Pasta

Austrian country bread

Name: Austrian country bread
Total time: 120 min
Yield: serves 1 loaf
Ingredients: 500 g Flour; 320 ml Water; 10 g Baker's yeast; 10 g Salt; 1 tsp Honey; 2 tbsp Sesame seeds

Preparation time: 2 h
Servings: serves 1 loaf

Ingredients

serves 1 loaf

Flour — to buy500 g
Water — to buy320 ml
Baker's yeast — to buy10 g
Salt — to buy10 g
Honey — to buy1 tsp
Sesame seeds — to buy2 tbsp

Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water and let sit for 5 minutes until slightly foamy.
Pour the liquid into the flour and knead for 10 minutes by hand (or 6 minutes with a stand mixer) until you get a smooth, elastic dough that pulls away from the sides.
Shape into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1.5 hours at room temperature: the dough should double in size.
Knock the dough back by folding it onto itself, shape it into a round loaf and place it on a floured tray.
Cover again and let it prove for 45 minutes, then score a cross on top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 220°C with a bowl of water in the oven (the steam gives a crackly crust), until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Let it cool completely on a rack before slicing, so the crumb finishes setting.