All rye bread lovers are going to enjoy this recipe. By texture, Harpoon Miche is lighter comparing to the 60% rye sourdough bread, but has a great flavor from rye and whole wheat flours. Also dark beer brings up all the components together providing richness to the loaf.
You can bake it same day, which is very convenient.
Recipe was adapted from King Arthur website, from Martin Philip’s book Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes
Ingredients
Rye sourdough starter
- 10g ripe sourdough starter
- 50g water
- 60g whole rye flour
White sourdough starter
- 10g ripe sourdough starter
- 50g water
- 50g bread flour
Main dough
- 110g rye sourdough starter
- 100g liquid sourdough starter
- 360g bread flour
- 20g whole rye flour
- 25g whole wheat whole grain flour
- 10g salt
- 155g water
- 150g dark beer (boiled and cooled off)
Directions
Day 1
Rye sourdough Starter
- 10 pm add starter to the water and whisk together, add rye flour, mix well, cover loosely, let it sit at room temperature 74-78F until in about 8-10 hours starter reaches its peak (doubles or triples in volume). You can learn how to make starter from scratch here.
White sourdough starter
- 10 pm add starter to the water and whisk together, add bread flour, mix well, cover loosely, let it sit at room temperature 74-78F until in about 8-10 hours starter reaches its peak (doubles or triples in volume). You can learn how to make starter from scratch here.
Day 2
Main dough
- 8 am mix all water, dark beer and flour, let autolyse for 1 hour
- 9 am add both sourdough starters (rye and bread flour) and salt, knead by hand or in mixer until we’ll dissolved. Cover, let rest for 15 min.
- 9.15 am stretch and fold, cover, let rest 30 min
- 9.45 am coil fold, cover, let ferment 30 min
- 10.15 am am coil fold cover, let ferment 30 min
- 10.45 am cover, let ferment 1 hour.
- 11.45 pm dough should increase in volume significantly. (About 40-50% )
Note: if dough didn’t puffy enough, perform another fold and let it ferment for 30 more min.
Shaping
- 11.45 am generously sprinkle counter top with whole wheat flour.
- Dump the dough on the counter.
- Shape as desired. I prefer a round shaped loaf. Pull all edges to the center, flip it over, try to round the dough with your hands.
- Transfer the shaped loaf into proofing basket.
- Let it proof for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 min. The dough should get bigger.
- Meanwhile preheat your oven to 500 F, place a cast iron pan with the lid or a baking stone inside for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
- 1.15 pm flip the dough over on a parchment paper. You can score the Miche or bake it scoreless.
- Transfer the dough on to the hot cast iron pan, cover with the lid (to create steam for a beautiful and crusty crumb).
- Bake at 480F for 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 450F and bake for 20-25 more minutes until golden brown.
- Enjoy
Milá Natašo, děkuju za inspirativní stránky. ❤️
Ludmila
Česká republika
hi, looks so tasty…
why boil the beer?
also, the starters are 110g and 120g, 230 together.
but then in the instructions you ask for 100g and 110g, 210g together…why need to do more then use?..thanks a lot for your answer 😊
Use leftover starter for future feedings.
Beer comes with it’s own microbiome – for consistent taste, killing off the brewers yeast will leave all the rising up to the sourdough. Boiling also malts whatever residual/remaining sugars are in the beer, changing the flavor a little.
Thank you 🙏
Is there a substitute for dark beer to use in this bread?
Thanks
You can use water, or dark coffee (yo keep the color darker
Nice recipe!
I’ve used beer in recipes but never pre-boiled it, just used it at room temperature.
Do you try to get rid of the CO2?
Is it because beer alcohol prevents fermentation?
Yes, alcohol delay fermentation
Boiling will help to evaporate the alcohol ( apparently alcohol makes bacteria weaker )
Like Mike, I’m wondering why you boil the beer first.
In the recipe white starter and rye starter the weight is over 100g . I have to add it both right ? Or weight both to 100g😅
I’m a new Baker. So a little bit confuse. Thank you😊
110g AND 100g go into the dough. 2 different starters equaling 210g.
Both to 100g
Would really like to see the inside of the loaf.
Me too.
I am getting the starters ready tonight and will mix tomorrow. Any thoughts on proofing over night in the refrigerator and baking the following day?
Fermentation doesn’t stop in the fridge it slows down….keep that in mind with water temp and dough temp throughout BF. It’s absolutely doable.
Baked loaf after 24 hours in the refrigerator. It scored nicely, tastes great but ZERO oven spring. Dough not strong enough—too long bulk— to long proof?
Any suggestions?
24 hours was probably too long. Sorry it came out flat.
Sure, you can retard it overnight
Boil the beer? I’m afraid it will get way to bitter that way. Why boiling?
Alcohol delays fermentation
Hi, is the beer weighed before or after boiling?
Thanks
After boiling.
Hi, I am trying making this bread, thank you for the recipe.
However, I made the rye sourdough starter the day before, the next day it looks so stiff and dry,
It has been at least 10 hrs since I made it.
Why didn’t it grow?
My white sourdough starter has reached its peak without problem.
Thank you.
I have the same problem (((
Hi!
Usually rye starter has more stiffer consistency, compared to regular starter. But it still has to at least double in volume during fermentation.
I see, thank you for the answer.
I actually used it anyway, and the bread turned out great.
Thanks for the recipe.
Can I use malt syrup dissolved in water instead of beer?
Sure!
That’s smart idea.
Looks like the recipe that I wrote and put in my book five years ago—you even used the same name? You credit it to the KABC website (where I published the recipe as Honey-Beer Miche) but don’t mention that Harpoon Miche is directly from my book. Jeffrey Hamelman also used the recipe in his book but credited me there. People obviously don’t own recipes but I’m surprised to see zero attribution.
Martin, hi!
I am so deeply sorry, I had no idea it was your recipe.
Let me fix this. I’ll give all credits to you.
I used the recipe from KA Baker’s formula section, where no other comments were given about the ownership of this recipe
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/pro/formulas/harpoon-miche
I’ve made this a few times. I added caraway seeds at lamination. It’s a great bread and recipe
Thank you 🙏
Hi can I just make this with yeast instead? Thank you
Yes, you can, but sourdough starter adds so much flavor to it