Le pavé d’autrefois and a Multigrain Pain au Levain

Back in early August asfolks/Alan posted on a bread called Le pavé d’artefois http://weightloss-slim.fit/node/24581/le-pav%C3%A9-d%3C/a%3E%E2%80%99autrefois that I've been wanting to try since first seeing it. Alan's bread caught my eye not only for it's rustic appearance and lovely open crumb, but as well for the fact it uses the majority of the total flour as a soaker. That it incorporates rye and buckwheat along with wheat flour, I thought would make it a bread with some interesting and complex flavours, particularly if it was made using a rye sour leaven. Alan's version had such a gorgeous crumb to it, I hoped my own would be somewhere in the same ballpark. Alas, it was not to be with this attempt at it, not even close, but I was right about the taste being complex. Even the small percentage of rye and buckwheat in the formula contribute a great deal of flavour to the loaf. The problem I ran into was the soaker itself, since all the water for the final mix is provided by the soaker. The soaker used had been left overnight and part of the next day out of trying to manage it into my workday schedule. Local temperatures overnight and the next morning were down around 10C/50F and we keep our house cool at night and while at work. Trying to reach a warm enough temp for proper fermentation was problematic to say the least, despite my best efforts and the time I had available, it remained in the low 70F range. From outward appearances the dough seemed like it was doing OK and had a good jump in the oven, so I was somewhat surprised when I cut it the next day to find the result that I did. In hindsight I should probably have put it in the fridge overnight and let it ferment slowly rather than try to push it towards something it wasn't ready for, and as you can see from the photo below the fermentation was incomplete. The large holes being 'big enough for a mouse" to quote Hamelman. Even with this under-fermented loaf, the flavour is very good and certainly worth doing another mix of it in the very near future, but with a few procedural adjustments.

Well because my success rate on making a new bread for the 1st time is about 50/50 I thought it might be a good idea to mix another dough following the Pave... just in case.

My insurance bread was a Multigrain Pain au Levain that I've baked several times over the last month and have had consistently good results with it. It's sour, chewy, has a nice moist crumb to it, and a crunchy crust. If I only had one choice of a bread to eat from here on, this would likely be it. The formula and procedure I put together is influenced by both Jeffrey Hamelman and Chad Robertson. Primarily Hamelman's Five Grain Levain, which I've made and enjoyed tremendously, and Robertson's method of overnight retardation and baking in a Dutch oven for greater crust caramelization. This bread had roughly a 24 hour retarded fermentation, slightly longer than I would have preferred, again because of work schedules, but it didn't seem to suffer too much because of that. I wound up with a sort of Maltese Cross scoring effect that I wasn't expecting, but rather like the look of.

Procedure:

DDT-76F

Link to spreadsheet formula:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjicIp92YPCTdDFSZFhNSHJuaXNrcGlsOTJfaV9JZ1E&hl=en_US

Best Wishes,

Franko

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I do love those multi-grain levains. Yours looks delicious!

David

Thank you David!

The Multigrain Pain au Levain has a good strong sour to it that I'm sure you'd enjoy. I've made this with a wheat flour levain and it wasn't near as good as this one with the rye sour. Tough to beat a chewy sour multigrain. The pave has a lot of flavour potential as well, if I get around the problem I had with it in the next mix.

Franko

Um, you've referred us to your own thread, Franko.. must be a typo.

What a beautiful loaves, especially the multigrain. How will this multigrain fair with a Sour rye? the flavor should be interesting.

waiting for your 2nd version of the pave.

Thanks for letting me know about the link error Kahlid, much appreciated. Not sure how I did it in the first place, but was able to fix it from my phone while on a break at work. Thanks as well for the compliments on the loaves! The multigrain fairs very well with the sour rye, at least to my taste. The pave crumb was a disappointment, but it was a good learning experience for when I try it again, which will be soon.

Cheers,

Franko

Stunning multigrain leaven, Franko. I love everything about it. Just wish it were in front of me right now. And failed attempts just mean another excuse to try again. Best, Syd

Thanks Syd!

The multigrain is a keeper for sure. The first time I made it I baked it on the stone only and it was fine, but the 2nd bake I used the DO and there's no going back. The DO makes a huge difference to this breads overall flavour. Couldn't agree with you more about failed attempts Syd. On one hand it's disappointing, on the other it's a challenge. Part and parcel of baking as I see it.

Thanks again Syd,

Franko

Both loaves are truly stunning!

