White bread with a crispy crust

 
A common virus is spreading all over the world. I think it's pretty scary.

The pressure is suddenly calming me down. Due to the corona virus, I, unfortunately, had to move a number of workshops to other (yet to be determined) dates. All participants will be notified by me (so if you haven't heard anything yet: you'll get another email).
My freezer is still quite full, we still have enough bread for a few weeks. My hands do itch to get started. So I was happy when I was asked last week if I could bake bread for someone. It had to be simple white bread with a crunchy crust.
The fact that I now have more time also means that a nice new project that was actually planned for a little later in the year is gaining
momentum. Well, at least I don't have to get bored!
Anyway, back to the recipe for the white bread with a crunchy
crust. With this dough you can go in all directions. You can turn it into floor bread, bus bread, baguette and pistolets.

1 floor bread of ± 870 grams 1 bus bread of ± 870 grams 2 floor loaves of ± 430 grams 3 baguettes of ± 290 grams 9 pistolets of ± 95 grams of dough The moisture content of this dough is 70% and that is higher than average.
The dough therefore feels more sticky. In itself, that's ok, there's nothing wrong with sticky dough. Water is the best natural bread improver. More moisture in dough means a more airy loaf and it also stays fresh longer. However, for home bakers who are not yet so experienced, that 70% water can be a bit too high. Then do not add the extra 25 grams of water during kneading. The dough then remains more manageable and sticks only a little. Tip: grease your hands with a little oil or use a little flour and don't freubelen too much with the dough.

Touch it briefly and with quick movements and use a dough plug to lift and move the dough.
In the method below I assume a round floor bread (boule), which makes you rise in a
basket. Instead of a basket, you can also use a bread basket containing a piece of fabric. At the bottom of the recipe is the method for an elongated bread (batard), baguette, bus bread and pistolets. I refer in the text to various videos on my YouTube channel to explain the process better.
The recipe starts with an autolysis: you briefly mix flour and water into a rough
dough. You will then leave this mixture covered for about 30 minutes. The water can then be absorbed well by the flower and the gluten network starts to form on its own. Then you add yeast, salt and oil. Tip for novice home bakers: in the recipe below I mention rice times.

They're not absolute. I can't predict/specify exactly how long the dough should rise with you. Rice times depend on the amount of yeast used, the dough temperature after kneading and the ambient temperature in which the dough rises. The dough rises faster in a warmer environment. Check the dough regularly. Important: the dough is always leading and never the times that are in recipes. If you let the dough rise too long, it will collapse if you unload it from a basket or if you put it in the oven.

tip: bake the bread long enough, especially if you use the total amount of
water. If the bread is baked too short, the crust will soften again in no time. The crust always softens slightly when the bread has cooled down. Store the bread in a paper or cotton bag, not in plastic. If you have already baked it in advance, you can put the bread in an oven preheated at 200 °C for 6 minutes just before serving to make the crust crisp again.



White bread with a crispy crust (floor bread, bus bread, baguette, pistolets) Dough:




500 grams French flour T65 (other flour is also possible)
325 + 25 grams water
4 grams instant yeast
9 grams salt
9 grams olive oil
5 grams white malt flour (optional)
Further:

basket(s) or bread tray tin (23 - 25 cm)
pizza scoop or chopping board
pizza/bread baking stone or baking tray
roasting tray, low baking tin or DeSh~Steam tray

Autolysis: Mix wheat flour and 325 grams of water in ± 1 minute into a rough dough. Cover the bowl and let the mixture rest at room temperature for ± 30 minutes.
Knead dough in a spiral kneading/planetary mixer/bread maker: Add yeast, salt and olive oil (and possibly clear malt powder) and let the machine knead for ± 6 minutes until a smooth dough is formed.
Then add the remaining 25 grams of water in portions. Note: do not do this if you have no or little experience with stickier dough. The dough is well kneaded if you can pull a fleece from it.1st row and fold: Shape a ball of the dough and place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, turning 1 x so that all sides are covered with a little oil.

Cover the bowl with a shower cap or bubble wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature. Fold the dough after 30 minutes  and then let it rise further until it has roughly doubled in volume. Total driving time: 60 – 75 minutes. Shapes: Pour the dough into a lightly floured workplace.

Gently press out the air a little and then loosely snap it up.
Re-energy the dough, now a little firmer.
The dough is well-formed/tensioned if you push it with a finger and immediately return the impression. If you can easily push a dent in it, then the dough is not yet well on tension. Sprinkle the dough with (rye) flour and place the dough with the seam upwards in a basket also sprinkled with (rye) flour.
Cover the dough with a shower cap or bubble wrap and let it rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, ± 60
minutes. The dough is good if you push it with a finger, the impression remains visible for a while and then slowly fades back. Preheat oven: Preheat the oven containing a pizza/bread baking stone 1 hour before the bread goes in for 230 °C (upper/lower heat) or 210 °C (hot air).

Heat a roasting tray, low baking tin or DeSh~Steam tray.
Tips:


If you don't have a pizza/bread baking stone, you can also bake the bread on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. You don't have to preheat the oven for an hour, for most ovens 15 minutes is enough.
You can also bake this bread in a cast iron pan in the oven. You then create an oven in an oven. Works excellently! Cheat for the method with this recipe.
Baking: Place a sheet of baking paper on the pizza scoop or chopping board. Carefully remove the dough from the basket on the pizza scoop/chopping board. Cut the dough with a sharp (serrated) knife or lamb a few times. Slide the dough with paper and all onto the hot stone. Pour into the co-heated roasting tray/baking tray ± 1 dl of water (watch out for your hands!). Close the oven door immediately.
Bake the bread for 20 minutes, pull out the baking paper from underneath and remove the roasting tray from the oven (beware: there may still be hot water in
it). If necessary, lower the temperature (if the crust is already very coloured) to 200/180 °C and fry the loaves for another ± 20 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Two smaller loaves have a total baking time of ± 30 minutes. Place the loaves on a wire rack immediately after baking and let them cool.


Batard/Baguette/Bus bread/Pistolets shapes
On my YouTube channel From Levine's kitchen, you can find videos for forming a batard and baguette. You can bake a batard in the same way as a round loaf of bread/boule. The cooking time for baguettes is 20 - 25 minutes, the 1st 10 minutes with steam. You can form a bus bread as you form a batard or click here for a photo series (another way).

The baking time for the bus bread is ± 40 minutes.

Pistolets:


Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces with a dough plug and unsphere the pieces of dough. Let the balls rest covered ± for 15 minutes.
Turn the balls so that the bottom is located at the top.
Push the balls flat and fold the bottom and top of the patch to the centre, gently pressing the seams.
Then fold the bottom and top together and squeeze the seam. Let the ends run pointedly.
Bake them on a bread baking stone or on a baking sheet. Baking time ± 20 minutes, the 1st 10 minutes with steam.
In my books Bread from our own oven and Bread 2 from our own oven (this book used to be called More bread from your own oven) you can also find step-by-step photos. You can easily order these books online from, for example, Bol.com. To do so, click on the pictures of the books in the right column.

Dough formula: 100% French flour T65 65 + 5% water 0.8% instant yeast 1.8% salt 1.8% olive oil 1% white malt flour (optional)