March 19, 2009 - 5:38am
Ready to attempt my first Poilane....
I have lived in Paris for several years and of course enjoyed my Poilane bread quite often. Ever since I started baking bread regularly, I flirt with the idea of making a home-version of Poilane.
I have Bread Baker's Apprentice - so that is one possibility to try, however, I seem to have mixed results with recipes from that book and would love to have some feedback from the experts here.
I searched the forum for entries on Poilane and there is quite a few -
would anyone let me know of a tried and true that would be good for a first timer? By the way, I have two sourdough starters going, one homemade and another from King Arthur - would either work?
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Hi, Sally.
Well, whichever recipe you try, I'm going to be interested in how you compare it to the genuine article. I have just had Pain Poilane once, and that was ... a long time ago, but my memory of it is pretty clear.
I've baked the Poilane-type miches from Reinhart (BBA), Leader (Local Breads) and Hamelman. While my personal favorite is Hamelman's "Miche Pointe-a-Calliere," Reinhart's comes closest to how I remember Pain Poilane. I should say that I use KAF First Clear Flour for this bread. Other high extraction flours and mixes of white and WW flour yield different flavors. Of course, YMMV.
I think which starter you use matters less than the procedure, at least for the Reinhart formula.
Searching TFL on "miche" or "poilane" will find a lot of information, TMI, perhaps. ;-)
Looking forward to your results!
David
That helps a lot! You are an expert Poilane baker!
ok, I will go for Hamelman's - I am on a roll with his book lately, bookmarking all kinds of bread I want to try "soon"
I will report back - probably will be making it on the first weekend of April
thank you!
Sally, you might check out Breadtopia where Eric has a whole grain sourdough which he says is close to Poilane's loaf. I have never tasted the real thing but this bread was really good. I see you have some time before you are ready to bake it so it would be worth a look. Eric has a video too, a plus! A.
Forgive my ignorance.... is Breadtopia a website????
http://www.breadtopia.com/
Betty
Thanks! I should have figured it out... :-)
for you, David - and anyone who has made Poilane
I see that both in Breadtopia and Bread Bakers Apprentice, they recommend kneading the dough by hand. I am a little worried I will mess it up.
anyone knows if the Kitchen Aid could work well - and if so, do I go for a particular temperature, or windowpane test?
Thanks ( my starter is already bubbling, I will start tomorrow evening!)
Hi, Sally.
The issue with the BBA recipe (and others, I surmise) is that the total weight of the dough is more than a KA mixer can handle. You have 3 choices:
1. Mix by hand.
2. Split the recipe in half. Mix each half. Then combine the 2 halves by hand kneading them together before fermenting the dough.
3. Buy a DLX or Bosch Universal Plus that can handle that volume of dough.
I used method 2 with good success many times before I bought my Bosch. It worked well.
I'm looking forward to seeing your miche ... errrr ... pain poilâne miche, that is.
David
Well, it is done!
I ended up kneading by hand, it was not as difficult as I thought...
I will post only two photos here, if anyone is interested in seeing more, they are over at flickr
http://tinyurl.com/d646u3
I won't be cutting the bread until much later today, but it smells wonderful, it brings me memories of the real Poilane, so I have high hopes for this loaf!
thank you for all the advice!
Waiting for crumb photos and your review of the taste.
Don't forget that this bread is said to need at least 12 hours rest before the best flavor starts to develop. As I recall, Lionel Poilâne thought it tasted best at 3 days after baking.
But I doubt you will be able to wait that long before tasting it. :-)
David
Beloved went to work early today after a very small breakfast - he will be back around 4pm absolutely starved.
the chances this bread will sit for 12 hours are basically zero :-)
I will report back on the crumb for sure
reporting back...
the bread is awesome! First I cut a slice and closed my eyes, trying to remember what the "real thing" smelled like. It was VERY similar.
The crumb and texture are both very similar to the original - I cannot say the taste matches it 100%, because I detect a small "aftertaste" in mine, that did not exist in the real Poilane. But, of course, I never expected to end up with a bread like POilane, just a good bread with the same basic characteristics. ANd that, no doubt this recipe delivers.
I haven't had a Poilane loaf since 2003, but had it so often for a few years, that I think my memory of it is still valid.. :-)
the down side of it - it made me feel a little empty. I had this dream of making a Poilane loaf for such a long time, now I need to find another challenging project, but.... don't know what...
Of course, I will be making this again, probably trying the BBA recipe to compare.
Most important thing: I want to thank everyone for the advice and encouragement.
If you enjoy it just cooled, I bet you like it even more tomorrow.
I haven't made the breadtopia.com version, but the BBA one continues to improve in flavor for at least 3 days.
David
Sally, your loaf is beautiful, much better than the one I made way back when. Now I will have to try the recipe again to see if I can improve. I really think you should send a picture to Eric at Breadtopia, I know he would be impressed, A.
Good idea. I will do that right away
I baked the Poilane twice used Breadtopia recipe and it was very good.
Checked the recipe in Breadtopia - sounds like a winner to me, loved the video
looks quite a bit like the original - I can hardly wait for next weekend, too bad I already have my breads planned for this week
I'd love to see a crumb shot too, if there is any left! :-) I wish I knew what the real thing tastes like, as I see so many different recipe versions.
Here it is - I took a picture right after we cut the first slice
Sally, I'm afraid I posted my comment on Hazim's thread, hope you see it. Sorry Hazim, A
Hi Sally,
I came in a little late, but here is my previous post on the miche... It's a family favorite for us and I do all the kneading by hand. This weekend, I increased the hydration a little bit and I got better crumb. It is usually denser, but the flavors are just wonderful, especially when toasted. Of course, I haven't tried the real deal, but I think that this is pretty tasty.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/11024/family-favorite-poilane039s-miche
Happy bakes,
Hazim