I've gotten a bit bored with my culinary repertoire lately. So I've decided to go on an artisan bread bender for awhile. Despite the warnings of several friends that baking is more art than science, I am determined to abuse myself in this regard until I can turn out fresh bread for any occasion. I have brewed my own beer since before I was old enough to drink, so I am well acquainted with the proclivities and peculiarities of our microbe friends. So, why not?
First thing I did is seek out every authority I could locate on the subject and read everything they had to say on the matter. Ok, done. Let's give it a whack...
I decided to start today with a very basic recipe and see what comes out of it.
water, all-purpose flour, salt and dried yeast...
amazing what that can bring forth, eh?
I made what was supposed to be enough dough for four 1lb loaves. The visual cue was a ball "the size of a grapefruit".
I'm not sure where the author lives, but in Florida, that's pretty big. I wound up with enough dough for a third small loaf after the first two went in.
My first attempt was hampered by 3 things. 1. not enough cornmeal on the peel. THis caused the loaf to stick in one place and lose it's shape. 2. baking temp was too low. Damn you GE! Calibrate these things before you ship them eh? I was 20 degrees F too low. 3. improper loaf size. I think I was about 1.25-1.5 lbs on the first loaf. Note to self: buy a scale.
The first loaf went in for 30 min and turned a nice, light tan color and was slightly misshapen.
I watched it carefully and as it cooled, the nice, firm crust began to soften, esp on the bottom. I decided that this was no good and returned it to the oven for another 20 min. That improved the color and the softening issue. Once it was completely cool, I sliced into it and found the crumb (interior) nice and spongy and moist. It's like a good cake. I now know what they mean by "custard crumb".
The crust has a great flavor and a perfect chew. The only complaint is that the interior is a bit dense. Next time I will let it rise a bit longer and see if I can't correct that.
The second loaf came out much nicer. I corrected the oven temperature and used enough cornmeal on the baker's peel that it slid right off and there was no dough to wash off. I also increased the baking time to compensate for the increased weight. It held it's shape better and turned a nice caramel color. It's crust held firm during cooling. I will have that one for breakfast in the morning.
All told, I am very pleased with my initial results. Is anyone out there a baker or seeking to learn it?
If so, weigh in. As olifactory-oriented as we are, this should be a natural. My house smells amazing.
First thing I did is seek out every authority I could locate on the subject and read everything they had to say on the matter. Ok, done. Let's give it a whack...
I decided to start today with a very basic recipe and see what comes out of it.
water, all-purpose flour, salt and dried yeast...
amazing what that can bring forth, eh?
I made what was supposed to be enough dough for four 1lb loaves. The visual cue was a ball "the size of a grapefruit".
I'm not sure where the author lives, but in Florida, that's pretty big. I wound up with enough dough for a third small loaf after the first two went in.
My first attempt was hampered by 3 things. 1. not enough cornmeal on the peel. THis caused the loaf to stick in one place and lose it's shape. 2. baking temp was too low. Damn you GE! Calibrate these things before you ship them eh? I was 20 degrees F too low. 3. improper loaf size. I think I was about 1.25-1.5 lbs on the first loaf. Note to self: buy a scale.
The first loaf went in for 30 min and turned a nice, light tan color and was slightly misshapen.
I watched it carefully and as it cooled, the nice, firm crust began to soften, esp on the bottom. I decided that this was no good and returned it to the oven for another 20 min. That improved the color and the softening issue. Once it was completely cool, I sliced into it and found the crumb (interior) nice and spongy and moist. It's like a good cake. I now know what they mean by "custard crumb".
The crust has a great flavor and a perfect chew. The only complaint is that the interior is a bit dense. Next time I will let it rise a bit longer and see if I can't correct that.
The second loaf came out much nicer. I corrected the oven temperature and used enough cornmeal on the baker's peel that it slid right off and there was no dough to wash off. I also increased the baking time to compensate for the increased weight. It held it's shape better and turned a nice caramel color. It's crust held firm during cooling. I will have that one for breakfast in the morning.
All told, I am very pleased with my initial results. Is anyone out there a baker or seeking to learn it?
If so, weigh in. As olifactory-oriented as we are, this should be a natural. My house smells amazing.
......they taste pretty good and she did them in a bread maker.
, which really focuses on breads and pastires. The cover shows a chart with the ratios of key ingredients in 16 kinds of doughs. The center of the chart is a balance. Since bakers can't taste and adjust a dough in the same way as, say, a pasta sauce, working by weight is strongly recommended.
