Pain Rustique

This bread is very similar to last week's bread, pain palladin. The only difference is the ratio of flour to starter, and the omission of olive oil. They are free-formed, with no shaping. According to the book, this is the bread served at the French Laundry. So even if we can't get a reservation, we can still enjoy this tasty bread at home.

Pain Palladin

This bread was named after the famed chef, Jean-Louis Palladin, the youngest chef to have won two Michelin stars at the time. It's a simple, rustic bread, loosely shaped. Its cousin, which we bake next week, is Pain Rustique, and they are very similar. The only difference being the addition of olive oil and a longer fermentation time for the pain palladin. This bread is best enjoyed as an accompaniment to heartier foods, as it's rather subtle in flavor. Toasted and smeared with avocado and a drizzle of olive oil would be perfect!

Sourdough Boule

Sourdough- the official bread of San Francisco. In fact, the lactic acid bacteria, which gives the bread its sour taste, is called Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. Although it's named after this city, you can produce perfectly delicious sourdough anywhere in the world. 

This is a straightforward recipe. Just flour, a tiny pinch of yeast, water, salt and starter. What makes it different is the amount of starter used. While most breads so far have used a smaller ratio of starter to flour, this one uses almost as much starter as flour. The result is a wetter, more sour dough, which we shape into a boule. 

Sourdough is best eaten plain, to fully taste the sourness. It also makes an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. Even if you don't live in San Francisco, you can still enjoy a delicious sourdough loaf at home.

Rye Bread

Rye is wheat's more nutritious cousin. It's high in fiber and low in fat, and is low on the glycemic index. Although similar to the wheat plant, the taste and color are completely different. When making rye bread, you can completely change the outcome by the proportion of rye to wheat flour. This is a traditional rye bread, using at least 50% rye flour. 

It's a very simple bread to make, with only a few simple ingredients. It also is the quickest bread to make in this book, with only a 30 minute fermentation and an hour of proofing. This dough does not require multiple folds or shaping, so it might be a good introduction to bread-making for a novice baker. 

Although we traditionally think of rye bread with caraway seeds, Bouchon omits them. It varies from country to country, so we are keeping with the French style. The end result is flavorful and perfect for a slathering of butter or a sandwich with spicy whole grain mustard.