Ever since I saw Alan's le pavé d’autrefois, I' been tempted to use buckwheat for the first time in my bread. This may be going to be another case of 'Inspired by one baker, pushed by another' for me after my recent rye levain endeavours.(btw, link to that blog in the opening post takes you back to this thread. ;))

Love shaping my dough into pave-shape. Often do with my basic poolish baguette dough because it's so easy and look appetisingly rustic. :)

Multigrain one is a real killer for me. Love to try that before too long.

Thank you for sharing.

lumos

Very kind of you to say Lumos, thanks so much.

I appreciate that you and mebake pointed out my link error so quickly in order that I could get it fixed asap. Now that it's fixed I hope folks will click on it to see Alan's excellent bake of this bread and to know what a well made Pave should look like. The pave shape is one that's new to me and I like it as well. As you say, easy to do with an appealing look to it.

Best Wishes,

Franko

If that's your 'insurance' loaf, fear not to experiment all you want. I really like the way the scoring came out, and the fact that it's so balanced is a tribute to the cuts as well as to having hit it when it was proofed just right.

I had a similar problem a while back with a rye that incorporated all its water in the soaker as you did with le pavé. You lose control over DDT, other than either letting it proof a very long time, or as you've noted, going for a slow overnight fermentation. Still, I'd love to see you try it again if the flavors are that good.

Nice bakes,

Larry

Hi Larry, always a pleasure to hear from you!

Thanks for the compliments on the multigrain, they are greatly appreciated.

The DDT factor was something I hadn't considered when I decided to leave the soaker overnight. I subjected myself to a thorough tongue lashing once I realized the problem I'd created, but it was a lesson well learned. Stuff happens in baking sometimes, as I'm sure you know. I'll definitely be doing this one again, not only because of the flavour , but as well to try and do justice to the very good formula that Alan shared with the forum.

Many thanks Larry,

Franko

So nice to see your post, Franko...the bread looks delicious; the crumb of your pave has a beautiful color, and I love the scoring on the multigrain (and thanks for sharing your formula).
:^) from breadsong

Hi breadsong :^)) ,

I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Now that I think back, it's been quite a while since the last one. Too occupied with making the best of our last days of summer I suppose. Now that the rainy season is upon us here in South Coastal B.C. I expect to contribute on a more regular basis.

Even though the crumb on the Pave is not good, I agree that the colour is quite nice. It's surprising how little buckwheat is needed to give it that grey, earthy appearance.

Funny sometimes what comes of scoring that you weren't expecting. I think if the dough had been just a bit less proofed the pattern would've have looked quite different.

More than happy to share the formula with folks, but you in particular for all the help you gave me while I was learning how to make a bread formula spreadsheet . Just an invaluable time saver when it comes tweaking and adjusting baking formulas.

All the best,

Franko

You are so welcome, Franko, and I'm glad you've found the spreadsheet helpful!
:^) from breadsong

I've just a had a chance to see your pave as I have been moving this week. I'm sorry you didn't get the crumb you wanted, but I think you were really close. The trial and error of baking is a good deal of the fun for me. I appreciate all of your nice comments about my bake, but I think it was just one of those experiments that happened to work. I hope you will try it again soon!

Thanks,

Alan

Alan,

Thanks Alan for your encouragement of my next bake of this bread.

Pursuing the next good loaf, crumb, or shape is as you say, "the fun" of it. The trial and error is all part of the process, and what makes the endeavor interesting for many of us.

This is a great formula that you've shared Alan, many thanks. The next bake of bread I do will be in pursuit of the pave d' autrefois as it should be.

Best Wishes,

Franko

Great looking bakes. The crumb on the multigrain looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.

Sylvia

Hi Sylvia!

Thank you very much, and my apologies for not saying so till now.

Franko

Hi Franko,

I am glad to read your post, again. I didn't have enough time to do for a while.. I wanted to leave a comment here before I tried your multigrain Pain au Levain yesterday.

Here is the picutures of the multigrain Pain au Levain.

Now I have my sourdough starter for a month or so. :) I added 0.3g instant yeast ( I always use a bit of instant yeast in the sourdough ) at the final dough ( Total 800g * Thank you for the spreadsheet, Franko! It is very useful!!! ) and retarded it at 50F for 6 hours, which is slightly sour. It is really delicious bread! I love the chewy texture and the crunchy crust! Next time, I will retard it to seek for sourer in the bread.

Thank you again,

Akiko

Hi Akiko,

What a treat to hear from you Akiko! Seems like ages, how have you been?

I'm happy that you tried the bread and enjoyed it. You did a great job on it too. The crumb and crust look terrific!

As for the formula spreadsheet, my pleasure and I'm glad you find it useful. They certainly speed things up don't they?

