I’m trying the pain de campagne recipe again (last time was posted as Pain de Campange), but using “poolish” (the wetter pre-ferment) rather than a “biga”. I’m also using whole-wheat flour instead of rye for the flavoring (and increasing the amount of non-white flour), increasing the salt, and kneading for much longer.
Poolish:
2½ cups bread flour (319g)
½ teaspoon instant yeast (1.5g)
1½ cup water (340g)
Mix and let rise for about 6 hours (longer than the book suggests, but I wanted more flavor). Refrigerate overnight.
To the poolish add
1 cup bread flour (130g)
1 cup whole-wheat flour (130g)
1 teaspoon yeast (3g)
2 teaspoon salt (14g)
⅓ cup water (76g)
Mix for 2–3 minutes with dough hook on low speed. Dough should gather into ball, but be soft and pliable. Increase mixer speed and knead for 10 minutes. (Lowering the bowl occasionally helps clear the dough off the hook.)
Knead by hand for about 5 minutes, adding bread flour as needed.
Return to oiled bowl and cover again with plastic.
Let rise for 30 minutes, then stretch and fold to incorporate air.
Let rise for another 30 minutes, then stretch and fold to incorporate air.
Let rise for another 2 hours or until dough doubles in size.
Split dough in half and shape the bread into two boules (without degassing it, if possible) on baking parchment, oil lightly, cover with plastic, and let it rise for another hour until it rises to about 1.5 times as big.
Preheat oven to 500°F with a pan at the bottom of the oven to pour water into to make steam.
When the bread is put in the oven, pour a cup of water into the steam pan. Repeat the steaming (with smaller quantities of water) every 30 seconds for about 2 minutes, then turn down the oven to 450°F and bake about 25–30 minutes (depending on the shape). Loaves should be be 200°F–205°F in the center and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

The bread came out looking good with a very crunchy crust, but even with the longer kneading, I’m still not getting the very open texture I was hoping for. The flavor was ok, but not as rich as a bread with more whole-wheat flour or sourdough.