Exercises in Dough (bread dough - not money) #1

Now that you are prepared with Flour, Salt, Yeast - and have been saving water AND you have made at least two batches of bread from scratch (other than the class),  using the same ingredients, here is

Exercise #1

In a container (probably 3 qt+)  that you can set aside for 3 days out of the way, away from any source of heat and away from any source of drafts  add:
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of room temp water
Stir to incorporate water and get all flour in the cracks and corners damp.
Loosely cover
set aside for at least 24 hours - up to 36 hours.


In 24 hours - or so
A)  note change in texture
B)  note smell
C) admire that you 'created life' from dry powder (and they said that there wasn't anything good in white flour).  And, note that this was done with NO yeast.  Speculate on what happened.  hmmm.
D)  Complete your basic recipe which means
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt (but you could use table salt)
3/4  tsp yeast (whatever kind you have)

Mix (and incorporate that blob you created earlier and these new ingredients).

Set aside for another 10-24 hours

After second waiting period, dump onto floured surface.  Form into a ball (noting lighter texture), place on cookie sheet and let it rise to double in size (40-90 minutes) covered with oiled plastic wrap or other non sticky stuff.

Place in preheated oven at 425º for 30 minutes.  Remove and cool.


You should taste a more flavorful bread.  That flavor comes from your soaker fermenting on its own - but you can take credit for it.  You created a poolish.  A poolish is a 'pre ferment'.  You have allowed the flour and water to ferment, to develop the enzymes in the flour and then to infect the rest of the flour and water with those enzymes for more flavor and for a change in the overall keep ability of the bread.  This method takes more time, but it's up to you to decide whether it is worth it.

Remember, the 3 dry ingredients and 1 wet plus Time and Temperature.  This time we played with Time.  In the next Exercise will play with Temperature (but you will need a probe thermometer).

Insert your observations and comments below.

When you are ready for another Exercise in Breadmaking - look for Exercise #2 (or email me at breadbydan@gmail.com).

Good Baking BGLs
Dan

Basic Bread - the recipe and basic process

First - why are there two columns?
The reason is that most home bakers use cup measures.  Most bakers use scales.
Sometimes recipes for home baker make big quantities because the smallest quantity needs to fit in a common teaspoon.  Using the scale, not only can small quantities be measured fairly easily, but a recipe can be doubled or halved very easily.  And, there is the benefit that you can measure into your mixing bowl - rather than require a separate measuring tool and more things to clean up.

• Kosher salt takes up more space than table salt (due to the flakes and the space between them).  This doesn't matter with a scale - 8 grams is 8 grams.  But, if you are using a tsp measure - more table salt will fit into the teaspoon than will Kosher salt.  Therefore the measurement is Kosher salt specific. 

Yeast - it must be 'good yeast'.  If you bought it yesterday - s/b no problem.  If you bought it a year ago for that pizza you made - you might want to 'prove the yeast'.  Do this by taking a portion of water from the recipe, add a pinch of sugar and the yeast and stir.  If you get a frothy head on the water - you are good to go (simply add this to the mix when it is time for the water).  If no frothy head - you need to get some new yeast.

• Yeast is a living bacteria in a suspended state in that little envelope.  But, it has a shelf life and while it will hold for many days in the refrigerator, it doesn't last forever.  Without living yeast, your bread will not rise.  Grandma used to always 'prove her yeast' before using it in any recipe - because it was not totally reliable.  I go through about a half pound of yeast a month - and I never prove the yeast.  I just add it to the dry ingredients.  And, I keep the unused yeast in the pantry at room temp - while some people say that refrigeration is needed.

Back to the Recipe
Place the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl - and mix them together
Add the water (I drizzle it all around the flour) and, using the handle end of a serving spoon (wooden spoon would be great), mix the ingredients into a ragged mess.  The only rule is that you need to incorporate all the dry ingredients into thee ragged pieces.

For the recipe above - place the ragged mess into a container that is at least 4 qts in size.  A lid is good - but even a lightly dampened towel placed over the top is good.  We are going to leave the dough in the container for 10 hours or so and the cover is to keep moisture inside and prevent a skin from forming on the top of the dough.

