The Recipe of the 'Peasant' Bread

The Rustic Bread

Rustic bread, also referred to as "peasant bread," originated in Southern Europe and even today is still a staple of Italian and French diets. It has a crunchy crust on the outside and lots of large holes on the inside, and is chewier than the bread you buy at the supermarket nowadays. Making a traditional rustic bread requires few ingredients and is relatively simple, so long as you pay attention to the rising and kneading process. Read the steps below to find out how to make a rustic bread.


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Steps

1. Assemble all of your ingredients, which are enough to make 4 or 5 loaves of rustic bread. If you want the bread to have the traditional, crunchy crust, buy 1 or 2 unglazed quarry tiles to bake it on. The ceramic absorbs the moisture, creating a crunchy crust. You can buy unglazed quarry tiles at a carpet or tile store. Before using, rinse with cold water to remove the dust and place on a flat surface to dry. Of course, you can make a rustic bread without using quarry tiles if you prefer a softer crust.
   
2. Pour the lukewarm water into the large mixing bowl. Make sure the water isn't too warm, otherwise it will kill the yeast and the dough won't rise.
   
3. Add first the yeast, then the sea salt to the water. Mix it well. This prepares the yeast to combine with the flour and ferment, so the dough rises.
   
4. Add all of the unbleached white flour to the mixture. Do not substitute the unbleached white flour for another type of flour such as whole grain or rye, as they are heavier and will not produce the same texture.
   
5. Use a mixer with a dough hook to mix the ingredients together. Knead them for about 5 minutes until they become one mass and combine into a sponge dough. Sponge dough attains its specific flavor by means of a fermentation process, that allows all of the ingredients to blend properly, and multiple rises that enhance the flavor.
   
   • You can also mix the ingredients in with a wooden spoon and knead the dough by hand. To do this, once the ingredients form a mass together, sprinkle some flour on a large wooden board, take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on the counter for about five minutes before returning it to the bowl.
     
6. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or cling wrap and put it in a warm place to allow it to rise. The warmth aids the fermentation process and causes the dough to rise more and faster.
   
7. Wait for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. Some bakers prefer to let the dough rise for 12 hours to create a stronger flavor.
   
8. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (225 degrees Celsius).
   
9. Take the dough from the bowl and tear off a piece about the size of a small melon. Store the rest of the dough in the fridge for later use. When stored, the dough will remain good for about 2 weeks.
   
10. Knead the dough you tore off for approximately 1 minute on the wooden board. Kneading the dough for the second time blends the ingredients even more, and allows the second rising process to be more effective.
    
11. Shape the dough as desired and place it onto the baking sheet or pizza tray. Popular shapes are a boule, a large round bread, or a baguette, a French bread.
    
12. Let the dough rise for another 20 to 30 minutes.
    
13. Bake the dough. Put the baking sheet or pizza tray into the oven and let the dough bake for about 30 minutes until it is brown.
    
14. Check to see if the rustic bread is done by tapping the crust. If it sounds hollow, the bread is done. Turn off the oven.
    
15. Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.
    
16. Serve the bread with butter, cheese, cold cuts, French confiture, or eat it dipped in olive oil with sea salt.
    

Things You'll Need

• Large mixing bowl
  
• 2.8 cups (662 milliliter) hand warm water
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried fast rising yeast
  
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  
• 6 1/2 cups (793.78 grams) unbleached white bread flour
  
• Mixer with dough hooks
  
• Wooden spoon
  
• Wooden board
  
• Baking sheet or pizza tray
  

Sources and Citations

• http://www.food.com/recipe/our-daily-bread-in-a-crock-weekly-make-and-bake-rustic-bread-340621
  
• http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/pane_rustica/pane_rustica.html
  

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