What's For Dinner - The Art of Bread Making

The Art Of Bread Making

Why take the time to make your own bread when every grocery store has at least a whole isle dedicated to it? Most all store bought bread produced from large commercial bakers has one thing in common, little to no taste. If we are talking about pairing bread with a Belgian Pale Ale or American Amber Ale, you will want more complex flavors than just cardboard.
Bread has four basic ingredients that any child can spell, flour, water, yeast, and salt. Real bread doesn’t last two weeks because of all the chemical preservatives that are added. If you are lucky enough to have a small local bakery in your neighborhood, you know what real brad tastes like and why it so sought after. Bread is basic to modern man and woman. Before the art of bread making, humans ate what they could kill or gather. Bread making is a process developed first by the Egyptians over 30,000 years ago. Around 10,000 BC leaven brad emerged in Europe from natural airborne yeast much like the evolution of beer.

So what is involved? The basic ingredients are simple enough to find. One reason many chefs don’t make their own bread is time. How long will it take?

• 10-15 minutes to activate the yeast called the sponge
• 20 minutes to combine ingredients into workable dough
• 1 ½ hours for the first rise
• 30 to 45 minutes for the second rise
• Anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour to bake

It will take somewhere around three hours to make bread. Is it worth it? Once you taste it you will understand.

What kind if equipment is needed? You may decide to invest in a “Bread Machine”. They do work well and do most of the work for you. They will limit you to one basic type of bread, sort of pull-apart bread. They are convenient, but not as much fun. Here is a basic list to make bread from scratch:

• An oven
• A flat table surface
• Preferably a large wooden cutting board
• Measuring spoons and cups
• A large bowl
• A roll of plastic wrap
• Bread pans or a baking stone or tray

You can get started with these basic tools, but I would recommend one more.
Unless you are a power lifter, you may find kneading bread by hand quite taxing. Investing in a heavy-duty tabletop mixer with a bread hook will save time and sweat. A mixer with a bread hook kneads 90% of the dough for you and cuts your time in half.

Where should you begin? You will need a recipe for the type if bread you want to make. There are many online sights such as The Food Network, Cooks.com, or Cookingbread.com that have many great recipes. I enjoy cookbooks because it allows you to flip between recipes until you find one you like. One of my favorite resources is a book called “The Bread Bible” written by Beth Hensperger. It has over 300 recipes and all types of styles.

I am going to share two great bread recipes with you today. The first is pizza dough. Pizza dough is a great place to start. If you have never made pizza from scratch, you are in for a treat. The second is called Honey and Seed bread that has incredible flavor and texture.

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1-cup warm water
(105º to 115º)

1 package highly active dry yeast

Pinch of sugar or ½ tsp. honey

2 ½ to 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tbs. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

Cornmeal for sprinkling

1. Pour the warm water in a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast, sweetening, and 1 tablespoon of the flour over the surface of the water and whisk until dissolved. Let sit for 15 minutes until the “sponge” has full formed

2. Using the paddle attachment of the counter top mixer combine the salt and 1 cup of the flour. Pour in the yeast mixture, and stir on low for 2 minutes. Change to the bread hook and begin mixing in ½ cup of the flour at a time. Each ½ cup should be mixed into the dough before adding more flour.

3. Once the dough is somewhat smooth and springy, turn onto a floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. Add flour as needed to keep the dough spongy to the touch.

4. Turn the dough into a deep bowl that has been greased with olive oil. Turn the dough once to cover with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 1½ hours at room temperature.

5. After 1½ hours the dough will double in size.

6. 20 minutes before the dough has completed rising, heat the oven to 500º
Turn out onto a floured surface and gently deflate. I choose to roll the dough out using a crape rolling pin for thin crust. It can be done by hand using two fists and turning as you stretch but does take practice.

7. Lightly sprinkle the pan or baking stone with corn meal and place the dough in the center. Most pizza has a base of a red marinara. On top of the dough low moisture mozzarella that has been generously spread over the sauce. Add the ingredients you prefer and place on the lowest rack. Pizza cooked on a stone should take 8-10 minutes to brown. Pizza cooked on a pan may take 10 – 15 minutes to brown. Enjoy
Pizza, depending on your preference pairs with a number of different beers. A Vienna lager such as Brooklyn Lager or Flying Dog Old Scratch complements a well made pizza. An American Pale ale goes well with the selection of pizza toppings and handmade bread. I enjoy Sierra Nevada, Full Sail, or Santa Fe with a pepperoni, spinach, and black olive pizza.

Honey and Seed Bread – golden loaves with a lot of crunch

Ingredients:

¾ cup warm water
(105º to 115º)

1-½ packages of highly active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1-½ cups warm milk
(105º to 115º)

2 tbs. butter, melted

2 tbs. honey

5 ½ - 6 cups unbleached flour or bread flour

1 tbs. salt

1 tbs. fennel seed

1 tbs. poppy seed

1 tbs. raw sesame seed

1. Start the sponge by pouring the warm water in a bowl.
Mix in the yeast and sugar and let activate for 10 minutes.
2. Using your mixer combine the milk, honey, butter, salt, seeds, and 2 cups of flour. Mix until smooth about 3 minutes.
3. Attach the bread hook and slowly add ½ cup of flour at a time.
4. Continue to slowly add the flour until the dough is smooth and springy.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed for another 3 minutes.
6. Place in a deep bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
7. Let rise for 1-½ hours until doubled in size.
8. Gently deflate and turn out onto a floured surface.
9. Grease two 9” x 5” loaf pans
10. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions
11. Place each into the pans seam side down and cover with plastic wrap
12. Let the dough rise 45 minutes until it is an inch above the lip of the pan
13. 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375º.
14. Place the loves on the center rack and bake for 40 -45 minutes
15. Cool before slicing

This bread is great with butter or even cream cheese.
Honey seed bread pairs well as an appetizer with an Anchor Steam, Breckenridge Avalanche, or even a light Wit beer such as Blanche De Bruxelles. Honey Seed Bread makes great toast on day two as well.
Enjoy