Why You Should Proof Bread in the Refrigerator

...ulk fermentation takes place at room temperature, I almost always proof my bread in the refrigerator. Why? Proofing bread in the fridge slows down the fermentation. Most of my breads are made with a sourdough starter (levain is a better word). A long proofing stage allows the acid producing bacteria in the levain to create a more developed tangy flavor than you would get if the bread just proofed for a few hours at room temperature. Slowing down f...

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Cooking Bread in a Dutch Oven and Alternative Steaming Techniques

...you stick the pot on top. I imagine that the handle is handy. Someone in a bread class I was teaching suggested using a bread baking stone and simply inverting a pot or large roasting lid over the stone. As long as the lid or pot seals properly, this should work too. Other folks use parchment paper and don’t do the inversion at all. I’m a bit skeptical, but haven’t tried this technique myself. You can also buy a clay cloche, but they’re on the exp...

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Los Angeles Bread Bakers Blog

...k Stambler, California has a cottage food law and Paul is also posting videos of a presentation that took place this weekend on how to get a cottage food permit in Los Angeles. And if you’re in Southern California and interested in learning about bread baking and meeting other bread bakers feel free to join our meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Los-Angeles-Bread-Bakers/. LABB is for everyone–amateurs, pros and people who have never baked bread in thei...

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Sourdough Rye Bread Class at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano

..., you’ll take home a loaf to bake in your oven. You can’t buy this kind of bread so you better learn how to bake it yourself! By baking bread at home, you’re in charge of what goes into every loaf and can choose to incorporate local and organic ingredients. Other benefits of baking at home include using less energy (used in harvesting, processing, and shipping store-bought bread), using less plastic packaging, and spending less money. Become a bak...

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Three Things I’ve Learned About Baking Bread With Whole Grain

...Keep it wet. Whole grain flour soaks up much more water than white flour. Bread recipes are a ratio between flour and water. In bread baking parlance this is called a hydration ratio (to get the hydration ratio you divide the water by the flour–the quirk of baker’s math is that the flour is always 100% ). Old school bread recipes, most of which require a lot of kneading, have hydration ratios in the 65% range. Popular no-knead white bread recipes...

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