Bread
New Year's Challenge
02/01/12 16:06
I’m considering a Julie and Julia type challenge for myself this year: bake all 55 recipes in Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Bread cookbook by the end of the year. That’s about one recipe per week. Here are the first 29 breads. Am I up for the challenge? Are you?
Comments
Bread blog worth reading
19/11/11 17:10
My friend Frank wrote to me a while ago that he found a blogger who made bread like Frank would like to make. I couldn't agree more. This blogger is Phil from Brisbane, Australia and his devotion to bread is phenomenal. He writes well and provides a nice backstory to each recipe. The photographs are spectacular. His recent olive loaf had my mouth watering at the first photo and the resulting loaf blew me away.
Unfortunately for my pocketbook, Phil has introduced me to the KoMo line of grain mills which might be the most elegant and expensive grain mills Ive ever seen. Quiet strong motors are housed in beechwood cabinetry in a way only German artisans could envision. Oh, Santa? How's your cash flow this year?
Unfortunately for my pocketbook, Phil has introduced me to the KoMo line of grain mills which might be the most elegant and expensive grain mills Ive ever seen. Quiet strong motors are housed in beechwood cabinetry in a way only German artisans could envision. Oh, Santa? How's your cash flow this year?
"Tools are Made..." book by Jim Wills
12/12/10 11:37
Mary G’s Artisan Bread’s master baker Jim Wills offers 2 day workshops to home bakers interested in perfecting their bread and baking skills. For those of us who cannot attend his workshop in Canada, his book “Tools are made born are Hands” is almost like being there with him. In it, he walks us through the two day workshop from morning to night. The experience is like having a master baker standing over your shoulder offering advice, theory and observations on every aspect of baking.
There are plenty of bread books with dozens of recipes on the market, but as most experienced bakers know, bread is more technique and skill than a list of ingredients. Mr. Wills manages to offer up these techniques and skills from basic to advanced without either talking down to the reader or being confusing. Perhaps this ability comes from his background as an English teacher. His writing is clear and interesting while his manner patient yet passionate. He has chosen well only 7 recipes, but the explanation behind the mixing, forming and baking of each one offers a lifetime of wisdom. For example, if a baker can recreate the 'Ciabatta' or the 'Pain al'ancienne' they have mastered the art of wet doughs while the techniques for the 'Massa Sovada" are important for understanding enriched sweeter breads.
Jim is a wood fired baker so much of the baking advice centers on these large ovens that more and more home bakers are using. If you are not among these bakers yet, fear not as he gives detailed instructions on how to replicate the breads in a home oven. There is little to criticize in this book if you know what to expect. The intriguing title “Tools are made born are Hands” offers little in terms of knowing what in contained within. This is not a coffee table book like Reinharts excellent offering, nor a mammoth collection of recipes. Instead, it takes us into the workshop and mind of a master baker who is an excellent teacher of his craft. If you are ready to improve your skills and understanding of the art of bread, then let this teacher be your guide.
There are plenty of bread books with dozens of recipes on the market, but as most experienced bakers know, bread is more technique and skill than a list of ingredients. Mr. Wills manages to offer up these techniques and skills from basic to advanced without either talking down to the reader or being confusing. Perhaps this ability comes from his background as an English teacher. His writing is clear and interesting while his manner patient yet passionate. He has chosen well only 7 recipes, but the explanation behind the mixing, forming and baking of each one offers a lifetime of wisdom. For example, if a baker can recreate the 'Ciabatta' or the 'Pain al'ancienne' they have mastered the art of wet doughs while the techniques for the 'Massa Sovada" are important for understanding enriched sweeter breads.
Jim is a wood fired baker so much of the baking advice centers on these large ovens that more and more home bakers are using. If you are not among these bakers yet, fear not as he gives detailed instructions on how to replicate the breads in a home oven. There is little to criticize in this book if you know what to expect. The intriguing title “Tools are made born are Hands” offers little in terms of knowing what in contained within. This is not a coffee table book like Reinharts excellent offering, nor a mammoth collection of recipes. Instead, it takes us into the workshop and mind of a master baker who is an excellent teacher of his craft. If you are ready to improve your skills and understanding of the art of bread, then let this teacher be your guide.
How to fire a woodfired oven for bread baking
05/12/10 11:53
I just helped my friend Frankie G edit his video “How to fire a woodfired oven for bread baking”. I think the video is pretty informative and well produced.
