Pain de Campagne / Country Bread
Pain de Campagne, or French country bread, is a rustic, artisan loaf with a crisp crust, airy crumb, and deep, complex flavor—perfect for sandwiches or pairing with soups and cheeses.
Servings: 1 Loaf
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Kitchen Towel
- Dutch Oven or Other Lidded Bread Baker
- Bread Basket Optional
- Parchment Paper
- Kitchen Thermometer Optional
- Bread Lame or Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups Bread Flour
- ⅔ cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 3 ½ cups Warm Water About 75°F to 80°F
- ½ tbsp Sea Salt
- 1 ½ tbsp Sourdough Starter Unfed / Discard, best if it has been fed in the last week
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. It's fine to use sourdough starter straight from the refrigerator if that's where you keep it, though it's best if you've fed it at least once in the past week.
- Mix the ingredients by hand until the dough forms a shaggy mass and the flour is hydrated. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Fold the dough by grabbing a section from one side with a wet hand, lifting it up, then pressing it down to the middle to seal. Repeat this with the remaining three sides of the dough. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Fold the dough two more times, giving it a 15 minute rest between the two, for a total of three sets of folds in 45 minutes. The dough smooths out, gaining strength and becoming elastic.
- Cover the dough tightly after the final fold and leave it at room temperature, around 72°F, for about 12 hours.
- After the 12 hour proving, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or greased surface. Gently form the dough into a round, cover it, and let it rest seam-side down for 10 minutes.
- Generously dust the bottom of a large bread basket or towel-lined large bowl with whole wheat flour.
- Shape the loaves into tight rounds / boules, place them seam-side up into the prepared bread bowls or towel-lined bowls, and cover them with a plastic, shower cap, or cotton bread cover.
- Let the boules rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.
- When you're ready to bake, place a Dutch oven or other lidded bread baker onto a rack set in the lowest third of the oven. Preheat the oven and Dutch ovens to 500°F for 45 minutes.
- Turn your loaf out onto a piece of parchment paper and score it with a lame or sharp knife.
- Remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. With the help of the parchment, carefully transfer the loaf to the Dutch oven.
- Cover the Dutch oven with its lid and place it in the oven.
- Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 450°F and bake the covered loaf for 20 minutes. Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and bake the loaf for 20 to 25 minutes uncovered, until it is a deep golden brown color.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and carefully turn it out of the Dutch oven onto a rack to cool completely.
- Store leftover bread, loosely wrapped, or in a bread bag for 3 to 4 days. Or you can store it for even longer in the freezer, make sure to place it in an airtight bag and freeze it for up to 4 months.