Pain de Beaucaire
Oct 20th, 2008 by SteveB
I’ve always been fascinated by how the different regions of France have managed to maintain their unique cultural identities. These regional identities can be evident even in the type and shape of the local bread. For example, in Auvergne, bread is often baked in the Auvergnat form, a shape that is evocative of a type of hat worn by residents of the region. In Beaucaire, bread is traditionally shaped through a folding process that is unique to the area.
I’ve always been intrigued by pain de Beaucaire, in part because so little has been written about it. One of the few mentions of the bread can be seen in Michel Suas’ Advanced Bread and Pastry. In addition to giving a formula for the bread, the book also gives a somewhat cryptic description of how to shape the loaves. Seeking further clarification, I contacted Brian Wood, an instructor at the San Francisco Baking Institute and a contributing writer to Advanced Bread and Pastry. Brian was kind enough to take some time to speak with me over the phone about the shaping of pain de Beaucaire and to e-mail me with some further clarification. What follows below is a synthesis of what Brian related to me, along with some of my own ideas. By no means do I assert that what I am doing here represents an authentic traditional method.
Levain
- 65 g Whole Foods 365 Organic All-Purpose Flour
- 5 g Medium Rye Flour
- 55 g Water
- 55 g Starter (100% hydration)
Final Dough
- 455 g Whole Foods 365 Organic All-Purpose Flour
- 255 g Water
- ¼ Tsp. Instant Dried Yeast
- 10 g Salt
- 180 g Levain (all of the above)
Slurry
- 100 g Water
- 20 g Flour
The evening before baking, the levain is prepared by mixing together the all-purpose flour, rye flour, water and mature starter. The mixture is allowed to ferment overnight at 70ºF until mature, about 8 hours.
The next morning, the water for the final dough and the levain are placed in the bowl of a stand mixer and the two are mixed at low speed using the whisk attachment until a thick homogeneous mixture is obtained. A combination of the flour, yeast and salt is then added to the bowl and mixing is continued on speed 2 using a spiral dough hook, just until incorporation, about 2-3 minutes. The bowl is then covered with plastic wrap and the contents allowed to rest for 20 minutes.
After the resting period, the dough is mixed using a spiral dough hook at speed 2 until medium dough development is achieved, about 10 minutes. The resulting dough is a fairly firm one, its firmness being the reason why a stand mixer was chosen over hand mixing in this case. The dough was then placed in a lightly oiled, covered container and allowed to ferment for 1 hour, halfway through which the dough was given a single, letter-like trifold. After the 1 hour fermentation period, the dough was stretched to a 1 inch thick rectangle and then allowed to rest for an additional 30 minutes. Using a rolling pin, the dough was then rolled into a 4 inch x 11 inch rectangle, covered with a flour/water slurry and shaped as follows:[qt:http://breadcetera.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/PaindeBeaucaire001.MOV 500 375]
After allowing the dough to proof on a couche for about 1½ hours at 74ºF, the dough was then transferred onto a peel, with the seam side up as shown:
The dough was loaded into the oven, seam side up, and baked at 450ºF for approximately 35 minutes, the first 15 minutes under steam.
This post referenced on YeastSpotting.
That looks really nice! The dough would have to be fairly low hydration to keep the shape. How was the taste? The crumb? That would look very nice on a table, presented for a meal.
You introduced me to a bread I didn’t even know and which is the specialty of a region very close to me. I’ll have to go explore.
Jane
Jane, because of the lower hydration dough, the crumb was not as open as, say, a higher hydration baguette but the flavor and texture of the bread was still quite pleasant. At some point, I may try repeating the formula with a bit more water, at the risk of obtaining a flatter loaf.
This bread is beautiful! Bravo! Did you know this bread already existed in the 15th century in France? I’d only read 100% yeast recipes before reading this post of yours. Thanks for the sourdough version.
Flo, I knew that pain de Beaucaire was a traditional bread but I had no idea that it has been around for over 600 years! Thanks for the information.
By the way, great post on Makanai on how to begin a sourdough starter.
I made this bread in a class at SFBI and I can tell you that getting an evenly shaped loaf is not easy; you did it beautifully. When we made it we sprinkled the dough with bran after the slurry so it was sandwiched between the layers of dough.
Susan, the description in Advanced Bread and Pastry also mentions the use of bran in the way you mention. I’m not a big fan of bran coating the surface of my bread, so I parted with tradition and left it out.
Steve,
What a beautiful loaf! You are indeed an artist. Creating a bread that has been in production for so many years must be an interesting experience.
I see you are using the whole foods 365 flour. What is your opinion of it so far?
Eric
Eric, your kind words are very much appreciated. This is the first time I’ve tried the Whole Foods 365 flour and with this lower hydration dough, it’s hard to make a direct comparison with some of the other breads I’ve made. I’ll let you know my thoughts on this flour after I’ve had a bit more experience with it.
I was also trying to figure out how to make this bread from SFBI’s book because the instructions weren’t very clear. Thanks for that helpful video!
Thank you Steve about my post on how to begin a sourdough starter, but it does’nt seem to be enough for a few people who just don’t seem to be able to bring a sourdough starter to life, and that’s frustrating!
