Sunday
Pan de horno
Crusty, wonderfully soft inside and properly yeasty. Four hours and more from flour to table — and worth every minute of the wait.
Start it after breakfast and it will be on the table for supper. The long, slow rise is the flavour; there is no shortcut.
Method
- 01
Make the poolish: whisk the flour, water and yeast together, cover and leave 2 hours until bubbly and domed.
- 02
Add the remaining flour, salt, yeast, water and oil. Mix to a soft dough and knead 10 minutes.
- 03
Prove 1 hour 30 minutes with a fold every 30 minutes — lift one side of the dough up and over the centre, turn the bowl, repeat four times.
- 04
Divide in two and shape each into a bâtard or round. Prove on floured cloth for a final 45 minutes.
- 05
Heat the oven to 240°C with a heavy tray or stone inside and a roasting tin below.
- 06
Slash the loaves, slide them in, add a cup of water to the hot tin and bake 12 minutes. Reduce to 210°C and bake 22–25 minutes more.
- 07
Cool completely on a rack — you will hear the crust crackling as it does.
Serve it with
Pairings
- Cheeses
- Idiazábal, manchego curado, or a runny goat's cheese pushed into the warm crumb.
- Cold meats
- Jamón ibérico de bellota — this is the loaf that deserves the good ham — plus salchichón.
- Seafood
- Bacalao with tomato, garlic prawns mopped up with the crust, or ventresca tuna.
- Salads & vegetables
- Escalivada, olives, pickled guindilla chillies and a plate of tomatoes in oil.
Keep cooking
