I was on a bread baking mission this week. Specifically, I was craving something just a tad sweet for breakfast. What I was craving, in short, was bread chock full of dried fruit and nuts, toasted, and then smeared with homemade jam or, for those days when my blood sugar was particularly low, butter and cinnamon sugar (an obsession left over from my childhood). So, I pulled out Bread Alone, an excellent primer in how to make bread in the European tradition. In this particular instance though, I wasn't looking for a bread primer. I was looking for his recipe for a Country-Style Hearth Loaf with Dried Figs, Cognac, and Hazelnuts.
I started my bread baking frenzy with this recipe but that was somehow not enough (largely because it is a favorite of several of my friends so, as usually happens, I ended up giving half of the bread away) so I decided to use the same basic recipe and to substitute dried cherries for the figs and walnuts for the hazelnuts. He has a recipe for such a bread but it has a sourdough base and I wanted it for breakfast the next day. Getting a sourdough starter up and running takes at least a week and I just couldn't be bothered waiting a week for my breakfast bread! For the record, I almost always have a sourdough starter lying around but his recipes call for a very specific mixture and a much larger quantity than most so I usually make a “Daniel Leader“ sourdough starter (or two or three because there is a difference between rye, wheat, and within wheat, you have the option of a dry levain or a wet levain. Levain is the French word for sourdough, by the way).
I'm going to give you the recipe but I want to say a few things about bread first and, in particular, about European style bread.
First, unless you are an experienced baker, I suggest that you buy the book because it provides very detailed instructions and statements about what you can expect at each different stage of the bread making process. Second, you can do this by hand but you need strong arm muscles because you have to knead it for around 15 minutes. I made these breads by hand when I lived in Germany because I didn't have a stand mixer at the time and the Kitchen Aid I wanted cost a cool 650 Euros (about $900 at the exchange rates at the time). At the time I suffered from a great deal of pent up frustration so the kneading was therapeutic but, generally speaking, making it in my Kitchen Aid is soooo much nicer. Third, any serious baker (especially if s/he does it for a living) will tell you that weighing your ingredients is a much more exact method than measuring. I have included both options in the recipe but I do suggest that you buy a scale. You can purchase a decent food scale for around $10 but I prefer this one for two reasons. The first is that most food scales only go up to 10 pounds and I have problems with frequently maxing it out, which is a problem when you are trying to be precise in your measurements. The second is that it measures in fractions of ounces and my bread recipes generally call for things like ¾ of an ounce of salt.
European bread is frequently made using a sourdough. Now, for those of you who automatically think of San Francisco sourdough when you think of sourdough, I need to tell you that the vast majority of sourdough breads are not nearly that sour. A sourdough starter does give the bread a much more full flavor but it does not automatically make it sour. The reason that San Francisco sourdough is as sour as it is relates to the number of hours one lets the sourdough sit before using it and to the quantity used to flavor it. Sourdough acts as a leavening agent by utilizing the yeasts that exist all around you (yes, the air you breath does contain naturally occurring, airborne yeasts. No they won't kill you or even make you ill. What they will do is make your bread taste fantastic). As yeasts and flour work together (the yeast consumes the sugar in the flour), carbon dioxide is produced (that is what makes the bread rise), as well as alcohol. Now, that doesn't mean that your bread is an alcoholic substance. For one thing, the quantity of alcohol produced in this process is negligible and for another thing, it is killed during the baking process. But sourdough. The super sourness of a good San Francisco sourdough is achieved through a long sitting of the sourdough pre-ferment just before mixing the final bread. It sits for approximately twice as long as the sourdough one normally uses. Too much information? Okay then, let's get back to European bread. We already discussed the fact that a great deal of the European breads you get in Europe are made with a sourdough starter. Now let's talk about the other method that European bakers use to achieve that amazing flavor you taste in their bread. The bakers mix up a portion of the ingredients they will use (with the addition of commercial yeast) about 8 hours before they mix the final bread. This goes by different names depending on the country from which the recipe originated but we will call it a pre-ferment, for simplicity's sake. Doing this develops the full flavors of the wheat, which results in amazingness when dried fruit and nuts are added.
And now on to the recipe, which I know is what you really want to read.
About 8 hours before you plan to make the dough mix the following ingredients (note: if you get home from work by 5 PM and don't mind staying up a bit late, you should do this before you leave for work. If you are doing this on a day you aren't working, you will want to mix this the night before).
Note: If you want to make the dried cherry and walnut bread, use the same quantities as given for the figs and the hazelnuts. Don't soak the cherries in anything and don't rub the skins off of the walnuts. Otherwise follow the recipe as stated.
