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Pain de Campagne with Sourdough Discard

Alexandra Breckweg

Pain de Campagne is french for country bread. I made this loaf with my sourdough discard and I’m always amazed how much power this sourdough has and how well these loaves rise in the oven. That feeling of taking the lid off the dutch oven after 20 minutes of baking and looking at the bread is awesome every time.

It keeps encouraging me to make more breads with the actual discard produced when feeding SOPHIE, my active sourdough starter. I’ve mentioned this before in other posts, but I can’t tell you enough about not throwing your discard in the trash, but using it to make fantastic and flavorful breads.

So I hope you’ll give it a try and have as much fun with it as I do. I will definitely work more with my sourdough discard in the future and also try new things with it.

T55 is a french flour that is usually used in France for making brioche or croissants. In case you are not able to find this flour, check out my Country Sourdough Discard Bread.

Tools & Equipment

Recipe Tips

Temperature: The perfect temperature for dough development is between 25-27°C/77-80°F. If the room temperature of your kitchen is lower, plan more time for bulk fermentation, use warmer water when mixing the dough or increase the temperature to speed up the fermentation process. You can use a turned-off oven with the control light on to accomplish this.

Hydration: This recipe calls for a total of 375g of water – 75% hydration. Each flour is different and has a different protein content, depending on which flour you use you can add more or less water. T55 flour that I used has a protein content of 14%. Feel free to play around with adjusting the water content.

Bulk Fermentation: You can check if your dough is well developed. There are several ways to tell:

These are all signs that the dough is ready for shaping. If you do not see this with your dough, increase the fermentation time. Keep in mind that time is only an indicator. Pay more attention to the dough itself to determine if the bulk fermentation is done.

Ingredients for Pain de Campagne

Step by Step Guide – How to Make Pain de Campagne

Autolyse

In a large mixing bowl pour 350g of cold water, add discard starter and stir to distribute it a little. Add both flours and mix until there are no bits of dry flour. Let the mixture rest for 25-30 minutes. 

Add the salt and the remaining water to the bowl and work it in with your hands or a silicone spatula. The dough is quite sticky.

Bulk Fermentation

Transfer the dough to a deep ceramic dish, cover with plastic or a kitchen towel and let the dough rest at 25-27°C/77-80°F for about 30 minutes.

Complete 3 sets of stretch-and-folds, every 30 minutes. Wet your hands and slide both hands under the dough in the center. Slowly lift the dough up and toward you until it releases from the bowl. Fold the dough under itself by lowering your hands. Repeat the process, folding all 4 sides.

During the 3rd hour, you can see how the dough starts to get soft and aerated with gas. At this stage, you should turn the dough more gently to avoid pressing gas out of it. By the end of the 3rd hour, the dough will feel more aerated and soft. After 3-4 hours of fermentation, leave the dough untouched for the rest of the time.

Shaping the Dough

Transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface. Lightly dust the dough with flour and turn it over, so that the floured side lies on the work surface. Fold the the dough over on itself so the flour on the surface of the dough is sealed to the outside of the loaf. Work the dough into a round shape. After this initial shaping, let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.

Lightly flour the top of the dough to shape the final loaf. Lift the dough off the work surface and flip it over, so that the floured side is now on the work surface and the former bottom side is facing up. Fold the 3rd of the dough closest to you up and over the middle 3rd of the loaf.

Stretch the dough horizontally to the right and fold this 3rd over the center. Then stretch the dough to your left and fold this 3rd over the previous fold. Stretch out the 3rd of the dough farthest from you and fold this toward you. Grab the dough closest to you and wrap it up and over, while rolling it away from you so that the smooth underside of the loaf is now the top and all the seams are on the bottom. Cup your hands around the dough and pull it toward you, rounding it against the work surface to tighten the tension. Let the shaped loaf rest for 1 minute. 

Proofing Stage

Prepare a 50/50 mixture of rice flour and spelt flour and dust the banneton with the flour mixture. This will prevent the dough from sticking during the final rise. Lift the loaf from the work surface and place it in the banneton with the smooth side facing down and the seam facing up. 

You have 2 options now:

Baking

Preheat the oven to 260°C/500°F about 30 minutes before baking and place a dutch oven with lid inside. Remove the loaf from the fridge if you have kept it in there overnight. Dust the top of the loaf with rice flour and carefully flip it from the banneton onto a sheet of parchment.

Score the loaf so it can fully develop in the oven. When your oven reaches 260°C/500°F, carefully remove the heated dutch oven. The dutch oven is very hot and can cause severe burns. Put the loaf in the dutch oven and cover with the lid.

Return the dutch oven to the oven and reduce the temperature to 230°C/450°F. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid. A cloud of steam will be released and the color of the crust will be pale and shiny. Continue baking until the crust has a deep caramel color, for about 20-25 minutes. It is done when the core temperature reaches 95°C/200°F. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the bread out of the dutch oven. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack.

Storing and Freezing Instructions

Storage: You can keep your bread at room temperature for 3-5 days. Paper bags or kitchen towels are great to protect bread from drying out too much. Do not keep bread in the fridge. If you do, it will get stale faster compared to keeping it at room temperature.

Freezing Instructions: Let the bread cool completely and either freeze the whole loaf or slices of bread in a zipper bag for up to 3 months.

My Summary for Pain de Campagne

Difficulty: Intermediate.
Taste & Texture: This sourdough bread has a crunchy crust with a slightly chewy crumb and holes that are nicely distributed. It has a light sour taste that is not too strong. Great taste and texture.
Time: Autolyse takes about 30 minutes, bulk fermentation took me 9 hours (it depends on the temperature in your environment, in my kitchen it was about 22°C/72°F). The shaping process is done in about 45 minutes. For the final proofing, I placed the loaf in the fridge overnight (faster option: 2-4 hours at room temperature). Baking takes another 40-45 minutes.

