British cottage loaf recipe
A cross between a crusty baguette exterior and a Parisian brioche, this classic cottage loaf recipe offers a crisp curst and soft, tender crumb! See above to learn how to turn this recipe into durum wheat cottage loaf and how to store it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons ( 240 grams) water, at room temperature. Plus 2 cups to create the steam.
- 3 cups (435 grams) bread or all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) sugar
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) instant or active yeast
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Instructions
- Make the dough: Add the room-temperature water, flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl. Combine with your hand, wooden spoon, or spatula for 2-3 minutes, until all the flour is incorporated and the dough becomes shaggy. You may notice that the butter doesn't mix well in this step, and that's okay. Refer to the photo above for the right consistency of the dough at this stage. *If using a stand mixer, fill the dough hook and beat the ingredients on low speed for 3 minutes.
- Knead the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes until becomes smooth and elastic. The butter makes this dough a little sticky on the first time you work it, so you'll need to dust the dough and work surface with flour as needed. Or knead the dough at medium speed for 6-7 minutes if using a stand mixer. Shape the dough into a ball.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray and. Place the dough on the bowl and turn it over to coat all sides with oil. Cover and allow the dough to rise for 60-120 minutes until doubled in size.
- Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape: When the dough is ready, transfer it onto your work surface and fold it a few times to release the air. Cut the dough into two pieces, with one piece being one-third of the total and two-thirds of the other—They don't have to be perfect. Shape each into a smooth ball. Place the large ball of dough on the prepared tray, flatten it a bit, and then place the smaller ball over it. Using both your index and middle fingers, press down through the center of the top dough balls until your fingers touch the baking sheet.
- 2nd Rise: Cover the shaped loaf with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment for 60-90 minutes or until it's doubled in size.
- 15 minutes before the dough is ready to bake. Place a metal or cast iron bowl on one side of the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 446 ºF (230 ºC).
- Boil 2 cups of water to create steam.
- Use a bread lame or a sharp knife and score 8 slits on the surface of both balls. Sprinkle a little water on the scored bread dough.
- Bake: Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Quickly, Pour the boiling water into the prepared bowl to create steam and bake the bread at 446°F (230 ºC) for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 355°F (180ºC) and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the top become golden brown. Gently tap the bottom of bread—If it sounds hollow, the bread is done. If not, let it bake for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving it.
Notes
Baking tools (affiliate links): Wooden or Silicone Spatula with Steel or Glass Mixing Bowls or Stand Mixer| Measuring Cups and Spoons or Kitchen Scale | Bench Scraper and Bowl scraper | Baking sheet | Bread Lame | Cooling Rack.
How to Make Cottage Loaf in Less Time? After completing the kneading process, let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes instead of waiting for the total time 1st rise time, then continue with step 4. This makes you gain about one hour of time but you will lose some of the bread's flavors as I mentioned before.
The temperature when I made this recipe: 64 Fahrenheit (18 Celsius).