Tools of the Trade

I always smile when people ask if I have a bread machine when the topic of baking bread comes up. I normally don't advertise that I'm a weekend baker, but inevitability over some sort of meal the topic of baking will somehow rise to the surface (pun intended).

When I answer "no" to the bread machine question the predictable response is "oh, wow, so do you have a big mixer?" This is where the conversaton can go one of multiple directions. I DO have a mixer and I have used it to make dough in the past, but I don't use it now.

Most people have seen documentaries on TV where they see bakeries with huge stand mixers making hundreds of pounds of dough at once. They also have the experience of seeing the bread machines in the appliance isle of their local big-box outlet (Target, etc...)

99% of everyone out there has NO IDEA that bread baking can be so simple. To them bread is something they think very little about and the barriers to entry appear to be too high.

My tools:
* Large bowl
* Large Spoon to mix
* Measuring Cups (dry & wet)
* Ingredients (Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt)
* Saran-Wrap (or equivalent)
* Parchment Paper & Rice Flour [Optional]
* Non-terrycloth Towel
* Dutch Oven (cast-iron pot with a lid) [Optional]
* Oven capable of 450 degree heat for 2+ hours

The irony is that 90% of most homes have everything on this list already in their house. The only exception is usually yeast, which is an increasingly rare item for people to have.

Walking into a friend's home and baking bread with items they had on-hand is a great magic trick (if you aren't staying overnight I recommend my Focaccia Bread Recipe.

The whole point of this entire post is that baking bread kept humanity alive for thousands of years and is easier than you think it is.

-Matt the Weekend Baker

Never too busy to Bake bread...

Things have been crazy busy at work recently. A good friend of mine (who is also a baker) commented that he hoped I would have time to bake bread this weekend (the last two weekends I've had to work).

My response was simple - I'm NEVER too busy to bake bread, but sometimes I just don't find time to post to my blog.

We talked for a bit about baguettes and the time & temperature techniques for them. I've been so enthralled with the dutch oven concept that I had almost forgotten all the tricks I learned for baguettes.

Basically the same recipie for sourdough (or regular dough) works. When you are shaping the loaf be sure to cut it in half and roll it into a baguette form, pressing a seam down the middle with your thumbs and then folding it over so the seam side is down. They bake at 450 for about 35 minutes, but in the first three minutes you must spray water into the oven every three minutes. This is where having a large hot iron pot in the oven is helpful because it instantly turns the water into steam. This helps develop the crust for the baguettes.

Give it a try yourself!
-Matt the weekend baker