Pain De Campagne Country French Bread Recipes

PAIN DE CAMPAGNE - COUNTRY FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• To make the sponge, whisk the 1/2 teaspoon yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in the whole wheat flour until the mixture resembles a thick batter. Beat for about 100 strokes to form longs strands of gluten. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let sit at room temperature for 2 to 8 hours (longer is better for flavor development). You can also let the poolish ripen in the refrigerator for 12 to 15 hours, bringing it back to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
• When the poolish is ready, it will be bubbly and loose, with a yeasty, sour aroma. Scrape the poolish into a bowl and stir in the 2 1/2 cups water and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon yeast. Stir well to combine. Add the bread flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough becomes too difficult to stir.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead for 10 to 12 minutes, adding more flour only when the dough becomes too sticky to handle. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and knead it for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should have a smooth surface and spring back to the touch. Shape the dough into a round and cover with a damp cloth for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the surface of the dough with oil. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 to 3 hours.
• Deflate the dough and cut it into two pieces. Shape the dough into two rounds, cover them with plastic or a damp cloth, and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Shape the dough into baguettes. Place a heavily floured cloth on a baking sheet, arranging a fold down the center to separate the loaves. Place the loaves, seam-side up, on the floured cloth. Dust the tops of the loaves with flour, cover with a damp towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk again, about two hours.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal. Gently transfer the risen loaves to the baking sheet, placing them seam-side down on the cornmeal. Make several diagonal slashes in the loaf with a serrated knife or razor blade.
• Immediately place the scored loaves in the preheated oven. Bake the bread until the loaves are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the loaves on wire racks.

SOURDOUGH PAIN DE CAMPAGNE

Steps:

• Autolyse
• Mix the flours and water until incorporated. Cover and set aside 30-90 minutes (see notes).
• Adding Starter and Salt
• Sprinkle about half the salt on your dough, fold the dough over itself and then sprinkle the other half of the salt on the dough. Finally, fold the dough again and add your starter to the top and around the dough.
• Work the salt and starter into the dough with both hands by gently pressing, stretching and squeezing. Pause if the dough starts to tear. Cover when finished.
• Gluten Development and Bulk Fermentation
• Let the dough rest 20-30 minutes after mixing in the starter and salt.
• Then perform at intervals of 30-60 minutes: 1 round of coil folding, 1 lamination, and 2-3 more rounds of coil folding. (See videos of coil folding and lamination after the recipe instructions.) The dough should begin to feel bubbly and crackly by the final coil fold. If you prefer traditional stretching and folding, that will work too. However, if you are going to laminate the dough as suggested, do it relatively early in the process.
• From the point of mixing in salt and starter, my gluten development was spread over 4 hours, and the dough only fermented for an additional 40 minutes after the last coil fold. My kitchen temperature was in the high 70s, though, and depending on your starter strength and room temperature, you may need more or less time.
• Preshape, Bench Rest and Shaping
• Using wet fingers or a dough scraper, remove your dough from the bowl and onto a lightly floured counter.
• Shape the dough into a ball, cover and let rest about 25 minutes.
• Lightly flour your proofing basket.
• Flour and flip over your relaxed dough, and then shape it into a batard or boule (or oblong batard).
• Place the dough in your proofing basket seam-side up.
• Final Proof
• Numerous proofing strategies are valid. For this loaf, I proofed at room temperature for 45 minutes, and then in the refrigerator for 9 hours.
• Baking
• Preheat your oven and baking vessel to 500F for 30 minutes.
• Flip your dough from the proofing basket onto parchment paper (or directly into your hot baking vessel). Score the top of the dough, and lift the parchment into the baking vessel.
• Bake for
• 20 minutes at 500F covered
• 8-10 minutes at 450F covered
• 5-10 minutes at 450F uncovered
• The internal temperature of your finished bread should be over 205F.