I’ve done quite a bit of experimental baking over the last few months; in particular veering out of my comfort zone of Local Breads to include other books and bread-making recipes.
I’ve enjoyed myself, maybe even learned a few things, but most of all this task cemented the fact that baking is my zen. Nowhere do I feel more peaceful or at ease than when I’m standing at the counter massaging a mass of spongy dough. Time to start evaluating a career change? Perhaps so, but only time will tell… though I recently read about GBC offering an artisanal bread certificate program…
At any rate, I thought I’d share a short pictorial with all of you on some of the highs and lows of my personal baking quest since September;
This beauty is a Genzano country boule; a crumbly, crusty loaf sprinkled with an ample dusting of wheat bran before heading to the oven. It was surprisingly light for such a robust looking loaf, and had an alluring nuttiness to it.
This poor, misshapen confabulation is my attempt at an Italian baguette. Looks horrid, but tasted delish. Now that my baker’s lame (a sharp razor blade for slashing air pockets) is in the mail, I expect all future attempts at breads requiring the slashy-slashy will look much better.
This was a wheatberry beer bread that looked better than it tasted. In principle, it sounded amazing, but the wheatberries were too tough and almost cracked my teeth and it also hit the overkill on molasses.
The flavour on this one was much better, but you can’t really go wrong with a milk and honey partnership, as the many residents of Streetsville have taught me over the years. The only thing I would have changed was the density, since it came out rather short and heavy like a pound cake, but what a gorgeous colour!
I took another stab at one of the many breads of Genzano with this potato pizza. I could have eaten this one 3 times a day, every day for a year and still been happy. I also really enjoy any excuse to use my mandolin.
Most recently I was messing around with a wild mushroom focaccia. It had excellent umami, but the mushrooms were cooked just a little too much and became tough and chewy. It probably didn’t help that I was using rehydrated dried mushrooms, either.
And up top there is a lovely, rustic Roman red pizza, sprinkled with the barest hint of crushed tomato bits. It’s always hard to pick favourites, but I think this one claims the title of the Everyman’s best.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the many faces of bread that’ve taken shape in my kitchen of late. Speaking for the 2 of us, I can definitely assure you that we’ve certainly enjoyed eating them. Nom nom nom!
Until next time…
Tags: Baking, Books, bread, Daniel Leader, Local Breads
