so, i would really like to learn to make better bread. we currently have a cool rise "sourdough" culture from gem cultures, which is interesting because it works like a sourdough but actually doesn't have a sour flavor. this is good for me, because i don't like sour bread much. the recipe suggests minimal kneading and little time overall, and we've been making white or whole wheat versions several times per week since we got it. it is easy, tasty, and sliceable, but it's very dense. i want to learn to make bread with a lighter texture, and also a much bigger variety of styles.i finally broke down and got the book of the moment, and i'm excited about trying a lot of these types of bread-- if possible, though, i would like to convert the recipes from dry yeast to sourdough starter. i might also try some other more traditional styles of bread involving more kneading.
todays attempt was a normal white sourdough loaf, except that i had the mixer knead it for about twenty minutes. then i used some tricks from my new book, cranking up the oven to 450 and putting a pan of water in with the bread. the crust did get nice and crunchy and the texture was very smooth, but it was still really dense. i wonder if i need more yeast, more sugar, more or less rising time or a different flour to water ratio? i certainly need to remember to slit the top, because this loaf ended up with an enormous air bubble in the top (see hole in the picture).
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI really want to try the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes book and look forward to hearing more about your experience with it.
I have had very good results by following Peter Reinhart's methods. See his new book, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads - his formula produces a very nicely textured whole wheat loaf. He covers both sourdough and regular yeast approaches. There are also a lot of other good recipes in the book - including a faboulous cracker with lots of ground seeds in it. His older books have good white bread recipes. He's gotten increasingly sensitive to vegan issues, and provides vegan subs for almost all the recipes in the new book. He has a blog too - it will come right up if you search by his name.
John
thanks, i'll have to look that stuff up. so far i like artisan bread, but oddly it contains only one 100% whole grain recipe(compared to many mostly white flour recipes) which i thought was a little odd considering that it advertises hearty breads. oh well, it seems to do what it does well.
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