More bread experiments

When I called Maggie Glezer, coauthor of "Artisan Baking Across America," to ask her questions about baking with sourdough, she listened as I recited my proportions and technique, then promptly suggested I skip half of the steps I was following.  Ever since reading about Jim Lahey's no-knead method (see Mark Bittman's article in the New York Times, Nov. 8, 2006), Glezer says she's been cutting out more and more steps in her own bread baking. "I wasn't really kneading my challah doughs," Glezer wrote in an e-mail, "but it didn't occur to me to do the same things with hearth breads." 

So I tried the recipe for whole wheat sourdough boules without going through the initial mixing, any of the folds or the pre-shape. I got up in the morning, after my sourdough starter was ripe, and just mixed all the ingredients together in a big bowl, covered it all with plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 1/2 hours.  Actually, I went back to bed. When I finally did get up, I divided the dough in two, shaped the pieces into two rounds and put them into baskets for another 2 1/2 hours. (Well, I'd forgotten the bannetons and brotforms and proofing baskets at work, so I stuck them into ordinary collanders that I'd lined with floured old linen towels.) Then I baked them off in my oven and took them into work. They were terrific, with good hole structure (although the hole structure is better when you fold the dough) and a fantastic crust. The crumb was moister than the others had been, a little denser and creamier. Bread does taste better when you're not sleep-deprived.

More bread tips (and pictures) after the jump.

-- Amy Scattergood

Photos by Amy Scattergood

You don't just dabble in bread baking; you become obsessed. 

Since getting the assignment to write a sourdough story, I've been waking up at 4 a.m. (late for a baker) to start pre-ferments or feed starters;I've been letting my dough rise in my car (as did Julia Child, or so a baking instructor once told me), rushing home in traffic to bake after work; I even left dinner at the Foundry to go stir down one starter that was threatening to bubble over in my car. (Another one did once, while I was eating, appropriately enough, at Mozza.)

Other things I learned:  At Bouchon bakery in Yountville, head baker Matt McDonald uses river rocks to create steam when he bakes at home, not unlike how Scandinavians power their saunas.  Following a tip from my colleague and fellow home baker David Colker, I've been using chains bought at a hardware store. Just put the chains (or rocks) in a cast-iron pan placed in the bottom of your oven, heat them along with your baking stone, then pour hot water into the pan after you've loaded your oven: The extra surface area creates a huge burst of steam that helps leaven the bread and create a great crust. (Be careful doing this at home!)

From there, I kept experimenting.  I converted my whole wheat starter to white, as it was more convenient (and cheaper) to maintain, and I wanted bread with a little more lift. With it I made the boule recipe, then took half of the dough and used it as a terrific pizza crust. (Steve Sullivan of Berkeley's Acme Bread Co. told me he uses his sourdough starter -- the original of which he made in 1982 in a bucket with his father's grapes -- in pizza dough, whether or not he uses yeast too.)  I even made a tortano, a huge round loaf, using the entire boule recipe, shaping it free-form on a sheet of parchment as you would a donut, then scoring it. (I used the folds with this recipe, as it gives the dough more strength.)  Here it is (above, on a wooden peel). 

Right now I've got baguettes rising in the Test Kitchen, and Nancy Silverton's recipe for sourdough chocolate cake at home taped on my refrigerator. And the next time I make a stew that needs a little thickening, I'm going to try using a bit of sourdough starter as a roux. This last tip came from Naomi Duguid, who included starter in a recipe for Moroccan stew in "Flatbreads & Flavors," which she co-wrote with Jeffrey Alford. Now if only I could figure out how to run my car with starter, I'd be truly happy.

Comments

[Luisa]

Holy wow, that tortano looks amazing. Those holes! Gorgeous. I admit the process of starting the sourdough starter has me thoroughly intimidated. I hope I get over it soon.

[patrick jeannette]

Dear Amy and Test Kitchen Staff,

The recipes look great and I can't wait to start my process of experimentation especially on the NO-KNEAD boules.

Thanks for the info on the blog and the great picture of a kitchen full of starters. I relate.
There is one suggestion regarding the rotation of the bread in the oven when the oven is hot. Your recommendation of, "using oven mitts and being very careful" is very true. One ground rule while baking is wearing a long sleeve chef's coat, a sweat shirt or even getting one of the arms length mitts by ORKA . ( http://www.isinorthamerica.com/foodservice/ba_mitt.shtml ) It eliminates the second and third degree burns on our arms, hands, and fingers.

Great baking,
Patrick Jeannette