Rustic Loaf
Ingredients
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¾ cup bread flour
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¼ cup whole wheat flour
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½ cup water
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¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
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3 cups bread flour
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1 cup water
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2 teaspoons salt
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Sign up for full access to June's entire recipe library. Your first three months are complimentary, and you can cancel at any time. After your trial, a monthly subscription is $9.99 or an annual subscription is $99. Download the app and start cooking today!
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Make the poolish
In a medium bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, mix together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, water and yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours, up to 6 hours. The longer the poolish matures, the more flavor your bread will have. After 6 hours, if you want to keep developing the poolish or bake your bread the next day, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
¾ cup bread flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
medium bowl
liquid measuring cup
measuring cups
measuring spoons
spatula
plastic wrap
Mix the poolish, flour and water, then rest the dough
When you are ready to mix your bread dough, add the poolish, bread flour, and water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the dough hook on the lowest speed until no more dry flour remains, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape the dough off the dough hook, then remove the hook and set it aside. Cover the bowl with a dry towel or plastic wrap. Let the mixture rest 30 minutes to develop flavor and improve the texture of the bread.
3 cups bread flour
1 cup water
stand mixer
Dissolve the yeast
In a small bowl, stir together the warm water and the yeast to dissolve. Set aside for 10 minutes. The yeast may not become foamy, but that’s ok.
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
small bowl
Add the yeast, water and salt
When the dough has finished resting, add the yeast and water mixture to the stand mixer, followed by the salt. Mix on low speed until all the liquid has been absorbed. The dough will seem very sticky. If the dough doesn’t seem sticky or isn’t sticking to the sides of bowl, add 1 tablespoon water.
2 teaspoons salt
Knead the dough
Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead the dough 5-6 minutes. The dough should look like a shiny, stretchy mass and pull away from the bowl’s sides when the mixer is running. When the mixer is stopped, the dough will fall from the dough hook back into the bowl. If it doesn’t, add another tablespoon of water and continue to mix for another minute.
Transfer, fold and rest the dough
Coat a large glass bowl or plastic container with nonstick cooking spray. With an oiled spatula, scrape the very sticky and elastic dough into the bowl. Right away, with lightly oiled hands, stretch and fold the dough, by gently lifting one side up about 8” then pressing it lightly back onto the surface of the main mass. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold motion. Repeat 2 more times, rotating the bowl another quarter turn each time, so you’ve stretched and folded the dough a total of 4 times. The dough should roughly resemble a square. Cover the bowl or container with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
large bowl
nonstick cooking spray
Stretch and fold the dough again
Gently stretch and fold the dough another 4 times, just as you did before. At this point the dough should be more aerated with noticeable air bubbles, which you should be able to see through the glass bowl or plastic container. Handle the dough gently in order to not deflate it too much while you fold. Cover the dough and let it rest another 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold the dough again
Gently stretch and fold the dough 4 times once more, then cover again and let rest another 30 minutes. By the end of this rest, the dough will have been resting for 1½ hours with 3 rounds of stretching and folding.
Begin to shape the dough
At the end of the 1½ hours, the dough should have increased in volume by about 1½ times, and it will have more and larger air bubbles. If the dough isn’t noticeably billowy and expanded, stretch and fold it as before and let it rest an additional 30 minutes. Scrape the dough onto a generously floured surface. Pull the outside edges of the dough up and into the middle and lightly pinch to seal them there, forming a rough round shape. Lightly dust the top of the round with flour and gently roll it over so that the seal is now on the bottom of the loaf. Dust the top of the dough with flour and cover it with a clean, dry kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 10 minutes.
bread flour
kitchen towel
Shape the dough
Uncover the dough. At this point, don’t add any more flour to your work surface--it is important that there is a little friction between the dough and the surface as you shape the loaf. Slide a bench scraper horizontally underneath one edge of the dough round and then drag the scraper towards you, pulling it across your work surface while using your other hand near the bottom edge on the other side of the round to gently push the dough away from you. Keep repeating this motion to shape the dough into a round ball--the dough should be forming a tighter and tighter ball as you turn it, making a tight seam on the bottom as it drags on the surface. Repeat this process at least 30 seconds until the surface is noticeably taut. If the dough begins to tear on top, stop turning and move on to the next step.
bench scraper
Transfer the dough and let rise
Generously flour one side of a dish towel and use it to line a medium colander or bowl with the floured side pointing up. Slide your bench scraper under your dough round to lift it from your work surface, then invert the round over the bowl and gently lay it in the floured cloth. The seam you were creating in the last step should be on top. Lightly flour the exposed dough and cover the bowl with a clean towel. Let the dough rise about 1½ hours, until puffy--when you poke the dough the indent should stay visible for 2 seconds. Alternatively, put the dough in the refrigerator for at least 4 and up to 8 hours.
kitchen towel
bread flour
medium bowl
Preheat the June Oven
With the shelf in the bottom position, preheat the June Oven to 475°F on the Bake cook mode using the button below.
June Oven
Preheat the Dutch oven
When the June Oven has fully preheated, place the Dutch oven and its cover in the June Oven to preheat for 20 minutes. June will notify you when the Dutch oven is preheated.
Dutch oven
Remove the Dutch oven and preheat the June Oven
Carefully remove the very hot Dutch oven from the June Oven and set it on a cooling rack. Keep the June Oven hot by pressing the button below.
cooling rack
silicone oven mitts
Invert and slash the dough
Uncover the dough and very gently invert it onto a 15” x 15” piece of parchment paper, being careful not to deflate the round. With a sharp knife, score the top of the bread 2-4 times, cutting about ¼” deep and making slashes about 3-4” inches long.
parchment paper
paring knife
Transfer the dough
Remove the hot Dutch oven lid with protected hands (unlike our hand model who forgot the wardrobe addition). Using the corners of the parchment, carefully lift the round and settle it into the hot Dutch oven. Carefully re-cover the Dutch oven with the hot lid. (Don't worry, our hand model was not harmed in the making of this clip. The lid was not hot during filming).
silicone oven mitts
Bake the loaf covered
Place the Dutch oven on the bottom shelf of the June Oven and bake 35 minutes. June will notify you when it is time to remove the lid.
Remove the lid
Remove the Dutch oven from the June Oven and place it on a cooling rack. With protected hands, remove the lid.
Keep the June Oven hot
Keep the June Oven hot by pressing the button below. Carefully remove the hot lid and set aside.
Continue baking uncovered
Return the uncovered Dutch oven to bottom shelf of the June Oven and bake the loaf 10 more minutes, until it is a deep golden brown.
Cool and serve
Remove the Dutch oven from the June Oven and set it on a cooling rack. Using the parchment paper, carefully lift the bread from the Dutch oven. Let the bread cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing or storing.