The proof in is in the proofing

Most people are intimidated by baking for two reasons:

1) Kneading

2) Proofing

That’s part of the reason that the no-kneed bread techniques (which I’ve used extensively) have been so popular – they remove these two elements from the act of bread baking.

As you develop your own sense of baking you realize you must go back to these proven techniques to really develop great bread.

Today I’ll talk a bit about proofing. Wikipedia reliably defines proofing as:

Proofing (also called proving) is a step in creating yeast breads and baked goods where the yeast is allowed to leaven the dough. This step is not often explicitly named, and normally shows up in recipes as "Allow dough to rise".

To successfully proof bread you need to have a combination of these three elements:

1) Warm temperatures

2) Controlled humidity

3) Lack of air flow

This normally means bakers are instructed to clover their dough with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for a while. The humidly is usually naturally provided by the kitchen environment and the evaporation of the water from within the dough. The warm temperatures are usually provided by the location of where it’s stored.

Bill is a good friend of mine and he swears by proofing his loaves in an empty (but just run) dishwasher, which provides excellent warm temperatures and humidity and a nice enclosed space (for lack of airflow). A recent Cooks Illustrated tip talked about boiling 1/2 of a cup of water in a microwave oven, then popping the dough in to proof, allowing for all three necessary elements.

Recently I’ve been using a modified technique. I place my baguette pans on the top of my pre-heating oven and then cover them with a tent of plastic wrap. The warming oven and the humidity of the kitchen seem to do the trick.

Either way, proofing is an important step. Give it a try for yourself and bake some bread today!

-Matt the weekend baker

New Post

My weekend baking continues and I have a few notes to share:

* Experiment with adding a bit more flour to the sourdough starter when feeding. This adjusts the water/flour ratio to allow it to develop and hold the gluten structure better. In my experience it allows the sourdough culture to hold a better flavor.

* With the seemingly more flavorful (sour) sourdough starter, experiment with adding less starter to the dough when mixing. I've been adding between 50-80g instead of the normal 100g to my normal batch.

* Chicago Metallic Professional Nonstick Perforated Baguette Pan's are my new favorite way to bake. These things are amazing and produce GREAT mini baguettes.

* With smaller loaves the bake times are shortened, I normally bake for 14 minutes @ 450 degrees, rotate and then bake for another 14 minutes. This allows for an amazing golden crust that can't be beat.

* Always use sharp razors to slash the dough. It has been a continual surprise to me how quickly dough can dull a razor blade.

* Usually when baking without a dutch oven you should steam every minute for the first three minutes. This can be a bit annoying. I've found that cutting up week-old bread and making croutons during the first 10 minutes of baking actually allows quite a bit of steam to be slowly released from the stale bread and help 'set' the crust of the fresh bread. It's just like recycling!

* When in doubt, bake blueberry muffins. I'll post a recipe later.

-Matt the weekend baker

Four Basic Ingredients

At a dinner the other night a friend of mine lamented that I was stuck on baking. It does seem strange that a recipe with just FOUR basic ingredients could be so interesting and so challenging.

* Flour
* Water
* Yeast
* Salt

That's really all there is to it. Bread is about as simple as you can get, yet it's permutations are almost endless. Thinking it's simple is like comparing wine to grape juice.

Bread to me has a fascinating history (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread) and has been baked by bakers for thousands of years. One of my favorite semi-historical reference is from the HBO mini-series "Rome" when one of the main characters (Titus) says "good bread this". I laughed at that moment because the bread the character was eating was essentially the same bread I was eating.

Four simple ingredients, two of which can be improvised (salt & yeast). Ten Billion combinations (ok a bit of a hyperbole there) and only a few hundred (or a few thousand) chances to try to get it right. Sounds fun to me!


-Matt the Weekend Baker



Side Note:
As proof that I am not stuck on bread, my culinary skills include (but are not limited to):
* Baked Eggs
* Omelets
* Crepes
* Eggs Benedict
* Sweet Rolls
* Dutch Babies (German Pancakes)
* Grilled Steaks
* Grilled Vegetables
* Grilled Salmon
* Cookies
* Gary's Salsa

Weekly Sourdough Starter Schedule

Timing is EVERYTHING with sourdough starters & bread. Here's my weekly schedule to produce some great loaves each weekend:

Wed 2100 - Take sourdough out of the refrigerator

Thur 0500 - Feed Sourdough (stir, save 1/4 cup, add 1 cup water, 1 cup AP flour, stir)
Thur 1900 - Feed Sourdough (13h) (save 1/4 cup, add 1 cup water, 1 cup AP)

Fri 0800 - Feed Sourdough (13h) (save 1/4 cup, add 1 cup water, 1 cup AP)
Fri 2100 - Mix dough & Feed Sourdough (13h) - 100g used per loaf

Sat 0940 - Turn on oven to 450 with Dutch-Oven
Sat 1000 - Flour & kneed dough and let rest, Store Sourdough in the refrigerator
Sat 1030 - Transfer dough to Dutch-Oven and score
Sat 1100 - Remove lid from Dutch-Oven
Sat 1115 - Remove loaf from Dutch-Oven and rest on a wire rack
(Let cool completely)
Sat 1400 - Eat! (save any left-overs in a ziplock freezer bag, should be good for 5 days).

Enjoy!
-Matt the Weekend Baker