All About Bread

I’m a bit of a nerd about breads. I don’t have time to make them as much as I’d like (nor the energy, being pregnant), but I love pulling out my bread book and looking through the pages, deciding on one to try next.

This started when I married. Benny loves his bread. Let me rephrase. Benny loves his good bread. If you care about it at all, you know good bread isn’t very cheap. A half decent loaf is going to be around $3-5, and as much bread as we eat, I was quickly frustrated with how much it cost us. This isn’t even going into the realms of Italian loaves, rolls, biscuits… so I decided I would try making bread myself.

I pulled out my handy dandy kitchen aid mixer, attached the dough hook, and got out my Betty Crocker recipes. By the end of four hours, I had two, beautiful loaves cooling on the counter – and Benny was ecstatic. I could have used a bread machine, but feeling the dough forming and smelling it ferment was too wonderful to pass up. Ever since then, we’ve only bought bread when I am unable to make it myself (which is basically never). I don’t see the point of buying it when I can make it so much cheaper – and with ingredients we prefer (half wheat is the standard, though it changes once in awhile).

People are intimidated by the thought of making breads, for some reason. Maybe it’s just a general apprehension of cooking, I don’t know. I’ve thought about inviting people over and showing them how easy it is. It’s not like one grain too much of sugar will kill those lovely loaves. If you’re interested in trying out some things, here are some tips and thoughts:

1.      Buy this book: Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Not only is this book full of amazing recipes, there are tips for different things that can go wrong and ways to make up for the fact that you don’t have a steam oven or baking stone (which I will have, one day, when I’m wealthy). It talks about equipment needed and provides tips for three different kinds of preparation: by hand, with a mixer, and with a food processor. Seriously. Buy this book.

2.      Experiment with types of bread. Try making pitas – they are almost incomprehensibly easy. Cuban loaves are also fun (those round ones with the big X), and you can steam them in your oven to give them an amazing crust. Try different kinds of biscuit until you find one you prefer. I tried several recipes before I settled on one that used olive oil instead of butter or shortening.

3.      Collect roll recipes. There are many out there for a reason. A good butter roll is great, but so is one which is mashed-potato based. And they are good with different kinds of meals.

4.      Get tools used specifically for bread. Like a dough scraper – one that is stiff and doesn’t bend, preferably, with measurements written on it for quick cutting. Special bread pans for baguettes are nice, as well. The book I recommended has a more complete list.

5.      Buy bread loaf pans that you will only use for breads – and don’t wash them unless you’re making a sweet bread. Yup. Just like that cast iron skillet.

6.      Turn on the oven an hour before you’ll use it. Trust me. It will regulate the temperature better. (Bonus benefit: when it's cooler, you can put your rising loaves on the stovetop so they rise at a similar rate to when it's warmer.)

7.      Don’t ever trust the times given for cooking. Keep an eye on your bread. Watch for the browning and tap your loaves as you bake until you find out the times that work best for your oven.

Okay, I’ve shared enough to get you started. Go forth and ferment.