This month, I hosted the Bread Baking Babes, and I chose Tabatière, a French snuffbox loaf. It gets its name from the shape. A flap of dough is rolled thin and folded back over the top, so the baked loaf looks like a little box with its lid tipped open.
Under that flap, it is a plain, lean loaf, which is exactly why it belongs in August. This is summer picnic bread. Baked as small individual loaves, one per person, it tucks into a basket alongside cheese, charcuterie, and whatever fruit is ripe.
Choose your loaf size
The part I had the most fun with was the sizing. One batch of dough can become a single shareable centerpiece, two small loaves for the table, three little rounds, or four single-serving loaves, one for each person at the picnic.
The dough and the method stay the same. Only the flap length and the bake time shift with the size. I laid it all out on the blog in a section called “Choose your loaf size,” so you can pick whatever suits your table.
The other Babes seemed to enjoy having a say in how many loaves to make, and the shaping made it a fun bake all around. That flexibility is exactly why I write the recipes the way I do.
If a loaf can meet you where you are, whether that is a picnic for one or a table full of people, it should.
Serving it through the seasons
This everyday table bread pairs with almost anything. In summer, lean into the season. Ripe tomatoes and good olive oil on toasted slices make quick bruschetta, and day-old loaves are ideal for panzanella, soaking up juice and vinaigrette without going mushy.
For a bright summer board, think burrata or fresh chèvre, stone fruit, basil, and a thread of honey.
Come fall and winter, it turns into a soup-and-stew bread, lean enough to tear and dip, sturdy enough to mop a bowl clean. That is the season for baking it as one larger loaf, set on the table to share.
No starter needed
I built this version around an overnight poolish, so you do not need a sourdough starter to bake along. A pinch of dried yeast carries the rest. If you do keep a starter, there is a seed option for you, too. And if you want a bit more character in the crumb, there is room for rye, whole wheat, or spelt.
The full recipe, with the shaping steps and all four sizes, is on the blog.
[Get the recipe →]
Happy baking, Cathy
P.S. Baking along this month? Hit reply and tell me which size you are making. I am partial to the four little ones, tucked in a basket for a picnic.
