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Do You Even Bake, Bro?

posted by chromas on Tuesday November 20 2018, @10:22PM   
from the kitcheneering dept.

canopic jug writes:

Eater has a longer article on how sourdough, and bread in general, is back in fashion and the changes being inflicted on the millenias-old staple by tech bros.

“I spent a lot of time — I don’t want to say ‘debugging,’ because that sounds really technical — but just working on recipes and trying to teach myself and there really weren’t a lot of materials out there at the time to do that,” he told me by phone this spring. “With bread baking, you kind of follow an algorithm to produce a result and that result isn’t always what you think it’s going to be, so you kind of have to step back and debug and diagnose the steps along the way. How did I go wrong here? That’s because technically the temperature might not be right or the dough strength might not be right. That iterative procedure and working through those algorithms kind of appeals to engineer. There’s the precision part of it, but also, when it comes down to it, technical people like to work with their hands. You want to construct something and I think bread is a good way to do that.”

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Original Submission

• Wet dough Wet dough (Score: 4, Informative) by gringer on Tuesday November 20 2018, @11:30PM (1 child)

  by gringer (962) on Tuesday November 20 2018, @11:30PM (#764455)

  I use a wet dough and a probe thermometer, taking the bread out when the internal temperature goes above 94°C. Works for me, with minimal effort:

  800g white flour (both plain and high-grade NZ varieties of flour seem to work equally well)
  130g wholemeal flour (or ground grains)
  3 cups (750ml) water
  2 tsp salt
  2 tsp yeast (actual amount isn't important; use more to get a quicker rise, use less to get a more sourdough-type taste)

  1. Mix together in a high-walled 5-litre container (ideally with translucent walls) until homogeneous (no kneading needed), and mark the height of the dough.
  2. When the dough has doubled in size, put the container in the fridge
  3. To prepare dough for baking, smear butter or oil on the sides of a bread tin, and pour in ½ of the risen dough (can be done just after rising, or after it's been in the fridge). Cut off the other half with a knife on the edge of the container as it's being poured out (so that it goes back inside).
  4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170-210°C for about an hour, until the temperature at the centre of the dough reaches (or goes above) 94°C. Lower temperatures will give a lighter crust and harder inside. If baking at 210°C, drop the temperature down to 170°C after the first half hour to stop the top getting too dark. Baking times will vary; experiment a bit with your own oven to see how long it takes.
  5. When ready, release the baked bread from the tin and set it on a wire rack (or cross-wise on the tin). Rest for at least 30 mins before slicing and eating.

  6. Based on the peasant variant of this recipe [artisanbreadinfive.com].

  --
  Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]

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• I will bake your recipe, but not just yet (Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday November 21 2018, @03:00AM

  by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Wednesday November 21 2018, @03:00AM (#764556) Homepage Journal

  It happens that I've already been planning to ask Mom for some measuring cups, mixing bowls and measuring spoons for the Winter Solstice Festival.

  It's looking like I won't be able to fly to Spokane to celebrate the new season with her, so I'll stay home and bake bread.

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  Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]

  Parent