Mixed-Flour Miche

[LeadDog]

You see that this formula asks you to wait 12 hours before you cut into the bread after you finish baking it. Right now every time I walk into the kitchen I smell this very wonderful smell so I figured I would write up the formula instead of torturing myself with the smell of the bread. The formula is taken from the book by Jeffrey Hamelman called "Bread A baker's book of Techniques and Recipes".

1) Stiff-Textured Levain: Make the final build approximately 12 hours before the final mix, and let stand in a covered container at about 70°F.

3.2 oz (3/4cup) High extraction whole wheat flour

3.2 oz (7/8cup) Whole Rye flour

4.5 oz (1/2cup)Water

Mature culture (Sourdough starter) 1.3oz (3 Tablespoons)

2) Mixing: Add all ther ingredients to the mixing bowl except the salt and levain. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated into a shaggy mass. Cover the bowl with plastic and let stand for autolyse phase of 20 to 60 minutes. (I did 60 minutes.) At the end of the autolyse, sprinkle the salt over the surface of the dough, cut the levain into fist-size chunks and place them on top of the dough, and finish mixing the dough. The dough with be wet, and the gulten network should be only moderately developed. Desired dough temprature 76°F.

1 lb (3.5 cups) High-extraction whole-wheat flour

3.2oz (7/8cup) Whole Rye flour

6.4 oz (1.5 cups) Bread flour

1 lb 6.1 oz (2.75 cups) Water

0.6 oz (1 Tablespoon) Salt

10.9 oz (all less 3 Tablespoons) Levain

3) Bulk Fermentation: 2.5 hours.

4) Folding: Fold the dough twice, at 50 minute intervals. Fold at 40 minute intervals if the dough strength very great. (I folded at 40 minute intervals) Folding is like punching the dough down but different. Take the dough out of the bowl on a floured surface and pat the dough down into a thick slab. Take the left 1/3 of the slab and fold it to the middle and pat down, brush off the excess flour that the dough picked up from the work bench. Repeat for the right, bottom, and top sides. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with plastic until the next time to fold the dough. Folding is done during the 2.5 hours of the bulk fermentation.

5) Shaping: I made one loaf from the formula so the dough wasn't divided. Lightly preshape, (I patted the dough down into a slab again and folded the bottom 1/3 away from me. Next I grabbed the right and left sides and brought them to the top edge. This will make a piece of dough with all the seems on one side. Let the dough rest on the work bench for 10 minutes with the seem side up before giving the dough a gentle final rounding. Place the dough seams up in a proofing basket. (I lined a wicker basket with a flour sack towel that I sprayed with oil and lightly floured and put the dough in that.) Protect the bread from air currents with a large bowl or box.

6) Final Fermentation: Approximately 2 to 2.5 hours at 76°F.

7) Baking: With normal steam, 440°F for about 60 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 420°F after 15 mins. Due to the high water content, this bread requires a long full bake. Cool thoroughly on racks, wrapped in baker's linen, and resist the (understandable) temptation to cut into the loaf until it has rested for 12 hours, allowing the flavors and the crumb to set. (For steam I get a spray bottle set to mist and mist my KK right before I put the bread into the oven. I also open the lid and mist the dome a couple more times in the first 5 minutes.) I also rotate the bread 180° after 10 minutes to make sure it is cooking even. The bottom of the bread was nice and brown at 20 minutes so I took it off the pizza stone and slid an inverted pan under the bread to finish cooking. I cooked this in the KK on the pizza stone on the main grill. The KK was preheated to 450° and stabilized before the bread was put in.

I'm thinking that I'll make this again next weekend because I think I can make the loaf look better.

[Sanny]

12 hours?

But the best part of fresh baked bread is the first few hours (after cooling) when the crumb is soft and tender. When I was a kid, I wouldn't eat fresh bread the next day, cause it was not tender. Ok, I was nuts. But still.

You'll have to let us know if it's still wonderful after a 12 hour sit. Seems to me it would start getting stale.

[LeadDog]

Well you know I am just following the directions of the book. The rest of the breads that I have made say to wait 2 hours. I did some looking around at other formulas in the book and there is at least one that says to wait 72 hours. I think for this formula the 12 hours is needed because the dough was so wet. Maybe the author of the book was all wet? Then again he was on the US baking team that won the baking Olympics. I will let you know if it was worth the wait and how great it tastes. The smell alone is much better than any other bread that I have baked. That alone makes me want to cook it again.

[Sanny]

aromatherapy

The smell alone is much better than any other bread that I have baked. That alone makes me want to cook it again.

Hmm... maybe there's something to the whole aromatherapy movement, after all! But they picked the wrong scents. Geranium? Vanilla? Nah - FRESH BREAD!! Woo hoo!

[jehlinger]

fresh bread, que, onions sauteeing in oil/butter.............mmmmmm

my favorite aromatherapies

[LeadDog]

The bread is getting good reviews here at work. The flavor of the bread reminds me of Roman Meal bread that I used to eat when I was a youngster.