Country Loaf (Pain de Campagne)
Target 75% hydration · dutch oven · bake at 500°F
The country loaf is the French archetype of rustic hearth sourdough — a lightly whole-grain boule with blistered crust, moderately open crumb, and balanced tangy-wheaty flavor. 75% hydration is the reliable sweet spot: open enough for character, not so wet it's unmanageable. The Tartine-style country loaf (Chad Robertson) uses 10% whole wheat; Hamelman's Pain de Campagne pushes to 15-20% whole wheat with 5% rye for depth. Overnight cold retard develops flavor and simplifies scheduling.
- Hydration
- 75%
- Salt
- 2.00%
- Levain
- 15–20%
- Bulk @ 76°F
- 4.00h
- Proof @ 76°F
- 12.00h
- Bake temp
- 500°F
- Bake time
- 45m
- Vessel
- dutch oven
Flour mix
- rye medium — 5%
- bread flour — 80%
- whole wheat — 15%
Technique
Autolyse 45 min with all flour and 90% of water at 78°F. Add levain (20% of flour weight, 100% hydration), salt, and remaining water. 4 sets of stretch-and-folds in first 2 hours of bulk. Total bulk 4h at 76°F. Preshape round, rest 20 min, final shape tight boule, place in floured banneton. Cold retard 12 hours at 38°F. Bake from cold in 500°F preheated dutch oven: 20 min lid on, 25 min lid off until internal temp 210°F.
Calculator pre-set to Country Loaf (Pain de Campagne)'s target (75%)
Adjust the slider for personal preference within the workable 72–80% range.
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 325 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 885 g
- Effective hydration
- 75%
How the math works
Total water = flour × hydration %. Your levain contributes 50 g flour + 50 g water — both count toward the totals. You add only the remainder as fresh flour and water.
Salt % is computed on total flour weight, not final-dough flour.
Related references on this site
- 75% hydration reference page — crumb structure, technique notes, other recipes at this hydration
- Flour spec: rye medium — protein, ash, absorption — 5% of this recipe's mix
- Flour spec: bread flour — protein, ash, absorption — 80% of this recipe's mix
- Hydration deep-dive for this recipe — workable range 72–80%
- Timing by kitchen temperature — bulk + proof times at 60-90°F using Modernist Bread multipliers
- Guide: baker's percentage explained — the math underlying every formula on this page
- All 25 recipes — grouped by category (lean, enriched, hearth, pan)
The gear that makes the math work
A short, honest baking kit. The scale matters most — every weight on this page is in grams. The Dutch oven is what turns a good crumb into a great crust.
- Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)View on Amazon →
- Dutch oven / combo cookerView on Amazon →
- Banneton proofing basketView on Amazon →
- Bread lame + bench scraperView on Amazon →
- High-protein bread flourView on Amazon →
- Danish dough whiskView on Amazon →
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