Wheat-stalk bread wreath (pain d'épi)

Ingredients

• 525 g all-purpose flour
• 375 ml lukewarm water (38-40°C / 100-104°F)
• 5 g active dry yeast
• 5 g salt
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, for handling the dough

Missing an ingredient?

• What to use instead of all-purpose flour
• What to use instead of whole wheat flour

Instructions

1. Mix the flour with the yeast and salt. Add the water and mix into a ball of dough, without kneading.
2. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let it rise somewhere warm until it has doubled or more and the surface sinks or flattens: a couple of hours at about 22°C (72°F), or 3-4 if it's cold. You can leave it overnight.
3. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust the dough with whole wheat flour and divide it in two: each half makes one wreath. Dust your work surface too.
5. Shape a ball, poke a hole in the center and gradually stretch the dough into a ring a little smaller than the baking sheet.
6. With scissors, make angled cuts (30° or less) almost all the way through the dough, without cutting it completely, and fan the points out alternately to one side and the other, like a wheat stalk.
7. Let it rise again until it has almost doubled.
8. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F), conventional (top and bottom heat), and put a pan of very hot water at the bottom.
9. Bake the bread at 220°C (425°F) on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden. Let it cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, shape the second wreath or keep the dough in the fridge for another day.
10. If you like, roll the dough into a rectangle, spread it with a vegetable spread or pâté, roll it up, join the ends into a ring and cut it the same way.

Nutrition facts

Approximate, per serving (about 197 g). Calculated with data from USDA FoodData Central.