I used to think that bread was beyond me. Several years ago, one of you got me "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" for Christmas. Seth and I tried some loaves using commercial yeast, but the results were kinda bland. Not terrible, but not worth making with access to a real bakery. I don't know what changed, maybe brewing beer has made me less intimidated by fermentation, but recently I decided to take a stab at cultivating my own sourdough starter. It was a really good decision.
I have two wildly different books that I've been using for reference. The first is "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" (thanks again to whoever got it for me!!!). It's an extremely technical, detailed book, and has a wealth of information, written by a guy who's won international bread awards. It's also a lot of information for a complete beginner, and I found it kinda intimidating. As a wonderful counterbalance, I borrowed a book called "Wild Fermentation" from a friend, which is written by a couple of young punk kids. Their instructions went something like this: put flour and water in a jar- yeast will come live in it! It really has been about that simple, and as I work with my starter and experiment with my baking techniques I'm able to integrate and understand more and more of the great information in "Apprentice."
Healthy, bubbly starter |
It only took a day before my starter had started to bubble, the sign that yeast are alive and kickin' in your floury soup. I "feed" it about every other day by using half of the starter and replacing it with fresh flour and water. For those of you not super familiar with how bread is made, there are traditionally only a few ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, and sometimes oil. Yeast is everywhere, floating around in the air- you just have to create a friendly environment and they'll come inhabit it. Because the yeast that you can naturally attract from the environment is more varied and complex than those little packets you can buy, the bread you make with this yeast has more complexity too. To make bread all you have to do is mix some starter (yeast) with more flour and water, and a little bit of salt and oil. Let it rise, knock it down, then let it rise again, put it in the oven. Voila!
My first loaf, fresh out of the oven. |
If I hadn't been surprised enough by the ease of getting my own starter going, I found online instructions for a no-knead bread, meaning that with less than 5 minutes of work a day we get fresh baked delicious loaves. As the yeast mixes with the fresh flour, it gets really rowdy bouncing around eating up the fresh sugars in the wheat. This kind of kneads the bread dough while it rises, creating air pockets and a nice crumb, though this type of loaf is still definitely denser than a traditionally kneaded loaf. I bake it in a pre-heated, covered cast iron. The cover traps moisture, making a nice steamy environment, which is essential for a crisp, flaky crust.
Easier than pie! But I am looking forward to making it more complicated for myself, trying different methods and types of breads. My next goal: a really airy, traditional French style (think Parisian Baguette).
Sliced and toasted for breakfast! |