Preparations:
Water (around room temperature - you do NOT want to use warm water or you will exhaust the rising capabilities of the yeast before you get the bread into the oven) - ½ cup or 4 ounces
Dry Yeast - ½ teaspoon (I do usually measure this because the weight, which is ⅛ ounce, is too small for most food scales)
20% bran wheat flour (see note) - ¾ cup or 4 ounces
Measure the water and yeast into a bowl and let it sit for five minutes. Then stir it and add the flour, stirring it about 100 times to help the gluten develop (the gluten occurs naturally in the flour and it is what gives the bread strength and helps it to rise). Put a lid on the bowl, or cover it with a wet towel or plastic wrap and let it sit out around 8 hours (less is fine but if it will be longer than 10 hours before you get to it, I suggest you put it into the refrigerator to slow the process down or your yeast may be exhausted before you make the bread, which will lead to it not rising). This will be your pre-ferment.
Note: you won't be able to buy 20% bran wheat flour. You can achieve this in one of two ways. First, you can mix normal bread flour with whole wheat flour in an 80/20 ratio. Second, and this is my preferred method, you can mix normal bread flour with whole wheat flour and wheat germ in an 80/15/5 ratio. A lot of the nutrients in wheat are found in the wheat germ. You should keep the germ refrigerated, as it contains a lot of natural oils and will go rancid if left out too long (too long is a matter of weeks, not days).
Dried figs, cut into 4 pieces each - 1 cup or 6 ounces
Cognac - 2 Tablespoons or 1 fluid ounce (I use closer to two ounces as the absorption tends to be better)
Cut the figs up and put them into a container. Pour the cognac over them. Cover them and let them sit for 8 hours.
Hazelnuts - 1 cup or 5 ounces
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the hazelnuts onto a baking sheet with sides and roast for around 12 minutes. Let them sit for 10 minutes and then put them into a towel and rub off as much of the skin as you can. Let them cool completely and then roughly chop them (you can use a food processor for this but keep in mind that you do not want them too finely chopped).
When you are ready to make the bread, weigh out the following ingredients:
Water (again, you want this to be room temperature, not warm) - 2 ½ cups or 20 ounces
Yeast - ½ teaspoon
20% bran wheat flour - 5 ¼-6 ¼ cups or 26 to 31 ounces (this will depend a bit on the flour)
Cracked rye or wheat - ¼ cup
Fine Sea Salt (I actually use Diamon Kosher Salt because it is much cheaper than sea salt and it absorbs in a similar manner. Don't use iodized table salt. It won't absorb well and it will leave a bit of an odd flavor in your bread) - 1 Tablespoon or ¾ ounce (this is where it is vital to weigh, because the size-to-weight ratio varies widely between different salts, so you can end up with a very salty bread or a bread that isn't nearly salty enough)
See above for instructions:
The pre-ferment
The figs
The hazelnuts
As before, combine the water and the yeast and add the pre-ferment, then let them sit for 5 minutes before stirring. Add about half of the flour and the salt and mix. Now comes the slightly tricky part. European bread has a higher water content than we are used to here in the States. For that reason, the bread will look and feel tacky. Don't be tempted to add too much flour! Add about half of the flour that is left and mix it and have a look at it. I use organic flour from Whole Foods in an 80/15/5 blend and I generally find that I need around 29 ounces. I suggest that, if you aren't sure, you stick close to 28 or 29 ounces for your first time making the bread and, as you make it more frequently, you will find that you will start to be able to tell whether you have enough simply by eyeballing it. You will notice that I have recommended a bit more than the low amount. That is because you will add the very wet figs in a bit and this will increase the moisture content in this particular bread. Knead the dough for 10 minutes (and this is where the stand mixer comes in handy). If you are using a mixer, don't add any flour and use speed 2. If you are doing it by hand, incorporate as little flour as possible. You will find it very sticky but it should become more smooth as you go along. If it doesn't, this is when you want to add a bit more flour. If you are using a stand mixer, add the hazelnuts at the 10 minute mark and knead for 3 minutes more and then add the figs and knead for an additional 2 minutes. If you are doing this by hand, I personally suggest that you flip the order because the nuts will be a bit sharp and will hurt your hands if you have to knead them for a full 5 minutes.
If you are using a mixer and have never made bread before, you will need to use the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients and switch to the dough hook when you begin to knead. At some point during the kneading process, the dough should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn't, add more flour but wait until after you have been kneading it for 5 minutes because it doesn't always pull away immediately.
Now, put the dough into an bowl that you have rubbed with an oiled paper towel or, if you are using a stand mixer, you can leave it in the bowl, and cover it with a wet paper towel. Leave it alone for 2 hours and then check the volume. You want it to double in volume. You can tell if it is done by poking a finger into the dough. If it leaves an indentation, it has risen enough. I keep my house around 75 F and my dough usually needs 3 hours. Punch the dough down and pull up on the sides and then let it sit in the bowl for another 30 minutes.
