I’m so happy to have met Cathy Van de Moortele (who I met in the Cook’s Cook Facebook group). I was motivated to to buy a bread cloche after chatting with her – and I feel like I’ve entered a whole new realm of depth and texture. Be sure to visit Cathy’s awesome blog, Koken en Hoge Hakken.
Here is my photolog of this particular bread baking journey…
In a small bowl, stir yeast and sugar into ¼ cup water to soften.
Combine flour, salt, saffron and currants in a large bowl.
Add the yeast mixture and the rest of the water. Mix well adding more flour or water as necessary.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
Dust the dough with flour and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
Punch the dough down, remove from the bowl, and knead it a few times. Let the dough rest on the counter for about 5 minutes and then shape into a ball.
Place the dough in a well-floured proofing basket, cover with the cloche lid or tightly woven towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
About 30 minutes before baking, place the cloche base in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, turn the cloche lid upside down over a bowl (so the handle doesn’t get in the way) and fill it with water.
When ready to bake, take the cloche base out of the oven and place it on the stove or a rack. Sprinkle the cloche base with corn meal or semolina flour. Gently turn the dough onto the cloche base and score the top of the loaf in fancy patterns with a sharp knife.
Place the cloche base with dough into the oven. Empty the cloche lid of water and place it immediately on the base. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the tempurature down to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Remove the cloche lid for the last 5-10 minutes of baking.
The internal temperature of the loaf should be about 190 degrees. Immediately remove bread from the cloche base and cool on a rack.
Be sure to take really pretty pictures of your bread. Preferrably next to attractive flowers.
And now… the recipe:
Saffron Currant Boule
Ingredients
- 1 scant tablespoon (or one ¼-ounce package) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup warm water about 110 degrees
- 1½ cup warm water about 110 degrees
- ¾ tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ½ cup currants
- 4½-5½ cups unbleached flour
- cornmeal or semolina flour
Instructions
-
Note: this recipe uses a bread cloche.
-
In a small bowl, stir yeast and sugar into ¼ cup water to soften.
-
Combine flour, salt, saffron and currants in a large bowl.
-
Add the yeast mixture and the rest of the water. Mix well adding more flour or water as necessary.
-
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
-
Dust the dough with flour and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
-
Punch the dough down, remove from the bowl, and knead it a few times. Let the dough rest on the counter for about 5 minutes and then shape into a ball.
-
Place the dough in a well-floured proofing basket, cover with the cloche lid or tightly woven towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
-
About 30 minutes before baking, place the cloche base in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, turn the cloche lid upside down over a bowl (so the handle doesn't get in the way) and fill it with water.
-
When ready to bake, take the cloche base out of the oven and place it on the stove. Sprinkle the cloche base with corn meal or semolina flour. Gently turn the dough onto the cloche base and score the top of the loaf in fancy patterns with a sharp knife.
-
Place the cloche base with dough into the oven. Empty the cloche lid of water and place it immediately on the base. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the temperature down to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
-
Remove the cloche lid for the last 5-10 minutes of baking. The internal temperature of the loaf should be about 190 degrees. Immediately remove bread from the cloche base and cool on a rack.