Bread #2 – A Crusty Cob, from Paul Hollywood’s 100 Great Breads
Loaf #2
Bread #2 is a round, crusty loaf from Paul Hollywood’s cookbook 100 Great Breads. It’s easy to bake, and tastes delicious.
About loaf #2 – The Crusty Cob
I’ve picked up a lot of new vocabulary since watching Great British Bake Off. Here are a few of my new words:
Squidge – as in “It’s squidging out the sides.” We say ‘ooze.’
Claggy – as in “The cake is a bit claggy.” I can get that means it’s too dense, sticky, gummy.
Courgette – zucchini
Aubergine – eggplant
candy floss – cotton candy
farl – a type of bread
Most American’s don’t think of a round loaf of crusty bread when we hear the word “cob.” Paul Hollywood, in 100 Great Breads, writes:
“This bread, which dates bad to medieval times, was known as one of the oven bottoms, as this was invariably where it was baked (as is the Farl on page 31). Baked to a deep color, it’s a great British loaf–I remember watching my dad molding these when I was a kid.”
How I made the dough
This rainy Saturday morning seemed like a perfect day to be bake bread. Just as I had with Loaf #1, I was confused about some of the ingredients. Once again, I felt like I was performing a Technical Challenge.
The recipe called for a full tablespoon of salt. After some research, I learned that salt inhibits the yeast, which is why the first two tries at Loaf #1 were claggy.
The Crusty Cob recipe called for an ounce of yeast which measured out to about 1/4 of a cup. Too much yeast and the dough rises too fast, so you end up with a loaf that is air on top and compressed on the bottom (I’ve made that mistake by trying to hurry it along. I realized after poring though the 100 Great Breads, that he meant a fresh yeast cake. Since I have a huge amount of instant yeast leftover from the Corona Virus lockdown, so I wasn’t about to run to the store for fresh yeast. Hence, I used 2 and 1/4 teaspoons. I also added a little more water than the recipe called for and put all the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer. The dough was perfect.
doubled in bulk after its 2 hour “rest”
Loaf #2 - Crust Cob
A round crusty loaf from Paul Hollywood's 100 Great Breads
Put all ingredients except water into Kitchen Aid mixer and combine using the dough hook attachment, or combine by hand on a large bowl.
Add most of the water, then add remaining water and mix for two minutes.
Knead dough for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a cloth and let rest for 2 hours.
Form the dough in a ball and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with baking parchment. Let rise for an hour.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Make several slashes across the top of the loaf (not too deep), dust with flour, and bake for 30 minutes.
Loaf #2 – crusty cob
The results
The loaf baked in about 40 minutes. It was crusty immediately out of the oven, but softened up after an hour. Still, it was a really nice loaf, and made yummy toast the next day. I’ll make this one again.
