Bread recipe: Bordelaise crown (or Couronne bordelaise)

Today we're going to see how to make a couronne bordelaise or Bordeaux Kings' crown. The recipe for this delicious bread, very showy but easy to make at home, is brought to us by Eva, author of Bake-Street. Follow her good advice, her hands have touched many doughs!

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

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

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

Originally the preparation of this bread was made with the same dough used to make pain de campagne. A white dough made from wheat to which a small portion of wholemeal or rye flour was added and which was usually made with sourdough or old dough (dough from the previous bake), as well as 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 bread flour
• 50 g wholemeal rye flour
• 1.2 g dry yeast / 3.6 g fresh yeast
• 150 g water
• 3 g salt

Final dough:
• 200 g bread flour
• 200 g baker's flour
• 50 g wholemeal rye
• 50 g whole wheat flour
• 3 g dry yeast / 9 g fresh yeast
• 300-350 g water
• 9 g salt
• All the preferment

Preparation

The night before: Make the preferment.

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

The next day: Prepare our bread.

1. Remove the preferment from the fridge 60 minutes before using it.
2. In a large bowl add all the preferment together with ¾ of the water. Whisk with a whisk well until it is completely dissolved.
3. Add the flours and begin to mix using a flexible scraper. Perform folds to integrate the ingredients as you add the remaining water little by little and mix at the same time.

Observe the texture of the dough to know if you should add more or less water. It should not be hard but neither excessively hydrated. It sticks to the hands due to the presence of rye, but feels somewhat soft to the touch.

It is better to be a little short of water and then correct if necessary. Bread is always corrected with water, never with flour.

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

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

6. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and begin to knead. With rye it will be a very sticky dough; ideally knead using the French kneading method.

Combine kneading with rest. Knead 4 minutes and let rest 5 minutes. Repeat until you observe that the gluten network has developed by performing the windowpane test.

Take a small portion of dough and stretch it between the fingertips; if it stretches without tearing then you will have good dough development. This test should always be done after a rest, otherwise the dough will be tense and more likely to tear.

7. Prepare the container where we will keep it. Lightly grease all over with olive oil, place our dough inside and cover. Let rise until it doubles in size or a little more; at 24º-25ºC it will be around 1 hour.

Prepare the mold where we will let the bread rise.

2. Place the cup in the center of the mold and cover with the cotton cloth. Adjust the cloth, as much as possible, so that there are not many fabric folds inside, and generously dust with rye flour. Set aside.

Divide the dough and shape

1. To make this crown we will need to divide the dough into 7 equal portions. Pre-shape the pieces, cover and let rest 10 minutes.

2. After that time take one of the portions and roll out with a rolling pin into a circular shape. You should form a disc that does not reach the diameter of the mold; there should be about three finger-widths free.

3. Place over the mold covering the mound we created with the cup.
Shape our portions, round them, brush with a little oil on the side that sticks to the disc and place inside the mold surrounding the mound. Once all our balls are formed and in the mold, proceed to cut the dough in a disc shape over the mound.

4. With the help of a blade or sharp knife cut the dough so that each cut starts from the junction between two pieces. You will have triangles that we will fold over the dough pieces.

5. Press lightly to join them and cover with cling film to let it do the final proof.

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

7. Preheat the oven 30 minutes in advance to 220ºC with top and bottom heat; if we have a stone or a steel griddle, preheat it as well. If we don't have one, we can bake on a baking tray without problems.

8. We will bake with steam for the first 10 minutes by placing a container with volcanic stones, if you have them, to generate steam. If not, you can place a small tray or container to pour water into.

Remove the bread from the mold

Heat half a cup of water to pour over the container with stones. Prepare a peel/board with baking paper.

Place it over the mold and very carefully flip it like an omelet. Lift the mold carefully, remove the cup and the cloth.

Baking

1. Place the bread in the oven on the lowest shelf, pour the boiling water into the container and close the door. Bake 20 minutes at 220ºC.
2. After this time, remove the steam container and close again. Lower the heat to 210ºC and leave 10 more minutes. Reduce the heat to 190ºC and bake 10 minutes, finish the final 10 minutes at 190ºC with fan.
3. When the baking time is finished, turn off the oven and leave the bread inside with the door ajar for 15 more minutes. This will help form a crispier crust.
4. Remove and let cool completely on a rack.

Butter board and tGlorious Food T&G acacia wood cutting board

Storage

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

This is a bread that, despite not seeming so at first, is very easy to make and gives fantastic results.It has an intense and characteristic flavor thanks to the rye, with a spongy and very tender crumb accompanied by a crispy and aromatic crust. Undoubtedly a perfect option to impress at home.

Accompanied by good homemade butter and our favorite jam it is an absolute delight.