This is the comment thread for the Breadtopia blog post originally published here:
If you do not see the “Reply” button, you will need to log in or register an account. Please click the blue “Log In” button in the upper right of the page. 
Nice post @Fermentada. Your Pan Gallego looks outstanding. Just wished to say, for anyone who wishes to try this recipe but doesn’t have the correct flour, then a nice mix would be:
80% strong bread flour
10% stoneground whole wheat flour
10% medium rye flour
As suggested by Abel from TFL.
Nice! Sounds like a similar flour combo to French pain de campagne which of course makes sense since rye was grown in the same fields as wheat in these areas.
This looks fun! You mention an autolyse (I have air conditioning inside, so would probably do this) for 30 minutes to 4 hours. That’s quite a range. What are the factors that determine the timing, and what does a longer autolyse do?
Also, any alternatives for the Rouge de Bordeaux? Would Yecora Rojo work, and do you think any adjustments would need to be made?
Thanks! Excited to try this. I tried another high-hydration bread (I’m on CO) and it was a total failure. The dough was so wet I could barely handle it (had to add a lot of flour) and it stayed damp even after baking.
Kristy
I think of your house is really hot there can be more degradation of the dough if you do a long autolyse, but the sweet spot seems pretty wide for maximizing the gluten development and bran softening and starch-to-sugar conversion.
Yecora rojo would work great. Normally I would say you could add a little more water but given the hydration issue you had in the past, maybe don’t up the water!
I enjoy getting your newsletter and all the unique recipes. I was excited to try this high hydration Pan Gallego con Mona to achieve those big spaced out holes with a crispy crust. Unfortunately, my first attempt did not come out well. I didn’t have the whole grain flour and I ended up making a bad substitution. I had misread in the comments to sub out 10% whole wheat and 10% rye, I used 25% medium rye. My autolyse was about 2 hours, and I performed four “turn/fold” sessions about 30 minutes apart. I then put the dough in the refrigerator overnight, took it out 18 hours later, & preheated a Dutch oven and the base of a clay baker at 500 degrees. (My clay baker lid was still soaking in water, so that didn’t get preheated) The dough had nice bubbles in it, I turned it out of the bowl and formed a boule and a long loaf to fit the clay baker. Baked with the lid on 20 minutes, then lid off for 35 minutes. I don’t have a thermapen to test interior temp, so I usually do the “tap the bottom test”! Welp, I was off on that too! The two baked completely different, the boule had a better crust but the long loaf had a better crumb.
I’m going to try again, once I get the correct flour! I’ll attach the photos I took, I just made a panini with the boule and it tasted great!
25% rye is definitely harder to handle and likely to have a bit more closed crumb, but also great flavor! And your crumb and crust look lovely.
I recommend skipping any soaking of the clay baker. The dough itself (any dough, not just this high hydration one) will give off plenty of steam, and there is a lot of benefit to having the clay really hot, or at least evenly hot.
This was an awesome loaf! Lovely flavor and texture. Thank you for sharing the recipe and techniques.
Looks delicious, and the moña is so nicely formed!
Fantastic bread. Fantastic bake!
Looks delicious.
Beautiful crust and crumb!
This loaf looks awesome! My first wasn’t nearly as nice, but I’m gonna give it another go!
I first tried Pan Gallego by using Stanley Ginsberg’s recipe in The Rye Baker which uses a rye sour culture for making a sponge and about 44% rye flour in the overall mix. It didn’t turn out well and had a very closed crumb. I was disappointed and started looking around for other recipes for Pan Gallego. I was delighted to find Melissa’s recipe in Breadtopia because her recipes have never disappointed. Can you make a Pan Gallego con Mona without being round and without the Mona? I couldn’t even find Rouge de Bordeaux (their store is out). However, I went ahead and made it with King Arthur Bread Flour and King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat. It turned out very well although a little lacking in flavor. See photos.
That is lovely! I sometimes turn pizza dough into a loaf of bread and vice versa – I think we can do whatever we want 
@mymanvan Pan Gallego con Mona is as much about the flour as the other characteristics. Although if you don’t do the con Mona it’ll just be Pan Gallego.
Flour is quite specific, i.e. from the region, and should be high hydration with an airy crumb. Type of water will also be region specific.
Because we don’t all have access to particular flours we can make good substitutes. To approximate the flour used a good mix would be…
One should also use soft water and some type of mother dough be it sourdough or pate fermente.
Here is a very good video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHKLNTdlzE8&ab_channel=RecetasdeEsbieta
Turn on subtitles.
Thanks so much for this video. A real labor of love in how she handles that dough, and the finished dough is so elastic and beautiful.
