Our daily Bread:
Its one of the oldest foods in the world. They have found breadmaking equipment in Egyptian excavations and in Great Britain dating back to 400 BC. The Romans used to make bread in their helmets and they have found remains of that at Hadrians wall in Scotland. It is a universal food over most of continental Europe where wheat is grown and it comes in a thousand different textures, colors and shapes.
To compare making bread and being a baker is about the same as adding up a column of figures and being an accountant. It takes years to learn to be a baker and even then it is a process of learning new things all the time. Before I stop the philosophising I would like to take one more example from a country that does not have bread as a historic part of their diet. Sushi chefs in Japan are the people who make one of the staples of the Japanese diet – Sushi or rice with various sorts of fish, mostly raw, served in a way to please the senses as is most Japanese food. It takes five years training to be a Sushi chef.
So, we can take it that making bread involves a few problems that are not too obvious, given you are working with just three basic ingredients: flour, yeast and water, and, the oven to cook it in. What could go wrong?
The answer is of course, everything. Too much or too little can result in radically different results. The amount of time yeasting can vary a lot depending on the desired bread type, the amount of yeast, flour or water used; the time in the oven, the humidity or not in there and so on. In other words you have a couple of thousand years of experience making this particular food that may not need to be understood, but you can take a few short cuts on the way to making a nice loaf of bread.
Quick way to success:
Buy a breadmaking machine. They may all be made in Japan but they work well and, if you follow the instructions, you will have fresh bread every day for a fraction of the price you have to pay in the shops. And, of course without all the little extras they add to keep the bread fresh. In fact you will probably for the first time experience green mold on your homemade bread precisely because it is not adulterated with all sorts of chemicals designed to extend its shelf life. Real bread goes moldy.
Be prepared for failure. You will, in the beginning produce a number of loaves of bread that have the consistency of bricks. That's ok, just throw them away and start again. You will succeed. Once you have the hang of it you can start branching out to making your own loaves in the oven and just use the machine to make the dough. I don't know why but it is much more satisfying and you can make a wider variety of breads.
Once you feel fairly confident on what is going on or just for the hell of it, here is a recipe that should give you delicious and genuine French baguettes. It takes two days but the results are just perfect.
One more point. Baking is a journey. Always be prepared to experiment with the ingredients and cooking to find new ways of making bread.
Preparation:
You will need a bread machine that has a setting to make dough. Otherwise you will just have to mix in by hand starting in a bowl and then on a clean countertop.
You will need Flour, Yeast and Water. Use Bread Flour, sometimes called Hard flour. don't use General purpose flour or anything with additives such as bicarbonate or bleach.
Make the dough:
Pour 3 cups of iced water into the breadmaker.
Add six cups of flour.
Make a depression in the top of the flour and add one tablespoon yeast.
Set the breadmaker to the Dough setting. If it has a setting for 1.5 hours or longer choose that one. When the dough is ready in the machine it will have a sticky consistency. Wipe the inside of a large bowl with olive oil and tip the dough into the bowl. Cover with food grade plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 2 hours. The yeast will start to bubble. Move to fridge and leave there at least overnight and preferably 24 hours.
Baking the bread:
This is the important part. You will need a spray bottle filled with water.
Take the bowl of dough out of the fridge. Dust your countertop with a generous layer of flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured top. Cut the dough into four pieces using a very sharp knife dipped in water so it does not stick to the dough.
Take a piece of the dough and stretch and roll it into the shape of a baguette – about 18 inches long and 2 inches thick. Place on a baking tray. Repeat until you have four baguettes.
Place the tray to one side under a cloth so the dough can rise.
In your oven place a roasting tray on the bottom rung and fill almost to the top with water. Heat the oven to 500 F. When the temperature is reached place the bread in the oven in the middle section. Close the door.
After 8 minutes open the door KEEPING YOUR HEAD WELL OUT OF THE WAY OF THE TOP OF THE OVEN – IT IS VERY VERY HOT. Spray water two or three times on the walls of the oven. After 12 minutes spray again.
Reduce the heat to 450 and watch the bread turn crusty brown. This can take a further 10-15 minutes. When it has a thick golden crust, open the oven and remove the tray. Use oven gloves and put the tray on a heatproof surface. Take a spatula and slide under the bread to loosen from the tray. Place on a wire mesh to cool. Resist the temptation to eat straight out of the oven. There is still moisture in the loaf that needs to evaporate.
That´s it...you should have a perfect crusty French bread to enjoy.