I was considering asking my parents, who live in the States, to bring me back Suas’s book, but it scares me to read that the instructions given for pain de Beaucaire were not clear enough… Is that true for the whole book or would you still recommend me to get that book?
Have a nice day!
Flo, although Suas’ book is not geared towards the home baker (its main purpose seems to be as a textbook for courses taught at the San Francisco Baking Institute), I have found it to be an invaluable resource. I have prepared a number of breads using formulae from the book and, with the pain de Beaucaire exception, I’ve had no problems with any of them. Although probably not suited to the novice baker, those with a bit more experience should benefit greatly from the book. I count the book among my top three favorite bread books.
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What a wonderful recipe. I love how the sourdough flavor came out – not too strong but definitely present. I couldn’t be happier.
Your method of breaking down the recipes, descriptions, and videos has renewed my interest in bread making! It seems much more approachable and I just got some starter to play with.
a2, your comment has made my day! It’s quite gratifying to learn that that Bread cetera is contributing, in some way, to renewing interest in home bread baking.
I am very new to baking but absolutely love cooking and trying out new recipes. I am very very thankful to you for all the wonderful pictures and recipes that revive the wonderful memories of my student years in france and the its wonderful Breads . I will absolutely have to try this. Thanks.
Khush, it’s been my pleasure.
Steve,
This will be the third bread of yours I have attempted. So far I am pleased with the results even if i have not yet arrived at the perfect crumb structure.
This bread will have its own challenges. The biggest of which is that I don’t have a starter, 100% hydration or otherwise. I am improvising by mixing up 180g of flour/water and tossing in a 1/4tsp of yeast. I will give it eight hours at 78F (my water closet here in New Zealand) and see what the morning will bring…
I will keep you posted.
Tom
Steve,
Even with a three hour fermentation the bread looks amazing. In some ways this was much easier than the Baguettes. My only regret is that I was off by a 1/4″ on my initial cut. This made the loaves slightly lopsided.
Thanks for the recipe!
Tom
Hi Tom,
As you’ve discovered, precision cutting is key to the formation of a symmetrical pain de Beaucaire loaf in this recipe. Between baguettes and pain de Beaucaire, you’re certainly developing your shaping skills!
[…] anfangen kann. Also habe ich mich auf die Suche gemacht und entdeckt, dass schon viele Brotblogger vor mir das Pain de Beaucaire ausprobiert und zum GlÁ¼ck auch besser beschrieben haben als […]
Steve,
I must add my praises for you detailed instructions and videos to the others. It’s so very helpful.
I have a question about “placing it on the peel seam side up”. From what I can tell, this is the seam created when the the dough is cut in half and the halves placed atop one another ( and which is on the sides while it’s proofing on the couche) , and, after proofing, the loaf is laid on its side (on the peel) resulting in “seam side up”. Did I get that right? Thanks.
gh,
You’ve got it right!
Nice reipe…
i’m indonesian and i would be very happy if i succes make this bread..
wish me luck… ^_^
[…] anfangen kann. Also habe ich mich auf die Suche gemacht und entdeckt, dass schon viele Brotblogger vor mir das Pain de Beaucaire ausprobiert und zum GlÁ¼ck auch besser beschrieben haben als […]
I really appreciate your approach to bread-making, some sites are like a secret society that assumes you’re familiar with the lingo and don’t seem to proof-read before publishing. Not yours. As far as a sourdough starter, I got mine from http://carlsfriends.net/ . Cost me a self addressed envelope, and a greenback for their trouble and postage to Canada. I looked up and down our street for a while the day the “plain envelope containing a small amount of white powder in a plastic baggie” arrived in my mailbox. But it did, and I split it up and froze half for insurance, just in case I killed starter #1. I’ve had a great relationship with Carl’s starter, great results, with all kinds of recipes. Will use it with some of yours soon!
Hi John,
Thanks for the reminder regarding the availability of Carl’s Oregon Trail sourdough starter.
As was mentioned here previously, the use of a small sample of Carl’s starter, available in powdered form, makes beginning a new sourdough starter a straightforward and inexpensive undertaking. The powdered starter can be had for simply the price of a self-addressed stamped envelope. I’ve reconstituted and used Carl’s starter in the past and it was a vibrant and consistently performing starter.
Hi Steve,
Thank you, one more time for your page. It is wonderful to taste the exquisite bread I am able to bake at home following your didactic directions and recipes.
I wanted to send you a picture or two of my Pain de Beucaire we have enjoying this week. But maybe it is silly of me. You see so many bread.
Without your help it would not be possible to get the results I’m having now.
Thanks and God bless you
Estrella
Hi Estrella,
Using an image hosting site, such as Flickr or Photobucket, is one way to showcase photographs of your bread. After uploading your photos to the site, you could then post a link here so that we may all see your beautiful creations!
My husband is half French. His Mom used to bake this bread, but she never used bakers yeast. She used just wild east.
[…] sourdough and commercial yeast. And it was delicious! My creation still doesn’t quite match the original, for the seam closed instead of opening. Still, I’m heck of a proud getting out this good […]
Baking bread seam side up is new to me, my grandmother never did that and she taught me how to bake. I’m planning on trying it this Saturday.