Shopping list
350 ml warm water (approx. 45°C)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
400g bread flour
1½ teaspoons salt
oil, for greasing the bowl
Today we are baking bread, not half a loaf of brown or white but a very fancy French bread: Pain d' Epi. We don't know yet how it will turn out but we will do our best. We are not bakers of course and not French either so we will see what will come of it!
How to make Pain d' Epi
Heat the water to 45°.
Stir the yeast into the water.
Set 10 mins. aside until you see bubbles.
Weigh and measure flour and salt.
Add the flour mix to the yeast in a large bowl.
Transfer the dough to the mixing bowl and mix for 5 minutes.
The dough is now smooth but very sticky.
Grease a large clean bowl lightly with oil.
Place the dough with floury hands in the bowl.
Cover it and let it rise for +/- 1 hour,
It helps the dough with rising when you place the bowl in a warm spot
The dough has doubled in volume
Shape the dough into a 20x30cm square.
Fold the long and the short sides toward each other.
Cover the dough again and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Dust your work surface with flour
Shape 3 snakes of 30cm, pace on floured baking paper, cover and set 30 minutes aside.
Make cuts with the scissors on a 60 degree angle in the risen dough
Preheat the oven to 245°C / 225°C Fan
Cut sliths in the dough on both sides.
The cuts should be unequal on both sides (sorry!)
We bake one first, worried that 3 might not fit properly.
Then we bake another 2 Pain d' Epi in +/- 30 minutes brown and crispy.
Allow the bread to cool completely on the baking tray.
But eat it the same day, the will taste most delicious!
To be honest, sadly our bread doesn't look as pretty as the baker's does, but it tastes very good, that's a nice bonus!