Pain de Campagne

[Wandering Bob]

A simple rye-flavoured 600g loaf made with a bespoke Pain de Campagne mix cut 2:1 with a strong white bread flour. I just add a bit of salt, dried active yeast, sugar and warm water, two provings, then 30 mins at 210C, and I’ve produced a softish loaf with a slightly dense crumb and just a hint of the taste of rye. Simplicity itself.

I must have made hundreds of these over the years. It’s great as a breakfast bread with either strawberry jam or cerise griottes (cherry) jam – and it goes well with a strong cheese like etorki (Basque brebis cheese) or tomme at lunchtime too.

 

[Morning Glory]

Lovely - I must get baking bread. I haven't made any this week. Maybe I'll make a rye bread too.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Moving on with this bread - decided to try flavouring it with sarrasin

1st try - 360g PdC (white & rye flour mix), 100 PMF (strong white) and just 40g of sarrasin
it's made an agreeably sticky grey dough

Used bench flour to shape then into a banneton for the second proving
26 mins at 210C

taste reports to follow

 

[Morning Glory]

Moving on with this bread - decided to try flavouring it with sarrasin

1st try - 360g PdC (white & rye flour mix), 100 PMF (strong white) and just 40g of sarrasin
it's made an agreeably sticky grey dough

anyone reading this and confused …. well, good: so am I
I will edit this later and add more info + a photo

over 21 hrs without nicotine - I'm amazed I can type at all

Thats fantastic (giving up ciggies). Maybe I should start a thread to get some tips and experiences.

 

[Morning Glory]

I look forward to seeing the bread. I'm also meaning to make bread today... it was supposed to be yesterday.

 

[Wandering Bob]

I look forward to seeing the bread.

I've edited the photos into post #3 above

 

[Morning Glory]

I've edited the photos into post #3 above

Excellent! The banneton is producing a lovely shape.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Rather than continuing to edit post #3 …. here are my thoughts on the 1st try at pain de campagne/sarrasin

The bread is quite good, but not spectacular. Maybe I need to change the flour mix proportions, the wetness of the dough, the use of the banneton, and also the cooking time : the crumb is very soft, and could perhaps have benefited from a higher oven temp and longer oven time. The bread's OK but I want it to be better than that.

 

[Scott-180]

Wow! looks incredible! I've never ventured into bread making before but this has inspired me to have a go.

 

[Wandering Bob]

this has inspired me to have a go

Go for it @Scott-180 … you've made good cakes, there's no reason why you can't make good bread too. Be patient and don't be disheartened if your first attempts aren't wonderful. The key to it all is getting a good dough - it's not easy to describe but it's something you'll come to recognise once you've started making bread - when your flour, salt, sugar, yeast, olive oil & water mixture turns itself into a malleable elastic ball. There are some good tips elsewhere in the forum as to how to achieve this.

Always allow yourself plenty of time - I reckon on 3 to 3.5 hours from start to finish. Rushed bread rarely turns out well in my experience.

Good luck. Once you've started to make bread, you might find (like me) that you go on making it for the rest of your life - and that you find anything shop-bought to be sub-standard.

 

[Scott-180]

Go for it @Scott-180 … you've made good cakes, there's no reason why you can't make good bread too. Be patient and don't be disheartened if your first attempts aren't wonderful. The key to it all is getting a good dough - it's not easy to describe but it's something you'll come to recognise once you've started making bread - when your flour, salt, sugar, yeast, olive oil & water mixture turns itself into a malleable elastic ball. There are some good tips elsewhere in the forum as to how to achieve this.

Always allow yourself plenty of time - I reckon on 3 to 3.5 hours from start to finish. Rushed bread rarely turns out well in my experience.

Good luck. Once you've started to make bread, you might find (like me) that you go on making it for the rest of your life - and that you find anything shop-bought to be sub-standard.

Thanks very much Bob! I'm off to buy ingredients!