Pan Gallego - The original Sourdough and a Yeasted Version.
About Pan Gallego
Pan Gallego is a modern bread from the Spanish region of Galicia. It appears that sometime around 2015 the local millers, bakers and farmers got together to develop a bread based on their local poor quality, but ancient, wheat variety. This was placed on the EU DoP register as a bread that could only be made there. And, with some marketing it became a pricey, but high quality bread, sent out to many parts of Spain. Local farmers, small mills and wood fired bakeries are making a better living now.
It is a sourdough artisan bread very much in the style and flour content of a French Pain de Campagne. The baking method is the same too.
It is light, has a crispy crust and the rye and wholemeal flours give it a lovely flavour.
Pan Gallego is one of my favourite breads. I do not bake it as the authentic boule with a top knot, but there are instructions here if you prefer to do that. The recipe here meets the precise specification laid out in the DoP registration.
Ingredients for the authentic Sourdough Version
200g Sourdough leaven 10% by flour weight.
400g of very strong white bread flour. 80%
10g Sea Salt 2%
325g Water 70%
The leaven is made with equal parts of flour and water. The flour used is rye and wholemeal flour. 50g of each. This preserves the full gluten strength of the white flour.
The amount of water very much depends on the strength of flours used. Some might find 350g of water, 75%, works better for them. This can be added at the hydration adjustment stage.
Ingredients for the Yeasted Version
400g Strong White Bread Flour 80%
50g Wholemeal Flour 10%
50g Whole Rye Flour 10%
2g Salt 2%
325g Water 70% with an option of adding 25g more water if needed 75%
3g 1 level tsp Instant Yeast 0.6%
Method
Incorporate everything into the dough and let it stand for 30 minutes to an hour. This allows the flour to hydrate and the gluten to begin to form.
Give the dough a quick mix and decide if you need to add a little more water. This is the best time to adjust a dough's hydration.
I like to give the dough ten, or twenty slap and folds at this stage. Slap and folding is the most efficient way to develop gluten by hand. There is an article on this site about the different ways of kneading and their advantages. Whatever method is used at this stage is good enough.
Rest for an hour - Then use your preferred method be it stretch and fold, or coil folding. I prefer slap and folding with this level of hydration.
Repeat the ‘rests and stretching’ three times in total. You can do four if you prefer. Space them to get the fermentation time you want. Somewhere between 4 and 6 hours.
After the last stretching, rest the dough for 15 to 20 minutes and then shape. I shape as for a Battard and place it in a banneton.
If you are doing the authentic bread make a boule and form a topknot.
Here is the authentic shaping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el198A-rvLc&lc=UgxefgImIoW42JNB3Hp4AaABAg.A3KnAo7r3j-A3LDKL-H3Vo
See the end for a note on this baker.*
Optional
For those so inclined, placing the shaped loaf into the fridge at 4C 39F for 12 - 16 hours can be done. It is not in the original recipe, but a more open crumb and better flavour will result.
If not cold proofing: I use a temperature controlled environment and proof for one hour at 28C 82F. Proof the dough as you see fit for your kitchen.
For those making the yeasted version cold Proofing will give much better results in terms of flavour, crumb and increased keeping qualities.
Bake at 230C 446F for 35 minutes in a Cloche. By cloche I mean whatever Dutch oven, covered ceramic bowl, or Challenger Pan you have available. If baking on a steel plate, or baking stone, make sure to use plenty of steam. For steam I find a preheated deep roasting tin filled with lava rocks and 500ml 1pint of water poured over them works well.
If required after about 35 minutes remove the bread from the cloche and finish the crust to the colour you prefer giving it about 5 minutes just sitting on the oven rack.
The bread is properly cooked when the internal temperature reaches 99C 210F. I sometimes bake this bread until the internal temperature is 94C 209F to get a softer, more sandwich bread crumb.
Cool on a rack for at least and hour. The steam trapped inside the loaf will continue to cook the starch during this time. Letting the steam out too soon will give you an undercooked loaf.
*Yummy Stories YouTube
This baker is a Canadian Latvian, living and working in Canada. She has baked for fifteen years and has a Restaurant and Bakery. To my mind her videos are very worthwhile watching.
Yummy Stories recipe is incorrect by the way. I suspect she got it from the internet. The method is good though.
Comment
Searching the internet there are many supposed pictures of Pan Gallego with open crumb with large holes. These are invariably white breads with an added top knot and nothing like the excellent flavoured Gallego loaf. Mine has a fairly close crumb. Though with cold proofing that could be opened up a little. It is not usually a loaf with the now fashionable large holes.