A delightful, delicious, chewy, faux sourdough bread that is perfect for hearty sandwiches or dipping into a hot bowl of soup.
2020 was the year of sourdough? If we completely ignore everything else that happened that year as well. The popularity of sourdough has been on the rise since Kombucha became a mainstream trend some years back. But lockdowns and quarantines have propelled this ancient way of bread making into everyday homes.
I love sourdough. I love making sourdough. Back in the day (pre-2019) I was baking a loaf of sourdough every single week. But then it all changed - we packed our things and moved to New Zealand.
I bid farewell to Fabio (my sourdough starter) because I watched Border Security Aus and New Zealand...the last thing I wanted was for them to question my dehydrated flour-water mix. Besides, I knew that I could just make a brand new starter when I landed and settled in.
It never happened. I never made a starter. Why you may ask? It’s a commitment. It takes time, it takes money, it requires space. I said no.
But I did know that you can ferment baker’s instant or dry yeast for extended periods which changes the flavour of the bread. Gently mix some yeast with flour and water, and let those flavours develop overnight.
I tried it. And tasty bread it does make. Now, the flavour isn’t anywhere as intense as a sourdough loaf. But it’s good.
This recipe is for those of us with sourdough aspirations, with a healthy dose of sourdough commitment phobia.
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What You Need for this Recipe
Equipment
Making bread doesn't require any special equipment, but you will need a kitchen scale, some measuring spoons, mixing bowls, clean kitchen/tea towels.
Additional optional equipment includes - stand mixer, dutch oven or large cast-iron casserole dish, as well as a brotform or proofing basket.
Ingredients
- Flour
- Water
- Yeast
- Salt
- Sugar
- Oil
Substitutions/Variations
Bread Flour/Strong Flour/High-Grade Flour (white bread flour) has a protein content between 11-14%. This higher protein content is great for building gluten which results in the stretchy cohesive dough required for yeasted bread.
Substitute the white bread flour in the starter with wholewheat or wholemeal flour for some added flavour and variety to your loaf.
Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal.
Making Country Bread
Step 1 - Making the starter
- Combine the flour, warm water and yeast in a bowl. Mix until the flour is mostly hydrated.
- Cover the starter mixture with a tea towel and either leave on the kitchen counter overnight (if it is cool) or in the fridge (for the warmer days and months).
- The next morning, the starter should have risen and be covered in air pockets.
Step 2 - Making the bread dough
- Add the lukewarm water, yeast and sugar to the starter and mix to combine all ingredients.
- Add in about 400 grams of the flour, along with the salt and mix to form a loose shaggy dough.
- All the dough to rest for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Place half of the left over flour on the counter. Empty the bread dough on top of the flour, then sprinkle the rest of the flour onto the dough.
- Grease your bowl with vegetable oil and set aside.
- Optional – grease your hands with a bit of vegetable oil.
- Knead the dough for 10 – 12 minutes or until you have achieved the windowpane stage.
- Place your dough into the greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and allow to proof for 1 to 2 hours.
Step 3 - Shaping the dough
- Prepare the banneton (brotform or proofing basket) by flouring the inside of the basket. If you don’t have a banneton, drape a clean tea towel in a glass or plastic bowl, and flour liberally.
- You can either make a single large loaf or divide the loaf into two and shape into your desired shapes.
- Place the dough into the proofing baskets or bowls, seam side up. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 to 90 minutes. Until the dough has roughly increased in size by about 50% or passes the poke test.
Step 4 - Baking the bread
- Preheat the oven to 220°C or200°C fan.
- Cut out the baking paper on which you can place your bread dough. If using a cast-iron pot, cut the paper to make two long handles for ease of bread placement.
- Option 1 – if using a dutch oven or cast-iron pot, place it into the oven to preheat.
- Option 2 – if using a baking sheet (cookie sheet), place an additional cookie sheet or dish into the bottom of the oven to preheat.
- Take the bread out of the banneton or proofing baskets. Place on the baking paper and score the bread.
- Option 1 – place the bread into the cast-iron pot, splash with water, close and place in oven.
- Option 2 – place the bread onto the cookie sheet. Put the bread into the oven. Pour boiling water into the sheet or dish at the bottom of the oven to create steam.
- Option 1 – Bake for 20 minutes and remove the lid from the pot. Before baking for an additional 15 – 20 minutes. The bread will be done when it has reached an internal temperature of 100°C (190 F) or sounds hollow when tapped.
- Option 2 – bake the bread for 35 – 40 minutes. The bread will be done when it has reached an internal temperature of 100°C (190 F) or sounds hollow when tapped.
See the web story here.
Pro Tips for this Recipe
The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.
For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.
Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.
Autolyse – this recipe calls for a resting stage before adding the final flour and kneading. This allows the flour to absorb all the water, which stimulates gluten development. The dough can be left to rest for anything from 20 minutes up to 3 hours.
