I only share stories about bread on a knead to know basis...
After a semi successful but very satisfying cake baking experience, I knew the next step for me was baking bread. I was really fascinated by bread; the variety of shapes, flavors, colors and textures you can get from water, flour, salt and yeast was amazing. It was kind of like how all breeds of dog, from Chihuahua to Poodle to Great Dane, are all descended from domesticated wolves. Bread really appealed to the scientist in me. Plus, I really like to eat bread.
Having watched hour upon hour of The Great British Bake Off, and after reading several newly purchased cook books, I decided to start with the very basic White Tin Loaf recipe from Paul Hollywood's book aptly titled "Bread". It seemed simple enough, but required most of the basic steps of bread baking. Mixing, kneading, proofing, knocking back, shaping, 2nd rise, and baking. A veritable one recipe crash course in bread baking. I was really feeling the urge to get serious about baking. I decided to start getting my kitchen ready for intense baking.
I always loved the part of an action movie where the hero, readying himself for a mission or adventure, geared up for the job. James Bond, Agent 007, would always stop by and see Q to get his poison dart pen, or laser watch, or (deep sigh) his Aston Martin with machine guns and ejector seat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator, lacking the support system (not to mention the style) of 007, would usually break into a sporting goods store or army surplus store to steal 9 or 10 giant machine guns for use on his quest to eliminate Sarah Conner. Score one for Bond and the human race; he took on SPECTRE and the Soviet Union armed with a poison pen, a tiny little gun, a dinner jacket and a watered down martini. The robot killer from the future had a platoon's worth of firepower and couldn't even win a battle with a California waitress. Way to go, humanity!
So it was time for Dad, Dough Dad, to gird himself for battle. First, I commandeered about a quarter of our kitchen counter and cabinet space. By commandeer, I mean I politely asked my wife if it was okay with her if I moved some shit around to make room for a bunch of new pans and flour bins and what not. She, ever supportive, encouraged me to do what I needed to do. She would come to regret that in the very near future. I ventured out in search of new baking gear.
I bought 2 good quality bread tins, a great set of stainless steel mixing bowls, some measuring cups, a bench knife, some good mixing spoons, and some large plastic bags for proofing. Add to this a few other small utensils and some parchment paper and cling film. I also bought some well made containers for flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Excited with all my new stuff, I rushed home to start baking my bread. I was busy washing my pans and equipment, and getting the counter set up for making bread, when one of my teenage sons came in to check out my new hardware. He said "cool stuff, Dad. What kind of flour are you using?".
Shit. Flour.
I got in the car and went back out to get flour, sea salt and yeast. I was confident I had sufficient water to bake, even here in the desert. Once I had purchased an assortment of flour (strong, plain, self raising) some sea salt, some good dry active yeast, and some caster sugar, I returned home to bake.
And bake I did. 500 grams strong flour, 10 grams yeast, 10 grams salt. Add salt to one side and yeast to the other, so the salt does not kill the yeast. Add two thirds of the water and mix with your hands, picking up and incorporating the dry ingredients as you go. Add more water as needed until the dough has formed a rough ball and the sides of the bowl are clean. Then, on a surface lightly oiled with olive oil, start kneading the dough. After 5 to 10 minutes you should have a smooth shiny dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and place the bowl in a plastic bag for proofing. Once the dough has doubled in size, usually 1 to 2 hours, remove dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Knock back the dough by lightly pressing down to remove any air bubbles. Start shaping the dough in loaf form by rolling it into a short cylinder shape, using your hands on either side to pull down and stretch the dough. Once the dough is loaf shaped and has a taut surface, place the loaf in the greased loaf tin and return to the plastic bag for the 2nd rise. After about an hour or so, the loaf should have doubled in size once again, and the surface of the loaf should spring back when pushed. Dust the top with flour, make a long deep slash along the top of the loaf, and place in the oven. Bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when thumped. Remove from tin and place on a cooling rack.
Wow. What a blast. The house smelled great as it was baking, and it looked pretty good. Good rise, nice crust on top. Not quite the overall color I desired, but I would work on that. After it cooled, I sliced my home made bread. Good crumb structure and it smelled great. My family showed up to try it and I got good reviews. It was surprisingly good, and I was really pleased. My first loaf was a success, and I was chomping at the bit to bake something else. It was a good day.
