Golden-crusted sourdough country loaf, this Sourdough Pain De Campagne recipe is your ticket to a rustic French bakery right from your own kitchen. With its mix of white, rye, and wholemeal flours, this traditional French sourdough bread has a tender crumb, tangy complexity, and a hearty character that's perfect for both everyday slicing and showing off.
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French Country Bread: Pain De Campagne
Pain de Campagne, literally "country bread," is France's answer to a rustic sourdough - hearty, crusty, and full of character. Traditionally, a round shape (but feel free to use batard shape, if that's your personal preference), this great bread has as many flour combinations as it has fans.
The first time I tasted one - on a crisp morning in Alsace - it was a mix of white and whole wheat flours, while Raymond Blanc swears by white and rye. Then there's Larousse Gastronomique, calling it a "white loaf." So really, the blend is down to personal preference, but what you're guaranteed is a depth of flavour from slow fermentation, a hint of sour taste, and a chewy crumb.
Traditionally, a very big loaf (called miche (a kind of large boule, if you will), baked on a baking stone, it's the kind of loaf that makes even a simple slice with butter feel special.
Fancy a soft-crust French Sourdough Bread? Try Sourdough Pain de Mie, baked in a Pullman loaf pan.
Ingredient Notes
Here's everything you will need for this traditional French country sourdough loaf:
- strong white bread flour: with at least 12% protein content.
- rye flour: we used wholemeal rye flour.
- wholemeal flour: also known as whole wheat flour. It is higher in ash content and therefore will affect how your sourdough behaves (more information in Ash Content in Flour: What Does It Mean For Sourdough Baking?).
- water: use warm water to kickstart the bulk fermentation process if you're in a bit of a rush. Different flours absorb different amounts of water, so make sure to adjust hydration accordingly, but note that both rye and whole wheat flours tend to be thirsty, so it's a higher hydration dough. It will start off as a sticky dough, but after the folds and bulk fermentation, the final dough will be very manageable.
- salt.
- active sourdough starter: 100% hydration.
Find the ingredient quantities, full instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card below.
Step-By-Step Method
DAY 1
Feed Sourdough Starter
1. First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot (ideally, 21-27°C), semi-covered for 4 hours. Your starter should at least double in volume in this time. If it doesn't, it may need a couple of good feeds before wild yeast colonies are strong enough and it's fit for purpose.
Mixing The Dough
1. Once the sourdough starter is active and bubbly (and at least doubled in volume), mix the dough. Mix strong white flour, rye flour, wholemeal flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Add water and active sourdough starter.
3. Run the mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment for 10 minutes, until your dough is smooth and elastic. It does not need to pass the windowpane test just yet (the gluten will continue developing when we fold the dough).
Coil Folds And Bulk Fermentation
1. Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place (21-27°C) for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, with cold, wet hands, perform the first set of coil folds. Simply lift the bread dough with both hands from the sides and tuck it under to form a coil (video below). Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil again. Cover the bowl again, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes again. You may stretch and fold, if that's what you're used to.
3. You should repeat the process every 30 minutes until you have done 4-6 sets of coil folds. Your dough will spread less with every set of folds, and by the end of it, you will have a much less sticky, very soft and elastic dough that has blisters on top of the dough. For more information on how to coil fold and when to know when you've done enough folding, head to our dedicated article about Sourdough Coil Folds.
4. Once all the folds have been completed, cover the dough and let the dough rise at a warm room temperature for 2-3 hours to finish bulk fermentation. Your dough should just about double its original size. If you are using a see-through glass bowl for bulk fermenting, you should see a lot of activity and bubbles forming at the base and sides of the bowl.
Note that due to added rye and wholemeal flour, pain de campagne dough ferments quicker than white sourdough.
Shaping and Overnight Rise
1. At the end of bulk fermentation, using a bowl scraper, scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try and make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then, swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre and flip the dough over.
2. Cupping the ball of dough with your hands, drag it against the work bench to create surface tension - you should see some blisters coming to the surface of the dough. You should aim for a tight round ball of dough that holds its shape and doesn't spread much.
3. Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket (or any proofing basket alternatives). We recommend using rice flour for dusting your proofing baskets. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam at the top.
4. Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl, to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small lightweight tea towel. If your fridge is known to be very dry, or your proofing basket has an open weave, make sure to place the basket in a plastic bag.
5. Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.
DAY 2
The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
Scoring The Dough
1. Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge.
2. Invert the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
3. Dust the surface of the dough with flour. Using a bread lame or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle. One single deep slash is all that's needed for that sought-after sourdough "ear".
