Franck Dangereux’s oil bread

The smell of freshly baked bread never seems to lose it’s magic. It is probably one of the simplest ways to make people feel warm and happy – by sharing a loaf of bread that just came from your oven.

If I ever have to choose my last meal, it would simply have to be great bread accompanied by the best extra virgin olive oil. I love to drench fresh crusty bread in great olive oil, the fresh green smell of the olive oil enhanced by the warmness of the bread.

In Franck Dangereux’s recipe for “oil bread”, you can have these two elements of bread and great olive oil all wrapped into one – cut into iconic “fingers”.  Franck published this recipe in his book “Feast” while he was still the head chef at Constantia Uitsig’s award-winning La Colombe Restaurant. He is no longer with La Colombe, but has moved on to co-own The Foodbarn – a magnificent restaurant and deli in Noordhoek, Cape Town. Franck is renowned for his excellent baking and his honest approach to simple, quality ingredients.

This recipe is one of my favourites: truly rustic, yet stylish enough for fine dining. The only catch is that you need a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to prepare the dough – it is very sticky and will take a lot of time and effort to mix by hand. But if you have access to a stand mixer, this will become a total favourite in your house: a recipe that is timeless and delicious, every time.

Ingredients:

1 kg flour (I use white bread flour)

20 g salt (about 1 tablespoon)

10 g instant yeast (or 25 g fresh yeast)

750 ml lukewarm water

olive oil

sliced onion and chopped rosemary for topping

Method:

1. Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer on low-speed, fitted with the dough hook or beater. With the motor running, add the water all at once.
2. Mix on low-speed for 20 minutes. Put a wet cloth over the dough and leave it to prove at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.
3. Generously spread oil on 2 baking trays with your hands. With your hands still oily, divide dough in 2 and put each half in a baking tray. Leave it to rest for 20 minutes.
4. Again with oiled hands, stretch the dough to fit the trays. Top with anything you like: sliced onions, rosemary, garlic, basil, olives, anchovies. Leave to prove at room temperature for a further 45 minutes.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes.

Tip: I always drizzle the bread with olive oil before baking AND after baking – it just brings out the flavour and colour of the bread beautifully.

Credits:

This post was written especially for The Pretty Blog by Ilse van der Merwe from The Food Fox.

Recipe selection, testing and preparation: Ilse van der Merwe from The Food Fox.

Photographed by Tasha Seccombe

Styling: Nicola Pretorius, Ilse vand der Merwe and Tasha Seccombe