Canadian miches: the recipe

Name: Canadian miches
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 19 h 5 min
Yield: 1 piece of 2270 g
Ingredients: 195 g Wheat flour; 117 g Water; 44 g Sourdough starter; 1012 g Wheat flour; 880 g Water; 22 g Salt

The dough is quite hydrated and deliberately soft. The result is a large loaf, slightly flattened in shape, with an open crumb structure, a chewy texture and exceptional keeping quality (the flavour peaks about three days after baking).

The original recipe calls for a high-extraction flour with about 0.92% ash content (partially bolted, rich in bran and germ). If you can't find this flour, you can blend 60% to 80% whole wheat flour (depending on the lightness you want) with the remaining 40-20% strong type-0 wheat flour.

This recipe is freely inspired by, or adapted from, a formula by Master Jeffrey Hamelman.

At a glance

Method: Preferment, with autolyse (1 hour)
Preferment: Sourdough starter — 16% of the flour
Mixing: Stand mixer

Number of pieces: 1
Weight per piece: 2270 g
Preferment weight: 356 g
Dough weight: 1914 g
Total dough weight: 2270 g

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Ingredients

Quantities for 1 piece of 2270 g, kitchen at 21 °C

Preferment

Wheat flour (Type 2, W340)195 g
Water117 g
Sourdough starter44 g

Dough

Wheat flour (Type 2, W340)1012 g
Water880 g
Salt22 g

Want to change the ingredients or use your own flour? The calculator redoes quantities and timing. Open the calculator

Method

Lievito madre: make it and let it ferment (at room temperature) (12 hours)
- Weigh the ingredients
- Use water at 30 °C
- Mix the flour, water and starter until you get a smooth batter
- Transfer to a container, covered but not airtight
Weigh the ingredients and knead (1 h 40 min)
- Make a mix with 2 ice cubes and 840 g of water at room temperature (to get it to 17 °C)
- Hold back 270 g of water and pour it in gradually while it comes together
End of mixing, start of bulk rise (at room temperature) (2 h 30 min)
Reinforcement fold 1 of 3
Reinforcement fold 2 of 3
Reinforcement fold 3 of 3
Divide/shape, start proofing (at room temperature) (1 h 45 min)
About 1h30 to 2h at 24 °C. Don't let it proof overnight: This dough doesn't take well to it.
Ready to cook

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Baking

- conventional oven, with steam
- Overall temperature: 225 °C
- Time: 20 minutes
- Normal steam
- conventional oven, with steam
- Overall temperature: 215 °C
- Time: 50 minutes
- Lower the temperature: A long, full bake, because of the high water content

The calculator adapts baking times to the weight of your pieces. Open the calculator

Preparation notes

Building the starter: It matures in 12-16 hours at 21 °C: With the 12 hours of this recipe, the doses above are enough as they are. If you let it develop longer (up to 16 hours), add 1.8% salt on the starter's own flour — it slows fermentation down and keeps it under control for longer.
Maintaining the culture: Careful, don't use all the starter in the dough! The starter you build is more than the recipe needs: Set aside the equivalent of the starting starter — about 11% of its weight — to renew the mother culture and use it as the starter for your next bake.

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