I recently picked up a copy of Reinhart's the bread bakers apprentice (BBA). A wonderful read which I hope will improve my baking substantially. I have decided to attempt to bake every type of bread in the book. In the spirit of Julie Powell, I give myself a year to do it (a little under 1 bread a week). I'm not trying to be a mimic, I just really want to make good bread and am too busy to take a course. I discovered that if I give myself a deadline then I will actually do something towards it.
This is the first batch. Its
Anadama, the first recipe in the book. The above is a soak of cornmeal I set up the night prior. It looked great, smelled like cornmeal. I then mixed it up with the molasses, yeast, butter, salt, and some flour. This is where I went wrong. I left it for 60min, but I should have waited until it was bubbly. I also used whole white flour (my typical choice) but I think the extra protein really needed some extra fermentation time. When I added the remainder of the flour, I had a terrible time trying to get the gluten to form.
It looks yummy, but it wouldn't even come close to the window pane test. I could barely get it to stretch. I kneaded it for about 15min when I finally decided to toss it in the kitchen aid and use my dough hook. Even after 10 more minutes of power kneading the gluten sucked.
It did rise nicely, but I should have shaped it first. When I punched it down it never really recovered. Probably because all the gluten had been broken and it couldn't hold onto its CO2.
It ended up looking nice, but it was dense. The smell of my apartment was worth it though. The roasted grain and caramelized crust with the molasses and cornmeal just perked the whole place up. Emma and I were cuddled on the couch watching a movie when I went to check on it and was hit by a wall of euphoric smells. It's such a shame so many people rely on store bought loaves. The smell of baking alone is enough to sustain the soul for a couple days.
In this fist step I have learned much. I discovered that I should invest in some unbleached bread flour (I just wish I could get it nearby and organic). I also realized the bread needs its own attention. What it is telling me, more then following generic instructions, will allow me to better hone my craft. I am hoping at the end of this experiment I will have enough experience to know how long I need to achieve the various steps, given my climate, my apartment and my ingredients. Times on recipes are not my friend. I need to embrace, like I do in brewing, that patience and love of process, not final product, will yield me the greatest rewards.
