"Phil" > wrote in message
om...
> "graham" > wrote
> > For your next attempt, it might be worthwhile sieving the WW flour with
a
> > fine, kitchen sieve to remove the larger bran particles.
>
> First of all, thanks for the pics Graham. It was really enlightening
> to compare my loaf (which Reinhart implies is exactly the same as
> Poilane's

It is made in the same "spirit" but the recipe is different, the flour is
different and you probably don't have a wood-fired oven.


) to one of the actual loaves. I did, in fact, attempt to
> "strain" *most* of the bran particles out of the (medium-grind) ww
> flour. I must not have done a very good job, because the color of the
> crumb was a much, *much* darker color than the pics of the loaf
> posted. My sieve must not have been fine enough.

Daniel Leader in "Bread Alone" discusses the flour types used in
Poilne-like bread. He has some strange ideas about making sourdough
cultures but I won't go into that!

>
>
> > Poilne uses asofter wheat flour than we would normally use
>
> I can't believe he uses a softer (as in lower gluten %) flour for his
> breads...although I have read that in Europe most of the flour is much
> softer than in America. But, if the hypothesis that high gluten flour
> is required for "holey" bread is correct,

It isn't!

I don't understand how he
> can get the crumb structure that he does in his loaves. Unless the
> whole theory is bunk--and most any gluten % flour (given certain
> limits) will produce an pleasing crumb structure such as the one
> pictured.

Visit www.poilane.fr/ to read up on his philosophy on bread-making.
Actually, a lot of it is just hype (his company just makes good bread - the
rest is self publicity and salesmanship) but you should be able to glean
some info from it. To make an adequate comparison, you will have to try
some of his bread. They will Fedex it anywhere so you could try some as a
special treat. It'll probably end up costing you about $80 for the package.
If you do send for some, include a walnut loaf in your order.
I have eaten the pain au levain of other French boulangères and they were
just as good, if different. The whole point is to make a bread with a
complex, satisfying taste and a subtle sourness with, perhaps, each batch
slightly different. Uniformity comes with wonderbread.
Graham