Poilane bread

I think that most people have heard of the famous French bread of Poilne, a sourdough miche weighing around 1,9 kg, with a thick crust signed with the letter P for Poilne. I wont tell you the story of this talented baker that went against the tide of his time, you can read about it here. While I was in Paris recently, I had a few hours to waste before catching my train and I decided to go find the Poilne Bakery, rue Cherche-midi, by foot under the rain. How excited I was to finally arrive at the tiny bakery with the famous miches and decorated breads in the window. The shop was warm and inviting with three smiling women ready to answer all my questions. Having read on their brochure that visits were possible, I dared to ask if I might go down and see the oven and the bakers at work. They simply pointed the way ! I went down a very old flight of steps made of stones so worn and polished by time. The room downstairs was small and long, with the great wood oven built into the wall, standing like an altar, radiating an intense warmth into the room. I felt like I had just entered in to another century. There was a young baker busy baking bread and working on some pte morte. I asked him if he knew it was raining outside and he said, no, he wasnt even aware of that. The other bakers were working in another room behind (probably busy with the dough preparation, shaping, making viennoiseries and sabls). The baker explained things to me about the functioning of the bakery and the making of the bread. I wasnt allowed to take pictures (I didnt have my camera anyway), I suppose to keep certain secrets about this hidden place where the famous bread is made. But he was very helpful in answering my questions about the miche. The kneading machine with the levain sitting inside was right there and I dipped my hand in to take a small piece, to feel it and taste it. The taste was lightly acidic, with a very complex flavor. Its difficult to explain. When youve tasted a lot of sourdough, with time, you descern flavors like some taste wine. The levain that is used is really a pte fermente, taken from the days dough production. He explained that they only use T80 flour, which is much like the American high extraction flour, though maybe slightly whiter. I spoke about this flour HERE. The color of the miche is slightly grey, which is a classic T80 characteristic. The pte fermente is of the same flour (obviously, since it is taken from the bread !) I thought maybe there were some addition, maybe rye, or wheat germ, but no, he said it was just straight T80. Unfortunately, I learned that in France, bakers use proportions based on 1kg of water. So, when he started talking about proportions, I couldnt understand and he couldnt give me regular bakers percentages. I couldnt ask to take notes, that would have been unacceptable .

But, I had learned that the flour used is T80 and that the bread is made with a pte fermente. I bought a miche and so I could look at its characteristics and its taste. I took some photos of my miche, but I lost them during a transfer. The crust is thick and floury, so at home, the same type of baking just isnt possible, unless one has a wood oven. With a regular oven, the crust will be thiner and crunchier. The crumb is quite tight without being heavy. The hydration level isnt very high. The question that was bothering me, especially since the baker told me the answer but I didnt really get it because of the calculation differences, was HOW MUCH levain to use. I thought that a third would be a good place to start for several reasons : At the bakery, they dont use cold retarding (5) and so if there is too much levain to dough, itll ferment too quickly. At a third, the pte fermente would be ready to use if kept in an area under 19C. If there was less, it wouldnt necessarily be ready in time. Now, I dont know if they do cooler place and then used because the crumb is fairly shape, it is slightly flattened a series of builds or if the dough is simply placed in a the next day. For the hydration level, I chose 63% tight without being compact. The miche isnt a ball without being very flat. For the salt, I chose 1,9%

I would really like to say, before writing up the recipe, that it is absolutely impossible to do the exact Miche Poilne at home. Sourdough bread is like people. You can have two people with brown hair and blue eyes, but they wont be the same. This said, I am very pleased with the results, with its shape and its taste, the texture of the crumb and the crust when it softens up a bit. The same characteristics and advantages of the original miche can be found in this homemade bread. The recipes that can be found on the Poilne site or on the internet can be made using this bread and the keeping length is the same. I made my miche smaller than the Poilne because 1 kg of bread is enough for us. You can make it bigger by increasing the proportions using the bakers percentages (here) and the baking time. I marked mine with a J for Jane . Prepare a recipe, like my T80 bread (here), leaving the dough to rise a few hours and then placing in the fridge over night. The newt day i twill have doubled and be ready to use. Take the portion necessary for the leaven. With the rest, you can form it, leave it to rise and then bake it .(Thats what I did Prepare a portion of bread dough in the correct proportions: 95 g farine T80 bio meule sur pierre (T80 or stone ground high extraction

flour) 60 g eau (water) 35 g levain 100% (starter at 100%) 1,7 g sel gris de Gurande moulu (ground grey Gurande salt) In a bowl, mix all the ingredients and knead until a nice, smooth ball is formed and then place in a bowl, covered. Leave it to ferment about 3 hrs, then place in the fridge over night. (You can keep the 10 g that are left and feed it to keep the firm starter) Add the salt and the pte fermente cut in to pieces. Knead the dough either in a mixer or by hand 5-10 minutes until a nice, smooth ball is formed with adequate gluten development. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with platic wrap or a damp cloth. 1st fermentation: Let the dough rise 3-4 hrs until it has visibly risen, but it wont double. Shaping: Flour a round banneton. Place the dough on a lightly floured table. Form a ball, making sure the skin is nice and taught. Place it in the banneton with the seam on top. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth. 2nd fermentation: Leave the dough to rise another 2-4 hrs depending on the room temperature. The dough needs to rise enough so that it wont get excessive oven spring, otherwise the incisons may burst and the smooth crust with a visible incision wont be obtained. 2nd fermentation: Leave the dough to rise another 2-4 hrs depending on the room temperature. The dough needs to rise enough so that it wont get excessive oven spring, otherwise the incisons may burst and the smooth crust with a visible incision wont be obtained. Baking : Remember to preheat the oven to 230C early enough (45-60 min before baking) with a metal pan in the bottom and the baking stone or upside down sheet pan (coverd with parchment paper) placed on the grill just above. Transfer the dough on to the floured peel, making sure to inverse it so the seam is now on the bottom. With a blade, make the incisions of your choice, quite deep. Pour a cup of hot water in to the metal pan. Slide the dough on to the baking stone. Let bake around 40 min watching the bread at the end. The internal temperature must reach just over 200C. Or the bottom will sound hollow when tapped.

Os dejo ms abajo unas sencillas tablas para que veis las diferentes denominaciones segn pases y una tabla con el grado de extraccin segn si es 0 00. Denominacin Espaola: Harina flor: tasa de extraccin de 40, es la ms refinada. Harina blanca: tasa de extraccin de 60-70, se elimina todo el salvado y el germen de trigo. Harina integral para pizza: su tasa de extraccin debe ser igual o superior a 85, se muele todo el grano excepto la cascarilla exterior. Smola: se obtiene moliendo el grano de trigo duro y se utiliza para hacer pasta. Denominacin Italiana: Harina "00" (literalmente Doble Cero). Es una harina sin ningn tipo de Salvado, totalmente refinada, y por ello blanqusima. La llaman tambin "fior di farina". Harina"0". Menos blanca que la harina "00" ya que tiene una pequea cantidad de salvado. Harina "1". Todava menos blanca que la harina "0". Con valores mucho mayores de salvado. Denominacin Francesa Harina T 45: Harina flor Harina T 55: Harina floja para todo uso Harina T65: Harina de fuerza para hacer pan Harina T80: Harina morena o panadera recia, es semi-integral, conserva el 50% del salvado. Harina T 110: Harina completa o semi-integral, conserva el 75% del salvado Harina T 150: Harina integral con el 100% del salvado Harina T 170: Harina integral con ms fuerza y rica en fibras