Non-VegetarianWest Midlands English cuisine Baking

Black Country Cobs

Name: Black Country Cobs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: West Midlands English
Ingredients: 450 g strong white bread flour; 50 g strong wholemeal flour; 7 g fast-action dried yeast; 8 g Fine sea salt; 5 g caster sugar; 25 g Lard; 320 ml tepid water; 15 ml Whole milk; 10 g coarse semolina

Traditional Black Country cobs boast a fiercely crisp crust and a pillowy, tender crumb, perfect for filling with thick Cheddar and raw onion.

🇬🇧United Kingdom· West Midlands

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 50 min
Servings: 6
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 310 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 9 gathered

Servings

450 g strong white bread flour — plus extra for dusting
50 g strong wholemeal flour — for added depth of flavour
7 g fast-action dried yeast — one standard sachet
8 g Fine sea salt — around one and a half teaspoons
5 g caster sugar — one teaspoon to feed the yeast
25 g Lard — softened and cubed, traditional for crumb tenderness
320 ml tepid water — lukewarm to the touch
15 ml Whole milk — one tablespoon for brushing the tops
10 g coarse semolina — for dusting the baking tray base

Equipment

•large mixing bowl
•baking tray
•greaseproof paper
•measuring jug
•roasting tin
•wire cooling rack

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 310 kcal
fat: 5 g
carbs: 56 g
fibre: 3 g
protein: 9 g
calories: 310 kcal

Instructions

1
Place the strong white flour, wholemeal flour, yeast, fine salt, and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl.
2
Rub the softened lard into the flour using your fingertips until no large lumps remain.
3
Pour in the tepid water and mix thoroughly with your hands to form a shaggy dough.
4
Tip the dough onto an unfloured worktop and knead vigorously for ten minutes until smooth and stretchy.
5
Shape into a ball, place in a clean bowl, cover, and leave to rise for one hour.
6
Knock back (gently punch down) the risen dough and divide into six equal portions of roughly 140g.
7
Shape each portion into a tight round ball by cupping your palm and rolling against the worktop.
8
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and scatter the semolina across the surface.
9
Place the cobs onto the tray, cover loosely with a tea towel, and prove for forty minutes.
10
Heat your fan oven to 200°C and place an empty roasting tin on the bottom oven floor.
11
Brush the cobs with milk, dust with flour, and slash a shallow cross on each top.
12
Place tray in oven, pour 100ml water into the hot bottom tin, and bake for twenty minutes until golden.

Chef's tips

Adding steam via the hot roasting tin is vital for achieving the proper thick, crackly crust expected of a true Midlands cob. Roll the dough tightly against an un-floured section of your worktop to create surface tension so the cobs rise tall rather than spreading flat.

Ingredient substitutions

lard → unsalted butter or block vegetable shortening for a vegetarian version
strong wholemeal flour → an equal weight of additional strong white bread flour

Storage

Store cooled cobs in a paper bag or bread bin at room temperature for up to two days.

Reheating

Sprinkle the crust lightly with water and refresh in a fan oven at 180°C for five minutes to restore crispness.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Skipping the steam in the oven, which results in a soft, dull crust instead of a crisp, authentic crunch.
•Over-flouring the worktop during shaping, which prevents the dough from gripping the counter to form a tight ball.
•Slicing the cobs while boiling hot, which squashes the delicate crumb structure before the steam fully sets.

Serving suggestions

Slice open and pack with thick-cut mature English Cheddar, salted butter, and raw white onion slices.Fill with thick-sliced roast ham and a generous smear of hot English mustard.Serve warm alongside a bowl of hearty beef stew or faggots and onion gravy.