Who knew baking bread would take hours and hours and hours?! Well, I’m sure OTHER people know. I just didn’t realize it until yesterday when I tried it for the first time. It wasn’t a baking class or anything. Just a random experience brought on after various Twitter conversations! I arrived bright and early [7am!] at Danny’s place and stayed until about 6pm. Some of the preparation was done the night before, so luckily, we were able to prepare doughs, shape ‘em, and bake ‘em!
So what did we tackle? A whole lot! There was: focaccia, honey whole wheat, cumin whole wheat, sourdough, casatiello, and bagels. I didn’t make everything, but I worked on some things here and there! At times, it was a sticky mess. And other times, I was sitting there calculating percentages and ratios and this and that. Lots of math.
The results, although not always the tastiest, were worth it! I took home a delicious casatiello that tasted like a croissant with salami and cheese inside. Mmm… Danny didn’t use commercial yeast, so many of the recipes had to be altered accordingly…
More photos: here! And yes, that was attempt numero uno. I’ve labeled it as such because I intend to try it again! The long hours and mathematics haven’t scared me off yet.
On a side note, I started working on #030 of the 101 in 1001 – Do a Daily Self Photo project for a year.
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8 Responses to “Baking Bread – Attempt #1”
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Awesome experience :) I love baking, but baking bread is something I haven't really challenged myself too much on. But sourdough is a task as it is. It's like feeding and watering an infant every night to keep the yeast going. They look great :)
faoccacia, my favourite! that looks yummy
Yeah, he had a feeding schedule and everything for the sourdough starter! Pretty intense. It was to be fed twice a day, which seems a lot of attention to pay for something that looked like a gloopy yogurt. :P
Unfortunately, the focaccia came out too dry and crunchy. It was almost like a cracker or maybe a really good pizza crust…
The math is what keeps me from baking. Cooking is like art: once you understand the concepts, you go wild and things will still turn out well. Baking is like science. That takes all the fun out of it for me.
Was so decadent!
The math is what keeps me from baking. Cooking is like art: once you understand the concepts, you go wild and things will still turn out well. Baking is like science. That takes all the fun out of it for me.
Was so decadent!