Twelve Hour Bread: food of the gods

I never know when a new recipe will catch my eye, or where I'll find it. This delicious Pain de Campagne recipe came from a novel I was reading: Bread Alone, by Judith Ryan Hendricks. Smack in the middle of following Wynter Morrison's divorce and her new life as breadbaker in Seattle, there appeared this jewel of an authentic French bread . The recipe looked long. I went into the kitchen anyway. Twelve hours later, I ate the best bread I've ever made - chewy crust, perfect crumb, golden loaves. Warm from the oven, it was food of the gods. I found the flavor diminished when I stored it in a plastic bag for up to two days, so I think next time I'll freeze one loaf and see if that improves the longevity.

But what an accomplishment! At this point, I'm feeling fearless and ready to tackle any bread recipe that comes my way.

Recipe from Bread Alone:

First, you have to make the sponge, or poolish:

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup whole wheat flour ( I used King Arthur)

Dissolve yeast in water, then stir in the flour until it forms a thick batter. Beat about a hundred strokes to develop the gluten. Cover with a damp tea towel and let sit at least four hours, or up to eight, at room temperature. When poolish is ready, it will be bubbly and loose with a lovely scent.

Pain de Campagne

All of the poolish

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

between 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups unbleached King Arthur flour

1 T. kosher salt

Scrape the poolish into your mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment, add the yeast and water to the poolish, beating on low until frothy.

Add the flour one cup at a time. I think I used 6 or more cups of flour plus more for kneading. Because my beloved KitchenAid was straining a bit, I scraped the sticky dough onto a floured counter and did the kneading by hand, flicking flour onto the dough and counter as needed. I realized this was a lively, dense, somewhat wet dough, so I tried not to overdo the flour. After 10 minutes of kneading, sprinkle the salt over the dough and knead it in. The dough will still be sticky, but I think that's what gives it such a nice, chewy crust. Place dough in oiled bowl, turning the dough so it's oiled all over. Cover with a damp tea towel and let sit until doubled in size - about 3 hours.

Deflate the dough and let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut dough into two pieces, and gently form rounds or baguettes. I made rounds. Place the rounds on a floured baking sheet, then dust the tops with flour. Cover with a damp tea towel again and let rise for about 2 hours ( or more), until it's not quite doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Bring a teakettle to the boil, and pour 2 inches of boiling water into an ovenproof pan.

Place pan filled with water on lower oven rack.

Slash the tops of the bread with a sharp knife , or razor. Sprinkle a little flour on tops, again.

Slip the bread onto the top rack and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the loaves thump when you knock on the bottoms.

Turn off the oven, and prop the door open. Let loaves sit another 5 minutes.

Remove to cooling rack.
Do not cut bread until fully cooled. I cheated. After 20 minutes, I tore chunks ( which I think makes the bread taste better) of sweet, chewy bread off while still warm and slathered the bread with unsalted butter. Incredible.