Am brand-new poster. Recently bought J. Handelmman's Bread book. I've been baking bread for years and rarely used recipes-- just chose my ingredients and put it together by feel. Thought it was time for horizon-expanding, but this book makes me feel like they cancelled Christmas. I've made a few recipes, trying to adjust to the hyper-precise technique from my seat-of-the-pants approach, plus I do not own a mixer, what would be the fun in that? Yes, I certainly got some interesting bread, pretty to look at and pleasant to eat, and I learned a ton about process. But IT'S NO FUN. I LOVE kneading, I love letting the dough 'speak' to me and tell me what it needs (Ha) but all of a sudden I feel like I'm making bread the WRONG way. Is this what artisan bread is really about, or is there compromise bubbling about somewhere? Anything else I should be reading?
I am reading Hamelman's book now and I am getting a lot out of it. He teaches how different conditions can change the way the bread tastes and looks. But I am also like you, I love to knead my dough by hand especially after reading how you can easily start to break the dough by over kneading. I don't think this can be done if I knead by hand.
If I had a commerical bakery I might be concerned about having all the conditions the same so I could produce the same quality loaf every day. I don't make bread for that reason. I make bread because I love the process, the feel of the dough, the smell of the ingredients while mixing and after baking. I like to try different things and have produced a fair amount of door stops in the process. Both us amateurs and the professionals have the same goal in mind to make a loaf of bread that not only tastes great but looks great too. Follow your muse!
While I agree that Hammelmans book is a bit technical I think it is the best bread book ever written bar non. I continually read it and learn new things. I don't think we should confuse Hams scientific approach with a lack of heart and artistry. I also love Peters books as well and think he tries to communicate a more romantic vision of baking. That said, in a perfect world I would like to see Peters pictures and prose combined with Hams recipies and formulas. That would the book I would grab on the way out of the house if it was on fire.
You can't go wrong with either of these books. I started out following these books to the letter. The more I have learned the more I have strayed from these formulas. I look at these books as a foundation and once you have that foundation you can go crazy and sort of know what to expect on any given loaf. My 2 cents
Da Crumb Bum
I understand exactly what you mean, I've bought only one book, Peter Reinharts BBA and it has given me great insight into the hard science of bread. Baking using weights, and the finest ingredients yet inspiring to use all his recipes as a starting point.
I do tend to follow recipes but always get distracted and change this here or that there to achieve what feels right or what there is on hand.
And mixing and kneading my hand too I firmly believe in, having recently hand kneaded 13 pounds of Sicilian dough (BBA recipe with some mod's) was done in a shorter time than in small amounts in my KA (which I like when I have to chase the kids). If I need to make more dough in great quantities then I'll invest.
In the mean time I work my dough in my sunny window and enjoy the workout.
We all get caught up in our own favorite book author, methods, recipes but that is part of the fun in sharing our passion. When I first got my scale I wondered how I ever cooked or baked for so many years without one. I think it is wonderful fun and love the idea of knowing precise ingredients.
Then I start thinking about my great grandmothers and how they made bread and baked them in their open fireplaces. And when home baked bread and homemade jam was served at every single meal no matter what else was on the menu. I marvel at those abilities.
I also love the tactile qualities of bread making so you are not alone in that. Perhaps you would like to take a look at Dan Lepard's book, The Handmade Loaf. It is full of the most interesting recipes - everything is in grams though so you may need a scale. Some ingredients are going to be hard to find but I have a feeling worth the search. I love to take his book out and read it. I've made his sourdough raisin cinnamon bread a couple times and it is fantastic.
Do what pleases you. It doesn't matter what anyone else does if you're happy doing it your way and if you make great bread what could be better!
First the specific--working a very wet dough by hand. There is an explanation and photos in the Maggie Gleezer book. It did not click with me until I saw it done at a King Arthur baking seminar and then I understood what the method was. One thing to realize (from the science!) is that these wet doughs develop their own gluten structure just from sitting around and being wet. So with the very wet (80%+) doughs, you don't actually have to do much with them. You can whip them around a bit and then give them a turn/fold every so often and you would be amazed at how they evolve. Of course it does not do much to get out your aggressions, but when you eat them you will acheive inner peace without violence.
Regarding the overall approach and the measuring, study, etc, I totally buy into it, but that's just because it works for me. In addition to the eating part, one of the things I love about bread baking is that it satisfies my control fantasies. By that I mean that I start with an end in mind, and using the techniques I've picked up along the way, I can see how close I come to what I intended. But as for approach, I think we all agree that if it makes you feel good you should do it.
They post a schedule:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking/national_demonstration.html
but it appears that the last tour has maybe just concluded and they have not announced the next one. It also appears there are on-line classes, but I don't know anythign about that. Sniff around the site and see what you can find.
> And I assumed KA seminars either taught you how to open
> a bakery or taught you how to make banana bread and
> coffe cake. They have 'handmade' bread classes?
King Arthur's National Baking Tour classes are two two-hour seminars with 1-2 hours in between (and given that the instructor talked non-stop for the two hours they need that break). The first seminar covers soft/sweet breads; the second seminar covers artisan breads. You can attend either or both, but at least in my city you need to be there very early if you want to be able to see directly rather than just on the video monitor (they have a video camera focused on the work area which is helpful even if you are at the front).
KA also has classes at their main location in VT on how to run bakeries, make sourdough, and many other topics. Those cost big bucks though.
sPh
SourdoLady,
I've had much better luck, particularly with whole grain breads and higher hydration doughs after learning about folding. However, do you have any rules of thumb for how to know when you've folded enough? For example, after two folds, the typical miche I've been doing (about 80% hydration, 70% whole grain) seems to be fairly slack. After four folds, I can barely stretch it at all, and it's not easy to fold.
Bill
...so of course I had to read almost all the recommended books out there before I even dipped my hands in flour. I am a new baker - I hope that some day I will have enough experience and guts to improvise.
BTW - why does BBA and The Bread Book make BAKER'S MATH seem so difficult? I really just can't even deal with it right now - it causes me anxiety. Will I really never be a great baker if I can't figure it out ;-)
Has anyone baked - or made sourdough starter from Breads from LaBrea Bakery? The photos of Nancy's breads make my mouth water! That is my next project - trying to bake from her book.
...Wait a minute, I just realized, I did improvise! I spent this past month cultivating my first sourdough starter and I kind of combined a couple of techniques from a few different sources until something seemed like it was working - until it felt right. -And it worked!
I guess there is hope for me yet!
I must agree that bread should be made the way that you feel comfortable. There are so many different ways to do each step...it's really about what's convenient and enjoyable for you. I recently started bulk fermenting my doughs overnight. I bake once a week and make approximately 30-70 loaves at a time. I found it was just easier to have the dough ready to go in the morning for me. I'm able to wake up, shape, proof and bake.
A word on high-hydration dough as well. Recently I made a 110% hydration 100% WW bread by hand. I used the stretch and fold method every 15 minutes for about 1.5 hours. It was unlike anything I have tasted. The hole structure and nutty taste were great. Most breads I make any more are >75% hydration as I like the flavor it produces and the hole structure.
Another good book worth mentioning, even if you aren't planning to build a brick oven, is The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. I think the information they provide on bread making is invaluable.
Ed