FRENCH BREADS

Method

1. Into a large bowl, add the flour and salt.

• • 700g Bread flour
  • 22g Salt

2. Into a small jug, add the water and yeast and stir the mixture together to soften the yeast. If you are using “Active Dry Yeast” you will need to let the yeast sit in the water for 5 minutes to activate. If you are using “Instant Dry Yeast” you do not need to wait.

• • 490g Water
  • 4.5g Instant Yeast or 9g Fresh Yeast

3. Pour the yeast liquid over the dry ingredients and then using a spatula or your hand, work the liquid into the dry ingredients, until you can’t see any more flour.

4. We aren’t looking to knead the dough here, we simply want to mix the dry and wet ingredients until they are just combined.

5. Once you can see no more dry bits in your bowl, Cover the dough and rest it for 30 minutes.

6. After 30 minutes, lightly wet your hands and stretch and fold the dough. This is simply the process of grabbing the underside of the dough, stretching it up, and lifting it into the centre. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and then grab the underside of the dough again, lift it up and stretch it into the centre. We are going to do a total of 4 stretch and folds.

7. Once you have completed your folds, cover the dough and rest it for another 30 minutes.

8. Repeat the stretching and folding process and cover the dough for 30 minutes. At this point, you can also knead the dough just ever so slightly after your stretch and folds. Once you have finished the S&F, flip the dough over so the smooth side is facing up in the bowel, then just gently cup the dough a few times with your hands, then let it rest again.

9. Repeat the stretch and fold process two more times – this will mean you have done a total of 12 stretch and folds over a 2 hour period.

10. After you have just completed your final stretch and fold, lift the dough out of the bowl and transfer it into a square container. This will make the next part of the process much easier. Cover the container and refrigerate it overnight to ferment.

11. You can either mix the dough later at night and leave it overnight in the fridge or mix it very early in the morning and give it a minimum of 8 hours in the fridge.

12. After the dough has rested in the fridge, use a floured dough scraper to cut the dough away from the edge of the square container.

13. Flour the top of the dough quite liberally and also flour your work surface.

14. Flip the dough out of the square container onto your work surface. If it is sticking slightly, just use a dough scraper to get under the container and pry it out.

15. Flour the dough again, and then using a metal dough scraper, press the edges of the dough in, so that you pack it into a nice neat square shape. A metal dough scraper will make a huge difference here vs using a knife so I would recommend getting one.

16. Then, use the scraper to cut the dough into 6 equal rectangles. Each piece should weigh roughly 180-200g but as long as you cut them relatively evenly you shouldn’t need to weigh them.

17. Now we need to pre-shape each rectangle into a rough log.

18. Ensure the short side of the dough is facing you and fold the bottom part up about ⅔ of the way. Then take the edges and tuck the corners of the dough towards the centre.

19. Then, take the top part of the dough and fold this down, just overlapping the seam you just created ever so slightly. Tuck the corner of the dough towards the centre. You should be left with a very rough oval shape.

20. Finally, take the top part of the dough again, and fold this down all the way to the bottom, pinching the dough together to form a sealed seam along the bottom.

21. Use a floured dough scraper to loosen the dough from the bench then gently roll the log in between your hands.

22. Lift the log onto a tray that is lightly floured and repeat with the remaining dough.

23. Cover the logs lightly with a tea towel and let them proof for 30 minutes.

24. After 30 minutes, lightly flour the top of the logs (as they may have gone slightly sticky) and use a floured dough scraper to lift them up onto a floured work surface.

25. Use the heel of your hands to de-gas the dough, flattening it into a rough oval shape.

26. Then, take the top part of the dough and fold this down about half way, pinching the dough together to seal it in the centre.

27. Rotate the dough 180 degrees and repeat this, taking the top part of the dough and folding it over, so it overlaps the seam you just created ever so slightly.

28. Then, take the top part of the dough and fold this down again, sealing it to the bottom of the dough and using your fingers to pinch the seam together.

29. Roll the dough gently under your hands and apply a slight bit of pressure to the edge of the dough to create a small tail to the baguette.

