QUICK RUSTIC FRENCH BREAD
A VERY QUICK RUSTIC FRENCH BREAD
AN OVERNIGHT DOUGH…CHILLED IN THE FRIDGE TO DEVELOP THE SUGARS AND FLAVOR THE LOAF….FOUR INGREDIENTS, NOTHING MORE
Four ingredients, two days, space in your fridge and no time at all…….and you have a lovely little rustic French loaf. This is another quick bread. Before I jump into sourdoughs come the new year I want people to feel comfortable with the idea that bread can be easy. Bread can be quick. You can fit making bread into your life rather seamlessly.
As a beginner I tried anything. A lot of quick yeast breads that got my hands in the dough and a feel for what stiff dough, wet dough, pre ferments, dough development, overnight retarding, shaping techniques and baking styles felt like. Each bread has its place and time in the kitchen.
This lovely little loaf is a piece of cake. It is mixed quickly using flour, water, yeast and salt. Dough can be developed by hand or in a mixer without a significant amount of extra flour added. You can adjust the hydration to your liking and I suggest messing around with that feeling to find a dough that suits you. After developed the dough is kept in the fridge overnight for a slow ferment and development of the natural sugars. Slowing down the fermentation time by chilling the dough creates more flavor in the final loaf. The development of more sugars increases the color of your crust. The next day you pull the dough from the fridge 4 hours prior to baking. When the 4 hours are up you divide and roughly shape the dough into free form batards. Place in a hot 500 degree oven and bake! Nothing to it!
Ingredients: 6 cups of artisan bread flour…..1 3/4 teaspoon of quick commercial yeast…..2 1/4 teaspoon of salt…….3- 3 1/2 cups ice cold water
the mix:
in a bowl combine all the ingredients
pour out on table and stretch and fold for 5 to 10 minutes to develop the gluten
THIS METHOD OF STETCH AND FOLD IS TO BE DONE WITHOUT ADDING ADDITIONAL FLOUR. THE MORE THE DOUGH IS WORKED THE MORE ELASTIC IT WILL BECOME AS THE GLUTEN DEVELOPS INTO MORE ORGANIZED STRANDS. ( Follow the video example to understand the technique) LET THE DOUGH REST OCCASIONALLY AND BEGIN THE STRETCH AND FOLD METHOD AGAIN UNTIL THE DOUGH HOLDS TOGETHER IN A NICE BALL AND IS NOT TOO STICKY
MOVE DOUGH TO AN OILED BOWL….GENTLY ROLL DOUGH IN OIL TO COAT….COVER WITH PLASTIC WRAP……PLACE IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT
PULL DOUGH FROM FRIDGE 4 HOURS BEFORE BAKING
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PULL DOUGH FROM FRIDGE 4 HOURS BEFORE BAKING 〰️
PULL YOUR DOUGH OUT OF THE FRIDGE THE NEXT DAY ROUGHLY 4 HOURS BEFORE WANTING TO BAKE OFF. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR YOUR DOUGH TO BE DOUBLE IN BULK FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE. THE EXTRA HOURS IN THE WARMER TEMPERATURE OF THE KITCHEN WILL KICK THE PROOFING INTO GEAR AND YOU WILL GAIN MORE BULK IN YOUR DOUGH.
SCALE AND SHAPE
OVEN SHOULD BE PREHEATED TO 500 DEGREES F
THIS FORMULA WILL GIVE YOU 2-3 LOAVES DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF LOAF YOU ARE GOING FOR.
FLOUR THE SURFACE OF YOUR TABLE…..TIP DOUGH OUT……FLOUR THE TOP OF YOUR DOUGH……CUT WITH DOUGH KNIFE INTO 2 OR 3 PIECES.
CAREFULLY, WITHOUT DEFLATING THE DOUGH, ROLL IN FLOUR AND MOVE EACH FREE FORM LOAF TO EITHER A PEEL FOR SLIDING ONTO A BAKING STONE IN THE OVEN OR A SHEET TRAY FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN AND SPRINKLED WITH CORNMEAL.
BAKE LOAVES UNTIL BROWNED AND HOLLOW WHEN TAPPED ON THE BOTTOM!
NOW MAKE GARLIC BREAD!
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NOW MAKE GARLIC BREAD! 〰️
In a pan on the stove, melt butter with chopped garlic and chopped parsley…….salt and pepper too. Slice your French bread, dip the top of each slice into the butter and garlic and line a sheet tray with the sliced bread. Put in the oven at 400 degrees F until browned and crisped up nicely!
