secrets of baking bread
Source of Recipe
"The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart (2001 10Speed Press, $35).
Recipe Introduction
Does a slice of still-warm, homemade bread lead your list of comfort foods?
Are you serious about making your own bread because supermarket bread is, at
best, a pale clone of the real thing? Does your heart beat a little faster
when you read that a bread making class with an award-winning professional
may be held close to your home?
If you answered, "yes" to any of those questions, have I got a book for you:
Reading Reinhart's book comes close to taking a class with him at the
prestigious Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., where he teaches
chef wanna-bes. I imagine that Reinhart's passion for bread making,
enthusiasm and depth of knowledge fires up those around him.
"Brother Juniper's Bread Book," "Sacramental Magic in a Small Town Café" and
James Beard's award-winning "Crust & Crumb" preceded "The Baker's
Apprentice." To describe Reinhart as "passionate" may understate the man's
unbridled exuberance for the craft.
Reinhart's opening chapter, "What Is It About Bread?" braids together
terrific stories about his recent experiences and whets my appetite for the
remainder of his book. One story about winning a national bread competition
by happenstance in the final hours nearly qualifies as "thriller" status.
List of Ingredients
In the next chapter, Reinhart rolls out his assumptions and rationales that
form the basis for how he makes bread and the why's behind his choices.
He considers bread making's 12 steps, from gathering the ingredients, to
benching (letting the dough rest) to baking to cooling to, finally, eating.
The process should result in bread that delivers, in his words "the fullness
of flavor from the grain."
Flavor is at the core of bread making, he says. Great nutrition or beautiful
looks never make up for poor flavor.
Reinhart frequently supports his words with high-quality, color pictures,
taking the reader through his techniques for handling a variety of bread
doughs. Once mastered, those techniques apply to the making of any type of
bread.
Grains of wisdom and insight drop like rain throughout, like: "Baking great
bread really comes down to one skill: how to manipulate times and
temperature to control outcomes."
As for the recipes, there may be only 50 recipes, but they are a quality
bunch including New England-Style Anadama Bread rich with molasses and
cornmeal; bagels with a crisp outer crust and dense moist interior;
soft-textured Potato Rosemary Bread redolent of fresh rosemary and
Casatiello, an Italian take on brioche with bits of cheese and meat in the
bread. I want to make them all, play with them and learn from the best.
As if that weren't enough, Reinhart lists sources and resources for books,
helpful Web sites, schools and grain suppliers.
If you enjoy baking bread and Rinehart's book seems appealing, give this
recipe a try.
Recipe
White Bread (Variation I)
4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup powdered milk (dry milk solids)
3 1/4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 large egg, slightly beaten, at room temperature
3 1/4 tablespoons butter, margarine or shortening, melted or at room
temperature
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon to 1 3/4 cups water, at room temperature
1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water until frothy, for egg wash (optional)
Sesame or poppy seeds for garnish (optional)
Mix together the flour salt, powdered milk, sugar and yeast in a 4-quart
bowl (or in a bowl of an electric mixer). Pour in the egg, butter and 1 1/2
cups plus 1 tablespoon water and mix with a large metal spoon (or on low
speed of the electric mixer with the paddle attachment) until all the flour
is absorbed and the dough forms a ball. If the dough seems very stiff and
dry, trickle in more water until the dough is soft and supple.
Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin
kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook), adding more flour, if
necessary, to create a dough that is soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky.
Continue kneading (or mixing) for 6-8 minutes. (In the electric mixer, the
dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick ever so slightly to the
bottom.) The dough should pass the windowpane test (see note) and register
80 degrees. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl,
rolling it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles
in size (the length of time will depend on the room temperature.
Remove the fermented dough form the bowl and divide it in half for sandwich
loaves. Shape the two pieces into balls. Mist the dough lightly with spray
oil and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rest for about 20
minutes.
Shape the balls into loaves. Lightly oil two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans
and place the dough in the pans.
Mist the tops of the loaves with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic
wrap or a towel. Proof the dough at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or
until it nearly doubles in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the loaf with the egg wash and
garnish with poppy or sesame seeds or score down the center and rub a little
vegetable oil into the slit.
Bake the loaves for 35-45 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through for
even baking, if needed. The tops should be golden brown and the sides should
also be golden. The internal temperature of the loaves should be close to
190 degrees, and the loaves should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
When the loaves have finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans
and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.
Makes two, 1-pound loaves, 16 slices each.
Cook's note: The most reliable method to determine when gluten development
is sufficient is called the "windowpane test," sometimes referred to as the
membrane test. This is performed by cutting off a small piece of dough from
the larger batch and gently stretching, pulling, and turning it to see if it
will hold a paper-thin, translucent membrane. If the dough falls apart
before it makes this windowpane, continue mixing for another minute or two
and test again.
Nutrition values per slice: 92 calories (18 percent from fat), 1.9 g fat (1
g saturated fat), 19.1 g carbohydrates, 0.5 fiber, 2.7 g protein, 11 mg
cholesterol, 113 mg sodium.
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