inspiration

Since I first got excited about bread, I have been dreaming of ways to use that love for bread for creating something worth sharing with the rest of the world. I have dreamed of opening my own bakery (not going to happen any time soon, but never say never). I have bought a bunch of domain names for starting a bread blog (such as BakerDad.com or 365breads.com to name two). But all the time, I wasn't quite sure what my thing should be. Well, I guess you can never be sure...

But today, after working on it since the beginning of January, I am very happy and proud of something I have created, and I'd love you to see it as well.

It's a free magazine on bread—called Bread, quite simply. 

The magazine comes in PDF format that you can download to your computer and consists of interviews, stories, and some tips and recipes. Plus photos of beautiful loaves of bread. But mostly, it is about the people who make great bread.

As the magazine unfolds in the next editions, my goal is to dig deep into specific areas of bread making with editions dedicated to topics such as fermentation, flour, heat, and so on—starting from flour in issue number 2. 

The first issue, which I published today, is an introduction to the journey, looking at the question of what bread really is all about: what makes it special, and how people fall in love with it. In making the magazine, I have approached this question through stories: I start by telling my own small story, and then move on to interviewing more advanced bakers.

Phil Agnew, a familiar face from The Fresh Loaf, tells about his relationship to bread.

Larry Lowary, a long time baker, is retired from active work but runs a small bakery on his backyard—as a hobby, he says. 

And what excites me the most, I even got the chance to interview my baking hero, Richard Bertinet. 

In addition to these baker interviews, there is an interview with Chris Young from the Real Bread Campaign and some beginner instructions for baking bread at home. 

If this sounds too much like an advertisement, I'm sorry! I will return to normal bread posts next time... :) But I'm very excited about this today, and it's free... So, take a look!

I was inspired by David (dmsnyder) and his 5 hour baguettes. I needed a sandwich bread that was as lean as I could get it but was still very much soft crusted and soft of crumb. I've found it, I think, by slightly modifying the 5 hour baguette idea and adding one enrichment: olive oil.

Stephanie’s Simple Bread
Makes 1 small loaf

225g AP or bread flour
10g rye flour
15g white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
170g water

Mix ingredients in the bowl for your stand mixer until you form a shaggy mass. Mix, on low, for 5 minutes, then increase speed to medium for 3 or 4 more. I left this in a clean bowl for 75 minutes for a first rise, folding at 25 and 50 minutes, and 60 minutes for a second rise. Shaped carefully and proofed for 40 minutes, scored, and spritzed with water. Baked for 30 minutes at 425 degrees.

I posted the recipe on my blog, too.

So thank you David. Thanks also have to go out to Susan of Wild Yeast for inspiration due to the fact that I was browsing the Wild Yeast Blog when I thought about how good a simple bread would be with the locally homemade ham salad I bought today.