Next time: Scones, pies and some expensive cooking gear.
Having watched hour upon hour of The Great British Bake Off, and after reading several newly purchased cook books, I decided to start with the very basic White Tin Loaf recipe from Paul Hollywood's book aptly titled "Bread". It seemed simple enough, but required most of the basic steps of bread baking. Mixing, kneading, proofing, knocking back, shaping, 2nd rise, and baking. A veritable one recipe crash course in bread baking. I was really feeling the urge to get serious about baking. I decided to start getting my kitchen ready for intense baking.
I always loved the part of an action movie where the hero, readying himself for a mission or adventure, geared up for the job. James Bond, Agent 007, would always stop by and see Q to get his poison dart pen, or laser watch, or (deep sigh) his Aston Martin with machine guns and ejector seat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator, lacking the support system (not to mention the style) of 007, would usually break into a sporting goods store or army surplus store to steal 9 or 10 giant machine guns for use on his quest to eliminate Sarah Conner. Score one for Bond and the human race; he took on SPECTRE and the Soviet Union armed with a poison pen, a tiny little gun, a dinner jacket and a watered down martini. The robot killer from the future had a platoon's worth of firepower and couldn't even win a battle with a California waitress. Way to go, humanity!
So it was time for Dad, Dough Dad, to gird himself for battle. First, I commandeered about a quarter of our kitchen counter and cabinet space. By commandeer, I mean I politely asked my wife if it was okay with her if I moved some shit around to make room for a bunch of new pans and flour bins and what not. She, ever supportive, encouraged me to do what I needed to do. She would come to regret that in the very near future. I ventured out in search of new baking gear.
I bought 2 good quality bread tins, a great set of stainless steel mixing bowls, some measuring cups, a bench knife, some good mixing spoons, and some large plastic bags for proofing. Add to this a few other small utensils and some parchment paper and cling film. I also bought some well made containers for flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Excited with all my new stuff, I rushed home to start baking my bread. I was busy washing my pans and equipment, and getting the counter set up for making bread, when one of my teenage sons came in to check out my new hardware. He said "cool stuff, Dad. What kind of flour are you using?".
Shit. Flour.
I got in the car and went back out to get flour, sea salt and yeast. I was confident I had sufficient water to bake, even here in the desert. Once I had purchased an assortment of flour (strong, plain, self raising) some sea salt, some good dry active yeast, and some caster sugar, I returned home to bake.
And bake I did. 500 grams strong flour, 10 grams yeast, 10 grams salt. Add salt to one side and yeast to the other, so the salt does not kill the yeast. Add two thirds of the water and mix with your hands, picking up and incorporating the dry ingredients as you go. Add more water as needed until the dough has formed a rough ball and the sides of the bowl are clean. Then, on a surface lightly oiled with olive oil, start kneading the dough. After 5 to 10 minutes you should have a smooth shiny dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and place the bowl in a plastic bag for proofing. Once the dough has doubled in size, usually 1 to 2 hours, remove dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Knock back the dough by lightly pressing down to remove any air bubbles. Start shaping the dough in loaf form by rolling it into a short cylinder shape, using your hands on either side to pull down and stretch the dough. Once the dough is loaf shaped and has a taut surface, place the loaf in the greased loaf tin and return to the plastic bag for the 2nd rise. After about an hour or so, the loaf should have doubled in size once again, and the surface of the loaf should spring back when pushed. Dust the top with flour, make a long deep slash along the top of the loaf, and place in the oven. Bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when thumped. Remove from tin and place on a cooling rack.
Wow. What a blast. The house smelled great as it was baking, and it looked pretty good. Good rise, nice crust on top. Not quite the overall color I desired, but I would work on that. After it cooled, I sliced my home made bread. Good crumb structure and it smelled great. My family showed up to try it and I got good reviews. It was surprisingly good, and I was really pleased. My first loaf was a success, and I was chomping at the bit to bake something else. It was a good day.
Next time: Scones, pies and some expensive cooking gear.
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