This dough is made using a batch of pâte fermentée ("old dough"), a firm pre-ferment that is made the day before and refrigerated overnight. The pâte fermentée actually makes up just over half the total volume of the dough. I mixed and kneaded mine, and let it rise. Then I turned it out onto the counter and divided it into three equal portions. I shaped these into long, thin baguettes and let them proof on the baking sheet. I did the final shaping while the oven preheated. An épi is shaped using a kitchen scissors, and it was actually very easy to do. Starting at the top, you make deep cuts almost all the way through the baguette at a diagonal to the baking sheet. Then you fan the cut pieces of dough out to either side as you move down the baguette. This bread is baked hearth-style, and mine baked pretty fast because of the shaping.
I loved how these turned out. The épi makes for a very elegant presentation, and it's a neat way to make pull-apart rolls. The flavor and texture were both very good, and I liked the touch of whole-wheat. One thing I didn't like was the dullness of the crust. This is generally how my hearth breads tend to look, and I think it really detracts from their quality. A couple of days after making this bread I made a batch of kaiser rolls. I tried lightly misting them with spray oil immediately after removing them from the oven, and I was very happy with the results. They weren't greasy at all, just a little softer and more pleasant to look at and to eat. Although they are made with steam, kaiser rolls aren't a hearth bread; I think I may give the spray oil a try on the next hearth bread I make and see what happens.
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