Since first attempting Roland Feuillas’s infamous Fanette Bread, I wasn’t satisfied with the end product. I’ve seen others baking it successfully; Thierry Delabre, who has coached me, as well as some other fantastic French bakers. It made me wonder if it’s a terroir thing – as if something wrong with American flour, whether hydration or something else.

Then Sam Fromartz  tried it with flour he shipped direct from France. But Sam wasn’t getting his perfect loaf, either even after attempting a lower hydration of 75-percent in his first loaves. This bread demands somewhere between 75-90-percent hydrated dough.

Below are photos of what some recent attempts. Next up is Roland’s Pain Nature, wheat with some spelt, wheat and levain.