Pan Gallego and Asturian bread

[Tia Valeria]

I have some bread flour which looks as though it might be right for making Pan Gallego or the similar bread from Asturias.
I have looked for a recipe, preferably that uses yeast, but have only found one for sour dough that is far too large an amount for just 2 of us.
Does anyone have a good recipe that will make just one small to medium size loaf please? Metric or old fashioned UK lbs and oz will be equally useful.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I have some bread flour which looks as though it might be right for making Pan Gallego or the similar bread from Asturias.
I have looked for a recipe, preferably that uses yeast, but have only found one for sour dough that is far too large an amount for just 2 of us.
Does anyone have a good recipe that will make just one small to medium size loaf please? Metric or old fashioned UK lbs and oz will be equally useful.

Well, apart from advising you to halve the quantities . . .

Take a look at this YouTube video

Pan Gallego

It's in Spanish but the lady speaks very clearly and you can switch on closed captioning in English and there aren't too many "odd" translations.

It's more of a "sponge" method than sourdough. The sponge takes about 24 hours to prove rather than a week! I used Canadian Strong White flour (Allinson's in the UK) and Hovis dry yeast but activated it in some warm water with a teaspoon of caster sugar (so it dissolved quicker)

Then the hard work begins. It must have taken me about 7 hours in all to make it by hand. The first kneading, which takes her about 30 minutes . . . well I must have spent close on an hour including rests - exhausting!

It's also very sticky - if you're used to kneading on a floured surface then don't panic, just keep on working it.

I used a terracotta plate - it's actually a circular tray from a garden centre, normally I use it with an upside down terracotta bowl (also from a garden centre) to make a bread cloche -and line it with parchment paper.

I didn't bother with the "top knot" but did slash the top with a (clean) box cutter blade. After all that work it had flattened off quite a bit.

The end result was pretty good - not as good as hers but the crust was reasonably thick and the crumb, the crumb looked like a good quality sea sponge! It tasted pretty authentic too but I should have wrapped it overnight - the remnants the next day were pretty rubbery but it toasted well.

Would I bake it again? Probably not but we're all pretty much time rich at present and it was fun to do. I might sacrifice crust quality for speed if I do it again.

Sorry, didn't take any photos - too tired!

¡Buena suerte!

 

[simply B]

Have you seen this?

How to Make Pan Gallego Bread

mydailyknead.com

 

[Texas Walker]

Can you make the recipe and do smaller loaves, then freeze one? Bread takes very well to freezing. (In airtight bag of course!)

 

[Tia Valeria]

Can you make the recipe and do smaller loaves, then freeze one? Bread takes very well to freezing. (In airtight bag of course!)

I need to make a reduced size as my freezer is too small and drawers are not only too shallow but also too full to get a loaf in.
However I will try the yeast recipes suggested by @Jeff Crawley and @simply B - thank you. I can adjust the size if needed as I would for my usual bread which we make at home

 

[jalluisi]

I am baking crusty bread today! It's a no knead bread. Baking now in oven in my dutch oven pot.

 

[Tia Valeria]

I am baking crusty bread today! It's a no knead bread. Baking now in oven in my dutch oven pot.

Our daughter has sent me a 'no knead' recipe that looks like it will work from her description of the finished bread. It is a small loaf. If it doesn't work well then I will see if I can adapt one of the others above to make a smaller loaf than given in the recipe.