Miche point a callier
Last week, I have been milling my Turkish wheat berries (don’t quite know the type-probably ordinary winter wheat, but definitely not red) using my trusty Hawos easy mill, and noticed that during the first phase of my intermediary milling (coarse), I found tiny bran particles along with the middlings . I decided to try a labor intensive method of separating the bran from the other particles. Bran weighs less than the coarse endosperm particles, so I used a hair drier to blow air through the coarse mixture while stirring it. ½ hour later, this method left me with copious amounts of bran scattered on my laps and on the floor and the endosperm particles with some bran intact remained in the bowl. I know.. I must be crazy, but I was testing a reliable way to remove bran from equally sized endosperm particles, and that surely isn’t practical. I milled the remainder mixture into fine flour, sifted it with a fine mesh sieve, and obtained really fluffy yellowish flour, with tiny specs of powdered bran. I declared it: Mebake’s high extraction flour. It was very soft and fine textured, and had a beautiful wheaty aroma. I didn’t know the extraction %, but assumed that it belongs to the league of artisanal flours. My wife made some chocolate cookies with this flour and the result was the best cookies I’ve ever made at home: Crunchy, delicate, and full of flavor. I wish I had a 50 kg sack of this stuff. I decided to put the flour to test, and bake genuine artisanal bread with it: Miche a callier, from Hamelman’s BREAD. I stuck to the recipe and the procedures, although the stiff levain did ripe in less than 8 hours. The dough received 3 stretches and folds at 40 minute intervals. I noticed some tears during S&F, and I would attribute it to the flour being green (freshly milled), and the milling heat. Here it is:
The flavor at 12 hours is wheaty / nutty and very aromatic. The crust was crunchy / chewy, and the crumb soft and creamy, but not as moist as i guessed it would be.
The flour
The flour, although difficult to obtain using my method, was worth it.
Comments
Gorgeous miche ... it has the lot - crust, crumb and profile. Perfect!
You went above and beyond the call of duty with separating the bran! Did you make much of a mess in your kitchen in the process?
Really impressive baking with freshly milled flour.
Cheers,
Phil
Khalid,
I always love it when you write about what you have been up to in your kitchen.
With this posting I am impressed by all the time and effort you put into your milling/sifting process and I would have loved to have been able to see what your kitchen looked like after your hair dryer episode. I gave sifting a try a few months ago and gave up very quickly. Very messy and time consuming and I hated tossing the bran and germ.
Your loaf looks wonderful! I get tearing sometimes during S&Fing and sometimes I do not so I don't think it is due to your flour being green. If that were the case, all of my doughs would tear. I used to puzzle over it but don't so much anymore because after a long bulk ferment in my refrig. overnight the tearing is gone by morning when it is time to shape and proof the dough. Doesn't look like it hurt your loaf any either.
Anyway, thanks for this, your latest entry, and your photos.
Take Care,
Janet
Thank you, Phil! That is a very heart warming compliment. As to the mess, yes, it was quite messy. There are other alternative methods to reach to almost the same flour consistency obtained here. I would mill really coarse twice, and sift twice. I could continue my current method, and work on a plastic sheet to be able to collect the bran. Once i perfect the method, i'll update you.
windy day you can go outdide and winnow away without the sweeping part in the kitchen. A great way to remove bran - who would have known? I siupose you could do it in a large plastic bag and save some clean up but where is the fun in that? Nice bread Khalid - very crusty.
You certainly went the whole nine yards and it shows. I'll bet the taste is just as good as the loaf's appearance.
David
And funny too. Who would take a hair dryer to flour. Probably at least dozens of people on TFL would give it a shot. Thanks for leading the way. Your bread looks fantastic. -Varda
And an inventive way to arrive at your own high-extraction flour! I suspect that your wife wasn't quite as thrilled with your creativity?
Paul
I want some of Mebake's High Extraction Flour. Do you fill overseas orders? What quantity can you deliver? Your description of you sitting there with a hairdryer and bran all over your lap made me smile, but I assure you I have done equally crazy things in the pursuit of a perfect loaf. Nice baking Khalid.
All the best,
Syd
Ooooh, that's really beautiful crumb! Looks really, really yummy. Interesting method to 'sieve' the milled grain with a hair dryer. Where did you get such a crazy idea an inspiration from? It must've worth all the effort even if you had to spend ages sweeping up and wiping off all the flown flour from every inch of your kitchen surface! :p
Sylvia
A very nice Miche Point a Calliere Khalid! Your amazing dedication to the task really paid off in a lovely result with this loaf. Regarding what you say about the crumb being moist but not as much as you thought, I found the same thing the two times I've made it. It's such a slack dough with it's high hydration, one would tend to think it'd be quite a bit moister than it is. Nevertheless it's an excellent bread and you've made a splendid loaf of it. Nice baking!
All the best,
Franko
Beautiful looking bake Kalid!
Your crumb and crust look perfect and I bet your freshed milled flour tastes great in this bread.
Regards,
Ian
Thank you Janet! True, milling, and sifting may sound hectic, and laborious, but very, very rewarding. Mind you, i rarely sift my freshly milled flours.
Thanks, dm! the wind will blow away most particles. I need converging blow of air at certain spots, not just a blow of air. :)
Thanks, Louie! I loved the texture of the flour, and the bread was truly delicious.
Thank you, David! this is my first Boule Miche ever, and i really admire your miche scoring.
Thanks Varda! :) When i perfect a practical method to sift out larger bran, i'll surely dedicate a post for it.
Thanks, Paul! My wife doesn't worry much about the aftermath of my milling adventures, as she knows that i'll handle the cleanup.
Thanks, Syd. :D
I'll try to sift out the bran from a store bought atta flour, and compare the results. i'll post on that later, perhaps.
:) Lumos, thanks!
It wasn't as messy as you'd picture it to be, and there is plenty of room for improvement. It was by far the BEST flour i've baked with.
Thank you, Sylvia!
Thanks, Franko :) your encouragement is really delightful. thank you my friend!
Thank you, Ian!
Who would have thought a hairdryer would double as a centrifuge? :)
Gorgeous miche- looks absolutely delicious. I look forward to hearing more about your bran separating methods. What do you do with bran left over? I've used it both coarse and finely ground as the coating on the outside of a loaf, and I've also mixed a bit into sourdough starter feedings (the beasties like the minerals), but could use a few more suggestions for using it up!
:) Thanks, Flourchild. I bag my bran for later usage. Among the uses, are for recipes that call for bran in dough.