Rustic yeasted loaf ...

I've just got my rustic yeasted loaf out of the oven and I'm really pleased with it....

425g (15oz) bread flour

375g (14oz) water

1 teaspoon find grained salt

1/4 teaspoon dried yeast

semolina, optional

(The dough, mixed up last night - I added 100gms wholemeal flour into the flour quantity)

I found the recipe at Stone Soup - here's the link http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2010/10/rustic-sourdough-the-secret-to-making-amazing-bread-at-home-5-ingredients-simple-baking/

This was the dough this morning (I just left it covered with a tea towel on my bench overnight).

Looks like an angry mess this morning. I tipped it out onto a heavily floured bench thinking it would be sticky to work with but it came together nicely, I just kept bringing the dough into the centre then turning, into the centre, turning, flouring as neccessary.

I floured up a clean tea towel for it to sit for 30 minutes while the oven and my Le Creuset dutch oven came up to 230C temperature.

The dough ball, ready to be flipped into the well floured pot...

So now, the bottom becomes the top so you get a craggy crusty look...

After one hour, the lid is removed and then you bake a further 15-20 minutes to colour the loaf.

Et voila! A delicious crust loaf...

This bread making caper is so satisfying - every loaf is different, you never quite know how it will turn out.

This is how it looks on the inside. Not bad for using just 1/4 teaspoon of yeast...

We will use some of the loaf to make this deconstructed Steak Sandwich for our dinner tonight - Gus is in charge of that one!

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Here is the steak sandwich - underneath is torn,toasted crusty bread, roasted tomatoes and swiss mushrooms, balsamic caramelised leek then baby spinach dressed with a sour cream mustard sauce and strips of rump steak. Totally delicious!

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Things are a bit busy at the moment for me to get a sourdough starter going, I'll wait until later in the year (winter) to see how that goes.

Now I am off to tackle my wardrobe - the charity shop is going to do well out of me today!

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Cheers - Joolz xx

Posted by Joolz with Blogsy