I have his book "The Breads of France" and have been making his
version of Pain de Champagne Poilane * Polaine's Peasant Bread for
years. In the updated Complete Book of Breads he modified the recipe
from one tablespoon of powdered milk to one cup in the starter. This
is really the bread I make and change the flours when I want to try
some of the new flours available. I have found starting with Gold
Medal whole wheat in the starter makes the best tasting version. I
rarely have powdered milk around and have either left it out,
substituted a tablespoon of honey or used milk instead of the first
cup of water. My understanding is the milk yields a darker loaf. The
most important thing I have found is making sure there is enough flour
in the final dough so it does not slump as it is a free standing
loaf. In the sponge on day two, I always substitute a cup of rye for
one of the three cups of flour, for added depth of flavor. That means
I end up with adding four cups of flour to make the final dough on day
three, that will stand on its own. The size of the final loaf with or
without the decoration resembles the Polaine loaf but not the same
taste. I understand Polaine, who died in a helicopter accident, had
his own special wheat fields for his bread. In Paris they sell it by
weight because not everyone wants such a large loaf. This bread is
fabulous toasted, very forgiving in making, and you can easily take
1/2 the dough and bake it in the no knead technique using a Dutch
oven.
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