HELLO BREAD LOVERS

HELLO BREAD LOVERS

Well howdy. This is a blog for bread baking, bread lovin', and general foodie talk. Occasionally, I will blog to you in REAL TIME as I bake bread -- sorry dears, you may be on the receiving end of my complaining.

I started baking bread last year, when I got a cookbook for people with IBS (HOLLA!), ans saw they had a recipe for baguette. It was total crap, but I loved the idea. Then I stumbled upon this video of Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco (I may or may not have a shrine for him.) He talked about all these philosophies of bread, the science behind the long rise that makes sourdough sourdough, and how he got his start in baking. My dear, dear mother ended up getting me the book and some freeze dried sourdough leaven (who will make a cameo on here), and I began feeding it and helping it grow.

    Let's take a minute here to explore the wonderful world of leavening. I assume most of you readers out there are bread bakers yourselves; so you will know what I'm talking about. However, I'll oblige the oddballs who are out of the loop. most bread that you know of -- the stuff you make sandwiches on -- is yeast bread. It uses active dry yeast to make the dough rise, and can be made quickly and efficiently. Sourdough uses natural leaven, which is a blod that results from letting flour rot ("ferment" is the more polite term) in warm water. When using this leaven, one must let the dough rise several times, including a long, 4 hour "bulk fermentation." This creates a TOTALLY different texture than with yeast, and a superior flavor. And, I can say as a baker, sourdough is more satisfying to make.

I leave you now with this video I afore mentioned. 

"As always, it is in the bakers hands" -- C. Robertson