I made another « boule » loaf yesterday morning, this time with farine complète (whole wheat flour). Actually, I used a mixture of about two-thirds whole wheat flour (type 110) and one-third bread flour (type 65). I made the bread with yeast from China that I ordered from amazon.fr.
I used the same bread-making method that I used earlier in the week: make a "high-hydration" dough, with 80% of the amount of water by weight based on the amount of flour. In this case, it was 400 grams of flour and 320 grams of water. The dough was very sticky but I was able to shape it on a floured work surface. I baked it in a covered, pre-heated pot in a hot oven (450ºF, 230ºC). Here's the result.
This is my boule alongside two baguettes that Walt bought at the village bakery yesterday. It's always good to have bread on hand. In our experience, bread like this freezes very well. Thawed and then heated up at low temperature in the oven, it tastes as fresh as when you have just bought it home from the boulangerie.
Another photo of the same boule — we didn't eat any at lunchtime, because it was still too hot and fresh to slice.
But we did slice the boule in the evening, toasted the slices, and enjoyed them with some rillettes (potted pork, French style) and cornichons (pickled gherkins).
It looks as good as the other one. Did you see a difference in taste, crunchiness or whatever?
ReplyDeleteVery Nice, I should bake more
ReplyDeleteIt looks like it turned out great!
ReplyDeleteLooking good...as good as if it came from the best baker's shop.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what ratio of white to wheat flour you would use. Thanks! It looks really good!
ReplyDeleteAnother resounding success!
ReplyDeletePork Rillettes and toasted fresh whole wheat bread! Sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteWhen I make one of my favorite recipes, gingerbread, I use 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white. The first time I tried to use whole wheat flour it was 100% and way too dense! So, 2/3 to 1/3 has been my successful ratio as well.
Mary in Oregon
Your loaf looks heavenly, Ken!
The whole wheat loaf (whole wheat mixed with bread flour) had a distinctly good taste. That had to come from the whole wheat flour. We finished eating it at lunch today, with a steak and a gratin of potatoes, cream, and cheese. The whole wheat loaf didn't have a crust as crunchy as the crust on the 100% bread flour loaf, but the bread itself was tastier.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the crust wasn't as crunchy as the other one. Baking time?
DeleteThe different flour, I think.
DeleteWonderful! And, thanks for the photo of the bag of flour :) It will be making an appearance in a French-4 slide show :)
ReplyDelete