Apple Yeast Water levain Baguettes

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trailrunner on 19 Dec 2025 at 08:55
Bread

This is batch 9 of my 20 kg sack of T 65 French flour from L'Epicerie. 800 g per batch of 6 loaves . I’m very pleased. This is a first using 100% YW levain . I tweaked the ingredients by doubling the levain from 80g to 160g and adjusted the ingredients to reflect that. I also baked 3 per pan rather than 2 and increased the baking time. 

Here’s the crumb. The flavor is exceptional. 

white chicken chilie with roasted Hatch Chilies .


Chili





Crumb

You make me want to get my yeast water out from the back of my fridge and bake something with it Caroline.  These are just lovely.

Benny

Really changed the baguettes! Crust and crumb and dough consistency. Also flavor profile. I love both styles I’ve made . I’m so glad I tried this. 

Appreciate your kind comments. c

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Isand66 on 20 Dec 2025 at 04:51

These came out fantastic and that crumb is perfect!

I use mostly FMF now but I may have to try and get some of that French flour.  KAF used to sell their own version but discontinued it.  Where do you purchase it from?

BTW, that chili looks amazing 🤩 

I use almost exclusively FMF as well but the T65 is so wonderful for baguettes that I have to make an exception. I get it from L'Epicerie. I checked last night and they are out of stock !!  Usually doesn't happen so I am concerned that either tariffs or something else has happened. I wish I had gotten 40 kg and not " just" 20 kg. It is the real deal so different from anything grown and processed in the US. You can send them a request to know when it gets back in stock. With shipping it was $3.85 #. About what Barton's is running now. 

The chili is easy peasy if you already have the roasted poblano/tomatillos stuff. I was lucky to get the Hatch chilies but there weren't any this year locally. Tom and I have talked about getting a box shipped and splitting it next year. He has a connection out there in NM. 

Anyway all you do is roast equal weight tomatillos and poblano peppers and a big red onion sliced under the broiler or on your grill. When they get blackened take them off and peel the poblanos and a bit of the darkest off the tomatillos. Then puree . That's it. I make a LOT and freeze in quarts. 

The chili I saute 3 colors of peppers and a red onion ( all of this depends on how much you want to make ) for mine I use 1/2 of each pepper and a small onion. Cut up 1/2lb of chicken breast in bite size cubes and saute. Add cumin/coriander/Italian spice to taste and a little salt and lots of fresh ground black pepper. edited to add ) I use Italian spice blend as I don't have Mexican oregano and the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico as well as the Veracruz area use alot of it. This works to add an additional layer of flavor ) .Add a can of Cannellini beans drained and rinsed and enough good chicken broth to make it soupy and a 2c of your roasted mix. Let simmer lightly and then let it sit and mellow. That's it. I don't use garlic as I can't eat it. So easy and freezes well. 

Enjoy !! and thank you again. c

 

https://www.lepicerie.com/pastry-ingredients/ingredients/french-flours-traditional-and-organic/le-moulin-dauguste-traditional-wheat-flour-t65/?…

Appreciate the info and the recipe.  If I only had more time on my hands I would love to stay home and just cook and bake.  Unfortunately I can't afford to retire yet, nor am I exactly ready just yet :).  I am going to definitely try ordering some of this amazing French flour when it's available again and one of these day try your chili!

Thanks again.
Ian

I have a lot of time to “ muck about “ as my Canadian daughter in law says! I call it retired but I simply quit going to work in 2004 — at 54. I was fortunate to be able to make that life choice. 

Looking forward to your posts when you do retire!🙏

That's what my college buddies and I used to toast to every night we would go out drinking!  I'm very jealous as I'll be turning the big 60 at the end of February.  I really don't mind working as I made a career pivot after Covid and enjoy what I'm doing now.

Anyhow...have you tried any of the T80 or T110 flour from them?

I registered for an account so once the T65 is available I can order some.

I had a sack of their T80.  It was extremely touchy about hydration and would turn to soup over a few hours if you used too much water - an amount which would seem moderate with normal flours.  However, if you kept the hydration down (not over 62%) it made very pleasant dough. I think the touchiness may have been specific to that harvest.  It's a fairly local product not grown in huge quantities, as I understand it.

TomP

 not soup but definitely must be aware of the nuanced response. 

I’ve now made 9 batches. The past years I used this flour I didn’t have the attention I have now. The difference between success and “ meh” is 30 g of water. I’ve done each batch with those exact measures and everyone has been perfect. 

It takes WAY more fine tuning than my usual laissez faire “ toss and go “ . 

I simply love this flour. The T 80 is ever so slightly different because of the “ stuff” that’s not sifted out. I love stuff and never sift but it has to be accounted for. 

Watching his video even without speaking French he’s wild about T80. I will be getting both the next time it’s available. I’m a baguette junky….. something I’d have never imagined. 

A French baker made a great video of using the T80 and T 65 and ? one other in his bakery . Someone on here posted it and it was so impressive. The T 80 has more “ stuff” in it than the T 65 and he liked the baguettes better. I liked it very well and it is beautiful with the tiny brown flecks in it . The T 65 has flecks as well . I think the T65 is silkier but it all handles beautifully. I’ll see if I can find the video. I think it’s in my saved emails from way back. 

I have bought many kilos now from them but was surprised when I saw it had been 3 yrs! I don’t know where the time goes. I hope they get it back in the Spring. I’ll have to be stingy with this.