Let it sit in the container for 10 hours or so (up to 20 hours).  If you are the curious type - take a look every 2 hours and you will see it changing, as the yeast comes to life and starts to consume the sugars in the flour and release CO2.

Planning
While the dough is working quietly, you need to make a decision:  What are you going to do with it in the oven?  Your choices?  Well, consider

1. a loaf pan - if this is your choice, you need to match the amount of dough to the size of the pan.   A 1.75 pound hunk of dough will fit nicely in a 9x4" loaf pan.  You should get a nice crown (the arch over the top) and be good.   The pans I give out in class are mini loaf pans and I put .5 pound of dough in them.  
2. a dutch oven - the revelation in 2008 was that dough placed in a dutch oven where the steam was locked into the baking pan did a great job of emulating the steam in a professional baker's oven.  Removing the cover for the last 10 minutes of baking allows the top to crisp up.  The key is to either have a dutch oven that is sized right for your dough size - or to 'stretch' the outer skin of the dough as illustrated in the video in the link in the next paragraph.   
3. free form - this method is shown in this video. https://youtu.be/g_c53AYZMGM   But, rather than a pizza peel, use a baking pan.   I don't use corn meal as it gets all over the oven. A baking pan with a little parchment paper or some cooking spray should be good.  As you can see from the video, this approach can give a beautiful result with no loaf pans.  
4. Not an option for a beginner, but what I do generally, is form my dough and place it in a bannetton for the final rise, after which the dough is gently dumped onto a piece of parchment paper, slashed and set onto a preheated baking stone in the oven.  Here's a photo of dough rising in the bannetton.  This happens to be my Dark Hunter bread (with cocoa and molasses for color).  These doughs are fully risen and ready for the oven.  
   

Make your decision and make sure you are prepared.  The next step is fairly short - but it culminates in shaping the dough for baking - whether in a loaf pan, dutch oven or free form on a baking sheet.

10 Hours Later
First, uncover the container and note the change that has occurred without your intervention.  The yeast came alive, started eating the sugars available in the moist flour and the yeast multiplied and let out CO2 which stretched the wet flour and the gluten strands were formed and the gas was captured.  The whole dough became aerated and fluffy - while it seems much more wet than it was when you left it 10 hours ago.  Your dough is alive.

Using my basic approach (there is an alternative approach below), dump this glob of goo onto a floured surface.  Use a scraper or spatula to scrape as much of the dough from the bottom of the container as possible.   With floured hands, sprinkle a little more flour on top of your dough - and then press it down and fold it over.  Add a sprinkling of flour if necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands.  Stretch it to the right and left - and then fold it back into the middle.  Turn it 90º and stretch it to the right and left - and then fold it back into the middle.  Let it rest for 10 minutes (sprinkle a little flour on the top and place a cotton towel on top so it can rest undisturbed).  After 10 minutes - do the stretch and fold again. Rest again.  You will not need to do it again - but if you want to stretch and fold one more time (for practice) go ahead.  This takes the place of kneading which, as you saw in the video - is completely unnecessary - but, all sources say that over kneading by hand is almost impossible.

Next, you will shape it and place it in your baking container - if you have selected one - or place it on the baking pan for for its final rise - where it should double in size.

Shaping
- for a baking pan, flatten the dough (it will still be springy) into a rectangle about half as wide as the baking pans longest measure and 3 times as tall as the narrow side.  Fold the bottom quarter (longwise) into the middle from the bottom and again from the top.  Then fold the bottom onto the top and press into a log that approximates the long measure of the pan.  Set it in the pan - seam side down.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a cotton towel - ideally sprayed with cooking oil.  Some people place the pan in a plastic bag.

- for a dutch oven.  Make your ball (as in the video) and stretch the outer part to make a skin (as in the video) to be set in a pre heated 450º oven and dutch oven after rising.  For rising, I place the dough in a bowl lined with parchment paper (so I have a cradle with which to lift the dough from the bowl to place it in the hot dutch oven).  You can spray your bowl with cooking spray and then, with your hands, lift and gently drop the dough into the hot dutch oven.  Cover and place the dutch oven back into the oven.

