February 14, 2008 - 9:19am
Pain à l'Ancienne
Pain à l'Ancienne
The other day I made the Pain à l'Ancienne from Reinhart's BBA. I can't even believe the flavor this bread had. Really, I was thoroughly taken aback. I feel like I can't even talk about it...but it was...yeah...it was...
I know many of you have this book and if you haven't yet, try this recipe. Really. Try it. It was a very simple recipe. Do it. Now.
and have fun.
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Yes, it is a very good bread. I used to make it regularly, but it's been a while. Thanks for reminding me...I think I'll start the dough today!
-Chad
Like I mentioned in another post (Pierre Nury's Rustic Light Rye) I have to make this bread just because of your description! Great job. I'd love to see a photo of the crumb. weavershouse
Oh I'm so glad you guys are going to make some.
Unfortunately I didn't photograph the crumb. But it was pretty. This was the wettest dough I've ever worked with and it had the most open crumb I've ever produced. Big awesome holes with all kinds of strings throughout them...oh it was just lovely.
Oh and there's this glorious little goat cheese producer where I live called Cypress Grove that makes this unbelieveable aged cheese with truffles in it called truffle tremor. This bread with that cheese...oh, I'm melting. I should make more.
Ranbowbrown:
Your Pain a l'Ancienne loaves are glorious! You are tempting me to bake these this weekend. I seem to recall that others on The Fresh Loaf have struggled with this recipe. Any tips you wish to pass along?
I have enjoyed other Cypress Grove cheese (love the Humboldt Fog) but Truffle Tremor sounds divine!
So many temptations,
Liz
Liz,
Thanks. I just looked through some of the old postings about this recipe and I didn't notice anyone having any trouble. But what I can say is that I had trouble with scoring because of the wettness of the dough, but also (and this is probably the bigger problem) I use an x-acto knife to score, which isn't all that sharp... even though I use a honer with it before each use... I know, I know. Also I bakedthe first two loaves just after shaping as the recipe suggests and let the other two sit out for a couple more hours before baking. The two that sat out collapsed a little and had a more ciabatta feel to them (as the recipe said would happen). Those second loaves also lost a little of that flavor, which I missed.
That's awesome that you've had Humboldt Fog. I live in Humboldt so I feel pretty lucky because they're local, I didn't know they were national in any sense (I'm only assuming you don't live in Humboldt too).
crosses the Pacific, because I just saw it in 2 stores in Maui. Good news travels!
For what it worth.... I stuck a blade into a split end of a chop stick and bound it with thread. There is something about the swinging of the stick, maybe more velocity, that makes it cut cleaner through the dough. Worth a try.
Gosh how big is your oven! Looks like these got baked in a continuous one! Great angle!
Mini O
Use a pair of sharp scissors for scoring this wet dough. Works quite well.
Love these baguettes and so does everyone else in my family, so I make them regularly. They also make wonderful little french toastettes.
Rainbowbrown:
Lucky you living in Humboldt! What a beautiful area. I live in Southern California and Cypress Grove cheeses are sold in many upscale markets. Humboldt Fog is a real blue cheese delicacy. Quite a number of their cheeses are in the local Whole Foods as well as other markets. Their chevres are amongst the best available and, I think, compare really well with some imported cheeses. I will be on the lookout for the truffle cheese.
Will check out the recipe again for Pain a l'ancienne as you make it look and sound so delectable. As soon as someone posts a bread that I haven't tried, I have to make it. I am so easy when it comes to bread....
Thanks,
Liz