Recipe | Bread
Country Bread (Pain de Campagne)

This is my favourite bread recipe at the moment - a country style loaf using a sourdough starter. I've been making a loaf every Saturday morning for months now. The original version of this recipe is from Treuille and Ferrigno (1998), which is a book I'd thoroughly recommend for those just starting to make bread. .

Variation 1: With added yeast

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
200 ml water (1/3 boiling water and 2/3 cold tap water)

  • Sprinkle yeast over the water.
  • Leave for 5 min.
  • Stir to dissolve.

50 grams rye flour (or wholemeal flour, or just more white flour)
325 grams strong white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

  • Mix together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre

250 ml (about a cup) of Starter

  • Pour into the well in the flour mixture.
  • Pour over the yeasted water.
  • Mix in the flour from the sides to form a stiff, sticky dough.
  • (If the mixture is too dry then 1 tablespoon of water - 1 tablespoon is a lot.)
  • Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
  • Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 min)
  • Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise for 2 hours.
  • Knock back.
  • Leave to rest for 10 min.
  • Shape the dough into a round loaf.
  • Place on a floured baking sheet, cover, and prove until doubled in size (about 1 hour; the book says 1 1/2 hours but I found this too long and the dough becomes over-proved.)
  • Dust the loaf with flour.
  • Cut slashes in the top (a grid formed by 3 parallel slashes crossed by another set of 3 is traditional)
  • Bake at 220ยบ C until golden brown and hollow sounding (about 30-40 min; the book says 60 min, but I've never had to cook for longer than 40 min).
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Variation 2: Without added yeast

A different recipe with no yeast, less starter and more water.

No yeast
250 ml water
50 grams rye flour (or wholemeal flour, or just more white flour)
325 grams strong white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
150 ml Starter

  • Prepare as above, but leave to 2-6 hours for the initial rise and 2-4 hours to proof in a floured basket.

Source

Treuille, E. and Ferrigno, U. (1998). Pain de Campagne: French country-style bread with a sourdough starter. Bread: Baking by hand or bread-machine, p. 85. London: Dorling Kindersley.

A great book on bread making. It jams a surprising amount into a relatively few pages. It has section on general bread making, then specific recipes. And the photography is fantastic. Thoroughly recommended.