Just look at that color!
For all the bacon in this loaf, this Sourdough Farm Bread with Pepper and Bacon doesn’t taste like bacon. You can see the bacon. You can detect its flavor. But the loaf doesn’t scream “bacon” at you the way you might think it would.
Still, it’s a great loaf. It’ll make a sandwich that’ll end you. Pair it with something spicy and bold, like Hot Chile Pepper Bacon Jam, salami, and country ham.
Sourdough Farm Bread with Pepper and Bacon
1
large (2¾ lbs) loaf3
days to make2
casserole potsYou call it a Dutch oven. I call it a casserole pot. Regardless, you’ll need either two of them or an easy-to-imagine workaround. You could shorten this down to a single day, but it’d be a good, full day.
Ingredients
- Levain:
200 g (1 cup) sourdough starter
114 g (½ cup) filtered water
114 g (¾ cup) whole-wheat pastry flour
- Autolyse:
367 g (1¾ cup) filtered water
45 g (⅓ cup) whole wheat flour
161 g (1 cup + 4 Tbs) cake flour
275 g (1¾ cups + 3 Tbs) bread flour
- Bacon:
1 lb. bacon
- Final Mixing, Bulk Fermentation, and Stretch & Fold:
All the bacon bits produced in the previous step
15 g (2 generous tsp) coarse sea salt
9 g (1 Tbs) coarsely-ground black pepper
Directions
- Levain:
- In the evening, place the starter in a large mixing bowl and whisk in the water. Stir in the flour with a sturdy wooden spoon until well mixed, then give it 100 strokes. Cover and leave on the countertop overnight.
- Autolyse:
- Whisk the water into the levain. Fold in the flour with a large, flexible spatula or bowl scraper. Use the spatula/scraper to mix the dough until you can no longer detect any dry flour. Cover and let rest on the countertop for 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the bacon.
- Bacon:
- Separate the slab into 4-slice mini-slabs. Use sharp kitchen shears to cut each mini-slab in half lengthwise, then dice the halves widthwise right into a cold skillet.
- Turn the heat to medium, and fry the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it gives off water and then most of that water has boiled off, 10 minutes. Continue to fry, now stirring constantly, until the bacon is browned and crispy, 15 minutes.
- Use a pancake flipper to move the bacon to a plate, and spread it out so that it cools. Move the plate to the refrigerator to accelerate the cooling.
- Drain the fat from the pan and reserve it for another use (such as homemade tortillas). Deglaze the pan briefly with white wine and reserve that also for another use (such as something that I can’t imagine at the moment … but I know it’ll come to me).
- Final Mixing, Bulk Fermentation, and Stretch & Fold:
- Sprinkle half of all the ingredients over the dough. Use the spatula/scraper to fold the dough in many directions and thoroughly distribute the ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and fold again in a similar manner. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
- Thoroughly wet your hands. Grab the edge of the dough furthest from you, stretch it upward, and fold it over so that it meets the opposite edge of the dough. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Continue until you’ve completed your fourth fold. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat Step 2 five more times.
- Place the covered dough in the refrigerator overnight.
- Turn the dough out onto an unfloured surface. Shape it into a tight ball. Dust it liberally with flour, cover it with a clean tea towel, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, fit a buttered, corn-dusted piece of parchment into a casserole pot. It should stick up a few inches above the top of the pot at least in a few places.
- Shape the dough a second time, and place it into the casserole right side up. Cover the pot and place it in the refrigerator for 3 hours. 2¼ hours into your wait time, place a second, covered casserole pot into the oven, atop a baking stone, and pre-heat to 350°F. After 25 minutes, raise the heat to 500°F.
- Score the loaf. Grab the edge of the parchment, lift the dough and the parchment out of the cold pot, and move the whole thing to the hot pot. Place three ice cubes in between the parchment and the side of the pot in different locations. Cover the pot, and place it in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Lower the heat to 450°F, remove the lid, and continue baking for 25 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven. Use the parchment to lift the bread from the pot, gently lift the bread off the parchment and return it to the oven, placing it directly on the baking stone. Bake until the bread’s internal temperature reaches 200°F, about 15 minutes.
- Rest the bread for a minimum of 2 hours on a wire rack.
Notes
- Normally, you’d use a slotted spoon and cool the cooked bacon bits on paper towels, but in this case, you want to get some of the bacon fat into the bread. Also, you wouldn’t normally want to refrigerate bacon bits, except for long-term storage. For most purposes, you want them at room temperature. For our purposes, though, you don’t want the bacon going into the dough hot.
The Backstory
This recipe comes from “Zingerman’s Bakehouse.”[1] I’ve modified it to suit my no-knead, Dutch-oven process; increased the amount of levain; changed the hydration; and have created my own flour blend.
Social Learning
Need to learn how to make a starter? Here’s how I made mine.
Zingerman’s has an excellent article about how to care for a loaf of bread once you’ve baked it.
I measure by the gram when I bake bread. I’ve presented volume measurements in this post for your convenience, but you should know that they’re rough approximations.
[1] Emberling, Any, and Frank Corollo. 2017. “Farm Bread with Pepper and Bacon.” In Zingerman’s Bakehouse, 174-75. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Sourdough Farm Bread with Pepper and Bacon
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you, Kesor. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything.
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It works for me, Jeff. I think the bacon should just be a subtle flavor in a bread, least it ends badly. I’d love to taste it in a BLT with jalapeno mayo. Maybe as a french toast? Look very yummy indeed.
Ron recently posted…Skanörs Gästgifvaregård a classic Swedish Inn…
Yes, I think a BLT is a great idea.
