Thursday, February 3, 2011

Bread Making...


....and the quest for the perfect 'crumb'. I've been baking almost all of our bread for the past several years and though my sandwich-type loaf is fine, I'm still not completely satisfied with the artisan country bread that we enjoy so much. I want to bake the kind of bread that is the perfect compliment to a steaming bowl of homemade soup or a big plate of spaghetti....crusty and chewy and tasty. The kind of bread that I...ahem...used to buy from Panera.




The bread should have bigger holes and a chewier texture....something that can handle a big slather of butter. I've tried the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day techniques but didn't really like the results or the fact that it takes up alot of space in the fridge.

I did find a recipe in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book that looks promising ...takes 2 days to prepare but I'm willing to give it a shot. And I also broke down and ordered a sourdough starter (mine always ended up tasting sour in a bad mouth-puckering way) so maybe that will be a key to the mystical ever-elusive perfect loaf.
One can only hope.


....to be continued.

3 comments:

MAYBELLINE said...

Delicious.

mamaraby said...

I always struggle with the crumb. While I loved my crusty, blistery loaf - the holes inside were too uniform and small. The crust was perfect, though. Just perfect.

I like the whole grain bread book from Peter Reinhart, but I think I *love* his "Artisan Breads Everyday." I tried the techniques from the other folks you mentioned, but have never been successful with their recipes. Peter Reinhart's work every time.

Maureen said...

That one is on my wish list mamaraby....but I may need to move it into the cart for next month's purchase, I want to make it NOW :)