Baking
1. Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper. Be mindful of how you lift the paper. Sometimes, the scored slash can begin to close up during this process. To prevent this, lift the parchment from the sides that won't push the two edges of the scored dough back together.
2. Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 35 minutes.
3. After 35 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. If you don't want your loaf of bread too dark in colour, you can reduce the oven temperature to 200°C. As a rule of thumb, your sourdough is ready when the internal temperature reaches 96-98°C (205-210°F).
Cooling
1. Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
2. Leave the French sourdough to cool down to room temperature before slicing. Store in a paper bag or wrapped in a tea towel (the only way I've seen French store their bread...).
Serving Suggestions
This rustic French sourdough is the perfect companion to all things délicieux. Serve slices with soft goat cheese and a drizzle of honey, pair it with pâté or rillettes for a savoury treat, or keep it simple with creamy French butter and a swipe of tart jam.
It's also fantastic alongside a bowl of soupe à l'oignon or for mopping up every last drop of coq au vin.
More Sourdough From Around The World
Craving more French bread? Try Classic Sourdough Fougasse (or Sourdough Pumpkin Fougasse, if it's that time of the year...). Next time, explore sourdough wonders from around the world with these delicious, internationally-inspired bakes.
French Sourdough Pain De Campagne
Equipment
- Bench Scraper
- Banneton Basket
- Razor Blade or Bread Lame
Ingredients
- 400 g strong white flour with at least 12% protein content
- 50 g rye flour
- 50 g wholemeal flour a.k.a. wholewheat flour
- 290 ml water
- 10 g salt
- 160 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
Instructions
DAY 1:
Mixing The Dough
- First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot (ideally, 21-27°C), semi-covered for 4 hours. Your starter should at least double in volume in this time. If it doesn't, it may need a couple of good feeds before it's fit for purpose.
- Once the sourdough starter is active and bubbly (and at least doubled in volume), mix the dough. Mix strong white flour, rye flour, wholemeal flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add water and active sourdough starter.
- Run the mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment for 10 minutes, until your dough is smooth and elastic. It does not need to pass the windowpane test just yet (the gluten will continue developing when we fold the dough).
Coil Folds And Bulk Fermentation
- Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place (21-27°C) for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, with cold wet hands, perform the first set of coil folds. Simply lift the bread dough with both hands from the sides and tuck it under to form a coil (video below). Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil again. Cover the bowl again, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes again. You may stretch and fold, if that's what you're used to.
- You should repeat the process every 30 minutes until you have done 4-6 sets of coil folds. Your dough will spread less with every set of folds, and by the end of it, you will have a much less sticky, very soft and elastic dough that has blisters on top of the dough. For more information on how to coil fold and when to know when you've done enough folding, head to our dedicated article about Sourdough Coil Folds.
- Once all the folds have been completed, cover the dough and let the dough rise at warm room temperature for 2-3 hours to finish bulk fermentation. Your dough should just about double its original size. If you are using a see-through glass bowl for bulk fermenting, you should see a lot of activity and bubbles forming at the base and sides of the bowl. Note that due to added rye and wholemeal flour, pain de campagne dough ferments quicker than white sourdough.
Shaping and Final Proof
- At the end of bulk fermentation, using a bowl scraper, scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try and make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre and flip the dough over.
- Cupping the ball of dough with your hands, drag it against the work bench to create surface tension - you should see some blisters coming to the surface of the dough. You should aim for a tight round ball of dough that holds its shape and doesn't spread much.
- Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket (or any proofing basket alternatives). We recommend using rice flour for dusting your proofing baskets. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam at the top.
- Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small lightweight tea towel.
- Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.
DAY 2:
- The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
Scoring The Dough
- Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge.
- Invert the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
- Dust the surface of the dough with flour. Using a bread lame or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle. One single deep slash is all that's needed for that sought-after sourdough "ear".
Baking
- Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper. Be mindful of how you lift the paper. Sometimes, the scored slash can begin to close up during this process. To prevent this, lift the parchment from the sides that won't push the two edges of the scored dough back together.
- Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 35 minutes.
- After 35 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. If you don't want your loaf of bread too dark in colour, you can reduce the oven temperature to 200°C.
Cooling
- Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
- Leave the French sourdough to cool down to room temperature before slicing.
NigeB says
Another winner. Your guidance is helping me to finesse my sourdough. Thanks.
Ieva Greber says
So kind of you! But also I'm so glad you're enjoying my recipes 🙂