Rustic Country Bread - Hand Mixed Version
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1½ hours, plus 5 hours sitting, 2¾ hours rising, and 2 hours cooling
Yield
Makes 1 large round loaf
Ingredients
The Sponge
½ teaspoon instant yeast 1 cup water (room temperature)1 cup bread flour (5 ½ ounces/156 grams)1 cup whole-wheat flour (5 ounces/142 grams)The Dough
3 ½ cups bread flour (19 ¼ ounces/546 grams), plus more as needed to lightly dust work surface, hands, and dough½ cup rye flour (2 ½ ounces/71 grams)1 ⅓ cups water (room temperature), or more as needed2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons table saltBefore You Begin
Because of its high water content, the bread will be gummy if pulled from the oven too soon. To ensure the bread’s doneness, make sure its internal temperature reads 210 degrees by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the bottom of the loaf. Also, look at the crust—it should be very dark brown, almost black. Keep in mind that rising times vary depending on kitchen temperature (the times listed below are minimums). You can vary the texture by increasing or decreasing the flour. For bread with a finer crumb and less chewy texture, increase the flour by 1/4 cup increments. For coarser, chewier bread, decrease the flour by the same increments. To develop a crisp crust, you need to bake the bread on tiles or a stone. To vary flavors, add 1 tablespoon minced hearty herbs, such as rosemary or thyme, with the salt or mix in 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans just before kneading ends.
Instructions
- For the sponge, dissolve yeast into water in medium sized bowl. Mix in flours with rubber spatula to create stiff, wet dough. Cover with plastic wrap; let sit at room temperature for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight. (Can be refrigerated up to 24 hours; return to room temperature before continuing with recipe.)
- For dough, place sponge, 1 1/2 cups bread flour, rye flour, water, honey, and salt in large bowl. Stir mixture with wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Work in remaining 2 cups bread flour and turn dough out onto floured board. Knead by hand 5 minutes, incorporating no more than 1/4 cup additional flour. Dough will be very wet and sticky. Transfer dough to large, clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until tripled in size, at least 2 hours.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly dust hands and top of dough with flour. Following instructions 1 through 5, below, lightly press dough into a large disk. Fold toward center, overlapping edges easily. Using a large metal dough scraper or two metal spatulas, transfer dough; smooth side down, to colander or basket lined with heavily floured cheesecloth or linen. Cover loosely with large sheet of aluminum foil; let rise until almost doubled in size, at least 45 minutes.
- As soon as dough begins to rise, adjust oven rack to low center position and arrange quarry tiles on rack to form 18 by 12 inch surface or place large baking stone on rack. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Cover peel or back of large baking sheet with large piece of parchment. Invert dough onto peel and remove muslin. Use scissors or serrated knife to cut three slashes on top of the dough. With scissors, trim excess parchment around dough. Fill spray bottle with water and spritz dough four or five times.
- Slide dough, still on parchment, from peel onto tiles or stone; remove peel with quick backward jerk. Bake until instant read thermometer inserted in bread registers 210 degrees and crust is very brown (see photo below), 35 to 40 minutes, turning bread around after 25 minutes if not browning evenly. Turn oven off, open door, and let bread remain in oven for 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, then let cool to room temperature before slicing, about 2 hours. To crisp crust, warm in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Time
1½ hours, plus 5 hours sitting, 2¾ hours rising, and 2 hours coolingYield
Makes 1 large round loafIngredients
The Sponge
The Dough
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
The Sponge
The Dough
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
The Sponge
The Dough
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For our rustic country bread recipe, we decided to use a sponge starter, left to ferment and then combined with additional flour, water, and other ingredients. We soon learned that dough with a high water content produces a chewier texture. So we ended up with a wet dough, which was tricky to work with but resulted in the rough, chewy, and substantial loaf we were looking for. For a finishing touch to our rustic country bread recipe, we added whole wheat and rye flours to the ingredients because they contribute to this bread's full flavor.
Before You Begin
Because of its high water content, the bread will be gummy if pulled from the oven too soon. To ensure the bread’s doneness, make sure its internal temperature reads 210 degrees by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the bottom of the loaf. Also, look at the crust—it should be very dark brown, almost black. Keep in mind that rising times vary depending on kitchen temperature (the times listed below are minimums). You can vary the texture by increasing or decreasing the flour. For bread with a finer crumb and less chewy texture, increase the flour by 1/4 cup increments. For coarser, chewier bread, decrease the flour by the same increments. To develop a crisp crust, you need to bake the bread on tiles or a stone. To vary flavors, add 1 tablespoon minced hearty herbs, such as rosemary or thyme, with the salt or mix in 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans just before kneading ends.
Instructions
- For the sponge, dissolve yeast into water in medium sized bowl. Mix in flours with rubber spatula to create stiff, wet dough. Cover with plastic wrap; let sit at room temperature for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight. (Can be refrigerated up to 24 hours; return to room temperature before continuing with recipe.)
- For dough, place sponge, 1 1/2 cups bread flour, rye flour, water, honey, and salt in large bowl. Stir mixture with wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Work in remaining 2 cups bread flour and turn dough out onto floured board. Knead by hand 5 minutes, incorporating no more than 1/4 cup additional flour. Dough will be very wet and sticky. Transfer dough to large, clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until tripled in size, at least 2 hours.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly dust hands and top of dough with flour. Following instructions 1 through 5, below, lightly press dough into a large disk. Fold toward center, overlapping edges easily. Using a large metal dough scraper or two metal spatulas, transfer dough; smooth side down, to colander or basket lined with heavily floured cheesecloth or linen. Cover loosely with large sheet of aluminum foil; let rise until almost doubled in size, at least 45 minutes.
- As soon as dough begins to rise, adjust oven rack to low center position and arrange quarry tiles on rack to form 18 by 12 inch surface or place large baking stone on rack. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Cover peel or back of large baking sheet with large piece of parchment. Invert dough onto peel and remove muslin. Use scissors or serrated knife to cut three slashes on top of the dough. With scissors, trim excess parchment around dough. Fill spray bottle with water and spritz dough four or five times.
- Slide dough, still on parchment, from peel onto tiles or stone; remove peel with quick backward jerk. Bake until instant read thermometer inserted in bread registers 210 degrees and crust is very brown (see photo below), 35 to 40 minutes, turning bread around after 25 minutes if not browning evenly. Turn oven off, open door, and let bread remain in oven for 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, then let cool to room temperature before slicing, about 2 hours. To crisp crust, warm in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
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