And so it begins...

The first two of many to come from the Tassajara Bread Book.

This is going to sound cheesy, but ever since I started this project, I have noticed a change in myself when I bake.  A peaceful, grounded feeling overwhelms me as I start to pull out the flour and mixing bowls from the cupboard.  The familiar feeling of the dry soft flour running through my fingers soothes me, the way a zen garden might.  The moisture-filled heat escaping from the oven alleviates the pain in my lower back from sitting in an office chair in front of a computer all day.  The heady smell of the yeast dissolving in warm water reminds me of the process that is about to start.  Once you have spent a good amount of time dedicated to baking bread, you can begin to recognize the patterns in the steps that you take.  As you become less and less worried about doing what the recipe says, you can understand more of the why and less of the what.  You can learn why you dissolve the yeast in hot water, why you add sugar or something sweet to the yeast mixture, why you have to spoon the flour into a cup to measure it.  Once you understand why you are doing what you are doing, you know what step is coming next and you don’t have to worry about scurrying back over to the cookbook for guidance.   Another reason that baking is appealing to me is the slowing down it requires and how forgiving the process is.  It takes time to make bread from scratch and it gives you time as well.  Unlike cooking, you don’t have to keep your eye on the food or the clock the entire time you are preparing it.  When you bake bread, you really only have to watch the clock while it’s baking in the oven.  This slowing down gives you time to study and feel the ingredients, more so than a stir-fry or a casserole might, and also gives you time to study the methods. 

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The Tassajara Bread Book opens with a detailed outline of the basic recipe to make bread by hand. Most of the remaining recipes in the book draw from this recipe with several or few alterations of ingredients or steps.  I read this mother recipe many times trying to memorize the steps and hopefully give myself some room to understand the process.  Recipes can be incredibly helpful, but they can also hinder the spontaneous creativity that arises when cooking or baking.  I have always been one to follow a recipe to the letter, hardly altering anything at all, but have started to feel more confident in my ability to make substitutions and additions as of late. I hope to gain a deep understanding about bread and the process of making it, so that I can feel confident enough in what I have learned to create my own recipes.   

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So now it begins.  I cracked open The Tassajara Bread Book and got to work. The first recipe in the book is the Tassajara Yeasted Bread, the basic recipe from which all others will follow.  It was very important to me to get this bread just right.  First you dissolve the yeast and then stir in the sweetening and the dry milk.  Then you add about half of the sifted flour and beat for 100 strokes with a wooden spoon.  Lesson number one:  I have wobbly weak arms that will be toned by the end of this project.  Making bread by hand is a physical job and it’s not easy. I had to take about seven breaks, during which I found it necessary to sigh loudly, and swing my mixing arm around like a pitcher. Then you let the bread rise for 45 minutes.  I have found that the method of feeding the yeast some sweetness causes the bread to rise rapidly and to great heights, which is very exciting.  Then you fold in the salt and oil and an additional 3 cups of flour (taking aforementioned breaks if necessary).  Next is the process of kneading.  Lesson number two:  Kneading is not the hardest part of making bread by hand, see lesson one above.  This time around, I actually felt like I was kneading the dough correctly, not just pushing it around the cutting board, losing half of the dough due to extreme stickiness.  I could actually see what kneading was doing, I could see that I was winding up the dough, creating a spring.  I folded the dough in half towards me, then pushed out on the top fold with the heels of my hands with gentle force while rocking forward with my whole body.  Then I turned the dough a quarter turn clockwise and repeated the steps.  After kneading for about ten minutes, you let the bread rise until doubled, punch it down, and then let it rise until doubled again.  Next you shape the loaves and put them into the baking pans.  Lesson number three: rolling the dough into a log before putting it into the pan, makes an even smooth loaf of bread that looks like one you would buy in a store.  It also makes the inside of the bread springy and spongy and light.  Then you let the bread rise for about 20 minutes, brush them with egg wash and cut slits in the top and bake for nearly an hour at 325 degrees.  Lesson number four:  Thumping on the bottom of the loaf will tell you if it is done baking.  If it sounds hollow, it’s done, if there is hardly any “thump” and all sides of the bread are not a deep golden brown, keep baking.  Lesson number five: There is arguably nothing better than homemade bread.

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One down, one hundred and seventeen left to go.  Think of all the lessons I will learn! 

#1 Tassajara Yeasted Bread

From the Tassajara Bread Book

3 cups lukewarm water (85-105 degrees)

1 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast (2 packages)

1/4 cup sweetening (honey, molasses, or brown sugar)

1 cup dry milk (optional)

4 cups whole wheat flour (you can substitute 1 or more cups unbleached white flour if desired)

4 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil or butter or margarine

3 cups additional whole wheat flour

1 cup whole wheat flour for kneading

Dissolve the yeast in the water.

Stir in the sweetening and dry milk.

Stir in the 4 cups of whole wheat flour to form a thick batter.

Beat well with a spoon (100 strokes).

Let rise 45 minutes.

Fold in the salt and oil.

Fold in an additional 3 cups flour until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Knead on a floured board, using more flour (about 1 cup) as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the board, about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth.

Let rise 50-60 minutes until doubled in size.

Punch down.

Let rise 40-50 minutes until doubled in size.

Shape into loaves and place in oiled pans.

Let rise 20-25 minutes.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg beated with 2 tbsp water or milk).

Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 1 hour, or until golden brown.

Remove from pans and let cool--or eat right away.