Hello from Portland, Oregon!
Hello, Fresh Loaf community! I'm brand new here, and quite new to baking bread (just started last month!), but have already found this forum to have an incredible wealth of information and talent. I've baked three loaves so far and have found something incredibly useful here for each one, so I decided to sign up for an account today.
I wish I could say that baking is something of a family tradition, but I grew up on store-bought bread, so learning to bake my own bread has been an incredible experience. I have spent the better part of a decade as an avid homebrewer, winemaker, and mead maker, and fell in love with the magic of yeast. I recently decided to stop drinking alcohol and instead turn to bread and kombucha making as a way to continue working with yeast and fermentation but in a healthier way.
So far, I have been blown away by how much of an incredible and sensory-laden experience breadmaking has been, and getting to share the fruits of my labor with friends and family is pretty dang awesome too! I look forward to learning from everyone here and becoming a contributing part of this thriving forum.
Welcome to this bread odyssey we're all on. This is the best website to talk with folks and learn techniques imho.
there are so many combinations. Ingredients. Methods.
You could spend your entire life baking bread and still learning every day. It's incredible. Kudos to you and keep baking.
Bread Lee
Thank you so much for the welcome, Bread Lee! I am really excited. Do you have any recommendations on some fun loaves to start with? I don't yet have a standing mixer (although I'm saving for one), if that matters. So far, I have made a French batard loaf, a semolina loaf, and a rustic Italian loaf.
I'm more of a european style rye loafer myself, but my family's favorite loaf of all so far has been an amish loaf. Makes great sandwiches. Rises like a skyscraper. And Incredibly easy to make. I love bernard clayton. The guy passed along some fantastic recipes. And most are fairly quick to make as far as breads go.
http://norahsrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/10/egg-harbor-bread.html?m=1
Thank you! I'm super excited about that book of his now... I just put a hold on a copy from my local library! I have been honestly a bit overwhelmed with how much information there is out there, so having a referral to a good resource is much appreciated. Is that egg harbor bread that you linked the same as the Amish loaf you're talking about, or is it something separate? Regardless, it looks delicious.
You're welcome! It's the same breads. I've made a dozen of them and they turn out perfect every time. The egg/milk wash really makes them shine so nice. My 10 yr old daughter helps make them, and eat them in her school lunches. Good luck!
Okay, good deal. Aw, that sounds like such a fun activity to do with kids! I look forward to trying the bread, and I hope you have a lovely day Bread Lee. Thanks again :)
You're welcome!
Be sure to post pics of your finished loaves. Looking at bread pics never gets old. Hehe.
BTW I'm baking a Paderborner Landbrot as I type. I'll post pics later today.
Take care and keep in touch.
Bread Lee
You're welcome! It's the same breads. I've made a dozen of them and they turn out perfect every time. The egg/milk wash really makes them shine so nice. My 10 yr old daughter helps make them, and eat them in her school lunches. Good luck!
We're still brewing and baking! I'm using beer in my bread as well as spent grain and, for the last two weeks, I'm even using the beer sludge -- the yeasty stuff that's left in the buckets after the beer is moved over from the bucket to the carboy. That sludge holds some power! I just fed some last night at a 1:1 ratio (sludge to bread flour) and the dude tripled overnight! I made biscuits with that this morning. I usually don't bake with yeast, only sourdough, but this stuff sparked my curiosity. I haven't posted much here either, I'm usually on Instagram but got my start here. The baker's math was the hardest! Holler if have any questions.
Happy Baking!