Fresh Baked Boules Recipes

A SIMPLE BOULE

Steps:

• Combine the water, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl or large tupperware. I like to put my container on top of a kitchen scale and tare it so I can easily add up the weights as I go.
• Add in the flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are evenly combined.
• If you're using a tupperware, set the lid on top, but don't seal it - you don't want the cover to be airtight. If you're using a bowl, loosely cover the top with plastic wrap.
• Let the dough sit for a minimum of two hours. Leaving it longer - even overnight - should be fine. At this point, you can either continue on to the next step, or refrigerate the dough and use it in the next two weeks. If you do refrigerate it, leave the top loose for a couple days before sealing it.
• When you're ready to bake, take out a piece of dough about the size of a grapefruit. You'll want to use some flour on your hands and the surface of the dough to keep it from sticking too much, but try to avoid incorporating the added flour into the dough. At this point, you want to keep as much gas in the bread as possible, so don't punch it down or knead it. Instead you want to form what Hertzberg and François call a 'gluten cloak.' Holding the dough in both hands, you want to stretch out the top of the ball and pull the bottom together. The top and sides should be smooth and cohesive. The bottom will seem a little messy - that's okay. It will flatten out and come together as the dough rests and bakes. If you're using a cast-iron Dutch oven, any lightly floured surface will do. If you're using a baking sheet, put the bread on it to rest - this way you can just move the whole tray to the oven when you're ready to bake. And if you're using a baking stone and have a pizza peel, make good use of it!
• Let the dough rest for about 40 minutes. About half-way through the rest, put the Dutch oven (or baking stone) in the oven and preheat to 450 (F). If you set the lid of the Dutch oven to the side or on the bottom rack you can allow it to preheat without having the extra step of to take it off before you can put in your dough. This might sound nitpicky, but the cast iron will be quite hot and heavy, so minimizing the number of steps is as much a matter of safety as convenience. Note that if you're using a baking tray, the thermal mass is negligible, so you won't gain anything by pre-heating with it in the oven.
• Just before you put the dough in the oven, dust the surface of the bread with flour. Using a bread-knife, make slashes about a half-inch into the top of the dough. Three parallel cuts will give a classic look, but you can experiment with other patterns. There might be some important technical reason for doing this, but as far as I'm concerned, its main purpose is to make your loaves look sexy. (Confession: I was really excited to play with my new proofing baskets, so the bread I used to illustrate this post look a little different than yours will.)
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is a rich brown. If you're using a Dutch oven, take the top off about 20 minutes in. This lets moisture escape so that the crust can crisp.
• See how long you can let the bread cool before trying a slice. The bread continues to cook after you take it out of the oven, so cutting into it can harm the texture. In the book, Hertzberg and François suggest that letting it cool for about two hours is ideal.

SOUPER BOULE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the broth and nutmeg in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the horseradish and 1/2 tablespoon butter.
• Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, thyme and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden brown and soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, then stir into the broth mixture.
• Slice the bread at 1 1/2-inch intervals with a large serrated knife, stopping about three-quarters of the way to the bottom. Repeat, making perpendicular cuts, to create a crosshatch pattern in the top of the loaf.
• Set the loaf on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Stuff the gruyere and onions into the slits, breaking the cheese into smaller pieces, if necessary. Pour any remaining broth mixture into the slits. Cover the bread loosely with foil and bake until warm, about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the cheese melts and the bread is toasted, 20 to 25 more minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

THE MIRACLE BOULE

Steps:

• Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 cups/375 ml water to blend. What you'll have is a wet, shaggy, sticky dough, but not so wet as to be batter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place for at least 12 hours, and up to 24 hours. It's ready for the next step when the surface is dotted with bubbles.
• Flour a work surface and dump the dough out onto it. Sprinkle over a little more flour and fold it once or twice. Cover with the tea towel and let rest 15 minutes.
• Using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers, shape the dough into a ball. Coat a cotton towel with cornmeal, wheat bran or flour and lay the dough on it, seam-side down. Dust with more cornmeal, wheat bran or flour. (You need quite a lot because you want to be sure the dough doesn't stick to the towel). Cover and let rise for about 2 hours. When ready, the dough will be more than double in size.
• Half an hour before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C. Put a 2-liter cast-iron pot or Dutch oven (cocotte) inside to heat.
• When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven and turn the dough into it, seam-side up. (It will look messy, but this is OK.) Shake the pot to settle the bread evenly. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the loaf is nicely browned, another 15 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.