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Pain de Campagne

Rating: 5.0/5
( 2 voted )
Serves: 1 Prep Time: Cooking Time: Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

  • 450g T55 french flour
  • 50g spelt flour
  • 100g discard sourdough starter
  • 375g water, cold & divided
  • 10g salt

Instructions

Autolyse

  1. In a large, wide mixing bowl pour 350g of cold water add discarded starter and stir to distribute it a little. 
  2. Add T55 flour and spelt flour and mix with your hands and/or a silicone spatula until there are no bits of dry flour. 
  3. Let the mixture rest for 25-30 minutes. 
  4. Add the salt and the remaining 25g of cold water to the bowl and work it in with your hands or a silicone spatula. The dough is quite sticky.

Bulk Fermentation

  1. Transfer the dough to a deep ceramic dish which makes it easier to handle later. Cover with plastic or a kitchen towel and let the dough rest at 25-27°C/77-80°F for about 30 minutes.
  2. Complete 3 sets of stretch-and-folds, every 30 minutes. Wet your hands and slide both hands under the dough in the center. Slowly lift the dough up and toward you until it releases from the bowl. Fold the dough under itself by lowering your hands. Turn the bowl by 180° and work the other side. Turn the bowl by 90° and repeat the process (folding all 4 sides).
  3. During the 3rd hour, you can see how the dough starts to get billowy, soft, and aerated with gas. At this stage, you should turn the dough more gently to avoid pressing gas out of it. 
  4. By the end of the 3rd hour, the dough will feel more aerated and soft. After 3-4 hours of fermentation, leave the dough untouched for the rest of the time. Total fermentation time for me was about 9 hours at 22°C/72°F.

Shaping the Dough

  1. Transfer the dough from the pan to an unfloured work surface. Lightly dust the dough with flour and turn it over with a bench scraper so that the floured side lies on the work surface. Use as little flour as possible at this point. Fold the the dough over on itself so the flour on the surface of the dough is sealed to the outside of the loaf. The outside of the dough will become the crust, therefore dust your hands with more flour to avoid sticking. 
  2. Work the dough into a round shape by using the bench scraper and your hand. Finally, the dough should have a tight, smooth outer surface. You want to build up a strong tension with as few movements as possible. If the surface cracks, you've developed the tension too far. Don't worry, just stop shaping and let the dough relax.
  3. After this initial shaping, let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes. This stage is called the bench rest. Cover with a kitchen towel. During this period, the dough will relax. If the dough spreads too much, the dough did not develop enough tension. You can shape the round a 2nd time to correct this.
  4. Lightly flour the top of the dough to shape the final loaf. Slide the bench scraper under the dough to lift it off the work surface, make sure to maintain the round shape. 
  5. Flip the dough over so that the floured side is now on the work surface and the former bottom side is facing up. 
  6. Fold the 3rd of the dough closest to you up and over the middle 3rd of the loaf. Stretch the dough horizontally to the right and fold this 3rd over the center. Stretch the dough to your left and fold this 3rd over the previous fold. Stretch out the 3rd of the dough farthest from you and fold this toward you. 
  7. Grab the dough closest to you and wrap it up and over, while rolling it away from you so that the smooth underside of the loaf is now the top and all the seams are on the bottom. 
  8. Cup your hands around the dough and pull it toward you, rounding it against the work surface to tighten the tension. Let the shaped loaf rest for 1 minute. 

Proofing Stage

  1. In a small bowl prepare a 50/50 mixture of rice flour and spelt flour. 
  2. Dust the banneton with the flour mixture. This will prevent the dough from sticking during the final rise. 
  3. Lift the loaf from the work surface with the bench scraper and place it in the banneton with the smooth side facing down and the seam facing up. 
  4. You have 2 options for the final rise:
    1. You can let the dough rise at room temperature (25-27°C/77-80°F) for about 2-4 hours. After 2 hours the loaf will have a mild flavor. 
    2. If you do not want to bake immediately, you can delay the process by placing the dough in the fridge for up to 12 hours. The cool environment slows down the fermentation, but does not stop it. After 8-12 hours, the dough will develop a more complex and slightly sour taste.

Baking

  1. Preheat the oven to 260°C/500°F about 30 minutes before baking and place a dutch oven with lid inside. If you kept the loaf in the fridge, take it out now.
  2. Dust the top of the loaf with rice flour and carefully flip it from the banneton onto a sheet of parchment.
  3. Score the loaf to make sure it can fully develop in the oven. An unscored loaf will not rise properly. The angle, number and pattern of the scoring will affect how the loaf rises in the oven and will determine the final appearance of the bread.
  4. When your oven reaches 260°C/500°F, remove the heated dutch oven. Be careful because the dutch oven is very hot and can cause severe burns. 
  5. Put the loaf with the parchment paper in the dutch oven and cover with the lid.
  6. Return the dutch oven to the oven and reduce the temperature to 230°C/450°F. 
  7. Bake on the lower rack for 20 minutes.
  8. Remove the lid after 20 minutes. A cloud of steam will be released and the color of the crust will be pale and shiny. This is a sign of a well steamed bread. 
  9. Continue baking until the crust has a deep caramel color, for about 20-25 minutes. If you want a crackling crust which will stay crisp, continue baking until the loaf has a golden brown color. It is done when the core temperature reaches 95°C/200°F.
  10. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the bread out of the dutch oven by holding the ends of the parchment.
  11. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack. The bread should be light to the touch with a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.
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