June 1, 2010 - 6:23am
Still searching for my 'flute ancienne' formula...
Instead, I found this:
http://www.chezjim.com/books/baguette/
Interesting stuff. Lots of links, photos, etc. Just a look at how things used to be...
Cheers,
copyu
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Still searching for my 'flute ancienne' formula...
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What a fantastic reference! I just finished reading "Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History". There are no recipes but it is a great read about flour, wheat, bakers, war, agrarian policies and practices from the Egyptians to Europe during WWII.
The closest thing to a bread formula is that the soldiers bread during the Napoleonic Wars was comprised of two parts wheat flour to one part rye flour. This does make a flavorful loaf with a good crust. I used Dan Leader's Pain au Levain recipe, thinking that this would be closest to baking practices of the early 1800's.
I assume you checked Larousse Gastronomique for recipes?
I'm a real book-lover, so I'm very grateful to you for bringing that title to my attention. Larousse Gastronomique is a great idea, as well. I'd not even thought of that before. Thank you very much for the suggestion.
I had a go at doing some "flutes" today...leftover French bread dough...probably over-proofed...but baked up quite well with no slashing required. The taste is nice and the crumb is OK, but the 'chewiness' is still lacking...I used the basic Formula II for French bread (ie, with pre-fermented dough) from Reinhart's 'Crust and Crumb' but I added a touch of rye and used a sourdough starter that's fed exclusively on rye flour...I'll keep trying and will keep searching.
Thank you, again, for the great reading tips!
Warm regards,
copyu
Thanks for the link Copyu
I have the book Nancys mentions and expect it to be useful in a couple of week's time when study re-commences.
Happy New Year to you
Best wishes
Andy
Wishing you all the best for the coming year.
I've been too busy with editing jobs outside of regular work hours, to do any blogging, TFL, emailing or FaceBook activity. Still getting a bit of baking done, but only once-twice per week. Loving my new approach to Hamelman's pain au levain...boule in a cold dutch oven. Grigne and oven spring to be proud of! Still, I'd like to be able to do it on a bake-stone with the same results. I'll keep working on this one.
Of course, I still read your posts avidly, as they have so much good, solid info. Sorry not to have been in touch lately. Happy 2012!
Adam