Bread recipes with the Emile Henry XL oven

At the beginning of this year, Emile Henry has surprised us with many new products, many of them designed for those of us who love to make bread at home: among other things, he has brought us the Corona ceramic bread oven and the XL bread oven .

This last one is a very versatile oven: like all Emile Henry ovens , it is designed to generate optimal humidity conditions to achieve a crispy crust, without having to worry about generating humidity when baking with a glass of water or a separate tray. You can make all kinds of bread in it: country breads, rustic breads, long loaves... But you can also use it without the lid to bake XL sponge cakes, meat pies, sweet or savoury pies, plum cakes... all in XL size, great for those days when we have guests at home or to make leftovers and be able to save them for the next day.

We know from several people who have already tried it that the oven delivers everything it promises: you are making irresistible breads! And for those of you who are waiting for ideas to get the most out of it, I leave you with a couple of recipes that, without complications, will allow you to enjoy good homemade bread. Let's get to work!

Below are the recipes for rustic country bread, based on a poolish, which will give it a mild flavour, and the recipe for rye bread with caramelised onion and rosemary, a bread with character that you will love.

Rustic country style bread with poolish method

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

For the poolish:

• 200 gr of baking flour (T55 wheat flour)
• 20 gr of fresh bakery yeast
• 10 gr of powdered sugar
• 200 ml of warm water

For the bread:

• 1 Kg of T55 wheat flour
• 20 gr of salt
• 400 ml of warm water
• 10 gr of butter for the mold

Preparation

For the poolish

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water (approximately 35ºC)
2. Add the flour and mix with a spatula . Leave to rest covered with cling film in a draught-free place.
3. When the poolish is foamy and has doubled in volume, it is ready to use.

For the dough

1. In a large bowl , mix the poolish with the 400ml of water.
2. Add the flour and salt at the same time and work the dough well until it thickens (to save time and energy, use the Kitchen Aid with the hook accessory).
3. Cover the bowl with a cotton cloth and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. Work the dough again to break it up and degas it.
5. Shape the dough into the shape of the Emile Henry XL rectangular oven and place it inside, having previously greased the ceramic oven with butter.
6. Place the lid on the ceramic oven and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
7. Using a brush, apply a little water to the surface of the dough, sprinkle a little flour and make some firm cuts in the surface with a knife .
8. With the oven preheated to 240ºC, place the ceramic oven inside and keep it there for 50 minutes.
9. Once this time has passed, remove the lid and leave it in the oven for 5 more minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and place the ceramic mould on a cooling rack or on a cloth (never on marble, to avoid a temperature shock on the ceramic) and wait for it to cool slightly before removing it from the mould.

Emile Henry XL rectangular ceramic oven

Rye bread with caramelized onion and rosemary

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 800g of baking flour (T55 wheat flour)
• 200 gr rye flour
• 20 gr of fine salt
• 10 gr of dry baker's yeast
• 600 ml of water (at about 35-40ºC)
• 10 gr of butter (for the mold)
• 2 onions
• 5cl of olive oil
• 1 sprig of rosemary

Preparation

The day before

1. In a bowl, mix the two flours together with the salt and dry baker's yeast.
2. Pour in warm water (about 40ºC) and knead the dough until you get a soft, elastic ball (if you use the Kitchen Aid , use the hook attachment).
3. Cover the bowl with a cotton cloth and let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. Without removing it from the bowl, press the dough to degas it, form it into a ball again and cover the bowl again, this time with cling film, and leave it in the fridge overnight.

The next day

1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator to allow it to lose its coldness.
2. Chop the onions, sauté them in a pan with olive oil and add salt and pepper.
3. Add the mixture to the dough (pour the mixture over the dough and fold the dough so that everything is well incorporated). Form a roll with it the size of the Emile Henry XL rectangular ceramic oven .
4. Place the lid on the ceramic oven and let the dough rest for 45 minutes at room temperature.
5. Brush the surface of the dough with water using a brush , sprinkle a little flour over the surface and place a sprig of rosemary on top.
6. With the oven preheated to 240ºC, place the ceramic mould with the lid in the oven for 50 minutes.
7. Once this time has passed, remove the lid and leave it in the oven for 5 more minutes.
8. Remove it from the oven and wait for it to cool slightly before removing it from the mould (as in the previous recipe, avoid strong heat contrasts on the ceramic, do not leave the ceramic oven directly on top of the marble when it is hot).