Friday, April 15, 2011

Breadhead

 I was pretty freakin' proud of this little one

Bread.  Just hearing the word makes the aroma of freshly baking bread appear.  It's one of my top 5 favorite smells.  1. Babies, 2. My dad (when he's clean of course), 3. Laundry that my mom did, 4. The Ocean and 5. Freshly baked bread.  I've never met a bread I didn't like.  Ever.  Not pumpernickel, not rye, not Irish soda (though it may be my least favorite - no offense Irish folk, I'm Irish too, my great grandmother bottled Guinness in Dublin for Christ's sake, oops...no offense...Jesus, oh to hell with it all) I will most likely, at one time or another, offend you if you read my blog...so let's move on...and let bygones be bygones.

Back to bread.  My favorite of all breads is a crusty, flaky French bread with a soft, light, airy inside.  With butter holes built right into it.  I've done a lot of research on this bread and I've been discouraged to make it because I always read that I need to have a special type of oven that gets to 700 some degrees.  Or I need to have a certain type of flour imported from an unknown village in France.  Then there's something about sponges, water baths, etc.  It's like sitting in a calculus class and honestly, who would do that if they didn't have to?? That's why I prefer cooking to baking.  Less stress. 

Anyhow...I stumbled across a bread recipe on this blog, which I now LOVE, and I halved the recipe and gave it a go.  I didn't have a pizza stone, but I do have a ceramic unglazed deep dish pizza pan that I assumed would get good and hot, so I used that.  I also don't have a pizza peel, I just picked up my shaped loaf and stuck it in my pan.  And of course, today was the day my instant thermometer died, so I sorta just guessed when the bread was actually done.  Seeeee....baking isn't THAT technical after all.  And I was all worried!!

Regardless...what I came up with was a much lighter in color (I think I used too much flour, my dough was not nearly as goopy as his), ever so slightly undercooked, but DAMN tasty loaf.  In fact, this sucker didn't last more than 5 minutes.  There were four bread vultures in my house at the time.  Each one taking a different approach on how to eat theirs.  One went with the plain old white bread style.  Another simply buttered.  Another went with olive oil, salt and pepper to dip in.  And the fourth went the butter and honey route.  I'll never tell you which one I was.  And my quest to make the perfect loaf is not over.  I will pull a masterpiece out of my oven.  Wait and see...

8 comments:

Dr. Clint J. Springer said...

I too have been fighting with bread for the last few months. I've had some success but mostly failure. So far I seem to be acing my pizza dough, so I'm working on a whole wheat variety with little success. All in all though my bread seems to be lacking! Love the blog!

k said...

Looks just like whole foods french boule, my fave! They have a class where they swear they can teach you to make it in twenty minutes but I do nott live near a city. Will totally have to use your modifications to attempt again. I will eat mine with butter, the real kind.

Jess said...

Thanks Dr. Springer!! I just like calling you Dr. Springer! It's definitely not an easy one to master, that bread. I guess that's why it's so good! Have you tried grilling your pizza?? It's so yummy...much more like brick oven pizza crust!

Jess said...

K - try this site...http://artisanbreadbaking.com/bread I think that's where I'm going to start my bread journey!

Jess said...

Or go here and click on lessons:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pretzels

k said...

Thanks! Will check them out. I am so intimidated by bread since my first attempt was a hundred pounds when done. A lesson is just what I need because bread is indeed one of life's greatest pleasures and worth a second attempt!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you are an expert in this field, great article and keep up the great work, my friend recommended me your blog.

My blog:
regroupement de credit et simulation Rachat de credit immobilier

Jess said...

I wouldn't say expert, but it's something I like to do. Thanks for reading!!

Followers