Tartine Country Bread Recipe

Since Tartine arrived in the mail weeks ago in the nano-house, I’ve counted the days to Thanksgiving week, knowing we would be in Oklahoma for a little while, where Arthur, my youngest sourdough starter, awaited me in the freezer since our last visit.  We arrived from the airport close to midnight, but before I went to bed I woke Arthur up and fed it with warm filtered water, and a nice helping of flour.  Two more days of tender loving care, and he was ready, all bubbly and active…

For the Basic Country Loaf, the starter must be prepared with a 50/50 proportion of white and whole wheat flour.  When we left for Los Angeles, all my flour went into the garage freezer for long term storage, and to my despair, here’s what I found: garbanzo, teff, barley, potato, corn, spelt, and  three kinds of white flour, but no regular whole wheat!  Undeterred, I decided that spelt would be a good substitute.  The bread turned out as one of the best loaves ever baked in the Bewitching Kitchen (

In a large bowl, mix 350g of warm water with the starter (100g of it), and mix to dissolve. Add both types of flour, mix until all flour is mixed with water, without large dry bits present.  Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes.

Tartine Bread Experiment: In A Rye Mood

Add the salt and the rest of the water (25g), and incorporate by pressing the dough with your fingers. Fold the dough a few times, until if forms a homogeneous mass, but don’t try to knead it.  Leave it in the bowl, folding it again a few times – no need to remove it from the bowl – every 30 minutes, for the first two hours (you will be making 4 series of folds during this period).  After the last folding cycle, let the dough rest undisturbed for another full hour, for a total of 3 hours of “bulk fermentation.”

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it gently as a ball, trying to create some surface tension (for a tutorial, click here).  Let it rest for 20 minutes, then do a final shaping, by folding the dough on itself and rotating it.  If you have a banneton, rub it with rice flour, line it with a soft cloth sprinkled with rice flour, and place the dough inside it with the seam-side up. If you don’t have a banneton, any round container – like a colander – will do. Let it rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature.  Twenty minutes before baking time, heat the oven to 450F.

Cut a piece of parchment paper that will completely cover a pie baking dish and place it on top of the banneton containing the bread dough.   Carefully invert the banneton  over the parchment paper, using the pie plate to support the dough.  The cloth will probably be sticking to the dough, so carefully peel it off.  Score the bread, and place the pie pan over baking tiles in the pre-heated oven.

Tartine Style Country Sourdough Bread

Let the loaf cool completely on a rack before devouring it, and pay close attention to its music as it cools…  It will sing for you…

Comments:   I gave you a very summarized version of the recipe. In the book, the instructions cover 11 pages, and every word is worth reading.   Plus, there are step by step photos that will guide you through the kneading and shaping of the loaf, and an extensive description on how to generate steam in a home oven.  His method of choice is what I’ve been using for months, but thanks to discussions over at The Fresh Loaf Forum, I went down a daring route and tried something a little unusual:   I placed my dough, after the final rise, over a COLD non-stick pie baking pan, lined with parchment paper.   The cold pan made it very easy to score the bread, without worrying about the 450-500F oven environment. Once the dough was scored, I transferred the pan to the oven,  over pre-heated tiles, and immediately covered it with a large roasting pan that had been previously filled with hot water.   I dump the water and invert the roasting pan, still moist, over the pie pan + dough, covering them completely.    Twenty minutes later, I removed the roasting pan, and finished baking the bread uncovered until it turned a deep golden brown.

The main advantage of the pie pan, is that it provides some support for the bread to rise up, and the fact that it works without pre-heating makes life a lot easier.   I have quite a few burn scars on my arms and hands in the quest for the perfect loaf of bread… 😉      The crust developed as nicely as any of my breads baked on a pre-heated pan, and the oven-spring of this “boule” was exceptional, as I barely had to touch it to place it inside the oven. Minimal handling = maximal preservation of gas in the dough = great oven spring.

Country Bread, 2 Lb At Whole Foods Market

Very few things in the kitchen bring me as much happiness as baking a nice loaf of sourdough bread. The Country Loaf from Tartine Bread was my best welcome home ever!  We fly back to LA tomorrow, but I’m already looking forward to my next “homecoming bread.”  The Olive variation, maybe?   Sesame?  Country Rye?   Stay tuned: March is not too far away…  😉The recipes developed by our test kitchen team have undergone a rigorous process of development and testing, ensuring that every element is optimal, from ingredient amounts to method and cooking time. This process includes triple-testing recipes to ensure they meet our high standards. The many stellar cooks and food editors who have been part of our team include Sarah Carey, Lucinda Scala Quinn, Jennifer Aaronson, Shira Bocar, Anna Kovel, Greg Lofts, Riley Wofford, Lauren Tyrell, and Lindsay Leopold.

Loaves made with a natural leaven keep for a week—one reason Chad Robertson, of San Francisco's legendary Tartine Bakery, prefers this time-honored technique. The resulting bread boasts a thick, burnished crust and a moist interior shot through with holes. Get the step-by-step guide where we break down how to make this delicious country bread. Recipe and image reprinted with permission from Tartine Bread, by Chad Robertson, with photographs by Eric Wolfinger.

Robertson describes a starter -- a mixture of flour, water, wild yeasts, and bacteria -- as a baker's fingerprint. Making one is simple, but it does require a commitment: Count on feeding and caring for the mixture for three weeks before you start baking. For something closer to immediate gratification, begin using the starter after five to seven days, or order a fresh starter at kingarthurflour.com. (Keep in mind, the flavor won't be as complex.)

Basic Sourdough (tartine Country Bread) — The Regular Chef

Classic Rye Bread French Dough No-Knead Tomato Focaccia 14 hrs 15 mins Irish-Style Brown Bread 50 mins How to Make Multigrain Bread Potato Rolls Foolproof Irish Soda Bread Portuguese Cornmeal Bread 17 hrs 30 mins

Sour Cherry and Rosemary Focaccia 6 hrs 10 mins Classic White Bread No-Knead Plum Focaccia 14 hrs 15 mins Seeded Marble Rye Bread 4 hrs 45 mins Pull-Apart Garlic Bread 3 hrs 40 mins Grape-and-Rosemary Focaccia Sweet-Potato Biscuits 1 hr 20 mins Multigrain English Muffins

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First Tartine Country Loaf

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Very few things in the kitchen bring me as much happiness as baking a nice loaf of sourdough bread. The Country Loaf from Tartine Bread was my best welcome home ever!  We fly back to LA tomorrow, but I’m already looking forward to my next “homecoming bread.”  The Olive variation, maybe?   Sesame?  Country Rye?   Stay tuned: March is not too far away…  😉The recipes developed by our test kitchen team have undergone a rigorous process of development and testing, ensuring that every element is optimal, from ingredient amounts to method and cooking time. This process includes triple-testing recipes to ensure they meet our high standards. The many stellar cooks and food editors who have been part of our team include Sarah Carey, Lucinda Scala Quinn, Jennifer Aaronson, Shira Bocar, Anna Kovel, Greg Lofts, Riley Wofford, Lauren Tyrell, and Lindsay Leopold.

Loaves made with a natural leaven keep for a week—one reason Chad Robertson, of San Francisco's legendary Tartine Bakery, prefers this time-honored technique. The resulting bread boasts a thick, burnished crust and a moist interior shot through with holes. Get the step-by-step guide where we break down how to make this delicious country bread. Recipe and image reprinted with permission from Tartine Bread, by Chad Robertson, with photographs by Eric Wolfinger.

Robertson describes a starter -- a mixture of flour, water, wild yeasts, and bacteria -- as a baker's fingerprint. Making one is simple, but it does require a commitment: Count on feeding and caring for the mixture for three weeks before you start baking. For something closer to immediate gratification, begin using the starter after five to seven days, or order a fresh starter at kingarthurflour.com. (Keep in mind, the flavor won't be as complex.)

Basic Sourdough (tartine Country Bread) — The Regular Chef

Classic Rye Bread French Dough No-Knead Tomato Focaccia 14 hrs 15 mins Irish-Style Brown Bread 50 mins How to Make Multigrain Bread Potato Rolls Foolproof Irish Soda Bread Portuguese Cornmeal Bread 17 hrs 30 mins

Sour Cherry and Rosemary Focaccia 6 hrs 10 mins Classic White Bread No-Knead Plum Focaccia 14 hrs 15 mins Seeded Marble Rye Bread 4 hrs 45 mins Pull-Apart Garlic Bread 3 hrs 40 mins Grape-and-Rosemary Focaccia Sweet-Potato Biscuits 1 hr 20 mins Multigrain English Muffins

We and our 1609 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

First Tartine Country Loaf

Store and/or access information on a device. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content.