I would kill for tasting one slice of your sourdough!! A huge slice with the reserved bacon fat for me please :-)))
angiesrecipes recently posted…Stuffed Braided Loaf with 3 Fillings
🙂
Ohh my! this bread would be really tasty, all I need is a good butter and this can be my dinner. Yum!
It could be!
Very Helpful Article but I have a question that How many calories can our body get by eating this food?
Vrishen Kumar recently posted…Military Diet 3 Days
I have no idea, but I’m going to say “a lot.” Eating – especially in contrast to mere subsistence – requires a balance of many factors; calories is one of them.
BACON!! If your bread isn’t going to scream bacon, then I decided to do it for you. In all seriousness, though, this bread sounds like my heaven. A whole pound of bacon included in there? Yup, pass me that bread knife. And I can’t even imagine how good this would be as a sandwich bread. What are your thoughts about adding some small cubes of cheese in there, too?
David @ Spiced recently posted…Passion Fruit Cheesecake
Well, I also make a cheese loaf, actually, which I haven’t yet posted … and it was stellar! So yes, I think a bacon-cheese loaf would be killer!
Oh, that firm, dark crust looks to die for! I must get off my buttocks and learn how to make a starter dough!
I’ve been enjoying working with it. I bet you would, too!
That crust is outstanding! And the crumb looks wonderful. I don’t believe I’ve ever had bacon in bread — such a neat idea. Thanks!
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…The Rose Cocktail
Thank you, John!
Oh my my! How did we miss this recipe? Anything with bacon is calling our names Jeff- this one is a winner! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
Jeez, that looks good, Jeff. We really do intend to make your sourdough starter… maybe we can get going this weekend. Have a good weekend yourself!
David Scott Allen recently posted…We’ve Got Time
Thanks, David. What always kept me from it is the necessity of having to use or discard a portion each week. In typical dude fashion, this seemed like too much commitment to me, when there were sexy sourdough loaves practically throwing themselves into my shopping cart at the local bakery. I’ve taken a break from making bread with the starter, though, and have started making pancakes, cakes, cookies … basically anything that calls for flour and water. And I’ve been enjoying it!
What a coincidence! I just put together a sourdough bread for tonight, kind of a hybrid of no knead bread and regular bread. I thought my sourdough smells absolutely awesome but a pound of bacon? You’ve definitely taken this bread thing to the next level! Wish I had a pound of bacon!
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Thank you!
Zingerman’s just LOVES bacon! I think Ari (one of the founders) even wrote a bacon book, and they have a bacon festival sometimes. I am fond of going there to look at all the kinds of breads, which rotate in and out of availability. I think my favorite is cranberry pecan which is seasonal for Thanksgiving.
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Yes, I’ve had that cranberry pecan loaf! Love it! My favorite, though, is the chocolate cherry bread. Always wanted to try to recreate that one.
WOW! This is one gorgeous loaf of sourdough Jeff! My mouth is watering. Can’t get over that beautiful crust, and the crumb looks absolutely perfect.
Thank you, Shannon!
this looks fabulous jeff. bacon is always better:) and the more the merrier. hope you’re keeping well.
cheers
sherry
sherry recently posted…In My Kitchen – June 2020
Thanks, Sherry!
Although I do make my own bread, I’ve never actually make sourdough Jeff. I need to get that sorted soon. And with bacon in? Yes please!
Neil recently posted…Quick And Easy Pasta Pomodoro
Sourdough is all new to me, too, Neil. It’s really fun to work with.
well, i might be the only person who hasn’t jumped on the sourdough starter wagon. I love sourdough. And that’s probably why I don’t need hot sourdough begging for butter, hanging around my kitchen. but boy, does this look like a fabulous recipe!
mimi rippee recently posted…Salad with Beans and Sausage
I know what you mean. I initially though a loaf of bread every week would be fine with me, but I’ve been making huge double-sized loaves, and although I’ve enjoyed them tremendously, I started thinking maybe I didn’t need a loaf of bread every single week. But I do not regret this bacon loaf!
This sourdough seems really tasty! I could eat a slice or two, maybe more 🙂
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Thank you!
Dear Jeff, I am in awe of your bread baking skills! Respect! The idea of adding bacon to your loaves that will leave you with a delightful bacon taste but not too overpowering sounds absolutely perfect to me. Your bread also has a perfect crumb and an impressive dark crust. And I do love the lats pic of your cut loaf with another loaf in the background – really nice.
Hope you are all doing well,
Andrea
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Thank you, Andrea. I’ve been baking bread for years, and I think I’m only just now getting a really good feel for it. Although I still feel lucky if loaf looks as attractive as it tastes!
This looks awesome, Jeff. I make bread often, but never with flavorings in it. This one has been longing to try. Sounds so tasty I bet I’d enjoy it just as is, no need for toppings.
Thanks, Frank!
Great recipe! This no-knead bread is one of the reasons I need a casserole pot.
You know, the only reasons for the pot are 1) to be screaching hot, which will give a lift to the bread, and 2) to create an environment that will trap in steam (from the ice cubes). A casserole pot seems like the perfect shape for this, but any similar pot will do. I’ve done this in a decent-sized soup pot, or stock pot. Also, if you divide the dough in half, to make two smaller loaves, then you open up a lot more pot possibilities.
A superb reason to take a break from my gluten-free diet. I love sourdough and especially the 1 lb. of bacon. I’ve had a chipa wazu bagel-ish treat in Paraguay that was similar but not sour doughy or bacony enough. Thanks!
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Thanks!