Name: Franche-Comté sticks
Prep time: 4 h 32 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 5 h 27 min
Yield: 8 Frenchs sticks
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 200 g Morteau sausage; 500 g flour; 250 g water; 250 g leaven; 9 g salt; 4 g yeast; 200 g metton cancoillotte

Step by step recipe

Step 1 - ⌛ 40 min.

Boil the Morteau sausage using as little water as possible. For once, prick with a fork or knife point to add flavour to the cooking water.

Leave to cook then remove the sausage and save 250 g water for making the bread dough.

Step 2

In bread-making, the water temperature is always important. It's not a fixed value, but related to 3 other temperatures: 1) the temperature of your flour, 2) the room temperature in your kitchen, and 3) the basic temperature of this recipe, which is 58-64°C.

You can calculate the temperature of the water for this recipe in one click, using this small calculator.

Step 3 - ⌛ 15 min.

Put into a food processor bowl: 500 g flour, 250 g water at the correct temperature, 250 g leaven,9 g salt and 4 g yeast.

Knead on the slowest speed for 10 minutes, then on the next speed for 3 minutes.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.

Step 4 - ⌛ 10 min.

Cut 200 g Morteau sausage into small dice.

Step 5 - ⌛ 2 min.

Add the diced sausage and 200 g metton cancoillotte to the dough mixture.

Step 6 - ⌛ 3 min.

Knead for a few more minutes until well mixed.

Step 7 - ⌛ 2 hours

Gather the dough into a ball, put into a clean bowl and cover with a sheet of plastic. Leave to rest for 2 hours.

Step 8 - ⌛ 30 min.

After this time, cut the dough into 8 pieces of the same weight and roll these into balls.

Cover these with a sheet of plastic and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Step 9 - ⌛ 1 hour 30 min.

Then shape the balls into sticks ('ficelles' in French), as shown in this video.

As you finish them, lay them on a baking sheet. Cover with a sheet of plastic and leave to rest for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Step 10 - ⌛ 2 min.

Preheat the oven to 240°C (460°F).

'Slash' the tops of the sticks...

Step 11 - ⌛ 15 min.

...and bake for around 15 minutes.

Note: As when baking any bread, you should ensure that the oven is filled with steam for the first 15 minutes of baking. This page shows you how; it really is the secret of golden-brown, crusty loaves..

Step 12

Serve in slices.

Nutritional information

	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats	Calories	Energy
Per 100 g	8 g RDI=12 %	33 g RDI=12 %	6 g RDI=8 %	213 kcal RDI=11 %	893 kJ RDI=11 %
Per French sticks	14 g RDI=22 %	58 g RDI=22 %	10 g RDI=13 %	377 kcal RDI=19 %	1,578 kJ RDI=19 %
Whole recipe	114 g RDI=175 %	466 g RDI=176 %	79 g RDI=108 %	3,015 kcal RDI=151 %	12,624 kJ RDI=151 %