- for free form, form as in the video. Place on undimmed baking sheet to rise (and lightly cover with plastic sprayed with cooking oil - giving room to expand)

Baking
it will take about an hour to double in size.  Shorter on a hot summer day and longer on a cool fall afternoon.  The yeast works faster in warmer conditions.

After about a half hour - unless using the dutch oven approach, pre heat the oven to 500º - and let it hold there.  When ready to place the loaf pan or the baking pan (free form) into the oven, drop the temp to 450º

Bake for 30 minutes on the lower half of the oven and then take a look.  If all is well, turn the loaf or pan 180º for another 10 minutes.  You will want the bread to be about 200º internal temp to remove.

Cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting (it is still cooking while not the cooling rack - and the crust is holding in the heat while the inside is finishing).  Some people say to wait until ti is totally cool - but I think that bread from the oven that melts butter is worth taking the risk that it is not fully cooked.

Infectious

What does yeast (commercial or natural) do?   It infects the dough.  The bacteria that is the yeast, moves from its bounds into the rest of the dough - multiplying and eating and multiplying and eating.  If the gluten is ready, then it will catch the gasses  that are expelled as the yeast eats and multiplies and , and, and.

What does this mean to me - you say?

That means that although you can overwhelm the flour/water neighborhood with the yeast invaders - and have dough to bake in a short time (maybe an hour), you can also use much less of the yeast invaders to slowly eat and multiply and eat and multiply and they will overwhelm the neighborhood of flour and water - but not so fast.  And, the longer they spend eating and multiplying, the more gas they spew out - which means that they make more flavor from the fermenting dough and less flavor of the yeast itself.

Experiment?
Try mixing up a batch of dough (fairly small) say 100 g of each flour and just a tiny pinch of yeast (we will add the salt later). Mix the dry items together and then add 100g of water (it's not much).

Now, cover it loosely (maybe with a cotton towel, and set it aside.  Take a look at it in 12 hours.  What do you have?   if not a bubbly goo - give it another 8-12 hours (depending on your schedule).

If it is not bubbly - make sure your yeast is good.

If it is bubbly, add another 200g of flour and another 80g of water (the dough will become stiffer).  Still hold off on salt and let the mix 'work'.

Take a look after 12 hours - and you should have a working dough (if not, let it sit for another 8-12 hours (depending on your schedule) and it should be going.

Now, you can add some salt - about 9g and mix it in with your hands (as though kneading the dough) and then form it into a loaf.   Let it sit an hour while it rises - and pre heat the oven in the last 30 minutes.

Well - how did it do?

Is all Home Made Bread the same?

IN a word - NO.


Just like the bread aisle at a grocery store has many varieties of loaf bread, a home baker can pick from many types of bread to make.  In fact, there are probably more types for a home baker to make than a store has room to display.  

Breads fall into these categories
Lean breads (no oils, fats, dairy, sugar)
Enriched breads - with oils, fats, dairy or sugar, and often several of those things.
Naturally fermented breads - aka, sourdough (tho not necessarily sour)
Quick breads - leavened with anything other than yeast or egg


Lean Breads

In general, I make mostly lean breads of simply flour, water, salt and yeast.  Whether all white flour or part whole grain, these breads make great sandwiches and toast or just a nice snack.  The basic recipe is a great platform for all kinds of variations with dried herbs, vegetables or fruits or mixed with other flours like whole grain wheat, rye, even quinoa and other gluten free grains.

Flavor is not only a result of the added items, but also a product of time and fermentation.  High volume bakeries mix, rise and bake in short periods, but longer periods (30 hours or even several days).  Bakers have long known the flavor benefits of soakers and sponges - where a portion of the flour is hydrated, with or without a touch of yeast, and the natural actions start to work on the starch in the flour.  Extreme fermentation results in a sourdough style result.