30. Lift the baguette onto a floured baking couche or baking paper. Repeat the process with all the dough, making sure that you leave a fold of couche or baking paper in between each baguette so they do not proof into each other.

31. Loosely cover them with a tea towel and proof them for 1 hour.

32. At this point, preheat your oven to 250C/480F Non-Fan Assisted, with a pizza stone or a flat tray in the centre of the oven. You want to ensure the oven is nice and hot so you get a good oven spring to the baguette.

33. Once the baguettes have proofed, take a large tray or a pizza peel and place a large square of baking paper onto it. This will make it much easier to launch the baguettes.

34. Quickly and confidently, flip the baguettes off of the couch or baking paper onto your baguette launch peel so the seam is now facing up.

35. Then flip the baguette onto your baking paper lined pizza peel/tray.

36. If your oven is big enough you can bake 6 at once or just do 3 at a time and let the remaining baguettes proof for a little longer.

37. Once you have the baguettes lined up, use a razor blade to score the top of the dough in a similar pattern to the design below.

38. When you are slashing the bread, make sure the top of each slash overlaps just slightly with the bottom of the previous score. Also, only score in the centre third of the dough (indicated by the dotted line). Don’t worry if the dough tugs ever so slightly as you slash.

39. Immediately slide the baguettes into the oven onto the pizza stone or tray that has been pre-heating.

40. As soon as you have slid them in, splash about ½ cup of water onto the bottom of the oven to create steam. This is crucial to giving you a nice crust.

41. Close the oven door quickly and bake the baguettes for 18-22 minutes, or until they are a nice deep golden brown.

42. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for 30 minutes.

Method

For the quantities below, it will make a slightly smaller loaf of bread. You can also use the increased quantities in the ingredient list above if you want to make a larger loaf.

1. Into a tall jug, add the cool water, then pour in milk, and yeast. Stir the mixture together to combine. If you are using “Active Dry Yeast” you will need to let the yeast sit in the water for 5 minutes to activate. If you are using “Instant Dry Yeast” you do not need to wait.

• • 200g Cool Water
  • 150g Whole Milk
  • 6g Instant Yeast or 10g Fresh Yeast

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, salt, sugar and cold cubed butter.

• • 500g White Bread Flour
  • 20g Sugar
  • 20g Salt
  • 50g Cold, Unsalted Butter

3. Place the mixer on a low speed and slowly pour in the yeast mixture

4. Mix the dough for 4 minutes on a low speed then increase the speed to medium and mix for a further 6-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should come cleanly away from the side of the bowl when it is ready.

5. Lift the dough out of the mixer and shape into a rough ball on the work surface. Lift the ball of dough into a lightly oiled boil and proof for about 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.

Tiger Coating

1. While the dough is proofing, place the ingredients for the tiger coating in a bowl and stir them together with a spoon.

• • 150g Rice Flour
  • 4.5g Instant Yeast
  • 15g Sugar
  • 15g Sesame Oil
  • 110g Water

2. This will make slightly more topping than you need. You want to add enough water until the mixture is almost like a wet porridge consistency. If it is too thick then it won’t crack as well on the loaf. If it is too thin then as you spread it on the bread it will begin to drip off.

3. Cover the bowl and let it rest.

Final Shaping

1. Take a dough scraper and scrape the proofed dough out of the bowl.

2. Lift the dough onto a lightly floured surfaces so the smooth side is facing down.

3. Gently flatten the dough with your hands into a rough circle.

4. Take the left hand side of the dough, lift it up and fold it into the centre.

5. Take the right hand side of the dough, lift it up and fold this over the centre. This should give you a rough rectangle shape, with the short side of the dough facing your body.

6. Then, with two hands, gently lift the top side of the dough, stretch it up slightly, then fold it down, pressing it into the centre of the dough so it seals slightly.

7. Continue lifting the top of the dough up, folding it down, and sealing it with your hands. You should be able to do about 3 folds in total.

8. When pressing the dough and sealing it as you fold, try not to press too much air out of the dough and over compress it.

9. Once you have performed the final fold, gently roll the dough over so the smooth side is now facing up. If the bottom of the dough isn’t sealed well, just flip it over and use your hands to stitch the bottom seam together.

