Step-by-step method

At a glance

You'll need minimal ingredients and patience for this rustic French bread—the magic happens through long, slow fermentation in the fridge overnight and a gentle rise at room temperature. The whole process spans about a day, but most of that's hands-off time; the actual work involves simple mixing, kneading, and shaping into rustic loaves that are meant to look beautifully imperfect.

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Tip: overnight preparation

The dough needs to rise for a long time in the fridge. This allows the complex sugars in the flour to break down into simple sugars more effectively. It's this slow fermentation that gives the bread its distinctive flavour and lets the crust caramelise beautifully.
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Mix the dough

Tip the flour into a bowl, pour in cold water, and mix thoroughly for about a minute. If you're feeling lazy, use a stand mixer; if you fancy a workout, get stuck in by hand.

For this step
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500 gram
All-purpose wheat flour

375 gram
Water

18 gram
Dried Yeast

10 gram
Salt
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Knead

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then get back to kneading — with some real energy this time. I'll admit I was the lazy one who used the dough hook on my mixer, letting it run for about 5 minutes.

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Brush with oil and wrap

Brush the surface of the dough with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and pop it into the fridge, where it will sit undisturbed for about 10 hours.
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Knead again

The next morning, take the bowl out, add the yeast and salt, and knead once more. Again, I let it knead for 5 minutes.
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Second rise, several hours

Now for the second rise, this time at room temperature. It can take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. It's ready when the dough has doubled in volume and bubbles appear on top.
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Preheat the oven

Preheat the oven to 225°C and place a container with about 1.5 litres of boiling water inside. Dust your work surface generously with flour and tip the dough out onto it. Don't worry about how loose and slack it looks — that's exactly how it should be.
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Fold and shape the dough

Dust the top of the dough with flour as well and fold it over several times. Cut it into 4 pieces and, with all your strength, shape them into baguette-like loaves. Don't expect perfectly smooth, polished beauties — this is rustic country bread, after all!
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Bake

Transfer everything onto a baking sheet dusted with coarse flour or lined with baking paper. Let the loaves rest for another 10 minutes, then slide them into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, depending on how dark you like the crust. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Pain à l’ancienne – Rustic Bread

Name: Rustic Pain à l'Ancienne Bread
Prep time: 31 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1471 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 500 gram All-purpose wheat flour; 10 gram Salt; 18 gram Dried Yeast; 375 gram Water

bohynekuchyne

Prep 31 min Cook 50 min

Plus overnight of resting (not counted in active time)

4 Ingredients

9 Steps

Hard Difficulty

Ingredients — what you'll need

You only need 4 ingredients

Adjust servings

500 gram
All-purpose wheat flour
10 gram
Salt
18 gram
Dried Yeast
375 gram
Water

What's in it?

461 kcal

Calories

92 g

Carbohydrates

1 g

Fats

16 g

Proteins

The nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on the specific ingredients used.

About this recipe

While I'm writing this recipe, my husband is in the kitchen "taste-testing" it with fresh goat cheese and slices of smoked salmon on the side. So I'd better hurry up if I want to get a piece myself. Unfortunately, this recipe can't be written that quickly. You can count the ingredients on the fingers of one hand, but the method needs a bit more detail. I based it on the recipes and technique of baking genius Peter Reinhart.

Lactose-free Vegan Vegetarian Bread & Rolls

Step-by-step method

At a glance

Tip: overnight preparation

Mix the dough

For this step

Knead

Pain à l’ancienne – Rustic Bread

Ingredients — what you'll need

What's in it?

About this recipe