|||
Apollonia Poilâne runs perhaps the world’s most famous bakery in Paris called Poilane Bakery. It was started by her grandfather in 1932. Their most well-known loaf is a large (1.9kg) sourdough miche that people will usually buy just a quarter or half of.
I recently read an article about Apollonia and she said this:
If there’s one thing that I’d like people to be attentive to is when they use the word flour, they don’t do it generically, like “wheat flour.”
I was struck by just how simple and important this is if we care about how our bodies are nourished by the food we eat.
In honour of Apollonia’s simple idea and incorporating the thinking of Vanessa Kimbell I’ve been blending a number of different flours to create a home blend that I then mix with a white wheat flour.
The home blend contains ancient grains — khorosan, emmer, spelt and einkorn — as well as some rye flour, wholemeal flour, black barley flour, some flaxseeds, some herbs and spices and some rose petals. All of the flours are freshly milled.
The first loaves I’ve baked with the mix have such an earthy taste that is unlike any bread I’ve tried. The flavour is most certainly not that of a wheat loaf. And as I write (and chew) I’m aware of the limitations of my capacity to describe tastes.
I won’t be making these loaves this week for COGS but will do so very soon.
