Who Kneads Bread?
I have been aware of the magical quality of fresh baked bread since an early age. My father was given a sourdough starter from a work-friend and spent a few years of my youth baking loaves a few times a week. I have never tried opiates, but the smell and flavor of his warm buttery slice brings them to mind.
I have been baking bread on and off for the past ten years and have not been able to attain a high like consuming my dad’s bread but I feel like I’m getting close. This method is helping me get there.
A lot has happened since I was a chubby ten year old eating my dad’s delicious breads. I have become aware of the common flour additive Bromate, which is illegal in much of the world because it’s a believed carcinogen. I am weary of the bleaching process which is standard practice for US flours. Not only are harsh oxidizing chemicals used, but the flour gets striped of nutrients. And I have become interested in using flour that retains much or all of the whole grain bran and germ. Using flours that address my new found concerns create challenges for the home baker.
I thought that I could make a hearty, crusty loaf at home that would be versatile and address my concerns about flour. After submitting my wife to dozens of “health food”, dry and tasteless loaves that we tried to convince ourselves were tasty, I discovered this method that changed everything. With just flour, salt, yeast, water and TIME, I could make the types of loaves that I was paying top dollar for.
I started with the recipe as written using all purpose flour and instant yeast, but soon I substituted natural yeast and whole grain flours (hand milled even using this thing). This new method is a warp zone for home bakers to get the results that the professionals get. We may not understand exactly why it works, but it does. If you have a Kitchen-Aid and have been making marginal bread, put it away and join the revolution.
Tags: jbyce
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
On another note:
Some of my grandma friends want to grow heirloom tomatoes. Where can we get seeds (not plants)?
November 25th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Dear Bread Guru: During the summer I started making this bread Cook’s Illustrated modification of Bittman’s version with great success. More recently I’ve had great luck with Cook’s pizza crust recipe as well.
However, about three weeks ago, after well over ten successful attempts with each, both recipes have begun producing very wet dough, far too wet to work with. I haven’t changed a single ingredient as far as I know: King Arthur AP for the bread and KA Bread Flour for the pizza. For the bread I measure by weight and for the pizza by volume. What on earth could be causing this failure?
November 26th, 2008 at 3:16 am
gloppy dough?
it sounds like you just need to add more flour. i’m not sure how and where KA source their flour but, i’m guessing that it changes from time to time. they do a good job and i use their flours, but i imagine that depending on the time of year the grain was grown and the percentage of hard to soft berries used, might slightly alter water absorption. the better the flour (not necessarily the level of protein but often the case) the more water the flour will take. if the dough is too shaggy (you want it kind of shaggy for no knead as i’m sure you know) just add a bit more flour. this kind of fine tuning is natural and shouldn’t affect your yeast and salt levels.
happy baking
jb
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:01 pm
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May 20th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
fefect-331…
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