SOURDOUGH BREAD: POILâNE-STYLE MICHE

Steps:

• The day before making the bread, make the firm starter. In a 4-quart mixing bowl, use a large metal spoon to mix together the barm, flour, and enough water to form a firm ball. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 3 minutes, or until all the flour is hydrated and the ingredients are evenly distributed. Lightly oil a bowl, place the ball of dough in the bowl, and roll it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. Refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the starter from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut the starter into about 12 small pieces with a serrated knife or pastry scraper. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.
• This dough is too large for home mixers (except for the Magic Mill), so knead it by hand. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sifted whole-wheat flour, salt, and starter pieces. Stirring with a large metal spoon, add at least 2 1/4 cups of the water, or enough to bring together all of the ingredients into a soft ball. Adjust the flour and water as you mix as needed.
• Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead the dough for 12 to 15 minutes, continuing to adjust the flour and water to form a supple, tacky but not sticky dough. All of the ingredients should be evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 4 hours, or until the dough nearly doubles in size.
• Transfer the dough to the counter and gently form it into a large boule, as shown on page 72. Proof the dough in a banneton or prepare a proofing bowl large enough to hold the dough when it rises to nearly double in size. Place the dough, seam side up, in the banneton or bowl and mist the exposed part of the dough with spray oil. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap.
• Proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough grows 1 1/2 times in size, or retard overnight in the refrigerator. If you are retarding the dough, remove the dough from the refrigerator 4 hours before you plan to bake it.
• Prepare the oven for hearth baking as described on pages 91-94, making sure to have an empty steam pan in place. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Carefully remove the top layer of cloth or plastic wrap from the dough 10 minutes before baking.
• Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Gently turn out the dough onto the peel or pan, carefully removing the cloth liner off the dough, if using. Score the dough with a large pound sign, as shown below. Slide the dough onto the baking stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan). Pour 2 cups hot water into the steam pan and close the door. Immediately lower the oven setting to 450°F. After 25 minutes, rotate the loaf 180 degrees and lower the oven setting to 425°F. Continue to bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the dough registers 200°F in the center. The bread should be deeply browned. If the bottom seems to be getting too dark before the loaf reaches the desired temperature, place an inverted sheet pan under the bread to protect the bottom. Likewise, if the top gets too dark, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the loaf to shield it from the heat.
• Transfer the bread to a rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before slicing or serving. Store the bread in a brown paper bag. It should be good for 5 to 7 days.
• Lean, standard dough; indirect method; wild yeast
• Day 1: 4 to 6 hours firm starter Day 2: 1 hour to de-chill starter; 15 minutes mixing; 6 to 7 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 55 to 65 minutes baking
• You can sift medium-grain whole-wheat flour to approximate the high-extraction whole-wheat flour of the Poilâne miche. Choose a flour, preferably hard spring or winter wheat, or one with a bread flour gluten specification of 11.5 to 13 percent. Pass it through a sieve or sifter. It is better not to use regular or fine-grind whole-wheat flour, as most of the bran passes right through the sieve. With the medium-grind, the smaller particles of bran and germ will sift through, but the largest pieces will remain in the sieve. These bran particles can be used for multigrain breads or as add-ins to country breads made from white flour. Another option is to blend half whole-wheat flour and half bread flour wherever the instructions call for sifted whole-wheat flour.
• Poilâne insists on using gray Normandy sea salt in his bread-he feels it makes a crucial difference. If you can get a hold of such salt, try it, but if not, proceed with any salt. Remember, the coarser the salt, the less it will weigh per teaspoon, so 1 teaspoon of table salt is equal to almost 2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt or kosher salt.
• Many of the people who tested this formula commented that the full-size miche was too heavy to handle easily. Feel free to divide this dough into 2 or even 3 smaller loaves-perhaps we should call them petits pains Poilâne-and reduce the baking time but not the temperature.
• According to M. Poilâne, this bread tastes best on the second or third day after it's baked. I prefer it about 3 hours after it comes out of the oven. Such is taste...
• Poilâne-Style Miche %
• (FIRM STARTER)
• Barm: 77.8%
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Water (approx.): 44.4%
• Total: 222.2%
• (FINAL DOUGH)
• Firm starter: 62.5%
• Whole-wheat flour: 100%
• Salt: 2.5%
• Water (approx.): 62.5%
• Total: 227.5%