Let us know how often you think the Community Bakes should take place. Every 1, 2, 3, or 4 months.
Don’t be swayed by the opinions of others. Let us know what you think.
By-the-way, we are strongly considering Hamelman’s Swiss Farmhouse Bread for our next CB. It is detailed in his book,”Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes, 2nd Edition”. Jeffrey will be contacted before the CB requesting permission to post the formula and instructions. Buying the book won’t be a necessity, but this is one book you’ll want to own.
Danny
best interval is every 2-3 months... so 4-6 x / year
hester
It seems to me that the best examples of community bakes happen because of momentary strong enthusiasm for a particular recipe. I think "harnessing" and over-planning the process will be counterproductive, and I think the push for reorganization should be scrapped.
I think CBs are good because they're out of control, and they should stay out of control on purpose.
Ha, ha, I kill me. All kidding aside, I could do monthly, but then I am just a baking fool!
i love this comment. it's the best... ha ha ha
hester
I think every two or three months is good. I'm also interested in broadening the community bake to a wider variety of breads (this is where I like the idea of the Swiss Farmhouse bread because it's not only delicious but different too). And perhaps we can start to include other things like cakes, pastries, enriched breads and other baked goodies. But I think we've got it at a good frequency.
Currently, if I posted "Hey, community bake this weekend, rhubarb+salami samosas with my special fermented-mackerel garnish!", I would end up making it by myself, and no harm would be done (other than offences against good taste).
And if I posted an idea that was actually good, and it had been quite a while since the last CB, then lots of people would join and it would be good.
What's wrong with leaving it alone?
Three or four per year is plenty, imho. But really it's up to you Danny. Nobody's obliged to participate. Hell, you could organize them twice weekly as suggested ? and loafers would continue to participate as they pleased, just as they have so far. Of course, you'd go crazy, but I can think of more selfish ways to go crazy.
fwiw, I started making a list of ideas for CB's a while back (me who has only passively participated in one). One criterion is that they can't require particularly specialized hardware (e.g., bagel board) or hard-to-source ingredients (e.g., swiss gray flour). Then again, requiring such would be no crime and some might welcome the motivation to expand their toolkit.
• SD pizza — dough and par/baking techniques to achieve satisfactory crust in conv oven (<900˚F)
• Rye - Perhaps not 100% but more than NY Deli (Erics) — enough to get a feel and taste for the dough/paste and flavor.
• SD sweet bread - Chocolate, Raisin bread, Guernsey Gâche, Portuguese, tea cake
• Baguettes - SD or tradition? Maestro Alfanso lead?
• Milk bread or other 100% white pan bread
• Bagels (but requires board)
• Durum bread — Altamura or a semolina bread
• Focaccia
• Pretzels
• Flat or Crisp bread
Open up that list for additions by loafers and you'd have 100 or more in a day.
Tom
Great suggestions. In an unsolicited fashion, I'll share my thoughts on some:
* Pizza is a great idea. It does require some specialized equipment to do perfectly right, like a pizza peel and baking stone, but most bakers probably already have those. I love pizza and I'll take the Pepsi challenge with my dough and my girlfriends shaping any day.
* Rye is another good idea. I hate it, but its one of those things a baker probably should know. The big problem is that the flavor is the real test of whether you got it right, and its impossible to share flavor on the forum.
* For SD sweet bread, do you still use leavening chemicals (baking powder/soda)? Sourdough muffins sound good.
* Bagels don't require a board. I've made great bagels at home with folded parchment. But fermenting stiff dough correctly is a challenge if youve never done it. I like this suggestion.
*Durum bread, I wish I could make it. I can't find Durum flour. Maybe you can help me with that one.
*Flat bread -Pita bread challenge. Like bagels, you don't see sourdough versions hardly ever. Would be a fun experiment.
and in many ways up to you Dan as you make the effort to organize them so I think go with intervals that suit you rather than worry about having to work with a specific timeline and then get stressed about it..... People will join in and appreciate your effort...... The current intervals suited me and if they were more often I may join or not depending on bread or what happens in life at that moment in time... All the best, Kat
There were some great suggestions for potential bakes...and making sourdough pizza has been also on my to do list and a so far unfulfilled request from my son. Pastries like morning buns a la Tivoli Road Bakery, cruffins and croissants have been also tempting me but so far with my sweet tooth I am trying to stay away.......
You should decide when we have show and tell at the school. I missed the earlier ones because I wasn't paying attention in class so if you could somehow post a schedule or a sign up for a notification that would help.
turns into a community bake. I like the idea of letting them rise as they will, popping up randomly but when a bake becomes obviously interesting, move it into a title slot on the first page for easy reference, eiither as a photo or a fixed "Recent posts."
I think that is part of the idea of having featured posts, bakes inspiring more baking and inspiration, encourage positive feedback to the poster and recipe. Some took off and got very long.
Agreed
By featured post, I think you mean the 2 side by side images at the top of the home page.
I can try to get Floyd to feature the CB with an image of the particular bread with text (in the image) stating “Current Community Bake”.
If I forget, someone please remind me.
Danny
The next bake has been determined. It will be Hamelman's Swiss Farmhouse bread. JH gave us permission to post all of the details from his book, “Bread”. It will probably take place in July. It uses a raisin yeast water and no sourdough levain, which is very simple to make. I started one Saturday @ noon and by Monday morning the YW was very active and bubbling away. I think a little warmth and good fruit is the key. Assuming that some interested in the CB have no experience with YW, a [color=red]“Community Bake - Yeast Water Primer” [/color]will start 10-14 days in advance of the actual bake. Hopefully we can get non sourdough bakers to join in.
I am always happy to add another tool, to my bag!
there's anything to be gained by institutionalizing the CBs to a certain frequency with a set of rules. I've only participated in a few, but I really enjoyed the "organic" nature of the exchanges. Yes, it makes for an unruly thread that quickly gets very long, but it makes me imagine what would happen if we were all baking together in one kitchen, with various conversations happening all at once -- always someone natteraing about something -- and all in good fun.
It's nice when the CBs aren't scheduled too closely together, because sometimes folks can't jump right in there upon posting, but need a week or two (or more) to clear the decks for a CB. And sometimes the CB uses a technique or ingredient that folks might like to explore further, either by giving the recipe another shot, or adapting to something they are more familiar with. It also gives a little lead time to people who'd like to read about others' experiences before jumping into the pool.
And as Mimi says, sometimes it's a centerfold photo that sets off a spontaneous CB, perhaps a bit limited in scope, but fun anyway -- do you remember, Dan, the Broa de Milho bake that we tried awhile back?
I think you've done a sterling job thus far, and anything you decide will be fine with me. But honestly, you ask for improvement suggestions, and I don't have any. There are some lovely and interesting ideas for futre bakes, so have at it!
Keep on baking,
Carole
Once a month sounds good to me. If people are too busy to get one loaf out a month, they can just participate in less. But I could do one every 2 weeks, like Roadside Pi says.
Dan, you are the organizer. I like a few months between bakes and it seems when a great idea for one pops up, it takes some organizing on your part to get it going. So do what’s best for you and we shall follow your lead. Thank you for all your hard work. Looking forward to the next bake. And the primer will be helpful for sure!