It is my mission for this summer to get really, really good at baking bread. I'm not a bad baker by any means, but I don't have a whole lot of range. And so, while I am in limbo between my current tutoring job and my new life as a PhD candidate this fall, I am going to embark on a new quest- Mission Bread-Making.
In my last post, I mentioned that I bought a bread-making cookbook. Enter Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. This morning, after spending about two hours messing around online and making phone calls to sort out a newly cancelled vacation (thanks for the new orders, army), I made my way to the kitchen and began the process for making Cuban Bread, the first loaf I attempted out of this cookbook.
I then mixed in some hot water, stirred it all together (adding more flour until it wasn't sticky anymore), and then turned it out onto the counter to knead it until it felt "elastic and alive". I know that sounds like a bizarre term to use for dough, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you get to that point. "You know it when you feel it." And then, time to let it rise!
Once it's risen, there's only one step left- baking! This is the most excruciating step because it smells so, so good but you can't take it out early or it won't be the right texture and consistency (I'm assuming). And so you wait, maybe watch an episode of Doctor Who, read a book, get sucked into the wormhole of personality quizzes on the internet, etc...
And then finally...
BREAD!
This loaf was so good. The outside was really crunchy and the inside was almost creamy, it was so soft. I am very pleased with my new cookbook so far and I can't wait to try something else. This one will definitely be making it into my regular rotation, though!
If you've got any suggestions for types of bread that are especially awesome, please feel free to send them my way!
I won't bore you with the details, but essentially the recipe involved dumping a lot of ingredients into a large bowl and mixing them all together. Oooooh, aaaaaah!
Once it's risen, there's only one step left- baking! This is the most excruciating step because it smells so, so good but you can't take it out early or it won't be the right texture and consistency (I'm assuming). And so you wait, maybe watch an episode of Doctor Who, read a book, get sucked into the wormhole of personality quizzes on the internet, etc...
And then finally...
BREAD!
This loaf was so good. The outside was really crunchy and the inside was almost creamy, it was so soft. I am very pleased with my new cookbook so far and I can't wait to try something else. This one will definitely be making it into my regular rotation, though!
If you've got any suggestions for types of bread that are especially awesome, please feel free to send them my way!
