The smell of fresh bread in many causes only positive emotions. A hot crisp of bread and a glass of milk brought by my grandmother is the best morning.
Unfortunately, these days, most people prefer to buy industrial bread in stores.
It is not so difficult to bake a loaf of real village bread, you just need to choose a proven recipe and take quality products.
Leaven
The recipe for rustic bread includes sourdough. For its preparation for the first time it will take several days, in the future, having the basis, you can prepare the dough in one day. First, 100 g of flour must be added to 100 ml of warm water, after which the resulting mass should be covered with cling film and sent to a warm place. On the second day, the operation is repeated again. On the third day of fermentation, the leaven will significantly increase in size, bubbles appear on the surface. It is necessary to add 100 ml of water and 100 g of flour again and knead the mass well until a homogeneous consistency. The next day, the leaven will be ready. By consistency, it will resemble thick sour cream and have a pronounced smell of wheat.
Opara
Ferment prepared for rustic bread must be divided into 2 parts. The first one needs to be covered with a towel and put in the refrigerator (on its basis by feeding in the future you will be able to make yeast for a new portion of bread). The second part will be used as the basis for the preparation of dough. To do this, add 350 ml of water and sifted flour to the sourdough until a consistency resembling dough for fritters is reached. The dough is covered with a towel and left to warm for 12 hours.
Kneading and molding
In order to get a fragrant loaf of bread, you will need:
- 400 g of sponge;
- 350 ml of water;
- 550 g of wheat flour;
- a large spoon of salt;
- 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Add the flour to the required amount of water, mix well to dissolve all the lumps, cover with a towel and leave for 15 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients, knead and leave for about an hour at room temperature, during which time it will be necessary to warm the dough 2 times. Warming should be carried out carefully, making only a few "folding" movements, as a result of which excess gas generated during fermentation will come out of the dough.
The most difficult step in the preparation of village bread is molding. According to your desire, you can form a loaf from the resulting dough, as in a store, or make a rectangular loaf of bread, you can bake a semicircular bread. Everything is decided by your imagination and sleight of hand. Whatever form the bread turns out, it will be incredibly tasty in any case.
In order to return the splendor of forms, bread must be placed for half an hour in a warm place. You will understand that the bread is ready for baking when you press on the workpiece with your finger, and it will return to its original shape.
Baking
Before sending the rustic bread into the oven, notches must be made on its surface. Thanks to them, you independently determine where in the baking process it will be necessary to open the bread. Excess gas also forms through the notches on the surface, which is formed during the raising of bread in the oven.
To make bread, you need a high temperature. It must be baked at a temperature of 250-260 º for 40-45 minutes. In order for a crispy crust to form on the surface of the village bread, it must be baked with steam. For this, before you put the bread in the oven, it must be sprinkled with water. The readiness of bread is checked by tapping on its bottom. If you hear a booming empty sound, then the bread is ready.
It is very difficult not to immediately break off a piece of freshly baked village bread, but bakers recommend waiting a bit and letting it ripen. In this case, the product will be even tastier, and you will never want to buy store bread again.