Slow-Proved Bread Boule
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| Lovely crusty boule with homemade butter and homemade raspberry, balsamic and vanilla jam |
An Absolute Staple...
Bread. Probably the oldest dish in human history. Although we know in a reasonable amount of detail that the ancient Egyptians heavily depended on bread as a mainstay, we are increasingly discovering more and more evidence to suggest that bread dates back even further with charred bread remains found in Jordan over 11,000 years old and, although no bread-making remains were found, milling stones were found as old as 30,000 years old which historians reckon were probably used to mill flour.
It is high in carbohydrates for energy, does not spoil quickly and often contains up to 10% protein without even adding additives, it is no wonder why humans developed with bread at the core of their diet.
Pretty much all bread up until the commercial production of baker's yeast in the 19th century would have either been an unleavened bread like a flatbread, pita or naan; or would have been a sourdough bread leavened with natural yeasts in the grain.
I will be doing a separate article on sourdough soon and so I won't go down that rabbit hole with you just yet. EDIT: You can see my sourdough starter recipe here now!
This being said, there was definitely a long period where the frothy scum on top of freshly fermented beer would be used in the bread as it was full of yeast. We call this waste product Barm, which I suspect is the reason why in Yorkshire, a bread roll is called a barm cake.
Nowadays you can pick up dried yeast from any baking suppliers or supermarket and so I always feel it is a shame that most people do not make their own bread at home given how absolutely delicious and versatile it is.
I suspect the idea of bread taking a long time to make or being 'complicated' puts a lot of people off but hopefully, my guides, including this one, will help bust those myths for you.
I will be starting off, not with a quickly proved loaf, but a traditional 'boule' (French for 'ball'). The reason for this is it will demonstrate the importance of patience with bread and that it actually isn't that time consuming at all.
It is high in carbohydrates for energy, does not spoil quickly and often contains up to 10% protein without even adding additives, it is no wonder why humans developed with bread at the core of their diet.
Pretty much all bread up until the commercial production of baker's yeast in the 19th century would have either been an unleavened bread like a flatbread, pita or naan; or would have been a sourdough bread leavened with natural yeasts in the grain.
I will be doing a separate article on sourdough soon and so I won't go down that rabbit hole with you just yet. EDIT: You can see my sourdough starter recipe here now!
This being said, there was definitely a long period where the frothy scum on top of freshly fermented beer would be used in the bread as it was full of yeast. We call this waste product Barm, which I suspect is the reason why in Yorkshire, a bread roll is called a barm cake.
Nowadays you can pick up dried yeast from any baking suppliers or supermarket and so I always feel it is a shame that most people do not make their own bread at home given how absolutely delicious and versatile it is.
I suspect the idea of bread taking a long time to make or being 'complicated' puts a lot of people off but hopefully, my guides, including this one, will help bust those myths for you.
I will be starting off, not with a quickly proved loaf, but a traditional 'boule' (French for 'ball'). The reason for this is it will demonstrate the importance of patience with bread and that it actually isn't that time consuming at all.
- Makes 1 30cm boule
- Prep - 24 hours (Don't panic!)
- Cooking - 50 mins
Let's Get The Ingredients...
- 550g Strong White Bread Flour (Plus plenty for dusting)
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 7g Dried Yeast
- 350ml Water (Lukewarm)
- Polenta or Semolina for dusting (Optional but recommended)
Now To Cook...
Now as mentioned before, there are quicker ways to make bread which I will be going over at a later date but this is a really good place to start because it should help you gain an understanding of how the breadmaking process works.
Start by putting your flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and mixing together thoroughly. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, make a well in the middle of this dry flour mix and pour in the water. Start stirring the water at the edges so it slowly starts picking up the flour and pulling it in and continue to do this until starts to form a sticky lumpy dough.
Once the water and flour mix is combined together, flour a clean large surface and turn out the contents of the bowl onto said surface. It's going to be pretty messy still at this point so flour your hands and start kneading. An effective kneading technique is to use 'heel' of your hands in the middle of the mixture and move one away from you and the other towards you to stretch and tear the dough. Each time you do a stretch, fold the dough in half back in on itself and rotate the dough 90 degrees on the surface and repeat. You can keep dusting with flour during this stage to stop it sticking to your hands or the surface and it will eventually not need to be dusted to come away cleanly but make sure these dustings are light as you don't want to make a horrible dry dough.