Best wishes,

Franko

Thank you for your compliment, which made my day, Franko! When I get some buckwheat flour ( SOBAKO), I'd like to challenge the Le pavé d’artefois,too. The combination of the flour sounds luscious! I am enjoying and learning your bake always.

Thank you for your kind word, Franko. I had been busy a little bit...We got 5 chickens ( 1 of them has been suffering from pendulous crop, so we live with her inside the house.) and 1 large dog besides 2 small dogs that we have had for 2-3 years.

I forgot to mention about your spreadsheet, which saves my time so much. Yes, They are so speedy to show us all of the ingredient's amount without a mistake!!

Best wishes, too!

Akiko

Hi Franko,

I love the crust on the multi grain loaf. I remember Alan posting on the Pave. It's a gorgeous combination of flours. I am sure your diagnosis of incomplete fermentation is quite correct. You may very well have made a second version now; hope you master it very soon.

Very best wishes

Andy

Hi Andy,

Thanks very much re: the crust. It's definitley better when done in the DO v the stone. The DO brings out much more flavour from the various grains and seeds, as well as keeping the crumb moister. The DO isn't for all breads IMO, but it's a definite plus for this one.

Next bake of the Pave is coming up soon I think, but this time not on a work day. It will have my full undivided attention for as long as it needs. Hopefully that will do the trick.

Best to as well Andy,

Franko

Hi, Franko

Can you please elaborate this?

The DO isn't for all breads IMO,

I tend to bake most of my large loaves in lidded casserole (Pyrex, in stead of DO) just because it's so much easier in the steaming department, but may be I shouldn't be doing it, do you think?

lumos

Hi Lumos,

First and foremost go with whatever method gives you the results you want. The breads you've posted look good to me and I wouldn't change a thing. For myself I wouldn't use a DO for anything but a very lean bread, as I think it would be difficult to maintain control of the crust colour. Your Pyrex method seems a good solution to that. Perhaps I should have said " The DO and oven I have isn't for all breads" . That a typical DO such as mine basically limits the loaf shape to a boule is another drawback for me.

Franko

Hi, Franko

Thank you very much for the explanation. All the breads I bake in Pyrex are pain de campagne-type lean breads, so relieved to hear I haven't been doing something devastatingly wrong and stupid in using Pyrex! ::phew:: :p

I must admit I've been quite happy with the ease of Pyrex baking. When I first saw the use of it on somewhere on internet as an alternative to cast iron pot/DO to trap steam when baking, I was a bit dubious because glass didn't conduct heat as well as metal, but I was happily surprised it gave me quite agreeable result when I tried. Since then, my army of Pyrex casseroles became indispensable tools for my baking.

lumos

Hi Franko,

Your Multigrain pain au levain became my daily bread! I really enjoy the flavor! My husband who didn't like seeds breads LOVES yours. Thank you so much for your posts that has helped my family including me, of course!

I forgot to take a picture of the crumb! but it was great!!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Akiko

Hi Akiko,

Thank you so much! I can't think of a nicer compliment to receive than to know your family enjoys this bread as well as yourself. Your loaf looks lovely with a splendid crust and a nice high profile. I'm sure the crumb was every bit as good as the outside.

Hope you and your family are having a very Happy Thanksgiving together.

All the best,

Franko

Hi Franko,

Thank you for your kind words, which made my day! I prefer little bit overproofed crumb ( having not much oven spring) than the bread has a lot of oven spring for the kind of breads, but this bread was not chewy. It was great. I wonder if I get good oven spring even though the dough is fully fermented.. I don't know about this thing.

I found 2 slices of your bread that I posted it above when I looked for good breads to make turkey sandwiches from the freezer.

This crumb is frozen..:)

P.S Thank you Franko,We had a great Thanksgiving day with my husband's sister. 21lbs turkey was too big for 5 people.. :) It took 5 hours to cook.. I put the leftover turkey, gravy sauce, stuffing and son in the freezer already... I don't want to eat it anymore..

All the best to you, too!

Akiko

In step 1 the note says that the levain was fed twice with 50% of white flour. On the spreadsheet the example has the total amount of the levain white flour at 60 g. Does this mean that the example levain should be started with 30 g of white flour and then halfway through fed with the last 30 g?

@Karynaca, Hi, thanks for commenting.

When I made this bread I fed the levain twice, splitting the indicated amounts of flour for the levain. That's not to say you couldn't do it all at once, I just did it that way because of trying to schedule my time so that the levain was at it's strongest when I was able to use it.

Cheers,

Franko