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Lately I have been spending a lot of time baking - a lot of time trying to execute well and less time thinking about new breads.   But last week as my daughter was helping me at the Cambridge farmer's market, she jolted me out of my complacency by saying that she didn't like my pain au levain and that it was boring and I should rethink it.   Aren't kids wonderful?  So that sent me off browsing and thinking in the few moments when I wasn't baking, and I landed on Maggie Glezer's Thom Leonard's Country French Bread.   I had no intention of making the huge lo

I was excited to find that my local indian grocery story carries 5lb and larger bags of semolina flour. I've been buying smaller bags from the single store in the area that stocks it at a much larger price. This was the first time I used it in bread, and it worked out really well.  

I followed the recipe unaltered and folded them into 'shapes from baguettes according to Reinhart's instructions. 

(Reblogged from http://wildeconomies.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/interview-with-olivier-part-1/)

As any of my loyal dear readers and followers know, I have been in a wonderful rut of baking the Tartine Basic Country Loaf.  The vast majority of my loaves have been, dare I say, excellent.

My experiments continued this morning, as I baked another dough I had frozen very recently.  This was a variation of Khalid's recipe that I have made a couple of times.  I really enjoy this bread as it has lots of different grains in the soaker, and it is ready to go so quickly.  I defrosted the loaf yesterday in the fridge and took it out at 6 a.m.

Five years ago (April 25) I discovered The Fresh Loaf, and started this journey. Prior to then I’d frequently baked yeasted breads, and a modest spectrum of other baked goods. I’d bought a bread-maker—A Zo—and soon after quit, for the most part, buying supermarket bread. I continued to purchase loaves from local bakers, Deli Rye most frequently; and, while still working, loaded up with airport sourdough every time I passed through San Francisco.

I was content—well, almost content.

I've baked a few more loaves recently. I'm still having a bit of trouble deciding when they're properly proofed. All of these are from Hamelman's 'Bread'. I used a Dutch Oven for all the boules.

My previous bake was a straight dough using 00 Caputo flour and a little Kamut flour.  For this bake I wanted to make a sourdough version and also add some rye and bread flour.

I am starting to like the characteristics of combining the 00 style flour with other flours a lot.  It helps create a lighter crumb which sometimes is a nice change of pace.

The final bread came out great with a nice dark crust and open and light crumb.  The Kamut adds a nice nutty flavor along with a yellow complexion to the dough.

Some of you may remember the new flour I picked up from the local mill last month, and didn't have the chance to try it in some bread; I’m now glad I did. Since the flour is French style, I decided to use it to make a Miche.  

RECIPE:

INSTRUCTIONS