10. Carefully lift the dough into a very lightly oiled bread tin so that the smooth side of the dough is facing up.

11. At this point, if you want to add the tiger topping, take the bowl and stir the mixture together. Again – check it is not too thick and add a small splash of water if you need to loosen it slightly.

12. Take the tiger topping, and spoon it onto the top of the bread. Use the back of a spoon (or your fingers is easier!) and spread the topping out so that it evenly covers the entire loaf. Again, you may not need all the tiger topping.

13. If you are not adding the tiger topping then you can skip this step.

14. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rise for 1 hour.

15. About 30 minutes before dough is done proofing, pre-heat the oven to 210C/410F Fan Assisted.

16. If you are making the regular Pain De Mie, once it is proofed, take a small razor blade and genty slash the top of the bread. This is optional but it helps to allow steam to release which prevents your bread from potentially bursting. It also gives you a nice decoration too.

17. Open the oven and slide the loaf tin in. If you are making the Pain De Mie without the tiger topping, take a small amount of water and splash this in the bottom of the oven, as you slide the bread in. The steam will give it a nice crust.

18. If you are making the tiger bread there is no need to do this.

19. Bake the bread for 10 minutes at 210C/410F and then immediately lower the temperature to 175C/350F and continue to bake for a further 45 minutes if you are making the large loaf. If you are making the smaller loaf, it should only need an additional 35 minutes.

20. The loaf should be a really nice golden colour when baked. If you find the loaf is browning too quickly, simply cover the top of the loaf with a little bit of foil.

21. Once baked, remove the loaf from the tin and place it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

22. You must let the loaf cool for at least an hour before cutting. The crumb needs time to cool completely in order to set, otherwise when you cut the loaf, it will be dense on the inside. Cooling it will ensure the texture is springy and fluffy.

Method

1. Into a tall jug, add the water, then pour in the black treacle and olive oil.

• • 300g Water
  • 25g Black Treacle
  • 50g Olive Oil

2. Pour the yeast in and stir it through to combine. If you are using “Active Dry Yeast” you will need to let the yeast sit in the water for 5 minutes to activate. If you are using “Instant Dry Yeast” you do not need to wait.

• • 14g Instant Yeast

3. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour and salt.

• • 400g Bread Flour
  • 130g Rye Flour
  • 15g Salt

4. Place the stand mixer on a medium speed, and knead for 5-6 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Scrape down the side of the bowl as it is mixing if any ingredients get stuck.

5. Lift the dough out of the bowl and gently tighten the dough into a rough boule shape under your hands.

6. Lift the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with cling film, and allow it to rise for 1.5 hours.

7. Once the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl, and place the dough onto a lightly floured surface, so the smooth side is facing down.

8. Flatten the dough into a rough circle and then using your finger tips, grab an edge of the dough and fold it into the centre. Repeat this process, peeling up the edge of the dough and sealing it into the centre, until you have gone all the way around and have a nice tight boule.

9. Flip the dough over and using your hands, rotate the dough in a circular motion under your palms, to tighten the dough slightly. You should now have a very smooth top to the dough.

10. Lift the dough up and flip it over into a round floured banneton basket so that the seam of the dough is facing up. You can pinch the seam together with your hands when it is in the basket just to make sure the dough is fully sealed.

11. Cover the dough with a tea towel and proof it for 1 hour.

12. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F Fan Assisted.

13. Once the dough has proofed, take a baking tray and carefully flip the dough out onto the tray.

14. Use a small sieve to dust a light layer of flour on top of the dough.

15. As an optional decoration you can score the dough with a razor blade. Start by taking some unflavoured floss and gently mark the dough into 8 triangles (see PDF for image).

16. Then, use a razor blade to score the top of the dough. Follow the lines you just marked on the dough and score small slashes along the lines. This will give the dough areas for the steam to escape and prevent it from cracking or bursting.

17. Place the tray into the oven and immediately splash some water on the bottom of the oven to create steam.

18. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 175C/350F and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until it is a nice deep golden brown.

19. The bread is done when you flip it over and tap the bottom and you get a hollow sound.

20. Cool the bread on a wire rack for atleast and hour then cut.