This is a basic recipe to make a wonderful bread, crunchy on the outside and gummy inside. Now, it is not complicated, might take some practice and you want to be around during the whole process of about 5-8 hours. This is all about treating your ingredients just right. The techniques are quite specific and hard to explain. If you would like to see videos on that, let me know, I can post some.
This is the closest you get to a sourdough without using a starter. You use baker’s yeast and treat the dough as if you are making sourdough bread. I do not have a starter at the moment and for some reason, whenever I try to make one, it keeps dying on me on day 3 or 4! But once I succeed, rest assured I will share!
All you need is 500g of strong white flour, 450ml of lukewarm water, 25grams of baker’s yeast (the fresh yeast blocks), 1.5 table spoons of salt, a really really sharp knife (I actually use a razor blade) and plenty of time.
You mix the flour with the salt and separately the yeast with the lukewarm water. Make sure the yeast is completely dissolved (let the water look like you would not drink it for any money in the world). Mix the liquid with the dough in a bowl with a spoon (wood or anything else, it really doesn’t matter). Don’t use your fingers, do not knead, just mix it nicely. Cover it with cling foil, or a wet towel, or beeswax paper. Let it rest for 60 minutes.
Now you use your hands. The dough has risen to at least double its original size. It is super sticky. Do not use flour, though! Wet your hands well (and keep them wet) while you start stretching the dough: Grab it and pull it up so that it stretches but doesn’t break. Do this for like three minutes. At this point, you cannot stretch it much. But you will do this now every 30 to 60 minutes, pretty much as often as you like. I do it about 4 times, if I feel patient, 6. Towards the last few stretching sessions, you can pull the dough up to a half meter without breaking it. It really is lovely. This pulling will work the gluten and will make your bread gummy inside.
In between your stretching sessions, your dough will keep growing and you will keep making it small again with your stretching. Once you are done, your dough will look smooth and has some large bubbles. It is ready.
Pre-heat your oven to 250 Celsius. Only now you will start using flour again. Lots of it! Cover the top of the very sticky dough still in its bowl with flour. Cover your working surface with flour. With a very floury hand, shove the dough onto the surface. It will sort of run away because it is still very soft. Cover the dough with flour again. Do not be shy about the flour! Use it. Now you fold it in four, by pulling one side and fold it over, then the next, the next and the fourth.
Now turn it around, put flour on it and cover your hands in flour and start shaping a ball, pushing the dough under itself while gently turning it. Keep doing this so that the surface develops a tension. Try to find the point where there is a lot of tension, but it does not yet break open. Just that fine line is the sweet spot. Give it its final shape you want it to have – more or less as this type of dough is a wild card and uncontrollable, which makes it so much fun!
Now place the formed dough onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Take your sharp knife (again, I do recommend razor blades) and make some 1cm deep cuts as you like (play around, it is fun! The other day I cut the initials of my toddler, making the bread immediately more interesting to him!).
Now put it in your pre-heated oven, if you have a steaming function, use it! If you don’t, fill an oven proof plate with ice cubes and place it at the bottom of the oven. It will create enough steam. Bake for 30-40 minutes (Until it is golden). Take the bread out and place it on a grid, so it can breath all around. I know, it is tempting. But don’t you cut into it! Wait at least an hour before you do! It’s important, trust me, I gave in to temptation too often, it is the devil. Just wait. Eat some cereals to be able to bear it.
And then, finally, take your bread knife, cut and behold! What a bread!