After about 10 minutes or so you should have a fairly springy dough and if it's your first time making bread you may be a little unsure on if it's too sticky still or not. Shape the dough into a ball and lift with one hand, when you let go, it should stretch as it drops, like it is still stuck to your hand, but ultimately it will actually come away from your hand cleanly. This is perfect.
Take this dough ball, and place it back into a well-floured bowl, sprinkle a little flour on top and cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or cling film. Keep the bowl somewhere dry and warm, I find on top of my gas boiler for my central heating is absolutely perfect.
Leave it for a good 2-3 hours. This is longer than a lot of other recipes will suggest but I promise you it makes a massive difference. The yeast feeds off sugar and as long as it has oxygen will release carbon dioxide as a byproduct as well as multiplying and growing the yeast population. Most quick loaves suggest you add some sugar to kick start the yeast and to speed up the leavening phase. The truth is, the yeast will get all the sugar it needs from the flour breaking down in the dough. Adding sugar, although it speeds the initial process up, often means the bread dough rises and yeast multiplies too fast and thus the flour does not have adequate time to break down and form a lovely texture.
You will also note that I have not included any fat or dairy here. Some types of bread will use milk, yoghurt, olive oil, butter and such to enrich the bread or to add certain properties. The issue is doing so creates more work for the yeast and to get a lovely result you need to increase the time and other variable factors which will be addressed on different bread articles here.
After you have left the bread for the full 2-3 hours, you need to flour your surface again and toss the dough out. Don't be afraid to pull it out of the bowl even if it looks like its stuck or is too soft and sticky, this is normal and is caused by the proving process you just did.
You need to knead the bread again like you did the first time. Usually, you will just hit the air out, but for this bread, you will be kneading it again. This will get the air out just like knocking it back, but it will also work that gluten protein in the dough again. Don't be afraid to lightly dust with flour if it's too sticky.
After 10 minutes or so, take a teaspoon of dough and grab one side with a finger and thumb of one hand and the other side with your other hand and slowly stretch it. This is called the windowpane test and you want it to stretch thin enough so that you can kind of see through it, nice and translucent before it breaks. If it breaks too soon, dust with a little flour and knead for a little longer and retest.
Once you are happy, pop it back in a clean floured bowl, cover as before but this time leave in the fridge overnight. Ideally, you want it in the fridge for at least 12 hours or so.
Finally preheat your oven to 260°C. If you have a baking stone make sure you get it preheated in that oven at the same time. If you have a dutch oven, get this heated up in the oven.
Take your dough and carefully tip it out of the bowl onto a floured surface so that the side that was on the top in the bowl is not on the bottom, you should have a bubbly looking top now.
If you used a baking stone or a dutch oven remove it from the oven briefly and liberally dust with the semolina or polenta or dust with a nice portion of flour. If you are not using a stone or dutch oven, then dust a normal baking tray in the same way. Lift the dough in your hands and carefully turn it around 90 degrees at a time keeping the top upwards and pulling the sides down and tucking underneath to make a nice dome shape and place on the floured cooking surface you are using.
Sprinkle roughly with warm water and score the bread with three shallow cuts across the top and place in the oven, putting the lid on top if you are using a dutch oven. If you are not using a dutch oven, you will also want to pop an oven tray of warm water on the shelf below the bread to help create a lovely crust.
If using a dutch oven, you want to remove the lid after 30 mins and leave for a further 20 mins to brown on top. Otherwise, you will just bake for 50 minutes or until a dark gold colour on top.
To test, turn the boule upside down and tap the bottom with your finger, it should sound hollow and light as opposed to a dull thud sound.
Leave to cool fully on a wire rack for an hour or so. It is tempting to cut a nice hot slice off and spread some butter, and we all give in to that temptation from time to time however the steam needs to remain inside to help the airy texture set correctly.
Serve however you wish, I love mine sliced thick and toasted with lashings of homemade butter and raspberry, vanilla and balsamic jam.
Start by putting your flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and mixing together thoroughly. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, make a well in the middle of this dry flour mix and pour in the water. Start stirring the water at the edges so it slowly starts picking up the flour and pulling it in and continue to do this until starts to form a sticky lumpy dough.
