Supposed to be a Couronne but i’m limited when it comes to baking so made it into a batard. The recipe by Sarah Owens has a lovely mix of cornmeal (done as a scald), bread flour, rye and whole-wheat with toasted sunflower seeds and black sesame seeds additions.
She recommends a short fridge time because this bread doesn’t suit a long ferment. Thought i’d increase the bulk and skip the fridge time altogether. After all these types of breads don’t suit a long retard so why retard at all? However when final proofing time ran away and before I knew it the dough had over proofed with signs of over fermentation too (as you can see on top of the loaf). Threw it in the oven and hoped for the best. The result was a quite well risen bread for a dough that was overdone. Not the nicest looking loaf but the aroma is wonderful.
With cornmeal and rye, a mix that really compliments each other, and the seeds this is a delicious hearty rustic loaf.
Wow! Such complexity. There’s some sweet and tang coming through. Don’t know where to begin. Very happy with this recipe. There’s enough rye in it to be called a rye bread (there are many rye’s who claim that name with lower percentages). The rye is coming through but it’s mixed in with some other flavours. I highly recommend this recipe.
I always perk up when you say that a recipe is “highly recommended,” because they often end up on my favorite bread list. This one sounds delicious, and it will give me another go at a Couronne. I generally like Sarah’s recipes, except the ones with edible flowers. If you hadn’t mentioned that your football was in need of a little air, I wouldn’t have noticed that it was over proofed as it turned out well.
Richard
Thank you Richard. Just had some toasted with olive oil and za’atar. Delicious. One of the most complex flavour sourdoughs i’ve done. Haven’t done it as a couronne but be aware it is quite a sticky dough and it handles like a rye. However if the gluten is developed well then shaped like the instructions I should imagine it’ll be quite ok. Also be aware that due to the high percentage of rye make sure to bake it through properly. Oven spring was a surprise considering the dough had fermented to a point where it began to unknit. The recipe is for two large couronnes. I halved it and was surprised it made a very good sized loaf.
P.s. Fully agree with you Richard. I draw the line at picking flowers. I’d love to try the Nettle and Ale Sourdough but I live in London and i’m not travelling to the countryside to pick nettles. And even if I could i’m not sure i’d like to as i’m not into picking wild things to cook or bake with. Don’t know what’s good to use or not. In her book there’s a photo of her picking wild shrubs in the middle of a field. That’s what is so annoying about this book. The inaccessibility of the majority of the recipes. At least i’ve found one more bread I can bake. A really nice one too! So that’s just about 4 recipes from the whole book.
Thank you Benny. The actual dough looked quite over done so the oven spring and crumb was a surprise. A really flavoursome recipe. Nice as a couronne but a loaf is equally as good. Afterall it’s the flavour that really makes this bread. Shall be baking this one often.
An outstanding bake for an outstanding recommendation. La couronne parfaite! Perfect shaping, very nice crumb indeed and a nice distribution of the add-ins. Bon Appetit, Richard.
Enjoying my delicious couronne this morning. Needs nothing more than a smear of butter. The scent was intoxicating as it cooled off, but I resisted the urge to cut into it. I did not get a large rise, but that will not stop me from enjoying it. Another point in favor of a denser loaf is the ease in cutting.
Depending on the strength of the bread flour and with it being a large percentage of rye with more then a touch of cornmeal that is a very respectable rise. Lovely rustic looking nicely shaped couronne. Looks delicious. Glad you’re enjoying this tasty recipe.
Thanks for sharing this terrific recipe. The crust is wonderful and the blend of flavors is well balanced. In the end my countertop BF went for nearly 6 hours from the beginning of autolyse at about 71F, a reminder to always look for visual clues along the way. Any other recipes from her book that you recommend?
As you know I haven’t tried a lot of them due to the exotic ingredients so i’ve stuck to the more simple recipes but very tasty all the same.
The Honeyed Spelt and Oat Levain is a nice sourdough. Delicately flavoured with a sweet taste which toasts up nicely.
I’ve been reliably told her Banana Marble Cake is delicious and on my to-do list.
Can’t go wrong with Babka. Looks really good! Exactly like I used to have (or near enough).
Pane di Farro makes a lovely hearty loaf. Just exactly what farro is can be confusing. She uses Emmer but works well with spelt. High hydration but she doesn’t aim for a tall loaf for this bake.
Friendship Loaf is also a nice recipe. Nice mix of flours with a touch of buckwheat flour which brings a surprising punch of flavour for the amount used.
The nice thing about a lot of her recipes that are not bread us that she includes starter for flavour. So even though it is not all bread there’s loads of recipes to explore using starter.
Well many months later I just got around to trying Sarah Owens Roasted Banana Marble Cake. I can’t really recommend it. There is no sugar added except for the 30 grams in the bananas, and it just isn’t sweet at all. Did you ever try it? I believe I followed the recipe faithfully, but it’s not impossible that I made a mistake. Oh well, I have made the Pain du Soleil several times now, and it is always a winner.
