Slow Cooker Farmhouse Loaf

Name: Slow Cooker Farmhouse Loaf
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 500 g flour (strong bread flour if possible); 7 g dried yeast (1 sachet); 10 g salt (2 tsp); 1 tsp sugar; 320 ml lukewarm water; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp sunflower or sesame seeds; baking paper and a clean tea towel

A round farmhouse loaf with a soft crumb, baked without an oven: ideal on hot summer days. This recipe makes 1 loaf of approx. 800 g (about 16 slices).

€1–2MildVegetarian25 min + 1 hr rising prepLOW – · HIGH 2–2½ hrsFreezes well

Budget version · from €1–2Just the essentials, with money-saving tips

Ingredients serves 4

Tick off what you already have at home.

500 gflour (strong bread flour if possible)harina de fuerza
Any supermarket
Aisle: harinas. Usually next to plain 'harina de trigo'; ideal for bread and pizza.
7 gdried yeast (1 sachet)levadura seca de panadería
Any supermarket
Aisle: harinas / repostería. Choose 'levadura seca de panadería', not 'química'; fresh yeast is sometimes in the chiller.
10 gsalt (2 tsp)sal
1 tspsugarazúcar
320 mllukewarm wateragua
Any supermarket
Aisle: agua. Tap water is safe; many locals use bottled water because of the taste.
2 tbspolive oilaceite de oliva virgen extra
MercadonaMASEl Corte Inglés
Aisle: aceites. Check for 'virgen extra' on the label; local Málaga mills often appear in regional chains like MAS.
1 tbspsunflower or sesame seedspipas de girasol peladasextra
Any supermarket
Aisle: frutos secos. Choose 'peladas' and preferably 'sin sal'; most pipas are salted.
baking paper and a clean tea towelpapel de horno
Any supermarket
Aisle: droguería / hogar. Also called 'papel vegetal' or 'papel sulfurizado'; next to foil and kitchen rolls.

Method

1
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and oil and knead for 10 minutes into a smooth, slightly sticky dough (6 minutes in a stand mixer).
2
Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. On the Costa in summer, this often takes just 45 minutes.
3
Press the dough flat and fold it into a tight ball. Put the ball on a piece of baking paper, brush with water and sprinkle with the seeds (optional). Cut a cross in the top.
4
Lift the ball into the slow cooker by the baking paper. Stretch a clean tea towel tightly over the pot, fold the corners up onto the lid (away from the hot outer wall) and put the lid on. Bake for 2–2½ hours on HIGH.
5
The bread is ready when the base is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped (core temperature approx. 95 °C). Want a brown top? 3–5 minutes under the grill or in the air fryer at 200 °C. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Flavourful Cooking · slowcookerspain.com/en/recipes/slow-cooker-farmhouse-loaf/