Once the water and flour mix is combined together, flour a clean large surface and turn out the contents of the bowl onto said surface. It's going to be pretty messy still at this point so flour your hands and start kneading. An effective kneading technique is to use 'heel' of your hands in the middle of the mixture and move one away from you and the other towards you to stretch and tear the dough. Each time you do a stretch, fold the dough in half back in on itself and rotate the dough 90 degrees on the surface and repeat. You can keep dusting with flour during this stage to stop it sticking to your hands or the surface and it will eventually not need to be dusted to come away cleanly but make sure these dustings are light as you don't want to make a horrible dry dough.
After about 10 minutes or so you should have a fairly springy dough and if it's your first time making bread you may be a little unsure on if it's too sticky still or not. Shape the dough into a ball and lift with one hand, when you let go, it should stretch as it drops, like it is still stuck to your hand, but ultimately it will actually come away from your hand cleanly. This is perfect.
Take this dough ball, and place it back into a well-floured bowl, sprinkle a little flour on top and cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or cling film. Keep the bowl somewhere dry and warm, I find on top of my gas boiler for my central heating is absolutely perfect.
Leave it for a good 2-3 hours. This is longer than a lot of other recipes will suggest but I promise you it makes a massive difference. The yeast feeds off sugar and as long as it has oxygen will release carbon dioxide as a byproduct as well as multiplying and growing the yeast population. Most quick loaves suggest you add some sugar to kick start the yeast and to speed up the leavening phase. The truth is, the yeast will get all the sugar it needs from the flour breaking down in the dough. Adding sugar, although it speeds the initial process up, often means the bread dough rises and yeast multiplies too fast and thus the flour does not have adequate time to break down and form a lovely texture.
You will also note that I have not included any fat or dairy here. Some types of bread will use milk, yoghurt, olive oil, butter and such to enrich the bread or to add certain properties. The issue is doing so creates more work for the yeast and to get a lovely result you need to increase the time and other variable factors which will be addressed on different bread articles here.
After you have left the bread for the full 2-3 hours, you need to flour your surface again and toss the dough out. Don't be afraid to pull it out of the bowl even if it looks like its stuck or is too soft and sticky, this is normal and is caused by the proving process you just did.
You need to knead the bread again like you did the first time. Usually, you will just hit the air out, but for this bread, you will be kneading it again. This will get the air out just like knocking it back, but it will also work that gluten protein in the dough again. Don't be afraid to lightly dust with flour if it's too sticky.
After 10 minutes or so, take a teaspoon of dough and grab one side with a finger and thumb of one hand and the other side with your other hand and slowly stretch it. This is called the windowpane test and you want it to stretch thin enough so that you can kind of see through it, nice and translucent before it breaks. If it breaks too soon, dust with a little flour and knead for a little longer and retest.
Once you are happy, pop it back in a clean floured bowl, cover as before but this time leave in the fridge overnight. Ideally, you want it in the fridge for at least 12 hours or so.
Finally preheat your oven to 260°C. If you have a baking stone make sure you get it preheated in that oven at the same time. If you have a dutch oven, get this heated up in the oven.
Take your dough and carefully tip it out of the bowl onto a floured surface so that the side that was on the top in the bowl is not on the bottom, you should have a bubbly looking top now.
If you used a baking stone or a dutch oven remove it from the oven briefly and liberally dust with the semolina or polenta or dust with a nice portion of flour. If you are not using a stone or dutch oven, then dust a normal baking tray in the same way. Lift the dough in your hands and carefully turn it around 90 degrees at a time keeping the top upwards and pulling the sides down and tucking underneath to make a nice dome shape and place on the floured cooking surface you are using.
Sprinkle roughly with warm water and score the bread with three shallow cuts across the top and place in the oven, putting the lid on top if you are using a dutch oven. If you are not using a dutch oven, you will also want to pop an oven tray of warm water on the shelf below the bread to help create a lovely crust.
If using a dutch oven, you want to remove the lid after 30 mins and leave for a further 20 mins to brown on top. Otherwise, you will just bake for 50 minutes or until a dark gold colour on top.
To test, turn the boule upside down and tap the bottom with your finger, it should sound hollow and light as opposed to a dull thud sound.
Leave to cool fully on a wire rack for an hour or so. It is tempting to cut a nice hot slice off and spread some butter, and we all give in to that temptation from time to time however the steam needs to remain inside to help the airy texture set correctly.
Serve however you wish, I love mine sliced thick and toasted with lashings of homemade butter and raspberry, vanilla and balsamic jam.
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