St. Gallen Country Bread with Overnight Fermentation

St. Gallen Bread with 100% Bread Flour

St. Gallen Bread is a traditional Swiss bread loaf that is shaped into a round knot with a torn front with a very crunchy, thick crust and a dense, soft and tender interior. It is one of the most common and popular breads found in almost every region of Switzerland, esp. in German-speaking region, and in almost every grocery store and bakery. Originally, St. Gallen bread was common in the cantons of St. Gallen, Thurgau and both Appenzells, although in Appenzell it is called "Appenzeller Brot" and in Thurgau "Thurgauer Brot". Today it is mostly made in loaves of 500 g or 1 kg, sometimes 250 g. In the past, loaves of 2.5 kg were common.
I simply shaped my St. Gallen bread into a big knot, very much like a snail shell. If a traditional St. Gallen bread shape is desired, then divide the dough into thirds and shape each into a ball. Place them on a floured parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 12-18 hours. Lightly flatten a dough ball and fold in two thirds of the dough from the back side to the front side, then one quarter from the upper left side. Now you will have kind of a “nose” in the middle, and with the sides of your hands, press the dough a little on the left and right side of this nose. This will result into kind of little wings – fold the wings into the middle. Repeat with remaining two dough balls. Place them together on parchment paper or into a loaf pan. Check out the Kochtopf's blog or Marcel's video below if you need more details on shaping process.

St. Gallen Bread with Overnight Fermentation

adapted from Marcel Paa

350 g Cold water
500 g Bread flour #1050 (or 400 g #480 white wheat flour + 100 g Dark rye flour #1150)
5 g Fresh yeast
8 g Salt

Place water first into the mixing bowl of your mixer fixed with a dough hook, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix at slow speed for 2-3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Check the dough with the "window test". If the dough is still sticky and cracks, continue kneading until it passes the window test.
Transfer the dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and place in the fridge for 12-18 hours.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, and roll the dough into a 80cm long rope. Now form the rope into a snail shell. Place it on a piece of parchment paper dusted with flour. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to proof for 60-90 minutes.
If a traditional St. Gallen bread shape is desired, then divide the dough into thirds and shape each into a ball. Place them on a floured parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 12-18 hours. Lightly flatten a dough ball and fold in two thirds of the dough from the back side to the front side, then one quarter from the upper left side. Now you will have kind of a “nose” in the middle, and with the sides of your hands, press the dough a little on the left and right side of this nose. This will result into kind of little wings – fold the wings into the middle. Repeat with remaining two dough balls. Place them together on parchment paper or into a loaf pan. Before baking, make a deep cut in the dough directly under the "nose" with a sharp knife.
Preheat the oven to 230F/445F with a baking tray at the bottom of the oven for the steam and a baking stone in the middle.
Place it in the middle of hot oven and pour 200 ml of water into the baking tray at the bottom of the oven. Close the door immediately. Bake for 20 minutes. Open the oven door briefly and let the steam escape. Lower the temperature into 210C/410F and bake for a further 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

St. Gallen Bread with 100% Bread Flour

36 comments:

Brian's Home Blog 24/6/22 00:37: I've never seen bread as pretty as that and I'm sure it's most delicious too!
Tom 24/6/22 01:09: ...Angie, you have been baking some spectacular breads lately!
J.P. Alexander 24/6/22 03:05: Que pan tan rico . Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
Raymund 24/6/22 03:10: Wow that bread looks really nice. So when are you opening a bakery, you are nailing those bread recipes.
Christine 24/6/22 03:54: Yummy!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 24/6/22 04:41: What a stunning and fun-shaped bread! Exceptional crust and beautiful interior, too. Yeah, you cannot really beat European bread!
Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina 24/6/22 06:45: Angie,
I have seriously had hearty artisanal bread on my brain lately and 3 out of your last recipe posts are calling my name. Do you have some uncanny ability to read my mind from afar, my friend? Keep 'em coming, because when this Southern heat passes, I'm making bread big time!
Ciao and xoxo,
Roz
Julie 24/6/22 06:53: Wow !! That bread looks perfect and soft :)
Lola Martínez 24/6/22 07:56: Es un pan muy bonito con esa forma tan graciosa que tiene. Y lo rico que estará!
Un beso.
Margaret D 24/6/22 08:13: That bread certainly looks inviting.
Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine 24/6/22 13:39: Another work of art this is beautiful Angie
The Yum List 24/6/22 13:50: That is a very attractive presentation.
DEZMOND 24/6/22 14:03: Oooh, it looks so pretty! Is Ozbasak some Turkish white flour?
Angie's Recipes 24/6/22 14:31: @DEZMOND Yes. It's #480 with 13% protein...a stronger white flour than German #550, which just has 10% protein.
thepaintedapron.com 24/6/22 15:09: What a beautiful bread, you've really outdone yourself this time Angie!
John / Kitchen Riffs 24/6/22 16:48: That is gorgeous! Really. Good. Stuff. :-) Thanks!
Bill 24/6/22 18:25: The bread looks absolutely delicious.
Pam 24/6/22 18:47: My goodness! What a stunning loaf of bread. You are so amazing at baking bread!
David 24/6/22 18:55: Angie, That is one beautiful loaf of artisan bread! Love it and I'm sure that it tastes as good as it looks. Unfortunately for my 'figure', I just love good bread. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
bread&salt 24/6/22 22:22: Absolutely it looks delicious! As usual, presentation photos are amazing dear Angie.
Balvinder 25/6/22 03:02: Angie, I have been enjoying all your bread recipes that you are baking lately.
Sherry's Pickings 25/6/22 11:00: this looks marvellous angie. i am not really a yeast kind of baker but when i have used it, I only use dried yeast. very brave of you to use fresh yeast! love the look of this bread.
Nancy Chan 25/6/22 12:30: That is a beautiful bread.
eileeninmd 25/6/22 12:59: Hello, Angie,
Your bread looks yummy. I would love the crunchy crust. You have wonderful bread recipes. Take care, have a happy weekend.
Anonymous 25/6/22 13:28: Hi Angie,this is Bernadette. I am absolutely speechless at your abilities. This bread is gorgeous.
Irma 25/6/22 13:58: This bread looks delicious.
Greetings Irma
Anonymous 25/6/22 15:04: It's Judee- The shape/presentation of this bread is so exciting and inviting. Your family is so lucky that you make all these wonderful homemade, healthy, bread recipes. Yum!!
DeniseinVA 25/6/22 18:04: Hi Angie, so much fun to come here and see your latest recipe. This looks absolutely wonderful! So pretty and I know it must taste incredible. Thank you and I wish you a wonderful weekend :)
Cooking Julia 25/6/22 23:41: This is really an incredible bread!
Tisa Jacob 26/6/22 18:12: This bread looks as regal as it sounds. Beautiful job, Angie!
foodtravelandwine 26/6/22 19:00: What a beautiful bread!....I want to bake it!...the heat is insane, we had 37C yesterday, and I'm turning the oven only once a week....By the way, I'm not vegan, I just wanted to try the recipe!.....Abrazotes, Marcela
Federica Simoni 28/6/22 15:38: che bel pane! Complimenti!
Izaa 30/6/22 00:39: nice bread
looks delicious
Valentina 4/7/22 02:30: This is amazing! I just made my son site down and go through the pictures on your site with me because I can never get over how gorgeous your food is. :-) ~Valentina
Easyfoodsmith 4/7/22 13:16: The loaf looks gorgeous 😍 I am so tempted to grab it off the screen! 😅
Rainbow Evening 6/7/22 18:12: appealing and pretty bread....
the way to make bread looks complicated for me.... excellent work.