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From the Publisher
Preface
My very first real chef job in the early 1990s was in a charming little restaurant located in an old farmhouse on a rural highway in Ontario, Canada. I was the “morning and lunch chef,” and my job included baking all the bread, rolls, and desserts for service. This meant arriving at 4 a.m. five days a week and working solo until the rest of the staff meandered in at 9:30 a.m. I required all that extra time because I kneaded all the dough by hand—and that takes a long time. So, I gathered my ingredients, put a suitably rocking ’80s song on the boom box, and got to work. I can tell you that kneading bread dough is hard work—and excellent therapy if your life isn’t going well. You push and pummel, using every muscle in your shoulders, arms, forearms, and fingers to get the perfect texture. When you stretch it between your fingers, it is translucent. This is called the windowpane test, although at the time I didn’t know it had a name.
Bread Demystified
Let’s consider the term “artisan bread.” There is no real definition or regulation in a culinary sense of what “artisan” means, just a vague idea of what people think it should mean. For some, the term signifies strict ingredients and procedures. Serious artisan bread bakers might use only four ingredients—flour, water, salt, and yeast and not ordinary yeast or flour, only wild yeast (page 27) and hand-milled flours. Then, the bread is baked in a handmade oven or specialty oven of some sort to mimic ancient techniques. The commitment to this version of “artisan” is commendable and the bread produced is unique, but for most home bakers, this process is not feasible.
All About Bread
When you pick up a loaf of store-bought bread in its paper or plastic packaging, you might not realize the process that goes into its creation. Bread requires planning, time, and patience as well as chemical and biological reactions to produce a lovely tempting loaf. Every step has a purpose and skipping any one can mean disappointment in the end. Understanding the breadmaking process will give you an appreciation for the effort required to produce perfect loaves consistently. Some of these steps will occur in the bread machine, but many happen after removing the dough from the buckets.
Traditional Loaves
For the sake of comprehensive information, the process described here will be for creating bread from start to finish in the machine, even though for the purposes of this book, most recipes use only the dough program. Generally, a bread machine does similar tasks to what a person making bread would do— without all the mixing, kneading, and mess. The only thought that has to go into a loaf of bread made entirely in the machine is the amount and order of ingredients. Follow the recipes carefully, or the manufacturer’s recommended order of ingredients, for best results. For example, don’t mix yeast with salt in the liquid ingredients, or your results will not be as intended (or expected!).
Classic Crusty Loaves
Do not let the length of this recipe scare you; the results are worth it. Baking perfect baguettes is a culinary triumph that seasoned chefs work to achieve. The trick to creating the signature baguette shape is in the folding, pressing the dough hard to seal it together and creating the overlapping dough that opens up when baked. If the dough shrinks too much when you are rolling it into cylinders, let it rest for a few minutes to let the gluten relax and try again.
Sourdough Breads
I did not attempt to make bagels until I had about five years as a professional chef under my belt, and I regret waiting that long. For some reason, this bread intimidated me with its forming, rising, boiling, topping, and baking. Little did I know how simple the process really is once you know how to do it. Take the time to read the steps before starting (you should do this with any recipe) so you understand the timing and techniques. Soon, you will have trays of bagels rising all over your kitchen, and you will never buy a bagel again.
Sweet Breads
Brioche is a charming tender-crumbed bread whose name sounds like something enjoyed on a warm spring day sitting on a French patio sipping le chocolat chaud or rich coffee. Brioche is an enriched bread, packed with butter and eggs, so it has a lovely golden hue and spectacular slightly sweet taste. If you do not have time, you can make this bread entirely in the bread machine, omit the egg wash ingredients and set the machine to Basic and Light crust.
Flatbreads, Rolls, and Bagels
Don’t confuse these crisp breadsticks with the awful packaged dryas-dust ones that sometimes show up in restaurants. Grissini is more like the crisp edges of a perfectly baked pizza without the toppings. Serve them alongside a tasty dip or on an antipasto platter to impress guests and family. You can sprinkle them with dried herbs or Parmesan cheese instead of sesame seeds for a different flavor.
Seed, Nut, and Fruit Breads
Barmbrack comes from the Irish bairín breac: Bairín means a loaf and breac means speckled (here, raisins), so, a speckled loaf. This is one of my favorite breads. The scent of the rising dough is enough to draw others into the kitchen for a peek! When testing bread recipes, I often make the bread; test the texture, color, and taste; then discard the loaf because no one needs twenty deliciously warm loaves of bread in the house. But, this bread was consumed down to the last crumb by my teenage boys and husband—and one of them doesn’t even like raisin bread.
Herb Breads, Cheese Breads, and Other Flavored Breads
There is some truly spectacular bread in this book for your baking adventures, but this unassuming loaf is one of my absolute favorites. As a chef, I have an obsession with herbs—both their culinary and medicinal applications. So, a sweet, buttery, tender loaf of bread brimming with the taste and scent of herbs is perfection. I like using thyme, basil, and tarragon.
Publisher : Harvard Common Press (November 3, 2020)
Language : English
Paperback : 208 pages
ISBN-10 : 1592339921
ISBN-13 : 978-1592339921
Item Weight : 1.61 pounds
Dimensions : 8.05 x 0.65 x 9.9 inches
