Sourdough Cobs

Cobs, barm, bun, bap, roll, stotty. We all have our favourite name for these, don’t we? In Somerset, where I grew up, the word ‘roll’ would encompass many things round and bready in our house. In the Midlands, where I live at the moment, the word ‘cob’ is a term of affection for baked little bread rounds you will be familiar with, on the counter of a bar filled with the thickest slice of strong cheese and sliced fresh onion. A cob by any other name, in any other town, county or country would be just as great.

I have found on the day of baking that these cobs are a delightfully crispy crusted roll with a softer centre. If kept in an airtight container, the next day they have a slightly chewier crust. I think you’ll find these very satisfying. They go naturally with a soup or a slow cooked dinner. Or try them filled with breakfast delights, or with the fillings you see in cobs at the local pub.

Ingredients 

This makes 10 cobs

465g room temperature water – mostly cold water with a dash of recently boiled water. NB in hot weather do this late evening and use cooler water.

135g fed and risen starter

700g strong white bread flour

4g ground salt

Additional plain flour for rolling and dusting

Extra utensils

Small sharp knife

Small high-sided tray for some boiling water in the oven

Method

Add the water and starter to the mixing bowl and mix gently. NB in hot weather do this late evening and use cooler water.

Add the flour and salt and mix well until there are no floury bits left and the mixture isn’t really runny.

Let the dough rest on the kitchen counter overnight with a shower cap, wax wrap or lightly oiled cling film over the bowl.

In the morning divide and shape the rolls. If they are too sticky, pop the covered dough into the fridge for an hour first. I like to weigh the dough amounts to roughly 122g per roll, but you can easily judge by eye for 10 similar sized rolls.

I keep the dough in the bowl and cut a piece off gently with a dough scraper – weigh it, if doing so, and add or take away dough to make 122g (approximately).

To shape the cob you can use your hand: claw it over the dough in a cupped shape and roll it around until the seam is underneath. Or you can use a dough scraper in one hand and your hand as a tool to turn it round and round as you push the dough scraper against the cob. Have loose plain flour on hand to help. Just avoid using too much.

Place the cob seam side down on a silicone sheet or greaseproof lined baking tray and leave a gap of about 2cm in between each cob, for each one to spread.

Repeat this until you have 10 cobs.

Sprinkle the cobs with plain flour and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hours. If it’s a really hot day this may be less. They should be doubled in size.

30 minutes before the end of rising, preheat the oven to 210°C fan/230°C/gas 8.

Before placing them in the oven, remove the tea towel and score the cobs with a very sharp knife. Keep the depth of the scoring small: no further than ¼ depth into the cob. One quick movement diagonally across each is perfect.

Put the cobs in the hot oven and turn down the temperature to 190°C fan/210°C/Gas 6. You can place a small high-sided tray of boiling water on the rack underneath. This will help them to ‘oven spring’ more, but is not essential.

Bake for about 25 minutes, when they have risen and are looking golden brown. Halfway through cooking, you can turn the tray carefully so the back of the tray is now at the front of the oven. This helps get an even colour. Once risen and looking golden brown you can remove them after about 25 minutes.

Enjoy these in many different ways. For a simple vegan option, make a chip barm or butty. Simply spread the cob with vegan butter and add homecooked oven potato chips and your favourite sauce. Comforting!

If you enjoyed this recipe and want to try more, you can order a copy of my recipe book here.

Copyright The Doorstep Baker, Catherine Lloyd-Williams