Uncle Fafa's "Bee & Cicada" Loaf, Your Breakfast Bread Recipe

Like all our guests, you have been or will be discovering our homemade bread “Abeille & Cigale”.

Our bread recipe has been created with you in mind, and is prepared with passion so that every morning you can enjoy a crisp breakfast. This recipe combines a subtle hint of honey and a generous amount of Provençal herbs.

You’ll be surprised, just let yourself be carried away and find this unique recipe to try out at home.

Ingredients

1kg Type 65 organic flour
60g brown sugar (or caster sugar)
1 (very) large tablespoon (real…) honey
80cl warm water
2 level teaspoons (8g) dried baker’s yeast (or 2 sachets or the equivalent in fresh yeast if you know how to make it)
35g salt (or 2 heaped teaspoons)
20g herbes de Provence
1 large bowl
1 measuring glass

Recipe

Take a large mixing bowl, pour in most of the flour (keep half a mustard glass to sprinkle over the bread before putting it in the oven) and the herbes de Provence
Mix the sugar, honey and yeast with the warm water in the measuring jug and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Gradually pour into the large bowl, kneading vigorously.
Once the dough is smooth, add the salt and knead again for 3 to 5 minutes
Leave to rest for 1 to 2 hours in a large bowl
fold the dough directly into the bowl with a spatula in 4 to break up any bubbles and stretch it a little, then leave to rest and rise again for 2-4 hours until the dough has risen well (at least double the initial volume). This time can change radically if your kitchen is not very warm in winter and temperatures are high in summer. When it’s cool in winter, I often leave the dough to rise overnight.
Shape your ball by flouring the dough, then make small incisions in the middle with a very sharp knife (or create the pattern of your choice). The dough will rise and swell through the cuts, forming beautiful, crisp crevices according to your design.
Preheat your oven to 230 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes, depending on your taste and type of oven (crispiness).