Now comes the fun part. Take the dough out of the bowl, divide it into two pieces, and form it into a tight ball (if you have never done this before, you should be able to find instructions on Google or YouTube). Alternatively, you can form each piece into a loaf and place it into a buttered loaf pan. Or, if you want a free formed loaf but one with a bit of structure (i.e. one that doesn't slump), you can buy a banneton, which is a basket - usually wicker - that is lined with a cloth like the Matfer 8 &14frac; inch, 9 &12frac; inch, 10 &58frac; inch or 11 &12frac; inch or without a cloth like this one from Masterproofing. If you use the un-lined banneton, you will need to line it with a towel. In either case, rub the liner (or towel) with flour and put it into the banneton and then place the dough round into it with the seam facing up (this is because you will flip it when you put it into the oven and then the seam will be on the bottom). If using a loaf pan, cover it with tented foil (it needs to be high enough over the dough to allow it to double in size). If not, cover it with a damp towel. Let it rise until 1.5 times the original size. This will take between 1 ½ to 2 hours.
45 minutes to 1 hour before you bake the bread, preheat the oven to 450 F. Now you have some options. If you are using a loaf pan, you don't need to do anything but preheat the oven. If you are making a round and you have a dutch oven large enough to hold the dough, put it into the oven with the lid on when you turn it on to preheat. If you don't have a dutch oven but have a pizza stone, place it into the oven when you turn it on, as well as an oven proof skillet. Put the pizza stone on the middle rack and the skillet on the bottom rack.
Baking:
Loaf Pan - Place the pans into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaves start to brown. At this point, turn the heat down to 400 F and remove the foil and bake until the loaves are a rich caramel color (very, very dark brown) and the crusts are firm. At this point, take them out and leave them to cool completely. It will likely be easier to get the bread out of the loaf pans if you let them sit for 10 minutes and then flip them over, removing the bread, and then placing it on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Dutch Oven - Gently turn the bread onto a piece of parchment paper and slash the top about a ΒΌ inch deep with a very sharp knife or, better yet, a straight razor. Take the dutch oven out, remove the lid, and carefully place the bread into the oven, replacing the lid. Bake for 20 minutes, until the bread has started to turn brown. Then turn the oven down to 400 F, remove the lid, and continue baking until the loaf is a rich caramel color and the crust is firm. If you aren't sure if the bread is done, take it out and thump on the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it should be done. Take it out of the oven and cool it completely on a wire rack before cutting into it. You MUST take it out of the dutch oven within 10 minutes after baking it or it will create condensation when it cools and the bottom of the bread will be soggy. You will need to bake the loaves separately, unless you have double ovens and two dutch ovens.
Pizza Stone - Take the stone out of the oven and gently turn the bread onto it. I personally put a piece of parchment paper under the bread because it makes it easier to get the bread off of the stone when it is done cooking. Slash the top about a ¼ inch deep with a very sharp knife or a straight razor. Professional bakers use what is called a lame. It is just a stick that holds a double edged razor blade. You will want to put a slight curve on the cut for the prettiest final form. If you plan to bake bread regularly, you can get a good one for $10. When you place the bread into the oven, throw a handful of ice cubes into the skillet and then close the door quickly. Bake for 20 minutes, until the bread has started to turn brown. Then turn the oven down to 400 F and continue baking until the loaf is a rich caramel color and the crust is firm. If you aren't sure if the bread is done, take it out and thump on the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it should be done. Take it out of the oven and cool it completely on a wire rack before cutting into it. You will need to bake the loaves separately, unless you have two pizza stones, in which case you can bake them side by side.
Please, PLEASE use pot holders throughout all of your bread handling while baking. The oven will be extremely hot, which means that the bread will be extremely hot and, whatever you do, don't do what I did once and forget, when you take the skillet or the dutch oven out of the oven, that it was IN the oven and pick it up without a pot holder. I had blisters on three of my fingers for a week.
You are wondering what in the world is going on with the baking instructions so I will tell you. One of the things that give breads that glorious lift and those lovely air pockets inside is an extremely hot oven and steam. The problem though is that, while professional bakers ovens are designed to be air tight and to release steam when the bread first goes in, home ovens are designed to release steam. For this reason, you need to create a great deal of steam quickly (the pizza stone method) for the initial oven spring or you need to create an environment that uses the initial release of the moisture from the water in the bread to create a steamy space (the tented foil and the dutch oven). Essentially what you are doing is creating an air tight environment and allowing the bread itself to create the steam. I personally add ice cubes to my dutch oven and I find that this works even better than just using the steam created from the bread's moisture (the bread has to be on parchment paper and the ice under a corner of it or the bread will get a soggy bottom).
That is the end of the recipe but I want to add one comment for those of you who decide to buy this bread book - it is a fantastic book to begin with because the instructions are very detailed and you don't really need any special equipment (at least initially). The baking technique for the dutch oven comes from Tartine a wonderful bakery in San Francisco. This is currently my preferred method of bread baking. The baking technique for the loaf pan comes from Josey Baker who sells bread at The Mill, a combination coffee shop and bakery, also in San Francisco.