One of my goals this year is to learn how to make bread, and here is my first loaf.
The recipe1 is from the book titled The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart.
Besides listing recipes the author also talks about the different chemical processes in bread making. The most surprising idea I learned was that the dough is kneaded not only to mix the ingredients, but to raise its temperature so the yeast activates.
Kneading was the fun bit even though it was a workout.
I also needed to take the temperature of the bread while it was baking. Each loaf needs to rise to a certain temperature, depending on the type of bread. In this way, bread is like turkey.
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My flat mate saw me kneading the dough.
“That looks sticky.”
“Yes it’s sticky. I think I need to add more flour,” I said.
“You know my mom has a bread machine. You can borrow it if you want to make bread.”
“…”
“Would you like to borrow it?”
“No, you fool! I need to feel the dough between my fingers!”
1. Strangely this bread required brown rice, honey and buttermilk.
This month I moved into a new house with a blue roof. The beach is across the street and the Catholic Church Monastery of St. Gerard is above my home.