Three Loaves

Despite my busy filming schedule this past week I managed to make time to make some bread. The formula is the Pain de Compagne from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I don't often attempt this kind of loaf. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because I don't enjoy it very much. So I go through the motions every now and then, my little repetition compulsion. And then I resume my ordinary life in brioche and pain de mie and Danish pastry and crumpets and English muffins and Sally Lunn.

The bread is quite tasty. The crust is definitely chewy. A touch of white whole wheat flour darkens the crumb, and a mild amount of fermentation gives it a faintly sour edge.

One loaf I've eaten -- a panzanella for dinner, and some butter and jam for lunch. The other two loaves are safe in the freezer, in case Gabriel Porras gets hungry.