Bread Quest

BQV

I’ve been trying to make the Perfect French Bread. I am also a shitty baker (as evidenced by the “liquid pizza” I made for some friends recently). Regardless, there’s a lot of good resources and great recipes out there (including the above recipe by  Samual Fromartz).

Here’s a few things I learned:

  • Sourdough starter is the difference between tasty, complex, flavorful bread and “just bread”. It’s also easy to make.
  • Measure in grams
  • Those pockets of air in good bread come from folding the dough repeatedly.
  • Use a scale
  • Don’t experiment with novel flours…just use all purpose flour (non-bleached)
  • A little bit of whole wheat flower adds flavor…but you only need 1 tbsp to every 2 cups
  • When you finally get to the point of actually baking the bread, put a cup of water in a skillet that’s been heating up with the oven. It’ll fill the oven with steam and in turn give you a crispier crust.
  • One of these things helps the bread keep its shape while rising and baking

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