A hearty loaf piquant with browned shallots and spices. A cottage loaf is a traditional English bread consisting a ball of dough stacked on top of another, with a hole in the middle. In this recipe a 'starter' batter is prepared the night before and allowed to ferment overnight. It is then added to the other dough ingredients and makes the bread springy and slightly tangy. Although this recipe includes yeast, sourdough breads can be made that are leavened entirely by airborne yeasts incorporated into the fermented starter. I hope to post such a recipe sometime soon. I will also post a recipe tomorrow for a soup with which you could eat the bread.
Makes: 1 loaf
Ingredients1-1/2 cups wholewheat flour
1 teaspoon dried yeast
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 - 1 cup/125-250 ml water
1 teaspoon olive oil
8 shallots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the starter:
3/4 cups wholewheat flour
4 tablespoons yoghurt
1 cup/250 ml water
Method
The night before the day you intend to make the bread, mix together the ingredients for the starter into a thick batter, cover and allow to ferment overnight. The following day, mix the flour, yeast, paprika, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Tip the starter batter into bowl along with the mustard. Incorporate as much of the flour mix into the starter as possible, with your hands or a wooden spoon, then add the water 1/4 cup/60 ml at a time until the mixture forms a soft but kneadable dough (the amount of water you need will vary, depending on the your flour, the starter and the weather).
Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place on a board or other suitable surface and cover with an upturned bowl or place in a bowl and cover, and set aside to rise for about 1 hour until roughly doubled in size.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and saute the sliced shallots for 6-8 minutes until they are soft and browned. Stir in the black pepper. Once the dough is risen, knead it well on a floured surface to remove trapped air bubbles. Then flatten it out to a large circle and scatter over the cooked shallots and black pepper, leaving some space around the edges. Bring the sides of the dough over the shallots and fold them down, completing covering the shallots. Knead for a few minutes to fully incorporate the shallots and pepper into the dough.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Grease a small baking tray. Cut off a piece approximately one-third of the size of the dough. Roll both the large and small pieces of the dough into balls. Place the small ball on top of the large one and press down lightly, without flattening the balls too much. Dip your thumb into some flour so that it is generously coated with flour and push it down the top centre of small ball making a hole almost all the way to the bottom of the large ball. You may have to repeat the process of flouring your thumb and pushing down to make a deep enough hole.
Carefully transfer the loaf to the baking tray and cover with an upturned bowl or plastic cling wrap. Set aside to rise for about 45 minutes until approximately doubled in size. With a sharp knife make about 8 cuts (not more than 1 cm/0.4 inches deep) from the centre to the edge around the top of the loaf, as shown in the photograph. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the crust is brown, hard and dry. The loaf should also sound hollow when tapped at the base. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.
The bread can be quite hot inside while still being cool to the touch. A better way to gauge its temperature is to feel with your wrist or back of your hand. For best results, the crumb should be fairly cool before slicing so that the crumb is dry and does not stick or clump together too much when slicing. Serve at least some of the bread on the day of baking if possible but the remainder can be stored for a few days, well covered to ensure it does not dry and harden.
Ingredients1-1/2 cups wholewheat flour
1 teaspoon dried yeast
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 - 1 cup/125-250 ml water
1 teaspoon olive oil
8 shallots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the starter:
3/4 cups wholewheat flour
4 tablespoons yoghurt
1 cup/250 ml water
Method
The night before the day you intend to make the bread, mix together the ingredients for the starter into a thick batter, cover and allow to ferment overnight. The following day, mix the flour, yeast, paprika, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Tip the starter batter into bowl along with the mustard. Incorporate as much of the flour mix into the starter as possible, with your hands or a wooden spoon, then add the water 1/4 cup/60 ml at a time until the mixture forms a soft but kneadable dough (the amount of water you need will vary, depending on the your flour, the starter and the weather).
Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place on a board or other suitable surface and cover with an upturned bowl or place in a bowl and cover, and set aside to rise for about 1 hour until roughly doubled in size.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and saute the sliced shallots for 6-8 minutes until they are soft and browned. Stir in the black pepper. Once the dough is risen, knead it well on a floured surface to remove trapped air bubbles. Then flatten it out to a large circle and scatter over the cooked shallots and black pepper, leaving some space around the edges. Bring the sides of the dough over the shallots and fold them down, completing covering the shallots. Knead for a few minutes to fully incorporate the shallots and pepper into the dough.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Grease a small baking tray. Cut off a piece approximately one-third of the size of the dough. Roll both the large and small pieces of the dough into balls. Place the small ball on top of the large one and press down lightly, without flattening the balls too much. Dip your thumb into some flour so that it is generously coated with flour and push it down the top centre of small ball making a hole almost all the way to the bottom of the large ball. You may have to repeat the process of flouring your thumb and pushing down to make a deep enough hole.
Carefully transfer the loaf to the baking tray and cover with an upturned bowl or plastic cling wrap. Set aside to rise for about 45 minutes until approximately doubled in size. With a sharp knife make about 8 cuts (not more than 1 cm/0.4 inches deep) from the centre to the edge around the top of the loaf, as shown in the photograph. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the crust is brown, hard and dry. The loaf should also sound hollow when tapped at the base. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.
The bread can be quite hot inside while still being cool to the touch. A better way to gauge its temperature is to feel with your wrist or back of your hand. For best results, the crumb should be fairly cool before slicing so that the crumb is dry and does not stick or clump together too much when slicing. Serve at least some of the bread on the day of baking if possible but the remainder can be stored for a few days, well covered to ensure it does not dry and harden.