Enriched Breads

Another large variety of breads historically used for celebrations or made where milk and eggs were in abundance.  Varieties include brioche and challah.  Changes in flavor, density and sweetness mark these breads.  Because of the added fats, these doughs are heavier.  The fats and sugars have different effects on the gluten formation and fermentation.  Cooler temperatures are needed to keep the fats (particularly butter) from melting and to allow a slow rise.  And, because the fats and sugars burn at lower temperatures, enriched doughs are baked at lower temperatures often with an outer egg wash for color.


Sourdough

Initially, sourdough was simply naturally fermented dough.  If you let some flour and water sit at room temperature for a day or two, it will start to ferment as the bacteria in the air starts to grow in your flour/water mixture.  The bacteria eats the sugars and other foods in the flour and exhausts gas (carbon dioxide) making bubbles.  Keep feeding the bubbling mixture with flour and water and you get a mature starter.  Use this starter to 'infect' other flour and water and you have dough.  

Sourdough baking, in my view, is a specialty.  When a baker has a regular schedule of quantities to mix and bake, a part of that routine is to feed the starter so that there is sufficient 'ripe' starter to infect the next batch of dough.  The proper ripeness and concentration of the starter to new flour is key to getting a dough that rises as expected.  

'Sour ness' comes from both the ripeness of the starter and the concentration of starter to new ingredients.  It can also be influenced by the actual bacteria used to create the starter which is perpetuated with each feeding.  Some people say that the local water used in feeding the starter and dough has a unique flavor impact to the dough.  There is a separate cult of sourdough people that give honor to specific sourdough cultures from times gone by, some of which are hundreds of years old.  

And, there are some people who say that after generations of feeding and feeding, the old bacteria is diluted and replaced with local bacteria. 

Who knows what is right?  I am guessing that people who spend all their time with sourdough culture (the bacteria and the way of life) can tell the difference.

All this is to say that sourdough is a specialty unto itself.  


Quick Breads

I really wonder if Zucchini Bread is really bread.  It seems to me that it is a long way from any of the other breads above - almost too gooey to be bread.  But, quick breads are generally leavened with something other than eggs or yeast- such as baking powder or soda.  Generally these breads are not so good for sandwiches or toast.  

Ok - they are breads.  I just don't make them - and rarely enjoy them.  


My Choice?

I choose to make lean breads.  I choose to use yeast.  Why?  Partially, because I enjoy eating the finished product even more than I enjoy watching other people with the finished product.  Sometimes it doesn't come out as pretty as I want it - but, as long as I don't leave any of the ingredients out, the taste is great.

And, with a few additional ingredients (from the flavor paragraph above), there are lots of varieties to be made.  Change some of the processes (time, soaking, rising periods, baking temperatures, humidity), the results can change dramatically.  So, while I want some consistency at times, whenever I want change, no problem.  

And, with all the variety, have I ever had a bread I made that I didn't like?  Well, yes, but that's because I left out the salt.   I didn't mean to, but I did.  I learned from my mistake, that I didn't want to make bread with no salt.  Otherwise, grainy bread or soft bread or no herbs or even with dried fruit - it was good.  Some I have never made again, but I can say that I have enjoyed most all of them.  

Home vs Commercial - Homemade wins almost every time - or it should.

Yesterday, I made two each of 3 loaves each of different varieties of bread, half to share with an iconic San Diego food establishment. My thought was that, in some way, they could share the glory that is fresh bread with their customers.

Alas, the 'big guy' I had talked to via email wasn't there when I was there (and not expected), but it became clear in talking to the manager that the place really relies on turnover - duhh, I guess I was a little (lot) naive in not expecting that.

Turnover means that people don't spend any more time at the tables (or, in this case, in the premium, close to the door parking spots) than is necessary. While they are in a great tourist area, if people can't find parking nearby, they will choose another food establishment of which there are many in the area.

They do offer bread as an accommodation - but while finished onsite (and with a crispy outer crust), it comes to them partially baked. That bread is beautiful - but tastes like sourdough paste in your mouth (yes, I tried it).

But, with min wage going up in California, high rents in tourist areas, and increasing costs of quality food ingredients, what would one expect? If YOU owned this place (or any place in a touristy location), YOU MUST know what makes your place work - and, if the trick is a quick turnover of tables (and parking spaces, if they are a limiter) during prime feeding times - that's what YOU do. OR you fail.

