In my quest to reproduce the excellent potato and cheddar bread from chez Guillaume in Montreal. I decided to improve my general "baking" technique by trying to produce different types of bread.
In this exercise, I pulled out a book I'd gotten for Christmas...2016 or 2017 and had never really used: Le Larousse du Pain by the very good Éric Kayser. If you're thinking of making homemade bread, this is for me a real little bible on the subject.
Today, we're going to try the recipe for bâtard. Its name comes from the fact that it's somewhere between a baguette and a classic loaf. A little culture never hurts.
The basic recipe comes from the book "Le Larousse du pain", but I've adapted it to make a yeast bread instead of sourdough (my sourdough isn't ready yet) and I've added a little exotic touch by adding sharp cheddar in it.
You can make it plain or use a cheese other than sharp cheddar. It's the best value for money in Quebec, but if you're in France, I think other cheeses will work just as well!
Pain Batard with sharp cheddar
- Total Time: 4h
- Yield: 3 300 g loaves 1x
Description
Homemade Batard bread with a touch of cheese. Sometimes used as an aperitif, sometimes eaten as a snack (although this is far from a healthy snack).
Ingredients
550 gr T55 flour
380 gr lukewarm water (approx. 20°C)
8 gr active dry yeast
8 gr of salt
100-150 gr strong cheddar (to taste)
Instructions
1- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast.
2- Make a "well" in the middle of the flour and add the water, then the salt.
3- Mix well to form a paste.
4- Start kneading the dough until it is soft and smooth.
5- Form a ball with the paste and cover it with a damp cloth.
6- Leave to grow for 1h30. (The paste should double in volume)
7- Flour the work surface and divide the paste in three shares each weighing approximately 300gr.
8- Give them the shape and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
For each dough:
9- Flatten the dough pieces with the flat of your hand.
10- Submit a third party cheese on the bread.
11- Fold back about one third party from bread inwards, turn the paste 180°, then do the same with the opposite third.
12- Fold the paste in two and make sure from weld the edges by pressing down with the base of your hand.
13- Roll the dough into an oval shape.
14- Place the dough pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, welding below.
15- Cover with a damp cloth and leave to grow for 1h30
16- Preheat the oven to 230°C or 450°F, place a baking tray in the lowest position of your oven.
17- Using a very sharp blade, make an incision lengthwise on each of your dough pieces.
18- Pour about 5 cL of water on the baking sheet inside your oven and place the dough in the oven for 20 minutes. minutes.
19- Take out the breads oven and leave them rest on a wire rack.
20- Enjoy!
Notes
You can remove the cheese to make a bastard nature, in which case add a little salt to the paste 2-3 gr more.
I use cheddar strong, because that's what I like best here in Quebec for the price. But you can experiment with different cheeses.
If you don't have 4 hours to do the breadyou can start the watch. Carry out all the steps until the first sprout. Leave push all night long the paste in the fridge. If you repeat it the next day, you should have roughly the same result. Be careful, however, to cover the paste to prevent it from crust.
If you're lucky enough to have access to baker's yeast, you'll be able to can use instead of dried yeast.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Bakery
- Cuisine: French
English 
French
Danielle Labbé
Hello,
I've been making your bread for over 9 months, I love your recipe.
I vary the recipes with either currants, cranberries, and finally grains.
I made it either in batard or in moulds.
I haven't bought since.
Thank you
Thomas
Hello,
Thank you for this beautiful comment, it's a very good idea to add dried fruit.
It also works well with figs.
When you start baking bread, you quickly become addicted!