Quarantine Bakes

Using this time to get back into baking. I've never really left baking to be honest but sometimes life 'retards' it a bit. These times are difficult for all and I feel incredibly fortunate that my wife and I both have jobs that can support full time work from home. My career is a bit more flexible than hers and thus it has provided me with ample time to bake. However with a run on flour and yeast that throws a big wrench into the mix. On top of that my wife and I can't (shouldn't) eat all of the bread and pastries that I want to bake. Some compromises were made. I won't be using my sour dough starter because the feeding process uses far too much flour than necessary when flour is difficult to come by. So dry active yeast to the rescue. I also won't be making batches in such large quantities that I normally do because I really shouldn't be driving all around town giving bread to friends and family. Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives. Oh and this means I won't be using my newly built brick oven in my back yard because I don't have the access to wood without venturing into town. Wood isn't a necessity so I won't be lighting a fire here. Taking all of that into consideration I bake what I need with only a bit of what I want sprinkled in.

Brioche. Brioche has a special place in my heart. For the past ten years not every eve of Thanksgiving a good friend mine Ian has come over and we bake brioche for our family's Thanksgivings. This tradition happens to be the only tradition my family follows. It is a night of indulgence. An absolutely massive cheeseboard, charcuterie, wines, dessert wines, olives, and of course bread! As much as I love brioche I won't be making it too often. The ingredient list is too extensive when I'm trying to limit my grocery store trips. But how could I not make a couple batches. I made some hamburger buns and a loaf. Who am I kidding, the buns are just rolls. I also made sticky buns but alas no photo.

Then the is the rustic breads which I am still learning. My father, who owned a bakery during my childhood and into my early teens, told me unless I'm baking every day instead on once a month or two  my learning cure is going to be very slow. Learning from you mistakes when you bake infrequently is quite difficult. With so many environmental factors that go along with baking, keeping track of exactly what you did, how you achieved it, and what the outcome was isn't a straight forward task. "I've made a lot of door stops", something my Dad offhandedly said always rings in my ears when I'm trying to cut my bread with an axe thinking it would make better firewood than a meal.

I first started making 3 pound boules but then realized I cannot keep that up with the demand on flour. That's a lot of bread for a household of two! I'm not sure why I gravitate towards scoring the loaf with a heart.

I thought no arsenal is complete without being able to make a simple loaf of white bread. This one I keep playing around with. Changing percentages just for fun. I still haven't found my favorite. I'll be sure to post when I come up with it.