This Country Bread Recipe is For All of You Beginner Bakers Who Don’t Have A Sourdough Starter

This recipe makes an excellent country loaf with a soft crumb and a super crackly crispy curst. Using an overnight sponge really helps pack this loaf with flavour while minimising the commercial yeast flavour.

This video was born from the viewers of my sourdough bread video who asked how they can bake a decent loaf of bread without a sourdough starter. The sourdough starter is swapped out for a commercial yeast fermentation and the process is exactly the same (times may vary depending on temperature).

Check out the baking schedule and recipe below along with links to the equipment I use.

Catch me on Instagram to see my recipe testing for the videos I make for my channel. As ever, if you have a question, let me know in the comments or DM me on IG

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culinary_exploration

Sourdough bread video: https://youtu.be/4r8irdLuUtc

Soft morning rolls: https://youtu.be/_ZjBNFsvadQ

My Baking Equipment:

Bench scraper / dough cutter:
UK store: https://amzn.to/34wguad
US store: https://amzn.to/3bG68JZ

Bowl Scraper:
UK store: https://amzn.to/3nfdCrx
US Store: https://amzn.to/2RRKlr6

Dough scales:
UK store: https://amzn.to/3dOUtcV
US store: https://amzn.to/3aDJbWV

Precision scales (small quantities):
UK Store: https://amzn.to/3viElGy
US Store: https://amzn.to/2QQBllC

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Possible baking schedule:
Kitchen temperature: 28c / 82f - remember times will vary depending on your temperature / conditions.

Day 1:

22:00: Prepare the sponge and leave to ferment overnight at room temperature

Day 2:

10.00: Mix main dough, bench rest covered
10.30: Knead & proof
15.30: Shape & proof
16.30: Bake
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Recipe

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Overnight sponge:

75g room temperature water
3g dried yeast
75g strong white bread flour (mine has a protein content of 13%)

Main dough:

220g water
12g salt
125g overnight sponge (pre ferment / poolish)
375g Strong white bread flour (mine has a protein content of 13%)

Mix the overnight sponge ingredients together, cover and leave out at room temperature to ferment. This should take anywhere between 12-18 hours. If your kitchen is very warm then you may need to slow the process down a little in the fridge.

The next day you can mix 125g of the sponge with the water, bread flour, and salt. Mix to bring everything together and make sure the ingredients are well combined. Cover and leave out to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Turn the dough out on to your bench and knead for about two minutes to make sure everything is well mixed and there are’t any dry spots. Shape into a ball and pop it back in to your bowl, cover and proof at room temp until doubled in size (mine took 5 hours).

Shape into a ball as shown in the video and place into a basket or a bowl that’s been lined with a cloth dusted with flour. Cover and proof again until risen appreciably. Mine took 30 minutes.

Mist the inside of the cloche with water. Dust the top of the dough and turn out onto a peel or a piece of parchment (you’ll need something to transfer it to the baking stone.) Using a pair of scissors or a razor blade (or sharp knife) cut or score the dough to allow it to expand while baking. Slide the dough onto the baking stone and cover with the cloche. Bake in a pre-heated oven as follows:

Cooking times & temps:

Bake for the first 20 minutes on a baking stone covered with a cloche in an oven preheated to 220c for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes uncover and continue to bake at 220c until a golden to dark coloured crust has formed (mine took 30 minutes).

You can check out my sourdough bread video for other ways to bake if you don’t have a stone or a cloche.

Oven temps vary! Always keep an eye out while your bread is baking!

Enjoy… Let me know what you think! Cheers, Philip
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Видео This Country Bread Recipe is For All of You Beginner Bakers Who Don’t Have A Sourdough Starter канала Culinary Exploration