Its one of the oldest foods in the world. They have found breadmaking equipment in Egyptian excavations and in Great Britain dating back to 400 BC. The Romans used to make bread in their helmets and they have found remains of that at Hadrians wall in Scotland. It is a universal food over most of continental Europe where wheat is grown and it comes in a thousand different textures, colors and shapes.
To compare making bread and being a baker is about the same as adding up a column of figures and being an accountant. It takes years to learn to be a baker and even then it is a process of learning new things all the time. Before I stop the philosophising I would like to take one more example from a country that does not have bread as a historic part of their diet. Sushi chefs in Japan are the people who make one of the staples of the Japanese diet – Sushi or rice with various sorts of fish, mostly raw, served in a way to please the senses as is most Japanese food. It takes five years training to be a Sushi chef.
So, we can take it that making bread involves a few problems that are not too obvious, given you are working with just three basic ingredients: flour, yeast and water, and, the oven to cook it in. What could go wrong?
The answer is of course, everything. Too much or too little can result in radically different results. The amount of time yeasting can vary a lot depending on the desired bread type, the amount of yeast, flour or water used; the time in the oven, the humidity or not in there and so on. In other words you have a couple of thousand years of experience making this particular food that may not need to be understood, but you can take a few short cuts on the way to making a nice loaf of bread.
Quick way to success:
Buy a breadmaking machine. They may all be made in Japan but they work well and, if you follow the instructions, you will have fresh bread every day for a fraction of the price you have to pay in the shops. And, of course without all the little extras they add to keep the bread fresh. In fact you will probably for the first time experience green mold on your homemade bread precisely because it is not adulterated with all sorts of chemicals designed to extend its shelf life. Real bread goes moldy.
Be prepared for failure. You will, in the beginning produce a number of loaves of bread that have the consistency of bricks. That's ok, just throw them away and start again. You will succeed. Once you have the hang of it you can start branching out to making your own loaves in the oven and just use the machine to make the dough. I don't know why but it is much more satisfying and you can make a wider variety of breads.
Once you feel fairly confident on what is going on or just for the hell of it, here is a recipe that should give you delicious and genuine French baguettes. It takes two days but the results are just perfect.
One more point. Baking is a journey. Always be prepared to experiment with the ingredients and cooking to find new ways of making bread.
Preparation:
You will need a bread machine that has a setting to make dough. Otherwise you will just have to mix in by hand starting in a bowl and then on a clean countertop.
You will need Flour, Yeast and Water. Use Bread Flour, sometimes called Hard flour. don't use General purpose flour or anything with additives such as bicarbonate or bleach.
Make the dough:
Pour 3 cups of iced water into the breadmaker.
Add six cups of flour.
Make a depression in the top of the flour and add one tablespoon yeast.
Set the breadmaker to the Dough setting. If it has a setting for 1.5 hours or longer choose that one. When the dough is ready in the machine it will have a sticky consistency. Wipe the inside of a large bowl with olive oil and tip the dough into the bowl. Cover with food grade plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 2 hours. The yeast will start to bubble. Move to fridge and leave there at least overnight and preferably 24 hours.
Baking the bread:
This is the important part. You will need a spray bottle filled with water.
Take the bowl of dough out of the fridge. Dust your countertop with a generous layer of flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured top. Cut the dough into four pieces using a very sharp knife dipped in water so it does not stick to the dough.
Take a piece of the dough and stretch and roll it into the shape of a baguette – about 18 inches long and 2 inches thick. Place on a baking tray. Repeat until you have four baguettes.
Place the tray to one side under a cloth so the dough can rise.
In your oven place a roasting tray on the bottom rung and fill almost to the top with water. Heat the oven to 500 F. When the temperature is reached place the bread in the oven in the middle section. Close the door.
After 8 minutes open the door KEEPING YOUR HEAD WELL OUT OF THE WAY OF THE TOP OF THE OVEN – IT IS VERY VERY HOT. Spray water two or three times on the walls of the oven. After 12 minutes spray again.
Reduce the heat to 450 and watch the bread turn crusty brown. This can take a further 10-15 minutes. When it has a thick golden crust, open the oven and remove the tray. Use oven gloves and put the tray on a heatproof surface. Take a spatula and slide under the bread to loosen from the tray. Place on a wire mesh to cool. Resist the temptation to eat straight out of the oven. There is still moisture in the loaf that needs to evaporate.
That´s it...you should have a perfect crusty French bread to enjoy.
