MaryinHammondsport and I agreed the other day that each of us would bake BBA's recipe for pain de campagne and then compare our results, since BBA lacks photos of cut slices or a description of the crumb. Well, Mary, once again, I produced a really delicious bread, but the crumb was still tight and the oven spring was minimal. I used rye flour instead of whole wheat. During the risings, my kitchen was about 80 degrees and the fermentations were a little on the quick side, but I followed the instructions to degas lightly if the dough was rising too quickly. As for shaping the bread (two batards), I really can't imagine how I could have degassed less and still have managed to shape loaves. The two loaves were about a foot long, 3 1/2 inches wide, and 2 inches tall. Sorry, no pictures. The battery in my camera seems to have died.

What I produced might just be the bread this recipe produces, because I swear I followed the recipe exactly. I didn't load the dough down with lots of extra flour, I handled the fermented dough with reverent gentleness, and I don't think I let it over-rise. I used an oven stone, the heat was as high as my oven will get, and I threw hot water into a heated cast-iron skillet at the bottom of my oven and sprayed the sides of the oven three times, as directed. I made three diagonal slashes per loaf. It may not have been the world's best scoring, but it was hardly butchery. 

Mary, I'm looking forward to your report.

Abby 

Pain de campagne