Bloomer Bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloomer is a type of crusty bread with round ends, and typically with several parallel diagonal slashes across its top. This is a recipe by Paul Hollywood, the bread boss himself. This bread has a crusty exterior with a soft white interior. The flavor is surprisingly very rich due in part to the long proofing time and the addition of olive oil. Serve this bread at a party with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and watch your guests shower you with praises. Let’s bake some good bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

(1) 320 ml Water (About 1-1/3 Cups)

(2) 500 Grams Bread Flour (A little under  4 cups)

(3) 7 Grams yeast (About 1 Teaspoon)

(4)  10 Grams Salt

(5) 40 ml Olive Oil (2 Tbsps + 2 Tsps) (extra olive oil for kneading)

PROCEDURE:

(1) Put all your dry ingredients in a bowl, add the olive oil and half of the water and mix. Gradually add the remaining water and keep mixing until all the flour leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and continue to knead until a smooth and silky. This would take between 7 to 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) Grease a large bowl with olive oil, place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to triple in size. This would take anywhere between 2.5 to 3 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) After the loaf has tripled in size, place it on a lightly floured surface, knock off the air from it and shape the loaf. See how to shape a loaf of bread here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Place the shaped loaf on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled. This would take anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) 30 minutes before end of second rise, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a smaller baking tray or baking pan on the bottom of the oven. Ice cubes will be placed here which will provide the steam needed to give this bread its fantastic crust and volume.

(6) After the loaf has doubled in size, lightly spray it with water and dust with some flour. Cut about 4 diagonal slashes across the loaf using a blade or sharp knife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7) Place bread in preheated oven. Immediately place a few ice cubes on the lower baking tray and close the oven door immediately. Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes. Total baking time is 35 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8) Remove loaf from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack before slicing.