How to make better bread?
So yesterday, I made my first loaf of bread ("Hi, I'm Fuu and I use my oven for storage, not for baking" ) from scratch.
I used a very basic recipe for white bread from A Year in Bread.
The loaf was visually stunning, rather picturesque in its loafy shape and color. The insides were nice and soft and a little bit chewy.
Only I think its really rather bland. It doesn't taste like much of anything, not salty, not sweet, not wheaty. The crumb is a bit gummy (you wouldn't know until you started chewing a bite of a slice) and the crust could stand to be crisper.
Any of you more experienced bakers know how to improve a baking novice's blase loaf?
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15 Comments:
A very simple solution to your problem, let your next dough do an overnight rest in your refridgerator. Next day, when you decide to bake your bread, take it out of the chill and let it come to room temp. and then procede as instructed in your recipe. The long overnight ferment, give the yeast more time to breakdown the starch molecules in the flour and produce sugar and alcohol by-products which add flavor to you loaf.
dmcavanagh at 11:42PM on 03/06/09
As far as the texture goes, it sounds like it could have been baked longer. I believe that will help crisp the crust and make the interior more firm.
Nicholas H at 12:09AM on 03/07/09
I'm a total novice baker, but did spend a day at a Slow Food event with some very accomplished bakers ... dmcavanagh above I think has it right, the fermentation is the key to flavor ... using a preferment is a common method of accomplishing this without risking the whole loaf - the idea being that the pre-ferment can be a little less precise than fermenting the dough alone (i.e. over/under-fermenting is less disastrous, more margin for error) ... here's a relevant link http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/word-of-mouth/word-of-mouth-preferment-050669
kindageeky at 2:08AM on 03/07/09
Gummy means you overkneaded it. You need time to learn by sight and feel when the dough is done. So here is your homework:
New bakers need to try the no knead loaf
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
very flavorful and easy peasy.
and get the Bread Baker's apprentice by by Peter Reinhart
http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bakers-Apprentice-Mastering-Extraordinary/dp/1580082688
The two of these things will be a nice base for you to learn.
When you are feeling more adept try The Bread Bible from Rose Levy Beranbaum
http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0393057941/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_1
JerzeeTomato at 8:28AM on 03/07/09
A great web site for bread bakers is "breadtopia.com", they do a complete video on the no knead method that Jersey mentioned, also do a sourdough version and the "beer bread" version.
dmcavanagh at 10:14AM on 03/07/09
Something i always do is to put a roasting pan on the bottom rack(bread in middle) and as I put the bread in I will throw in a handful of ice cubes in the pan. This makes a steam that perks up the dough and makes a good crust - if nothing it looks cool.
BiereBeer at 6:55PM on 03/07/09
@BiereBeer- Peter Reinhart in his book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice", cautions against using ice cubes, because it robs the oven of to much heat to convert them to steam. Instead, he preheats a large baking pan in the oven, and adds hot water to it when he puts his loaf into the oven. Be carefull not to get a steam burn, and also make sure you don't splash water onto your ovens glass window, it could shatter. Spraying water on the side walls of the oven with a mister bottle also will help create steam.
dmcavanagh at 7:31PM on 03/07/09
Luckily for me I cook my bread in a cast iron wood stove, so i think the temperature will be pretty constant, and there is no glass.
BiereBeer at 7:41PM on 03/07/09
@BiereBeer- do you ever do pizza in that bad boy, I'm jealous. If so, how are the results.
dmcavanagh at 7:55PM on 03/07/09
@dmcavanagh -Pizza every thursday, can only do in the winter though, it gets so hot in the kitchen that we will open the windows to cool down in February. Need to rotate it once halfway through - total time with hot stove about 4 minutes, nice burnt edges....but we digress
BiereBeer at 8:02PM on 03/07/09
@BB- that sounds real sweet to me, I can almost taste that pie.
dmcavanagh at 8:13PM on 03/07/09
Thanks for the tips, guys! Lots of food for thought!
@dmcavanagh:
I did hear that the fermentation creates flavor and that rushing the rise and what not will create a blander loaf. At what stage would you suggest doing the overnight rest? During the autolyse?
I also have heard of the misting the oven trick.
@Jerzee
For some reason I was reluctant to try the no knead bread. Maybe because I heard it involved a dutch oven which I do not have. That recipe says a pyrex dish will work okay, though. Sounds promising.
fuuchan at 11:25PM on 03/07/09
@fuuchan- after the 20 minute autolyse, finish your dough by kneading briefly for about 2 to 4 minutes, then place in a lightly oiled bowl, coat dough ball with light mist of oil,cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight(can usually go up to about 3 days if you need or want to).Remove from fridge and let dough come to room temp(about an hour), then procede as per your recipes instructions.
dmcavanagh at 12:39AM on 03/08/09
@fuuchan- don't be afraid of the no knead bread, it's very simple. A pyrex dish is fine, just be sure it has a lid, the whole concept of the no knead-dutch oven combo is that the loaf is in a closed container for the first half hour so you get the crisp crust from the moisture contained inside the covered vessel.
dmcavanagh at 12:51AM on 03/08/09
the five minutes a day bread is my current love.
i've got a tub of dough in my fridge right now.
yesterday, i even made some small loaves(about 130 grams each) for hamburger buns. worked great!
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
andshewas at 12:11PM on 03/09/09