pursuit of the perfect artisan bread loaf

This past year, I've been working on my artisan bread making. Not from a sourdough starter. Just a simple bread flour, yeast, water, salt mix. Here are the two most important things I've learned:

1) You do not need to buy a single item. Not one. Nadda.

Here are some of the many things your friends, family, YouTubers, bloggers, or companies will say you will need...

Banneton basket - This is a single use item in your kitchen that takes up a lot of space. Instead use a mixing bowl you already have, drape a flour sack towel inside that has been dusted with a little flour. Or, use a round basket you already have laying around, lining it in the same way. (See a photo below of a basket that I picked up for $1.50 at a thrift store years ago that gets used on a daily basis to hold my onions. And, on bread making day, it gets used to rise dough).

 

Lamé - Again, this is a single use item in your kitchen. It doesn't take up a lot of space and sometimes you can pick one up cheaply for $10 (most are $25-40). However, why add something to your kitchen you don't actually need? Instead, score the top of your dough with kitchen shears, a loose razor blade you have in your hardware drawer already (not used and clean), or even a really sharp knife.

Dutch oven - If you already own a 5 or 6 quart dutch oven that you use for other things, great! You're all set. But, do not purchase a dutch oven just because you think you need one to bake artisan bread. I bought a clay baker, which is similar to a dutch oven in that its domed lid contains the high humidity and heat to create the perfect environment for rising and browning (see photo below). However, I regret buying a clay baker. It is heavy and takes up a lot of storage space in my kitchen when not in use. If I was to do it again, I would use a soup pot instead (ensuring I removed the plastic handles). There are also other methods that you can easily learn to create that humidity such as putting a pan of water in the bottom of your oven while baking. 

 

So, the point is...just get started. Don't get hung up on feeling that you need these things before you get started. Or, that your bread is not going to turn out as good without them. If you're ever in doubt about whether you need to buy something new, remind yourself of the bare bones kitchens of long ago - before electricity, while settlers were carrying their belongings in a wagon across the prairie or living in a rustic cabin, or even the French woman of today who prefer minimal gadgets!

2) You can create a wonderful bread without kneading, and with just one rise.

The result is going to be more like a really good sandwich bread versus being airy. You don't need to aspire to a holey sourdough crumb in order to enjoy really good bread. Keep it easy for yourself. You can make this bread frequently throughout the week, without having to adjust your schedule or stress yourself out feeding a starter and kneading and rising the dough multiple times. It only takes about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish so having the ingrained knowledge to make a simple bread allows you to throw it together when company is coming over as well. 

Simple Artisan Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Equipment: medium/large mixing bowl, wooden spoon, flour sack towel (or any lightweight towel you have on hand), preferred vessel for rise (banneton, bowl, or basket), preferred cutting instrument for scoring (lame, knife, or straight edge blade, for example), preferred baking vessel (dutch oven, clay baker, soup pot, or baking sheet/soup pot combo)

Ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup of very warm water 

3 cups bread flour (can sub out 1/2 cup golden wheat if you would like)

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups very warm water

Instructions:

1) Put 1/4 cup of very warm water (almost where it's getting too hot to touch) in the bottom of the mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for ten minutes or so to allow the yeast to bloom in the water while you get your other ingredients ready.

2) Add the remaining ingredients to the yeast water.

3) Mix with a wooden spoon. It will be shaggy and wet. If it does not appear wet, add a little more water, a few tablespoons at a time. (It will typically look drier when you use partial wheat flour as that sucks water up much quicker than bread or white flour). It's important to ensure it is wet enough at this stage because the rise is really dependent on the ability for the dough to flex and grow.

4) Use your hands to shape the dough into a loose ball. Place the dough ball into your rising vessel that you have lined with a lightly floured flour sack towel. Gently tuck the top of the towel loosely over the top of the dough, which will help it from drying out while it rises.

5) Place the rising vessel in a warm spot. My house is typically only sixty degrees fahrenheit, so I put it by a sunny window just out of the direct sunlight. If it is an overcast, or particularly chilly day, I have also put it in the oven with just the oven light on.

6) After it has doubled in size (takes 1/2 hour to 1 hour), you are ready to bake! Oil the bottom of your baking vessel or line it with parchment paper. Form the dough into a ball again (no need to knead) and place it on the oil or parchment paper lined bottom of your baking vessel. Put the lid on your vessel (or cover it with a towel) and let rise for another 30 minutes or so. Set your oven to preheat to 450 degrees, making sure you have moved the oven rack down to the second from the bottom ledge to give your baking vessel enough room.

7) After 30 minutes have passed, dust the top of the dough ball with a generous amount of flour, and score the top of the dough with your preferred scoring tool. (If you're having a hard time getting the tool to cut through the dough, you most likely need to add more flour to the top of the dough ball).

8) Put the lid back on your baking vessel and place in your preheated oven. Set a timer for 35 minutes.

9) After the 35 minutes have passed, take the lid off of the baking vessel, leaving the bottom of the vessel and dough still in the oven, and let it bake for another 6 minutes or so, keeping an eye on the darkness of the top crust to determine when it is ready to come out. 

10) Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 20 minutes before cutting. 

This seems like a lot of steps. But, actual hands on time is only about 10 minutes. Before you know it, you'll be baking bread without even thinking about the steps.

Note: if you aren't ready to bake your bread after the first rise, you can put it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just be sure to have it in a large enough bowl as it will rise more while it's in the fridge and you don't want it to spill out of whatever bowl you have it in. Also, make sure you have a tight fitting lid on your bowl, not just a towel, so the dough doesn't dry out. When you're ready to bake it, let it sit out for 15 minutes or so to warm up a bit. Then, shape it into a ball and proceed to step 6.

