The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

breadcollage

Jw's picture
Jw

breadcollage

I've been far and away, hence a lot less active on TFL. That will change again soon. I received 'Crust and Crumb' in the mail (wanted to buy it in a store in the US, no such book available). This is a serious book, I really enjoy reading the first chapters. It is the mise-en-place before the actual work start in the rest of the book.

I updated my breadcollage, which I use to ask people to 'read' before they can pick a bread for me to bake.

In case you like to know: the questions I ask:

Which bread is the most 'work'?
Which bread is the easiest to make?
What is the relation between shape (looks) and taste (content, inside)?
Which bread is slowrising, which is multicomponent?
Which type I got right first time around, and which one am I still struggling with?

A few of the questions I get (apart from the 'you got to be kidding you can do this'..)

- what do you do after you knead to bread? (what do you mean with knead?)
- how much does a bread baking machine cost? (I don't know, don't have one).
- is this way too much work? (if time is your only perspective, buy bread in a store)
- what about the costs? (this is actually cheaper then buying quality bread, but don't count the labor costs...)
- why would you do this? (as mentioned before: taste, healthy food, sharable, care for my family, learning experience, 'chemistry')

Happy baking, 'I'll be back' with Pain de Michelle.

Cheers,

Jw

Comments

summerbaker's picture
summerbaker

Neat "catalogue."  Are you a professional baker or when you say that you ask people to "pick a bread" for you to bake are you talking about friends?  If so, you must be one great friend!

Summer

Jw's picture
Jw

but for the time being I will just be humbly learning and learning. So the bread is for friends and family and the occasional colleague.

The word 'friend' has such a strong cultural and language context... Cheers, Jw.

Thaichef's picture
Thaichef

Hello J. W :

  Your breads are awsome!  Please tell me that you have been baking for 20 years and more  because if you are a newbie, I would be so insanely  jealous.  Oh, wow!  It is beyond belief. 

  Thanks for sharing.

  mantana

Jw's picture
Jw

here is the story in a nutshell: I moved to Switzerland right after college, remember walking into a bakery. On my request to buy bread, he said: we have none. Later he explained all the different kinds of bread (what to have for breakfast, what to take into the mountains, what the have for a special occasion etc).

When we moved back to Holland, I really missed the bread culture and started baking myself. This was 17 years ago, so don't feel bad. Just take picture as you get along. by the way, I feel like a breadking in a land of amateurs. Bread culture has improved a lot in Holland, there are now a few (professional) bakers in would recommend.

Happy baking.

Cheers,
Jw.