No matter how many loaves or boules (as in this case) of bread I pull out of my oven, I am always in awe of what I have accomplished. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not being conceited. I’m just stating that I still can’t get over the fact that a simple combination of flour, yeast, water, and salt can somehow miraculously transform itself into bread. And the mere fact that I had anything to do with creating this amazing wonder, I find truly amazing. Because let’s face it, bread baking isn’t rocket science. There is some science involved however, but only in the form of following a given formula. And even then, the formula for achieving delicious yeast bread is pretty darn loosie goosy. Not at all like baking a cake, for example, where in order to produce a really great product, you need to measure your ingredients very carefully.

But with yeast breads, the equation is more liberal. As long as you use enough leavening (yeast or sourdough starter) to feed on the sugars in flour that result in the expulsion of carbon dioxide which makes bread rise, you can go wild and crazy with the other ingredients.

So, when I decided to try my hand at Pain de Campagne yesterday, I donned my mad scientist hat and came up with this recipe.

Now, putting all modesty aside, this boule turned out to be one of the best breads I have ever produced. And it was stinkin’ easy to build. The crust turned out perfectly crunchy, the crumb soft but chewy, with a pleasant flavor from the small inclusion of both rye and whole wheat flour in with the bread flour. In other words, a basically simple loaf of everyday bread, but with a bit of character thrown in for good measure.

Now, something you should know. Most Pain de Campagne recipes do not include active dry yeast. Leavening is provided solely from the sourdough starter. But I have grown a bit weary of making bread that takes 2-3 days. I still do it, but the older I get, the less time I feel like pampering ingredients. Plus, I usually only think about making bread when we are down to our last couple slices from the previous loaf. (Pre-planning our meals, has never been my greatest accomplishment.)  So, is this a “true” Pain de Campagne? Perhaps not. Is it close enough for Mr. C and me? Darn tootin! So, whatever it may be, I hope you enjoy this bread as much as we do. And call it what you may. Who cares? What’s in a name anyway? Whatever it is, it’s damn fine bread!

As always, keep thinking peace, keep reflecting goodness, and keep cooking and baking up a storm. And always remember to look outside. Mother nature has not been impacted by covis-19. And she is sharing all that is glorious with us every single day. Peace and love to all.  

1½ c. warm water

¾ c. sourdough starter discard, room temperature

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ c. rye flour

¼ c. whole wheat flour  

1 T. vital wheat gluten flour

3 c. bread flour, plus more as needed

extra virgin olive oil 

Place the warm water, sourdough starter, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the salt, rye flour, wheat flour, vital wheat gluten flour, and 1 cup of the bread flour. Mix together with your bread hook. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add enough remaining bread flour to make a soft, elastic dough. Dough should ball up around the bread hook, leaving just a bit stuck to the bottom of the bowl. The dough should be a bit sticky, but not tacky. Pour a bit of oil in the bowl and using your hands and a stiff rubber spatula, form the dough into a ball, completely greased with the oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 90 minutes. Punch down once during this rising.

Cover a cookie sheet with a rectangle of parchment paper. (Enough parchment paper to allow for lifting the dough into a Dutch oven or clay baker.) Gently shape the dough into a ball, using flour as needed, but avoid kneading. Place the dough ball on the parchment paper. Dust with a bit of flour and cover with the same piece of plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot for an hour.

In the last half hour of rising, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Place your clay baker or Dutch oven on the middle rack of the oven at the same time. You want your clay baker or Dutch oven to get hot right along with the oven.

Once the oven comes to temperature, slash an “X” on the top of the dough. (Don’t use too much force or you will deflate the bread.) Just let the weight of the knife do the work.

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven being very careful not to burn yourself. Carefully, using the sides of the parchment paper, lower the dough into the hot Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven.  and return to the oven.

Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and allow to finish baking. Total baking time is about 40- 45 minutes. The top should be dark brown. The internal temperature should reach at least 205 degrees. Remove from oven and carefully lift the parchment paper and bread out of the clay baker or Dutch oven onto a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Please note: A trick I use to make lifting my clay baker in and out of the oven, is to place it on a low sided baking sheet before it ever goes into the oven. It’s much easier to lift a baking sheet in and out of the oven than a clay baker. Much less likely to burn yourself. Dutch ovens – no problem. They have nice handles made for the purpose.

Also, if you don’t own a clay baker or a Dutch oven, simply lift the risen bread, parchment paper and all, onto a baking sheet. Then bake away as instructed above. (May take longer to bake then the time given above, so to be certain, take the breads temperature to make sure it is done to perfection.)