Paul Hollywood's Cob loaf
We learned about "cob"--a type of bread--while watching The Great British Bake Off. This recipe is the only one we found online for cob, courtesy of Paul Hollywood, the host of the BBC TV show.
We hope King Arthur bread flour will suffice as "strong white bread flour."
INGREDIENTS
40g (1-1/2 oz; 3 Tbls) soft butter
12g (2 sachets) fast action dried yeast
10g (2 tsp) salt
About 300ml barely warm water (about body temperature; 105-110F)
A little olive oil or sunflower oil
Additional cold water, for creating steam in the oven; ice cubes might be okay
PREPARATION
Stage 1.
1. Put flour into a large mixing bowl and add the softened butter.
2. Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and add the salt to the other. Have the slightly warm water ready.
3. Stir all the ingredients with a spoon to combine.
4. Add half of the water and turn the mixture round with your fingers.
5. Continue to add water a little at a time, combining well, until you’ve picked up all of the flour from the sides of the bowl.
NOTE: You may not need to add all of the water, or you may need to add a little more – you want a dough that is well combined and soft, but not sticky or soggy.
6. Mix with your fingers to make sure all of the ingredients are combined and use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl. Keep going until the mixture forms a rough dough.
7. Use about a teaspoon of oil to lightly grease a clean work surface (using oil instead of flour will keep the texture of the dough consistent).
8. Put your dough onto the greased work surface. Make sure you have plenty of space.
9. Fold the far edge of the dough into the middle, then turn the dough by a quarter turn and repeat. Do this several times until the dough is very lightly coated in olive oil.
10. Knead the dough for about 4 or 5 mins until the dough is smooth and stretchy. If the dough gets too sticky you can add a little flour to your hands and keep kneading until dough is smooth.
11. Clean and lightly oil your mixing bowl and put the dough back into it. Cover with a damp tea towel or lightly oiled cling film and leave it aside to prove, about an hour or nearly doubled in size.
Stage two
12. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
13. Once the dough has doubled in size you can gently turn it out of the bowl to shape it. The texture should be bouncy and shiny.
14. Prepare a lightly floured work surface; "knock the dough back" while in the bowl to remove air bubbles; remove dough and flatten it with pads of fingertips.
15. Use your hand to roll the dough up, then turn by a quarter turn and roll it up again. Repeat several times.
16. Then use your hands to gently turn and smooth it into a round loaf shape. (This might be similar to creating a boule.)
17. Place dough onto the lined baking tray, cover with a tea towel or lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove again until it’s doubled in size. This will take about an hour, but may be quicker or slower depending on how warm your kitchen is.
Underproving/Underproofing the dough results in sides that split as it bakes.
Stage three
18. After about 45 minutes of the second rise/proving, put an empty roasting tin or other older pie dish into the bottom or on the lowest rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F.
19. After an hour the loaf should have risen again. Sprinkle some flour on top and very gently rub it in.
20. Use a large, sharp knife to make quick shallow cuts about 1cm deep across the top of the loaf to create a diamond or cross-hatch pattern.
21. Put the loaf on the baking tray into the middle of the oven and quickly put ice cubes into it or pour cold water into the empty roasting tray just before you shut the door – this creates steam which helps the loaf develop a crisp and shiny crust.
22. Bake the loaf for about 30 mins.
23. The loaf is cooked when it’s risen and golden. To check, take it out of the oven and tap it gently underneath – it should sound hollow. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
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