I've tried it, but came up with a very unsatisfactory loaf - the
texture was fairly coarse and the taste was strongly of whole wheat
with none of the nutty sweetness I love in the regular version of
Pain a l'ancienne. Perhaps if I'd tried white whole-wheat flour? I dunno.
On the Baking Circle board (King Arthur Flour), a poster put the
following recipe up that uses the same technique, though the bread is
rather different. I've not tried it, but others on the list have, and
said it turned out really well. BJK originally submitted a recipe she
calls "100% Whole Wheat Bread that's Actually Fluffy". Ameadrat made
essentially that formula with an "ancienne" technique:
BJK 100% fluffy Whole Wheat Bread Mixed with reinhart
Submitted by: ameadrat
day 1
8 oz 100% KAF WWf from the freezer (DO NOT WARM)
1 3/8 CUP No fat milk from refrig (DO NOT WARM)
1/2 tsp instant yeast from freezer
put milk in a cold bowl, add 2-3oz flour, stir in, add yeast and stir
add the remainder of WWf stiring in, cover with plastic wrap and put in frig.
pain l'anncient from reinhart BBA using milk to soften flour
day 2
4 oz 100% kaf wwf in freeer
1 large egg cold and stirred
1-2 TBSP honey
2 TBSP Butter softened but not melted
1/2 tsp sea salt
Remove bowl from frig, add beaten egg, honey, butter, salt. Stir in.
Slowly add flour, beating in, you should end with a sponge that will
just start to ball. Cover and put back in frig
day 3 Baking day - plan to be home
100% KAF WWF at room temp 6 oz appoximate
some extra virgin olive oil (I only use extra virgin)
Set out bowl and let warm 3 hours (haven't yet set out in morning and
went to work). Turn out onto kneading surface with flour on surface,
flour your hands and start kneading, at about 6 minutes you should be
able to wash hands and oil your hands, kneading until you pass window
pane test. Adding flour to keep from sticking is your call - I do
both. When pass test make a ball stretching from top and pulling
together at bottom. Let rest 20 minutes. I shape using BBa loaf
shaping, place in oiled pan 4 1/2x8". Let rise at room temp (I set
mine inside my microwave. it will take about 3 hours to rise 1" above
rim). Carefully slash parallel to surface, take paper towel soaked
with olive oil and gently tap over top surface. In preheated 350 F
oven spray water on sides of oven, place bread on a baking stone in
oven. Mist every 30 seconds 4 times. Bake 35 minutes. Mine is
mahogany in color. Remove and cool.
--
Jeff Miller
Davies Murphy Group, Inc. (formerly SparkSource)