This year I decided I would learn to bake bread. I have learned a few things and will share them through this blog. I will not by any stretch say I am an expert, but I am an enthusiastic learner. If I were to to tell some one starting from scratch what I would recommend they read etc to learn about baking bread it would be as follows:
Websites: YouTube is your friend for visualizing technique etc as well as Vimeo etc
1. The fresh Loaf – a good reference source
2. Wild Yeast Blog – a good source of recipes
3. The Artisan – A good reference source
4. The Bread Baker’s Guild of America – a good reference source
5. Tartine Bread Experiment – a good recipe and reference source, though some recipes lack details that are found in other posts found on the site. What parts/methods that are lacking in details for beginners can easily be found on other websites or youtube.
Books:
1. Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by: Jeffrey Hamelman – a great book on techniques etc
2.Amy’s Bread (Revised and Updated) by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree -another great recipe and technique book
Equipment: You don’t need a lot of equipment and really this list is more than you need, but it is nice to have . *Highly recommend
2. * Super Peel
4. * Thermapen -instant read thermometer
5. * Glass Bowl Set – and then invest in one more glass bowl larger than the largest bowl in this set.
6. * Kitchen Scale– I have yet to buy a proper scale, but this one is off a recommendation in “Amy’s Bread” make sure the scale measures in grams. Volume is an inaccurate measure when baking, and thus mass is often used instead.
7.* A dough scraper :once you learn how to use this it is one of the most useful tools I have. If at all possible try to find one without raised or indented lettering (usually a logo) that dough might stick to. There seems to be some confusion as to what to a dough scraper vs a dough cutter is. My thinking is if it’s flexible it’s a scraper if it’s metal it’s cutter.
8. Dough cutter – I am not recommending this brand it’s just to give a visual example.
9. cast iron dutch oven: If you use a dutch oven just realize the loaf will have to expand inside of it and thus limited by it’s size and SHAPE. One of the main reasons people use the dutch ovens is because it’s self-contained and thus self-steams using the water etc in the dough as it begins to bake and when the steam is over you just remove the bottom or larger half. When a dutch oven is used it is placed upside down with the lid/skillet on the stone with the bottom/pot over it. The two cast iron dutch ovens I usually see recommended are as follows:
10. the rest of the equipment you might like to buy are a couche, parchment paper, and possibly brotforms/bannetons all depending upon what you want to bake.
Flour sources: I am on the west coast so these sources are easiest for me.
Wheat:
Rye and other Flours