The Importance of a Good Crust

Being married to a beautiful and passionate French women there is one food that takes on the highest of importance in our household, bread!!! It can’t be just any bread, no, it has to be made with good quality flour and have a light and airy inside with irregular air bubbles and with a thick, dark crust on the outside.

Writing this blog I am reminded of when I first started dating my wife and I presented her with limp cheese buttie made out of warburtons toastie loaf. The look of disappointment on her face as I handed her this poor excuse for a meal broke my heart.

Some how this young woman I was dating managed to get over the buttie indecent and allowed me to keep dating her, she even took me to meet her mother in the south of France where I quickly discovered why she was so disappointed with what I had handed her. French bread is fabulous in ever way possible, the flavour, the texture, the smell, everything is amazing.

Over the years I have tried to replicate the wonder that is French bread and whilst I do not claim to have perfected it, I have come very close and as I have got better that young women has become my wife (some might say that this is a coincidence, I am not so sure). After all those years of trying and testing recipes this has become my go to basic bread recipe and has yet to let me down.

500g good quality strong bread flour

10g easy bake dried yeast

2g salt

200g whole milk

150g warm water (20c)

to make this wonderful bread I use a good quality Kitchenaid mixer and simply place all the ingredients in the bowl and using the bread hook mix on a medium speed for 10 minuets. This will get the gluten working in the flour and give the dough an elastic quality that you require for a good bread. When the dough has been kneaded take it out of the bowl and place it on an oiled table top (not a floured table top as this will adjust the density of the dough) and kneed by hand for a further 30 seconds and form a round ball. Place your dough ball into and oiled bowl and allow the first prove to last 1 hour and 15 minuets. When the proving has finished, tip out your bread dough onto a floured table top and squash the dough flat, the fold the top and bottom side in towards the middle and roll it over to form a oval dough ball. Place this dough ball on to a baking tray that has baking parchment on it and has been well floured (this will stop your bread sticking as you bake it.). Give your bread dough a second prove at this point of 1 hour 25 minuets and whilst this is happening pre-heat your oven to 210c.

When your second prove has completed score the dough using a clean stanley knife 3 or 4 diagonal cuts. place your bread in the middle shelf of the oven and before you shut the door to your oven throw 75ml of water in the bottom of your oven to create some steam, the steam will help the all important crust to form. bake for 20 minuets and lower your oven to 150c and bake for a further 20 minuets.

This bread is beautiful just as it is but feel free to add some extra flavours such as fresh rosemary or some sundried tomato paste to make it even better.

#bread