The last two weeks have been a real pain, not pain like bread but pain like ouch! I don’t know whether it’s a army injury in my spine from lugging heavy china ware all over Germany for the generals or it is genetic, but it hurts. Making bread is a natural for me, whenever I can morning or night! So this pain,bread, withstood the pain, in my back ache!
Though I would love to bake a loaf everyday, this week it was hopelessly obvious I wasn’t going to do that! Work is a non stop of parties and the last levain project I was trying was a ten day endeavor from Joe Ortiz’s "The village baker" for Normandy cider bread.
I have used Mr. Ortiz’s book a few times, more unsuccessfully than with good results. I don’t know if it was my natural laziness or just so much information I was trying to take in as a baker from different sources that made less than perfect results? I still go back to his book though, I think it could do with a re-edit and perhaps some changes regarding using American measurements rather than metric! One day I will gather the nerve and give Joe a call see if he will talk to me on the show?
His pain Normande is familiar to some I did in school and at Bouley bakery.The bread has hints of rye, apple pieces like most Norman cider breads I have tried, though it is a bit difficult to keep in the little chunks in the dough it still makes a good eater! I had a little bit of camembert de boccage  with it and it really is a marriage straight from the apple cider orchards and grassy cow fields.