The Cottage Loaf: Elegant, Simple, and Delicious

Cottage Loaf

The cottage loaf is another recipe from the great British bake off cookbook. A traditional bread with a fine-textured crumb and a shape not seen too much these days. The loaf is in essence two loaves, one on top of the other, so the dough will be quite firm. Beware of over-proofing the dough as this will cause the loaf to not be “Instagram-worthy” it will still taste good though. But if you didn’t post about it on social media, did it actually happen? Anyway, if you haven’t already jumped to the recipe, here are some tips for how to nail this bread the first time.

Notes about the Dough

The cottage loaf is a simple dough, there’s flour, salt, yeast, and water, that’s it. The loaf is two-tiered so the dough is going to be quite firm. This is so that it can hold its shape during its second proof. A firm dough means low-hydration. So the dough is going to look wrong if you’re used to working with sourdough or other higher hydration doughs. If the dough is sticking to your hands, don’t be afraid to add a bit more flour. The dough should be firm but easy to work with.

Cottage Loaf Dough Technique

When mixing the dough, you can just chuck everything in the stand mixer with the dough attachment and start mixing. Be sure to start the mixing on the lowest setting so the flour doesn’t go everywhere. Also, take care to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. This is to ensure you don’t get any pockets of flour in your dough. When proofing the dough, leave it to proof at room temperature. Normally, I leave my dough to proof by my oven where its going to be a little warmer. This helps the yeast to activate and the dough to rise. In this case, we don’t want the dough to be super active and bubbly. This will cause the structure of the loaf to either collapse or rise in some weird ways when baking. See below for an example

Cottage Loaf where the dough was over-proofed.

Loaf Assembly Technique

Knock the dough back once doubled in size and knead for a few minutes to get any air bubbles out. Then cut a third of the dough off and shape into a round ball and set on a greased baking tray. Shape the other piece of dough into a ball as well and place on the baking tray with the smaller piece. Leave some space between the dough to allow for spreading during the second rise.

Dough Proofing

Once the dough has rested a second time, flatten each piece with your fingers. Take the smaller ball and put it on top of the larger one. Dip your fingers on flour and press down in the center of the loaf to join the two pieces together.

Assembled Cottage Loaf

After the loaf has been “assembled,” wait 10 min then brush the loaf with an egg wash. Then score the bread using a razor or sharp knife. Don’t be afraid to make decent cuts on the bottom part of the loaf. This will ensure that the dough doesn’t puff up in the middle and rise in ways you don’t want. Gotta get that perfect shot for bread porn daily.

Cottage Loaf just before going into the oven

When going to bake your loaf, chances are, you don’t have a steaming oven. I don’t either so when preheating the oven, I place a small baking tray on the bottom of the oven. After I place the loaf in the oven to bake, I pour some cold water on the tray in the bottom to create a blast of steam. This will help the loaf develop that golden, crisp crust. Take care to turn the temperature down after 15 minutes. The loaf is initially baked at 450 deg F and then reduced to 400 deg F. If you tap the bottom of your loaf when you take it out of the oven and it sounds hollow, you know its done. Let cool on a wire rack and dig in!

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Cottage Loaf

Attractively simple, this loaf of bread is 1 smaller loaf on top of a larger loaf with a fine textured crumb and crisp, golden crust.
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine British
Keyword bread, Yeasted
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Proofing Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Servings 1 Loaf

Equipment

  • 1 Stand Mixer
  • 2 baking trays

Ingredients

  • 675 grams Bread flour
  • 7 grams Yeast
  • 1.5 tsp Sea salt
  • 400 ml water, room temp
  • 1 medium egg, beaten with a pinch of salt for brushing the loaf before baking

Instructions

Dough Assembly

  • Combine the bread flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.
  • Add the water and using the dough hook attachment, mix on the lowest setting for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add a bit more flour
  • Cover the dough with cling film and leave to proof at room temperature for an hour and a half, or until doubled in size.
  • Give the dough a punch, or knock it back if you will, and then transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Knead the dough for a minute to get any other pockets of gas out then cut off a third of the dough.
  • Shape the smaller and larger pieces of dough into their own respective balls and place each piece on a greased baking tray. Leave room between the two pieces and then cover and leave to proof for another 30-40 minutes until doubled in size,
  • While the dough is on its second proof, preheat the oven to 450 deg F and place the second metal tray in the bottom of the oven
  • Uncover the dough and flatten the tops of each piece slightly. Place the smaller loaf on top of the larger loaf.
  • Dip your fingers in flour, and using your thumb and index finger, or your middle and ring finger if you're feeling naughty, push into the middle of the loaf to join the two pieces together.
  • Leave the loaf to proof for another ten minutes and brush with the egg to glaze.
  • Score the dough using a razor or sharp knife. Don't be afraid to cut into the dough a bit, scoring give the dough a place to expand and you want it to be on the sides of the loaf, not the middle.

Dough Baking

  • Place the loaf in the oven and then pour some cold water onto the tray in the bottom of the oven to create a blast of steam then close the door. This will give the dough its crisp, golden crust.
  • Bake for 15 minutes and turn down the oven to 400 deg F. You can open the oven door for a second if you like to help bring it to temperature faster but its not necessary.
  • Bake for another 20-25 minutes. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of it.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

One thought on “The Cottage Loaf: Elegant, Simple, and Delicious


  1. This looks amaaaazing!!!! It rose to perfection and I could eat the entire roll right by itself as a snack! Oh yes! Indeed!

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