Bread recipe: Bordeaux crown (or Couronne bordelaise)

Today we are going to see how to make a Bordeaux crown or Bordeaux crown of kings. The recipe for this delicious bread, very attractive but easy to prepare at home, is brought to us by Eva, author of Bake-Street . Take her good advice, her hands have touched many doughs!

The Bordeaux Crown (Couronne bordelaise) is a festive bread typical of Bordeaux, in the southwest of France. It is originally made of 8 or 9 balls joined together with a small flounce on top. It is said that when it is made with only 6 balls, it is called a Gascon crown.

T&G chopping board , Le Creuset mini spatula and Le Creuset jam jar

I show you how to make them with 6 units, but if you prefer, you can expand them to 8 or 9.

Originally, this bread was made with the same dough used to make country bread, pain de campagne. A white dough made with wheat to which a small amount of wholemeal flour or rye flour was added and which was usually made with sourdough or old dough (dough from the previous batch), with a small addition of yeast.

It is a very striking bread thanks to its shape, which can also remind us of the structure of a flower.

INGREDIENTS

For the preferment:
• 100 g of strong flour
• 50 g whole rye flour
• 1.2 g dry yeast / 3.6 g fresh yeast
• 150 g of water
• 3 g of salt

Final mass:
• 200 g of strong flour
• 200 g of baking flour
• 50 g whole rye
• 50 g whole wheat flour
• 3 g dry yeast / 9 g fresh yeast
• 300-350 g of water
• 9 g of salt
• All the preferment

Preparation

The night before : We make the preferment.

1. In a bowl, mix the flours with the water, yeast and salt. Remember that you should not add these last two ingredients together, rather separately.
2. Mix well until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. Cover with film and place in the refrigerator overnight.
3. If we do it during a cold season, we can leave it in the coldest part of the house at room temperature overnight.

The next day : We prepare our bread.

1. We take the preferment out of the cold 60 minutes before using it.
2. In a large bowl, add all the preferment together with ¾ parts of water. Beat well with a whisk until completely dissolved.
3. We add the flours and begin to mix using a flexible scraper. We fold the ingredients together as we gradually add the remaining water, mixing at the same time.

We will observe the texture of the dough to know if we should add more or less water. It should not be hard but not excessively hydrated either. It sticks to the hands, due to the presence of rye, but is somewhat soft to the touch.

It is better to go a little short on water and then adjust if necessary. Bread is always adjusted with water, never with flour.

4. Once the ingredients have been integrated, cover with a cotton cloth and perform autolysis (let it rest so that the flour hydrates) for 20 minutes.

5. After this time, add the yeast and mix. Add the salt and mix again.

6. We turn the dough out onto a work surface and start to knead. Since it contains rye, it will be a very sticky dough, so it is best to knead it using the French kneading method.

We will combine kneading with resting. We knead for 4 minutes and let it rest for 5 minutes. Until we observe that the gluten network has developed by performing the membrane test.

Take a small piece of dough and stretch it between your fingertips. If it stretches without tearing, then the dough has developed well. This test should always be done after it has rested, otherwise the dough will be tight and will tear more easily.

7. Prepare the container where you are going to store it. Lightly grease the surface with olive oil, put the dough in and cover it. Let it rise until it doubles in size or a little more, at 24º-25ºC it will be around 1 hour.

We prepare the mold where we will let the bread rise.

2. Place the glass in the centre of the mould and cover with the cotton cloth. Adjust the cloth as much as possible so that there are not too many folds of fabric inside. Sprinkle generously with rye flour. Set aside.

We divide the dough and form

1. To make this wreath we will need to divide the dough into 7 equal portions. We pre-shape the pieces, cover and let them rest for 10 minutes.

2. After this time, take one of the portions and roll it out into a circular shape with a rolling pin . You should form a disk that does not reach the diameter of the mould, leaving about three fingers free.

3. Place it on the mold, covering the mound that we created with the glass.
We form our portions, shape them into balls, grease the side that sticks to the disk with a little oil and place them inside the mold surrounding the mound. Once we have all our balls formed and in the mold, we proceed to cut the dough into a disk shape on the mound.

4. Using a sharp knife or blade, cut the dough so that each cut starts from the joint between two pieces. You will end up with triangles that you will fold over the pieces of dough.

5. Press lightly to join them and cover with film to allow the final rise.

6. Let it rise until it doubles in volume, about 1-2 hours.

7. Preheat the oven 30 minutes before cooking to 220ºC with heat from above and below. If you have a stone or steel plate, preheat it with it. If you don't have one, you can bake on a tray without any problems.

8. We will bake with steam for the first 10 minutes, so we will introduce a container with volcanic rocks, if we have them, to generate steam. If we don't have them, we can introduce a small tray or container to pour the steam into.

We take the bread out of the mold

We heat half a cup of water to pour over the container with stones. We prepare a shovel/board with baking paper.

Place the cake on the mould and carefully flip it over as if it were an omelette. Carefully lift the mould and remove the glass and the cloth.

Baked

1. Place the bread in the oven at the lowest part of the oven, pour the boiling water into the container and close the door. Bake for 20 minutes at 220ºC.
2. After this time, remove the steamer and close it again. Lower the heat to 210ºC and leave it for 10 more minutes. Reduce the heat to 190ºC and bake for 10 minutes, finishing the final 10 minutes at 190ºC with air.
3. Once the baking time is up, turn off the oven and leave the bread inside with the door ajar for another 15 minutes. This will help form a crispier crust.
4. We take it out and let it cool completely on a rack.

Glorious Food T&G Acacia Wood Butter Board and Chopping Board

Conservation

Before eating the bread, it is recommended to let it cool completely. This type of bread stays soft for 1-2 days, although I recommend eating it the same day it is baked.

This is a bread that, despite not seeming like it at first, is very easy to make and with fantastic results. It has an intense and characteristic flavour thanks to the rye, with a spongy and very tender crumb accompanied by a crunchy and aromatic crust. Without a doubt, a perfect option to surprise at home.

Accompanied by a good homemade butter and our favorite jam, it is a real delight.