I recently read that anything, other than wheat flour, yeast, salt and water, should be considered as enhancers or improvements. I do not want to argue or defend this statement.
But using this as a starting point, I would like to ask if anyone could recommend a comprehensive reference on bread ingredients.
The best I have found, so far, is The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Russ
I recommend that you read a recent post from Trevor Wilson's blog.
http://www.breadwerx.com/embarrassing-problem-tartine-envy/
I think it all comes down to whether you are trying to duplicate someone else's formula or if you are interested in making bread to your own satisfaction. I recently tried a baguette from a well-reputed local bakery and found it sub-par to anything I bake, but my taste buds are my own and they like what they have been trained to like. Since I will soon be trying to market my own baguettes I can only hope that others will find my efforts to their liking as well. Or, I can try to produce a baguette that is an exact copy of "XYZ's" baguette and market it as such.
Artisan bread is art. Using a painter's analogy, Chagall isn't know for his ability to replicate Monet. While they both trained in France their works are very different and individual. If you want to paint exactly like Chagall, mimic every color and every brush stroke. Like me trying to duplicate XYZ's baguette, you can market Chagall knock-offs. Or, we can both push the envelope and produce what our senses tell us is right.
As I try to perfect the baguette I am drawn towards the traditional flour, water, salt and yeast formulas. Then I read how Team USA took the silver with a baguette using sourdough starter and diastatic malt. Their baguettes were being judged by some of the most traditional masters in the industry. So who is right? Well, everyone. And what was traditional 200 years ago might have been supplanted by a new bread dogma 100 years ago, then supplanted by the new/old traditional bread dogma 10 years ago.
I often see posts on this forum where bakers ask for criticism. They include impressive photos of dark crusts and an open crumb. The replies that I respect the most are always, "Well, how does it taste?"
Thanks for the interesting link. Your response has caused me to focus more on what I really want. My interest is in trying new things in order to satisfy my curiosity.
Example: I have worked a lot with the ATK Almost no knead bread. I began with their instructions, which call for mild lager beer. I did that once and then thought, 'what if'. So I tried it with a German wheat beer, then a Belgium wheat, then...
Their recipe calls for 3C AP or bread flour. So I tried 2C bread flour and one WW, then one sprouted WW, then one rye, etc.
I enjoy playing in the kitchen. Always trying something new.
Water roux, flax meal, oat flakes; currently different uses of chia seed.
I can find references to almost anything on FL but I am lazy. What I am looking for is a compilation of bread ingredients. One main source so I don't have to search a dozed web sites or spend hours going through volumes on bread baking.
Thanks again for your response
"Introduced in 1516 by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, the decree allows for only hops, barley, water and, later, yeast"
While I personally appreciate this "purist" approach, it only goes so far.
In my opinion, it is a very good rule for a starting baker: master bread with these four ingredients, then expand your horizons from a solid base. If you don't understand how the dough should have come out before additional ingredients were added, you will be less likely to know what to do to combat the problem.
Example: adding rosemary to my lean low gluten dough was reducing oven lift of the loaves, even though the dried rosemary added no hydration.
Solution: Hydrated the rosemary, then found a source of fresh rosemary for free. The dry rosemary was shredding/disrupting the gluten structure, and hydrating softened the herb. (also made a nice rosemary tea that I used to flavor the dough!)
I had not thought of the analogy with Reinheitsgebot, but you are absolutely right. Which means that my interest are the antitheses of Reinheitsgebot. I want to be as eclectic and as far as possible from pure.
Not really impure but I am willing to try almost any ingredient that is not toxic.
There is certainly a beauty to a pure and simple loaf. And like brewing a light beer, there is nothing to hide behind. Its all up front, so you had better get it right. I would agree that if you can master that, you can master anything.
At the moment, however, I am more interested in what effect the many additional, and perhaps unusual ingredients can have.
Your example of your rosemary bread is the sort of thing I am interested in. I lack the patience to learn by personal experience. I want to temper my experiments with the experience of others more knowledgeable than myself.
Thanks