French onion bread recipe

Details

• Cuisine: French
• Recipe Type: Bread
• Difficulty: Medium
• Preparation Time: 90 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Step-by-step

1. Place both the flours into a large bowl and blend together with your hands.
2. Add the dried yeast to the mixing bowl, keeping it to one side of the bowl and add a teaspoon of salt to the other. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in half of the water.
3. Using your hand in a claw shape, start to roll your hand around the bowl to replicate what a mixer would do.
4. Add the remaining water a little at a time until you get a ball of dough in your hand and a relatively clean bowl.
5. As the dough stretches fold it over on itself and continue the process until you have a really smooth dough that is easy to move around and feels nice to handle. Return the dough back to the mixing bowl and cover with cling film, leave the dough to prove for 1 hour while you cook your onions.
6. Place the onion into a medium sauce pan with the oil. Season with a teaspoon of sea salt and pepper, this will help to draw the water out of the onions and help them to caramelise quickly.
7. Crush the garlic clove and throw it in with the onions, add the chopped thyme and cook gently until the onions start to go a really sweet golden colour, the more you cook the onions without burning them the sweeter onion flavour you will get.
8. Add the vegetable stock and reduce by half, this will allow the onions to take on all the flavour of the stock. Lift the onions out of the stock with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl to cool while your bread proves.
9. Scoop the bread dough out onto the work surface and dust with a minimal amount of flour. Using a rolling pin roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 40cm x 10cm. Spread the mustard evenly over the dough and top with the onions.
10. Roll the dough up like a Swiss roll, turn the bread on its end and transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Cut the bread in half and turn the loaf up on their end to create two smaller loaves
11. Leave the bread to prove and double in size. Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6, then bake the bread for 30 minutes until golden and crisp.