Pain de campagne
Pain de campagne, “country bread”, is a French sourdough loaf modelled on the large breads once baked in the countryside every few days. It differs from white bread in its share of rye and wholemeal flour, long fermentation and dark, thick crust. It is gently sour with an irregular crumb, and being sourdough it stays fresh for days. This recipe spreads the work over two days: the dough ferments in the afternoon and spends the night in the fridge, so in the morning you only heat the oven and bake it in a cast-iron pot.
Your own work in that: 55 min.
- Autolyse 45 min
- Adding starter and salt 15 min
- Bulk ferment and folds 240 min
- Shaping 40 min
- Overnight proof 720 min
- Baking 45 min
- Cooling 120 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneAutolyse
Mix all three flours with 320 ml of the water, just to combine, without kneading. Cover and leave 45 minutes — the flour hydrates and gluten starts forming by itself.
Ingredients: 150 g active wheat sourdough starter (fed 4–8 hours earlier) · 400 g strong white bread flour · 50 g medium rye flour · 50 g wholemeal wheat flour · 340 ml lukewarm water · 11 g salt
Add starter and salt
Add the starter, salt and remaining water (20 ml). Press them into the dough with your fingers and squeeze by hand for 5 minutes until fully combined.
Ingredients: 150 g active wheat sourdough starter (fed 4–8 hours earlier) · 400 g strong white bread flour · 50 g medium rye flour · 50 g wholemeal wheat flour · 340 ml lukewarm water · 11 g salt
Bulk ferment with folds
Leave the dough at about 24°C for 4 hours. During the first 2 hours, do a set of folds every 30 minutes: grab the edge, stretch it up and fold it over the centre, turning the bowl, 4 times. The dough should grow by half and be bubbly. In a cooler kitchen it takes longer — go by the dough, not the clock.
Ingredients: 150 g active wheat sourdough starter (fed 4–8 hours earlier) · 400 g strong white bread flour · 50 g medium rye flour · 50 g wholemeal wheat flour · 340 ml lukewarm water · 11 g salt
Folds build strength without kneading.Pre-shape
Turn the dough onto a surface lightly dusted with rye flour, shape a loose ball and leave under a cloth for 20 minutes.
Ingredients: 20 g rye flour for the basket
Shape the loaf
Dust a proving basket with rye flour. Shape the dough into a tight ball, building surface tension, and set it in the basket seam up. Cover with film.
Ingredients: 20 g rye flour for the basket
Seam up — the base becomes the top.Chill overnight
Put the basket in the fridge for 12 hours. Cold fermentation develops flavour and makes scoring easier.
Ingredients: 150 g active wheat sourdough starter (fed 4–8 hours earlier) · 400 g strong white bread flour · 50 g medium rye flour · 50 g wholemeal wheat flour · 340 ml lukewarm water · 11 g salt
Bake in a pot
Heat the oven with a cast-iron pot inside to 250°C for 45 minutes. Turn the loaf onto paper, score a cross with a blade, lower it into the pot and cover. Bake 20 minutes, remove the lid, lower to 230°C and bake another 25 minutes, until the crust is dark brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. The pot is extremely hot — use thick gloves.
Ingredients: 150 g active wheat sourdough starter (fed 4–8 hours earlier) · 400 g strong white bread flour · 50 g medium rye flour · 50 g wholemeal wheat flour · 340 ml lukewarm water · 11 g salt
The cast-iron pot traps steam — the crust bursts beautifully.Cool
Lift the loaf onto a rack and cool at least 2 hours before slicing. The crumb finishes setting as it cools — cut early, it is gummy.
Ingredients: 150 g active wheat sourdough starter (fed 4–8 hours earlier) · 400 g strong white bread flour · 50 g medium rye flour · 50 g wholemeal wheat flour · 340 ml lukewarm water · 11 g salt
Before you start
The starter
The starter is ready when it doubles after feeding and a teaspoon dropped in water floats. A rye starter works too — the bread will be slightly more sour.
Without a pot
Bake on a preheated stone or tray with a dish of boiling water on the oven floor for the first 20 minutes. The crust will be thinner and the loaf flatter.
Storage
Sourdough keeps 4–5 days in a linen cloth or paper bag, cut side down on a board. Sliced, it freezes for 3 months.
