I love a little loaf with a nice ear, and I have published a few recipes for such breads already. The beauty of breadmaking is the infinite versatility and customizability when it comes to basic recipes just like this one. Throw in some fragrant toasted fennel seeds and a few tart and salty sliced olives to completely transform a basic loaf into an extra delicious treat.
A portion of the total flour is whole wheat which adds even more great flavour and improves the texture. The dough is cold fermented which makes it easier to handle and results in an even tastier bread.
I decided to use less than 1% yeast in this recipe because of the whole wheat flour which usually makes the dough ferment a little more actively.
This recipe makes a little batard which will fit in a 20cm (8in) banneton.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
250g (8.8oz) white bread flour
50g (1.75oz) whole wheat bread flour
5g (0.17oz) salt
2.5g (0.09oz) instant dry yeast or 3g (0.1oz) active dry yeast or 7.5g (0.26oz) fresh yeast
6g (0.21oz) fennel seeds
60g (2.1oz) sliced olives. I used grilled halkidiki olives.
210g (7.4oz) water
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- Toast the fennel seeds on high heat for a couple of minutes until they become fragrant and smoky. You can leave them whole or crush them or even grind them to a fine powder depending on how you want them to flavour the bread.
- Make the dough. Combine the water, yeast, salt, fennel seeds, olives, and whole wheat flour. Mix to dissolve the salt and yeast. Add the white bread flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature around 24C (75F).
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Fold #1.
- Chill for 30 minutes.
- Fold #2. The second fold is there to help with gluten development. The bread will have a better ear because of it.
- Cover and cold ferment for 18 – 24 hours.
- Pre-shape and rest the dough for 30 minutes.
- Final shaping. Place the loaf with the seam side up in a banneton. Cover.
- Final proof 1 hour. Pre-heat the oven and the baking vessel to 250C (480F).
- Invert the dough onto the pre-heated pan and score
- Cover and bake at 220C (430F) fan on or 240C (465F) fan off for 25 minutes.
- Remove the lid and place back into the oven for 10 more minutes or until you are happy with the crust.
Leave to cool down and tuck in.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