Trust the recipe. At first, it may seem that there is just too much moisture in the dough. It’s a mess, its sticking to your hands. But as you knead and work that gluten it will become more cohesive and tighten up.
Kneading can be done by hand or by using a stand mixer. I usually knead doughs by hand, because my KitchenAid can no longer handle it.
The windowpane test lets you know when the dough has been kneaded enough. Simply take about half of your bread dough and gently stretch it out. If you can hold it up to the light and see the light coming through without the dough tearing, she is done.
Salt is crucial bread. Many people will be tempted to decrease the salt within the recipe, but the bread just won’t taste as good. Also, keep in mind to not put the salt directly to the yeast. It will kill the yeast. Keep them socially distanced, only being allowed to meet up in the dough.
Using a cast-iron pot or Dutch oven is the gold standard when it comes to sourdough or rustic artisanal bread baking. The pot is placed in the oven while you are preheating. After I’ve placed my bread into the pot, I will flick some water over the top of the bread or onto the pot lid. This creates steam. Baking on a baking sheet is perfectly fine if you do not have a cast-iron pot.
Steam is great for making sure your bread gets the biggest oven spring it can in the first 15 -20 minutes of baking before the crust starts to brown which impedes growth. If you don’t have a Dutch oven or a cast iron pot, the easiest way to create steam is to place a cookie sheet or other dish in the bottom of your oven while it is preheating. Once you have put your bread in, pour boiling water into the cookie sheet or dish.
Scoring a loaf allows for the bread dough to rise in an orderly fashion. Not scoring a loaf will result in the bread expanding at the weakest point on the loaf. Score using a bread lame or a knife. Make sure the score is at least 2cm deep. Creative or decorative scorings are usually rather shallow.
The poke-proof test is a simple test to determine whether your dough is finished proofing.
- You poke and the dough pops back immediately: under proofed
- You poke and the dough doesn’t pop back at all: over-proofed
- You poke and the dough pops back but still leaves an indentation: perfectly proofed
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Making Country Bread
📖 Recipe
Country Bread
Ingredients
Starter
- 120 grams bread flour (high-grade/strong)
- 150 grams lukewarm water
- ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
Bread Dough
- All the starter
- 230 grams lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons white sugar (caster/granulated)
- 480 grams bread flour (high-grade/strong)
- 10 grams salt 2 tsp
- 2-3 tablespoons neutral oil
Instructions
- Starter
- Combine the flour, warm water and yeast in a bowl. Mix until the flour is mostly hydrated.
- Cover the starter mixture with a tea towel and either leave on the kitchen counter overnight (if it is cool) or in the fridge (for the warmer days and months).
- The next morning, the starter should have risen and be covered in air pockets.
- Bread Dough
- Add the lukewarm water, yeast and sugar to the starter and mix to combine all ingredients.
- Add in about 400 grams of the flour, along with the salt and mix to form a loose shaggy dough.
- All the dough to rest for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Place half of the leftover flour on the counter. Empty the bread dough on top of the flour, then sprinkle the rest of the flour onto the dough.
- Grease your bowl with vegetable oil and set it aside.
- Optional – grease your hands with a bit of vegetable oil.
- Knead the dough for 10 – 12 minutes or until you have achieved the windowpane stage.
- Place your dough into the greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and allow to proof for 1 to 2 hours.
- Shaping the dough
- Prepare the banneton (brotform or proofing basket) by flouring the inside of the basket. If you don’t have a banneton, drape a clean tea towel in a glass or plastic bowl, and flour liberally.
- You can either make a single large loaf or divide the loaf into two and shape into your desired shapes.
- Place the dough into the proofing baskets or bowls, seam side up. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 to 90 minutes (dependent on how warm it is). Until the dough has roughly increased in size by about 50% or passes the poke test.
- Baking the bread
- Preheat the oven to 220°C or 200°C fan-assisted.
- Cut out the baking paper on which you can place your bread dough. If using a cast-iron pot, cut the paper to make two long handles for ease of bread placement.
- Option 1 – if using a dutch oven or cast-iron pot, place it into the oven to preheat.
- Option 2 – if using a baking sheet (cookie sheet), place an additional cookie sheet or dish into the bottom of the oven to preheat.
- Take the bread out of the banneton or proofing baskets. Place on the baking paper and score the bread.
- Option 1 – place the bread into the cast-iron pot, splash with water, close and place in oven.
- Option 2 – place the bread onto the cookie sheet. Put the bread into the oven. Pour boiling water into the sheet or dish at the bottom of the oven to create steam.
- Option 1 – Bake for 20 minutes and remove the lid from the pot. Before baking for an additional 15 – 20 minutes. The bread will be done when it has reached an internal temperature of 100°C (190 F) or sounds hollow when tapped.
- Option 2 – bake the bread for 35 – 40 minutes. The bread will be done when it has reached an internal temperature of 100°C (190 F) or sounds hollow when tapped.
- Allow the bread to cool completely on a wired cooling rack before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs,I earn from qualifying purchases.
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