French Bistro Sandwich on Whole Wheat Baguette

I’m on a roll, people! After my first attempt at French bread was successful, now I’m feeling much more confident that I really can achieve my dream of being able to make wonderful artisan breads at home. So, naturally, I’m still baking! Who needs to eat out when you can have this at home?

I bought The Bread Baker’s Apprentice a few months back, which is essentially the Holy Grail/Holy Bible of artisan bread making, and it was probably one of the most worthwhile purchases I’ve made in my whole life.

After my failed sourdough starter using another cookbook, I gave in and bought this book because I knew that if anybody would be able to help me with my bread woes, it would be the  legendary Peter Reinhart. I’ve literally been reading this book over and over again for months trying to get the courage to attempt artisan breadmaking again.

Boy, I am so glad that I didn’t let that first failure scare me away from trying again. I’m very careful in the kitchen and get extremely frustrated when something doesn’t work out, so it takes me a while to bounce back from a mess-up. You do not want to be anywhere near me if my cake falls or my cookies burn or my roasted chicken doesn’t brown right! The kitchen is the only place is the world where I’m a perfectionist. But I find that there’s also little room for perfectionism in cooking, because if you don’t take risks and try new things, you don’t grow. And nobody gets it right every time. But when you do get it right, it’s a great feeling!

Reinhart’s book actually doesn’t have a whole wheat baguette formula, but you guys know I can’t resist adding in whole wheat when there’s an oppurtunity! I used a white flour pâte fermentée for this loaf, which is the pre-fermented dough that you add to your actual dough to give it that complex, authentic flavor.

I was happy with this loaf for a first try, but my formula right now is essentially the BBA formula with whole wheat flour subbed in so it isn’t my recipe to share. Also, it needs some adjustment before I would say that it’s my perfect whole wheat French bread. The texture was wonderful and the taste was very good, but the crumb isn’t nearly as open as the baguette I made with white flour a couple days ago:

It may not be your traditional baguette, but it’s still delicious bread and it’s much better for you!

To make this sandwich I used smoked ham and gruyere cheese (favorites of the French, of course), sliced tomato, fresh arugula, and a generous smear of Dijon mustard. This is my favorite Dijon mustard, which I get from a farmers market in Atlanta, because it’s has a good flavor and it’s not too spicy.

I can’t wait until I get more comfortable with different types of bread and the techniques so that I can share original formulas with you guys!

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren