#33: Poilane-Style Miche

Since this bread was used in the pose on Peter's book, Rachel suggested I pose as Fumie, Peter's real apprentice in bread baking who graces the cover.  However we don't own any of the garb of a true baker so we improvised. A lot.  But hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? :)

Having failed to get satisfying loft two weeks ago when trying the basic sourdough recipe, I decided to spike the dough with some extra active dry yeast to ensure I got the plump I wanted.  I probably could have eased up on the yeast a bit but I wasn't taking any chances.  However, because the bread uses whole wheat flour exclusively the loaf is very dense and when we broke into it, my kids described the crumb as "chewy."  I baked it per Peter's instructions and Rachel was worried I was burning it because the crust looked so dark but the internal temperature was right at 200F.  However the taste has a definite rye-like, almost acrid taste so I'm thinking the cooking time could be changed.  This was not one of my favorite recipes from Peter's book.

Only ten more breads in the challenge to go, six of which are sourdough based.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yeah!