And, when turnover is really important, why would you want customers who saunter in and intend to savor some bread, some specialty products of the chef, a glass of wine and watch the afternoon go by with wonderful views all the while occupying that valuable parking spot?

A couple of decades ago, I was a member of an organization that had only one of each 'local trade' as members. A speaker once said that our greatest threat to each of us was Sears - as they did everything. They didn't do it better - but still they did it with a large marketing budget. The best local plumber (with all of his costs) is competing with the 'Sears local provider' and the power of their marketing - and lack of depth in the community.

Today, the local business person is challenged at every turn as national chains come to town to woo away their customers - and restaurants are especially sensitive to fads and changing winds. Sometimes, the same quality item is good enough to repeat. Sometimes the buyer wants something new. Italian is good - but maybe not tonite. The local place with the best steak for its price in town has been your go to place in the past - but now you want fish. Or vice versa.

And, while I love really fresh bread (Really), what is the market for commercial fresh fresh bread in a quantity to make it sell and pay the bills? And, if you could tap the demand, once you start production in quantity, will it be as good as it was when you were making small quantities? That would be just one more challenge for a "challenge rich environment" faced by any food purveyor.

The response of many food purveyors? Make it 'good enough'. Why spend more than you need - why take risks that you don't need to take, when there are risks a plenty already? Good is good enough when it comes to many things - particularly when you are known to be great in another area of food (like beef, bbq or seafood)

It is the logical result.

My point?

My point is that I (and you) can make as good as or often better meals or portions of meals at home - because we DO NOT have the pressures of a restaurant as to time, overhead, regulation, wages, employees who don't show up, tables that aren't ready when they are supposed to be, limited parking, etc, etc, etc.

Difficulty in volume operations

And, when I make bread, I don't have to make 50 (or 500) loaves looking almost the same, tasting pretty much the same, in a short period of time and which will last through the day if not bought. (I was told by someone who worked in a bakery that yesterday's loaves were sold as day old - but with instructions to the buyer on how to ' re crisp' the loaf in their home oven. That's how one baker dealt with 'left overs'.)

I was tough on Yelp regarding a local BBQ chain. I thought the ribs were terrible - not living up to their reputation. My basis? I compared the ribs of a 'meet the demands of a long waiting line' restaurant with ribs made by me and by my friends. On a scale of 1-10, the restaurant version is a 2 vs a 9 or so for the home made versions. But home made has no 'do or die' production schedule, or the other demands faced by a commercial establishment. And, I came to realize that those great reviews (assuming they are all true) are from people who don't make great ribs at home (or that like the Monday Chevrolet, I went at the wrong time).

Why would this be a surprise or a revelation?

No commercial entity can make a 'ship in a bottle' as well as an experienced craftsman or a quilt as beautiful and well done as an expert home quilter or detailed wooden toys as well as an expert woodworker, etc.

So, why would we expect that every commercial baker - or those who incidentally offer fresh bread in particular - be able to make bread as well as you do at home???

Confession: While I would love to spend a couple days a week turning flour into fresh fresh bread to be enjoyed by families and foodies, I have fears.  

The fears include:

- Diminishing quality in order to meet production schedules

- Taking what is now a pleasure and making it a chore

- Losing my shorts financially

- Having to price the product so high (in order to cover all costs and risks) that 'ordinary families' cannot enjoy the bread

- Not being able to find a 'successor' to take over when the time came - or when I wanted (or needed) to take some time off.

So, in the meantime, I will do it small time. The first goal is taste and freshness. Next comes looks and crust. Always in an affordable package.

14 Steps to make bread - it is easier than you think Including watching a video 3 times and lots of waiting (yes, waiting is a step)

Simple 14 steps to make bread in your home oven.

1 - Watch Steve making bread.  Here is a link to his video

https://youtu.be/Q4DQLB7_U1Q

that's 6.5 minutes

2 - get out your frying pan (skillet), measuring cups and spoons, wooden (or other) mixing spoon and make a shopping list if you don't have flour, salt or yeast.  That yeast you have from making your own pizza crust 4 years ago is bad.  Get new yeast.

