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Mixed Flour Miche w/Bassinage

louiscohen's picture
louiscohen

Mixed Flour Miche w/Bassinage

I based this on the Mixed Flour Miche in the the 3rd edition of "Bread" - the formula changed a bit from the 2nd edition.  The 3rd edition recommends bassinage for the home baker to help develop the gluten in the 80% hydration dough.  I usually love the flavor of rye/whole wheat breads and maybe bassinage would help with the gluten for a wettish dough.

Here is the result:  Mixed Flour Miche Photos

The recipe calls for T80 flour, whole rye, and buckwheat flour at 80% hydration.  The rye is all in the sourdough; there is a 30 minute autolyse for the rest of the flour.  Here is a the formula from "Bread"  3rd edition Mixed Flour Miche "Bread" 3rd edition 

I made some substitutions:

  • The book suggests 50/50 bread flour and whole wheat if your don't have Type 80 flour; I used the substitution
  • Instead of buckwheat flour, I used the chickpea flour I had on hand.  Buckwheat absorbs more water than chickpea flour; I overhydrated and ended up with a pretty weak dough.  I baked in it loaf pans rather than trying a banneton and freestanding bake.

I also tried bassinage for the first time.  I used 90% of the final dough water for the mixing.  After lots of Rubaud and some folds, I added the last 10% of the water and folded and folded until it was incorporated into a pretty loose dough.  I think the crumb may have been a bit more open as a result.  I want to try this again with a more appropriate hydration.  

Overall, the flavor was OK but nothing outstanding (my wife liked it more than I did).  The formula says that it does not do well with an overnight proof.  I think the flavor was less distinct because of the short proof.  Maybe it would be better with buckwheat than chickpea flour.