Miche Shapiro

Hi, I baked just two of these large 2 Kg. Miches on Saturday night. To be totally honest no one had ordered a Miche but I felt like doing a least a couple of test loaves. At any rate they ended up serving as sacrificial offerings to the oven beast; the heat was up around 550 F and with other more numerous loaves waiting I needed to bring the temperature down somewhat. The two loaves baked for over an hour and came out a deep chocolate brown, too dark perhaps for most peoples taste but perfect for mine. The temperature did decline to a more acceptable 500 F, I got the temperature I wanted and the Miches were shoved onto a side table and forgotten...until today.
I decided to cut into one just to take a peek before reluctantly tossing them out and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw and tasted. The crust is highly carmelized almost to the point of being bitter, it maintains an almost sugary crunch into the crumb, a hint of earthy rye, strong baked whole wheat and a mild but long lasting tang. The formula is courtesy of my very good internet friend and fellow baker/chef/foodie, Jeremy Shapiro, a man on a mission to expand the role of the humble but tasty rye grain. Jeremy maintains a passionate and wide ranging food blog called stirthepots.com, I highly recommend it for those who are avid to read, look and listen to everything about good food. When I am seeking knowledge, general or specific or simply browsing, Jeremy never fails to entertain me and I'm grateful that he has continued to post, update and generally document his unending search for all that is tasty. I will be hitting a deli tomorrow for some decent cheese and good sausage, this is bread that will stand strong beside you through the storms of life...arrrggg. Put a lid on the psycho-babble yer a baker not an analyst.