have a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to ferment for 2 hours.
2. Then cover with film and place in the fridge overnight. If your Thermomix bowl won’t fit into your refrigerator, leave it in a cold place in your kitchen. (In the summer I leave mine by a slightly open window.)
3. Remove the bowl from the fridge the next morning 30 minutes before you want to start making your loaf, then continue as below.
4. Add the water, yeast, flour and salt to the Thermomix bowl containing the overnight sponge. Don’t let the salt touch the yeast or the sponge as it will kill the yeast.
5. Mix to a soft dough while slightly warming the mixture, 37° C/15 – 20 seconds/Speed 3.
6. Knead 7 minutes/Dough setting (interval).
7. Shape as desired and put into an appropriate greased or lined tin. It is very important to grease the tin because this dough will surely stick and you’ll lose the entire bottom of your loaf. Trust me, I’ve done it 🙁
8. Leave to prove in a warm spot until doubled in size.
9. Add your chosen topping/glaze if using (slash the top and dust with flour; glaze with milk or a beaten egg; sprinkle with poppy seeds; etc.) and place in an oven preheated to 220°C/fan 200°C/Gas Mark 7 and immediately turn the heat down to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6.  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Your loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. [This dough is sensational when baked in a Dutch oven as here. Make the overnight sponge and rise the dough as above, just bake it in your cocotte.]

Serve with a hearty Thermomix blended soup, with a Thermomix pâté, or with lashings of butter and your own Thermomix jam.

Thermomix is a tool and you are the genius who creates with it. Use your imagination!

Bon appétit !

©whyisthereair.com

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