Comments on: fougasse provençale + rustic white bread

By: Kari

Kari — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:53:03 +0000

That Rustic White Bread is my new favorite. I’ve been intimidated for ages by French bread recipes that tell you to spray the oven with water but this… this was no harder than my basic white loaf and 3 times as flavorful and tasty! The crust is great, the inside is dense without being thick or hard, and it doesn’t take any longer than my usual loaf (just a bit more fussing with the oven). Plus, making two loaves instead of one means my family gets one loaf and my boyfriend gets the other and nobody’s offended when I walk off with the bread. XD I’m so happy with this recipe. It’s my first to try from this website and such a winner, it’s my new bread go-to when I need to impress someone or I get a craving for the good fresh stuff.

I might use slightly less salt next time, though, mine came out very salty… so I’m guessing Katherine above me will have her bland-bread issue fixed by adding more salt!

By: Katherine

Katherine — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:34:46 +0000

Hi Deb, I made this bread yesterday and couldn’t be more pleased with the texture and crust of the bread. Unfortunately, it was also bland as bland could be. Rereading the recipe, I believe I found the user error – I don’t think I added the salt – maybe some but not 4 teaspoons (blaming the 14 month old for this one). Is blandness the normal end result for lack of salt? If I make it again correctly and still find it bland – would you consider adding more salt? Thanks for your (or any readers’) advice. Love the pictures of Jacob – what a doll!

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:20:08 +0000

I made the rustic loaf a couple of days ago. It is SO good! I’ve never taken a class except through you..and bits of info online, so I adapted this bread just a bit. I made a pre ferment ( I read it improved flavor and required less yeast overall) with a cup of the water, 1 1/2 cups of the flour and 1/4 tsp of the yeast, the night before. It sat on the counter for about 12 hrs+. I then proceeded with the recipe, incorporating the water/yeast (using only 1 1/2 tsp more yeast) then the flour/salt. This dough was easy to work with and turned into loafs that were almost equal (well, considering it’s a home oven and I’m a novice) to similar breads I’ve had from the best bread bakeries in the SF Bay area..and we have some outstanding bakeries here!

I just knew I could count on you for a good recipe! You choose from the best recipe sources and proven chefs so it gives me confidence that your recipes will not only work, but will be excellent as well. Thanks so much for all the info you shared from your class, it really helped me as well. It also has given me some idea of how to look for and interpret some of the more technical info on the bread making process elsewhere, and put it to practical use. Now go hug that baby, and pat yourself on the back for thinking to do something with your leisure time, when you had it, that will benefit your family later…and rest of us, too!

By: Ally

Ally — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:52:24 +0000

First of all, I just have to say that I LOVE your site! It brings me great joy to find someone who shares my love of cooking.
I’m rather new to bread baking and I do have a question for you. No. 5 on your list of things that you learned in your bread class you mentioned that cooler temperatures are better and even suggested putting it in the refrigerator. In your recipe for rustic white bread you also mentioned something about putting it in the refrigerator. What exactly does this do to the bread? Can you actually let it rise in the refrigerator, or does it act more as a place holder, so you can come back to it when you’re ready?
I don’t know why bread is such a daunting task!
Thanks so much!

By: ruby

ruby — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:28:33 +0000

Thanks Deb! I’ll be using two quarter-sheet pans so I will make the squares 13″ on all sides. Again, thanks so much for the quick response:)

By: deb

deb — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:52:56 +0000

Ruby — Use the long length of your bread pan as guidance. You want the width of your roll to be about an inch shy of that, as it will stretch as you press it in.

By: ruby

ruby — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:41:09 +0000

In your directions for the rustic white bread, you say to press the dough into a square and then tightly roll. How large is the square meant to be? Or how thick should the square be before rolling it? Petrified of making my first loaf of bread and neurotic enough to need specifics!

By: katieg

katieg — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:16:26 +0000

just made the rustic white bread over the weekend. delicious!

By: Kelley

Kelley — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:38:03 +0000

I made the rustic white bread and it is officially the best bread I have ever baked. There were two things I did differently. First, I used bread flour because it’s all we had and we are moving soon so I am trying to use up what we have. Second, I forgot the salt. The dough was a perfect elastic mass and I was rinsing the bowl so that I could oil it and let the dough rise in it when I saw the salt sitting on the counter! Foiled again! I dissolved the salt in a bit of warm water and added a sprinkle of flour to make a slurry and kneaded it into the dough as best as I could. I left it in the refrigerator overnight, hoping for the best. The next evening I shaped it into several round balls and arranged them close to each other on a baking sheet. As they rose and baked, they became wonderfully crusty on top and soft at the pull-apart sides. Total success and really delicious with butter. Thanks so much!

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:31:25 +0000

I just pulled my first loaf out of the over and split it open – INCREDIBLE! Thanks so much!