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Sourdough Cottage Loaf
Recently I found myself watching “Bread Week” on The Great British Bake Off and thinking I wanted to try making the unusual two-tiered crusty bread the contestants were challenged with, except with sourdough starter instead of yeast. The bread was a cottage loaf, a centuries old rustic style of bread from the English countryside with a stacked shape believed to be a strategy to fit more loaves into the ovens of the past.
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The cottage loaf shape reminded me a bit of Pan Gallego con Moña from Spain, with its knot on top, but that bread has a very open crumb, while cottage loaves have a tender, closed crumb. Both use strong flour, but cottage loaves have a much dryer dough that is enriched with lard or butter. The cottage loaf also called to mind the ancient bread of Pompei, the Panis Quadratus, which also has 8 cuts in the dough and a bit of tiering from a string tied around it. Given that Britain was part of the Roman Empire for over three centuries, I wonder if this is could be more than a coincidence.
Historical ponderings aside, the tricky part of a cottage loaf is making sure the extra weight of the top dough doesn’t squash the crumb of the bottom dough. I aimed for most of the fermentation to happen before the shaping step so the final proof could be just long enough to “heal” the indent made through the dough balls to adhere them together, but also short enough that the freestanding dough doesn’t compress too much. Also I used a thoroughly preheated baking stone on the second from the bottom shelf of my oven to deliver heat quickly to the base of the dough so it would expand and set quickly.
Crusty and soft
Sourdough Cottage Loaf
Cottage loaves have a fun shape and are crusty on the outside and soft inside. Inspired by Paul Hollywood's recipe on the "Great British Baking Show," this sourdough version has a slow fermentation and a lot of flavor. It also likely harkens back to how the bread would have been made before the advent of commercial yeast.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
* In Paul Hollywood's cottage loaf written recipe and free masterclass on the BBC, he scores the dough before the final proof. On The Great British Baking Show (collection 11, episode 3), the bakers score just before the loaves go into the oven. For this recipe, I used the contestants' sequence, but for a flatter bread that might bake a little faster, you could score just after shaping.
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Shopping List
Sourdough Starter (Dry)
Danish Dough Whisk — Large
Breadtopia’s Choice Kitchen Scale
$18.00Dough and Storage Bucket w/Lid – 2 qt. Square
FibraMent Oven Baking Stones
Parchment Paper Sheets — 200 Sheets
$19.00Sourdough Cottage Loaf