Description
Pain de Campagne, or "country bread," is the heart of French rustic baking. This sourdough loaf is known for its thick, chewy crust, an open and airy crumb, and a wonderfully complex, tangy flavor that comes from natural leavening. This recipe uses a sourdough starter and a long, cold fermentation to develop those deep flavors. While it requires time and patience, the process is incredibly rewarding. There’s nothing quite like pulling a beautiful, artisan-style loaf from your own oven. It’s perfect for serving with cheese, making sandwiches, or simply enjoying with a good-quality butter. The beauty of sourdough baking is that you are working with a living culture. Your sourdough starter is a symbiotic mix of wild yeasts and bacteria that will leaven and flavor your bread. The long, cold fermentation in the refrigerator (also known as "retarding") is a key step that allows the bacteria to produce the lactic and acetic acids that give sourdough its characteristic tangy flavor, without the dough over-proofing. The use of a Dutch oven is highly recommended as it traps steam, mimicking the environment of a professional baker's steam-injected oven. This steam allows the crust to stay soft for the first part of the bake, enabling the bread to expand fully (the "oven spring") before the crust sets and becomes crisp and golden.
A Taste of History
Pain de Campagne was the standard bread of French villages for centuries. Before commercially produced white flour and yeast were widely available, bakers used a mix of whatever flours they had - often whole wheat or rye along with white flour - and leavened their bread with a sourdough starter. It was a large loaf, often baked only once a week in a communal oven, and designed to last the entire week.
Prep Time
12 hours
Cook Time
45 minutes
Total Time
12 hours 45 minutes
Ingredients & Nutrition
160 kcal
Calories
5 g
Protein
1 g
Fat
32 g
Carbs
2.5 g
Fiber
0 g
Sugar
360 mg
Sodium
New Feature: We're excited to introduce our nutrition calculator! Please treat these values as an estimate, as they are auto-calculated. For specific dietary needs, consulting a professional is always recommended.
Equipment
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- Dutch Oven
- Mixing Bowls
- Banneton Basket (optional)
Instructions
0 of 8 steps completed
Reviews & Photos
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Common questions
- What is pain de campagne?
- French country bread - a large sourdough-leavened loaf with an open crumb and a dark, blistered crust. This recipe makes one large boule.
- Do I need a sourdough starter?
- Yes. The loaf is leavened entirely by an active starter, meaning one that has been fed recently and is lively rather than sluggish. There is no commercial yeast in the recipe.
- How long does it take from start to finish?
- About 12 hours 45 minutes, most of it unattended. That includes the autolyse, 2 to 3 hours of stretch and folds, and a cold fermentation in the fridge of at least 8 hours and up to 24.
- What is the autolyse for?
- It is a 30 to 60 minute rest after mixing that lets the flour fully hydrate and gluten begin forming on its own, before any kneading. It makes the dough easier to work and improves the final crumb.
- Do I need a Dutch oven?
- It is what produces the crust. Preheat it with its lid at 500°F (260°C) for 45 minutes to an hour, then bake the loaf covered so the trapped steam can do its work, before finishing uncovered.
- Why the long cold fermentation?
- The 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator is where the deep, tangy flavour develops. It also firms the dough, which makes scoring and transferring it much easier.
- Do I need a banneton?
- No - it is listed as optional. A bowl lined with a well-floured cloth shapes the loaf just as well.
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