The old-fashioned moulded French loaf can of course easily be baked with plain white flour. I think it has a better and richer flavour when a little coarse flour is added. Spelt has good baking properties, is easily available and is both healthy and tasty. You can also use wholemeal wheat flour, for example.
A moulded French loaf like the one we know from the bakery. Just with a little extra flavour and texture from spelt.
Moulded French loaf with spelt
Get the great baking tricks from this recipe.If you don't have or can't get baking enzyme and gluten, replace it with wheat flour as indicated. You will still get a good result. It's the process of firming up the dough, rising and baking with steam that are the main points of this recipe.
Equipment
- 1 loaf tin, approx. 1½-2 litres
- 1 Stand mixeror thorough kneading by hand
Ingredients
- 245 g Wheat flour (12% protein)
- 120 g wholemeal spelt flour, preferably finely ground
- 12 g gluten can be replaced with wheat flour
- 9 g baking enzyme can be replaced with wheat flour
- 7 g dry yeast (instant dry yeast) or 25 grams of fresh yeast
- 7 (½ tbsp) g sugar
- 8 g salt
- 10 (approx. 1 tbsp) g cooking oil
- 225 g Cold water
- as needed: poppy seeds or other sprinkles
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.
- Add the water and oil and let the mixer run at low speed for a few minutes.
- Then turn up to medium speed (or slightly below) for 12-14 minutes until the dough is shiny and has a temperature of 27-28°.
- The dough will be quite firm, as it should be. It will become softer and more pliable after resting
- Stretch the dough (stretch and fold like sourdough), let rest on the table for 15 minutes, covered with plastic, for example.
- Stretch and fold the dough again and let it rest for 10 minutes
- Grease a loaf tin or spray it with baking spray
- Shape the dough into a French loaf - it needs to be tightened to give the most beautiful rise:Turn the lump of dough over and press the air out of it with your hands. Pull the top 1/3 down and the bottom 1/3 up.Roll it into an oblong - and roll the ends thinner than the centre. Fold the thin ends over the centre.Flatten the dough again and roll it from the top down into the shape of a loaf - you should sort of "pull" on it as you roll it up so that you feel you are tightening the surface.
- Place the bread in the greased mould. Spray with water and sprinkle with, for example, poppy seeds.
- Score at an angle 3-5 times (not too deep)
- RAISING WITH STEAM:I rise the bread with steam. I place a container in the bottom of the kitchen sink, fill it with boiled water from the kettle and place a rack with the bread tin on top, I then cover it with a suitably sized plastic box to retain heat and moisture. I use a food-grade storage box from Jysk.The bread should rise with steam for 45 minutes.
- BAKING WITH STEAM:30 minutes before baking, switch on the oven to 250°, fan off. Place a small baking tray, preferably with granite chips or lava stones in the bottom.Place the bread on a rack in the oven and pour 1 dl of boiling water into the roasting pan and quickly close the oven (watch out for steam! Wear a oven glove, for example).If there is a vent on your oven, you can cover it with a tea towel.Set the oven to 190° fan-assisted so that the steam is evenly distributed. The steam helps the bread to rise, makes it shiny and also improves the crust.After 4 minutes, remove the small baking tray and continue baking. In my oven, which does not bake evenly, after a further 16 minutes I turn the loaf over so that the front side is facing backwards. Baking continues. In any case, you must let steam out of the oven, even if you don't turn the tray over. Do this a few times at 5-minute intervals.
- When the bread has baked for a total of 25 minutes, remove the loaf from the tin and continue baking on the rack in the oven until it is beautifully golden and cooked through. Expect about 30-35 minutes in total.
- Cool on a wire rack
English (UK) 
Dansk
2 Comments
Great French bread, but there is no driet wheat sourdough in the recipe!!!
Don't you use dried wheat sourdough?
Many thanks!
In the Czech Republic, where I live, you can't buy dried wheat sourdough. Sometimes I make my own dried wheat sour dough from dried sourdough starter, but I don't always use it. In fact, I prefer to leaven part of the flour by stirring it in water with a spoonful of rye sourdough starter and leaving it for a few days.