Assuming nothing else on your shopping list and that you live fairly close to a grocery store and need everything - this will take you an hour.

3 - Watch the video again and write down the recipe.

that's 6.5 more minutes

4 - Measure and mix the dry items in a bowl that is really big compared to the amount of flour you are adding (this will grow - like it did for Steve)

5 minutes (if you are a clutz like a lot of guys are first time (i.e., me))

5 - Measure and add the water

1 minute

6 - Mix with the handle of a wooden spoon

one half minute

7 - cover and let sit for two hours and watch the video again

less than 10 minutes.

8 - wake up

9 - watch the video again, heat up the oven and get the frying pan ready

less than 10 minutes.

10 - dump the dough into the pan.  Put the pan in the oven and set the timer.

And, go sit down - and think about what you are going to spread on your warm bread.  Butter?   Jam??  Fresh Avocado??  Mayo and sliced turkey??  You get the idea.

Get the cooling rack out and place it on some easy to reach and stable counter space.

Get the hot pad ready also.

11 - check the bread?   if ready to remove - remove it and dump it onto the rack.  

12 - wait at least 30 minutes before you cut.  Yes, you have to wait.  It really needs to finish baking and have some of the additional moisture evaporate during the cooling time.  If you are first born - and a rule follower - wait one whole hour.  If you are second born - wait 30 minutes.  

You can do this.

13 - before you cut - you need to make a major decision:  Are you going to share this with anyone????  If so - now is the time to decide how much you can eat.  Plan your work and work your plan (seems like a good rule to live by).  

note - this bread is really easy to make.  You could start another batch while this one is cooling.  

14 - Ok - enough deep thought.  Time to cut the bread.  I stop here -because you won't listen to anything else I say.  Enjoy.

1@3.20.17

Links I like

Here are some links I like - 

(shortened link to this page    https://goo.gl/yvz5aF)

To help understand the basics of making bread

https://youtu.be/g_c53AYZMGM
A 2 minute overview - not instructional (they have a book they want you to buy), but illustrational.  Their 'schtick' is that if you spend a few minutes on Monday and mix the dough, you can spend a few minutes each day to bake a loaf - and have fresh bread every day of the week.   Makes sense as long as you have room in your refrigerator for the bucket of dough.    
But - this shows you how easy it is to get great bread at home. 


https://youtu.be/Q4DQLB7_U1Q
Here, Steve shows how to make bread using a mixing bowl, cup measure, tsp measure, mixing spatula, frying pan and oven.

This is his turbo method.  If you can do this, then you are ready for more advanced approaches.  And, anyone can do this.
Big lesson-  today, baking bread is different than in grandma's day.  It is easier.

I don't bake this way - and, once you get some experience, you won't either.  But, YOU can put fresh bread on the table with little effort using Steve's approach.  When you look at his YouTube channel, you will see many videos on other simple alternatives.

if you go no further - you can make bread today using this recipe and approach.  

https://food52.com/blog/9904-the-many-reasons-using-a-scale-will-change-your-life
A simple intro on the benefits of using a digital scale and recipes in grams.
I use an Oxo scale - it's nice to have a display that pulls away from the base so my wide mixing bowl doesn't cover the display.  I got it on Amazon for about $43


http://www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/baker039s-math
Baker's math - an introduction.  Absolutely necessary for the commercial baker, but very valuable for the home baker.
Used in combination with a digital scale and recipes (actually they become formulas) in grams, you can make a little or a lot - and not be stuck with the portion from the original recipe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html

In 2006, an article in the New York Times (and later a book) showed how the home baker can make bread rivaling (or better than) any bread from any professional bakery right in their own kitchen.  This is the source of Steve's inspiration (in the first video above).  This link shows it is possible -  but Steve makes it easier. 

I have an 'issue' with saying that handling a 500º, 12#, iron dutch oven is something everyone should do - BUT, this is the source of the 'revolution' that told us WE CAN.  

Others - for recipes or formulas (when you are using baker's percentages)

to come

Others for technique

to come

5 @ 3.20.17