Let me know if you have any questions! Or, if you have your own bread baking tips you'd like to share!

sharing a few things I watched, read, and learned lately

1) Watched Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on Netflix:

The only thing I am going to say about this series is that it takes place in the week leading up to a wedding and it is a thriller/horror. Anything further than this will give away too many clues due to the storyline turning on its head any type of trajectory you typically anticipate when watching a show/movie. The expected is unexpected, and vice versa. 

Camila Morrone is phenomenal as the main character. Hoping to see a lot more of her in future roles. She exudes so much personality and emotion at a level of a much more seasoned actress. 

I could have done with episodes six and seven (or I think they could have been shortened) - related to the toe (you'll know when you get there). While the show producers did circle back to why this was relevant to the plot, it just took it to a weird place and probably wasn't necessary. 

Since I provided such sparse info, if you're looking to discuss your thoughts further, please leave a comment here on this post. Or, there are some really beefy Reddits already on this series, even though it was only just recently released.

2) Found this article by Inc interesting:

It talks about how employees are moving back to urban centers since the majority of companies are requiring part or full time attendance back in office. I can attest that remote job postings are few and far between. And, the ones that are relayed as partial (typically three days in office) seemingly have no flexibility. The article alludes to it currently being an employer driven market. With scare jobs, they are able to find qualified candidates that meet their requirements, without having to be open to fully remote candidates like myself. With potential for disruptions related to the Iran War and gas, I am curious if we will be back to a semi-covid situation where workers will need to be fully remote due to the price of gas, and car pool for any days they are required to be in office. I would anticipated the years ahead are going to necessitate remote work as a consequence of an endless stream of instabilities. 

3) Started taking some free online courses:

In the past few years, there's been mention of numerous universities throughout the world offering free online classes. Every time I intend to look into it I forget, until someone mentions it again. Somewhat related to number two, I figure taking some classes would be a positive step to broaden my options for what comes next, either in a full-time job, my business, or just the challenges as a whole we might encounter in the next few decades. I'll write some longer pieces on this down the road. And, what classes/fields I'm diving into first. But, if this is something you're interested in, here are some links to get you started as well:

MIT

Harvard

Once you click on a class, it actually ends up taking you to an external site called edX where the actual course material is housed. In addition to Harvard, you'll find additional universities and organizations have classes posted on edX as well.

Yale

The Open University (out of the UK)

Also, consider Youtube. There are a plethora of classes posted here as well, just a search away. If you're interested in writing a novel, consider watching full length classes that author, Brandon Sanderson, teaches at Brigham Young University. 

produce storage 101 - a helpful cheat sheet

My fridge is no longer empty.

🥦 🍎 🍐🥬 🍄‍🟫 🍅 🍊 🫑 🥕 🥑

It's restocked with all the fresh veggies and fruits I'll need for some time! So excited to get cooking with them!

Of course, it would be ideal if we could eat our fruits and vegetables almost immediately after purchasing them. However, most of us only go to a store or farmers market once per week, or even once every two or three weeks. 

So, I created a cheat sheet for some of the fruits and vegetables I bring home most often. Taking time to do the simple steps on the cheat sheet ensures they are still very fresh when I go to use them. And, I'm sharing it with you here!

Avocado - Store in an airtight bag in the fridge. Don't store by apples, bananas, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, leafy greens, or potatoes. Stays fresh for 2-5 days.

Broccoli - Store loosely in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Or, like flowers in a jar with 1 inch of water. Wrapping the head in a damp paper towel can help with either method. Stays fresh for 3-5 days.

Mushrooms - Store in a paper bag in the fridge. Fold the top of the bag down enough so the mushrooms don't dry out, but not so tight where there is no airflow. Stays fresh for 4-7 days if whole or 1-2 days if sliced.

Leeks - Wrap leeks in a dry paper towel and store in a loose plastic bag in the fridge in the crisper drawer. Stays fresh for up to 2 weeks, but best to use within 5-7 days.

Cherry tomatoes - Line a berry basket or bowl with a dry paper towel and store in the fridge. Stays fresh for 1-2 weeks. These release ethylene so it gets tricky what to put them by. I do tomatoes, leeks, and broccoli together since they are all going to get eaten pretty quickly anyway.

Collard greens - Wrap in a dry paper towel and store in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Stays fresh for 1-2 weeks.

Cauliflower - Place a small brown paper bag (or even a piece taken from a larger paper bag) over the head to collect moisture. Store in a loose plastic bag (or the plastic it already came in), stem side yp. Stays fresh 1-2 weeks.

Brussel sprouts - Store in a perforated plastic bag or the mesh bag it likely came in (or that you have saved from receiving other produce items). Keep away from apples and pears. Stays fresh 1-2 weeks.

Peppers - Wrap in a paper towel in a breathable bag (don't zip it all the way) in the crisper drawer. Stays from 1-3 weeks.

Carrots - Dampen a paper towel by spraying it lightly with a spray bottle of water. Wrap carrots in the damp paper towel and place in a plastic bag. Store in the crisper drawer. Keep away from apples, bananas, and pears. Stays fresh for 3-4 weeks.

Cabbage - Store in a loose plastic bag (or the plastic it came in) in the crisper drawer. Once/if you cut it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Stays fresh 1-2 months.

Apples - since these need to stay away from some other produce, I store them on a shelf with my cartons of eggs. I also store oranges on this shelf, I have them.

Pears - Place in a mesh bag that you may have saved from other produce items. Since these also need to stay away from most other produce, I place them on the same shelf as my avocados, tomatoes, and broccoli since I will be eating all of these things fairly quickly anyway.

When planning out my recipes, I rank them according to how long each fruit or vegetable stays fresh using these methods, which will make certain I use up the most tender ones first!