bread making

Qahtan,

I agree and would add that the home stand mixer is responsible for many people trying to make bread without actually knowing how it should feel. Relax and mix by hand.

Eric

Qahtan & Eric,

I disagree.

I think that each of us has goals for our baking. Some are more stringent than others. That's okay.

My personal goals are on the high end. I don't get the concept of "trying too hard to get it right." How one deals with one's "failures" is what matters. To me, when I fail to achieve my goal, I regard it as an opportunity to learn more, and these challenges are one of the rewards of baking.

I also disagree somewhat with Eric regarding the evils of mechanical mixing. If you watch videos of professional bakers using mixers, you will observe them frequently testing their dough's temperature and gluten development. Yes, using a mixer is (literally) less hands on than hand mixing, but it does not preclude learning how the dough "should feel."

I believe I could make a stronger argument for the clock being responsible for home bakers' failure to pay attention to the dough. Mixing by the clock, whether by hand or stand mixer, is a poor way of learning how much mixing a bread wants.

David

I'm gonna join dmsnyder and Sexysadie in this one.  If I haven't learned from mediocrity, the exercise wasn't worth my time.  I don't let mediocrity depress me, I rely on it to inspire me to examine my ingredients and methods more closely and to try again.  I'm willing to accept a good loaf of bread but when a fantastic loaf comes out of my oven I declare a holiday and do my best to make a habit of it. 

I think I'll have a T-shirt made with the statement:

"Mixing bread by the clock, whether by hand or stand mixer, is a poor way of learning how much mixing a bread wants".  There's a motto you can live by.

Passionate-focussed-relaxed-nitpicking-laissez-faire....

Bread baking is like any other occupation/activity/hobby-the people doing it run the gamut of reasons and intensity. I know knitters and quilters and a number of other occupations that could be substituted for breadbaking in the original post and be accurate.

Bottom line is- it is great to have the luxury of exploring an interest to the level we want, whether it is out of necessity or down to the minute details. And the people on this site are interested in persuing it for many different reasons and to satisfy many different needs. That's what can make it so interesting and so much fun.

I'm sure I don't aspire to create mediocre breads. Every loaf is a project designed to be the best I can produce. I'm a no holds barred guy and will go to extremes to achieve a perfect loaf. That said, I didn't really learn to bake well until I learned about mixing and developing the dough by hand.

David; True you can watch pro bakers working in large batches measuring and testing. There are things to be learned there but for a home baker, we have to know how the dough feels in our hands when it is right. Beating the daylights out of the ingredients and stopping now and then to test the dough is a hard way to learn the skills of our ancestors who had no such tools. I use a mixer for large batches, but only because it's easier to incorporate the ingredients evenly on a 8-10 pound mix. I do most of the kneading or folding manually so I don't over do the development by mistake.

The statement that a lot of people are "trying too hard to get it right" I think is right on the mark. That doesn't mean you shouldn't want to learn from your mistakes or accept less than you are capable of. To me it means you should think about making hand made artisan bread, with your hands. The transformation from newbie to accomplished baker will be faster and I think more fulfilling.

Eric