One of the cultural differences between France and Norway which was hard for me to adapt to in the beginning was the differences in the approach to hygiene. While in Norway we are almost overly obsessed and things are regulated to the sometimes unnecessary extreme, France has a more relaxed relationship to hygiene. As an example, it took me years to no longer react to the bakery lady taking my money with the same hand she handed me the baguette with;-)
Then covid 19 came and my Norwegian overly obsessed with hygiene mind just went on high alert… Things I had learned to ignore in the French society now created red flag alerts in my mind constantly. I actually thought that with the virus habits would change in France, and I think they have to some extent, but my bakery lady still takes money with the same hand she hands out the baguette… So for months now, I have made all the bakery goods at home. I have tested numerous recipes for croissants, baguettes and bread. My go-to everyday bread proposed here is my personal recipe with what I find to provide the perfect mixture of light and dark flour and just enough grains. I love the fact that it is so easy to make! 5-10 min in the evening and then it almost cooks itself in the morning. It can’t get any easier than that. Enjoy!
THE TIPS TO SUCCEED
1: Make sure the texture of the dough holds together but is still very sticky. Depending on your country’s flour you may have to adjust with water or flour.
2: Supervise the last 10 minutes of baking. If the grains start to get a burned color, shorten the cooking time.
Let’s get started
Ingredients
- 350 g All-purpose flour or bread flour
- 60 g Whole-wheat flour
- 60 g Spelt flour
- 30 g Oatmeal
- 4 tbsp Grains linseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower grains, poppy seeds… (Use whatever you have)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Dry yeast
- 400 ml water
- 2 tbsp Grains to sprinkle over the dough
How to do it?
Mix all the dry ingredients together and add the water. Let the kitchen machine work at a low speed for 5-10 minutes.
The dough should hold together but be very sticky. Adjust with water or flour if needed. Cover the bowl with plastic and leave it at room temperature for 10-14 hours (overnight).
Put your cast iron pot with its lid in the oven and set it to 230°c. Let it heat for 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Use a spatula to slide the dough into the pot and sprinkle with grains.
Put back the lid and place it in the oven. Bake for 35 min.
Remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven and place the bread to cool down on a grid.
The bread should not stick to the pot. If it does your pot probably needs greasing. Try smearing it with oil (olive or vegetable) and leave it for a few hours before to remove the superflu with a kitchen paper.
How to serve the everyday bread?
This bread goes with everything! With a spread, together with a soup, stew or a salade… I can recommend it with an apple butter spread!
Everyday bread
Equipment
- Cast iron pot
Ingredients
- 350 g All-purpose flour or bread flour
- 60 g Whole wheat flour
- 60 g Spelt flour
- 30 g Oatmeal
- 4 tbsp Grains linseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower grains, poppy seeds… Use whatever you have
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Dry yeast
- 400 ml water
- 2 tbsp Grains to sprinkle over the dough
Instructions
- Mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Add the water and let the machine work on low speed for 5-10 minutes.
- The dough should hold together but be very sticky. Adjust with water or flour if needed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic and leave it in room temperature for 10-14 hours.
- Put your cast iron pot with its lid in the oven and set it to 230°c. Let it heat for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Use a spatula to slide the dough into the pot and sprinkle with grains.
- Put back the lid and place it in the oven. Bake for 35 min.
- Remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven and place the bread to cool down on a grid.
