Hi All,

I love all the discussions on TFL.  One I haven't seen yet is a primer on how to taste bread in the same vein as how people learn to taste wine.  Not sure if there are any competition judges that want to weigh in here, but here are a couple things I came up with that contribute to the overall bread experience.

First smell

Overall color of crust and crumb

Holes and airiness

Chew

Texture

Taste and complexity

Aftertaste

It all depends of course on what kind of bread you are tasting, but in general what should one look for when tasting truly excellent breads or evaluating breads?  All thoughts are welcome.

dsoleil

Is there a taste difference between the three or four commercial brands of yeasts available at local supermarkets.  My local supermarket carries only one or two different brands of yeast at a time and keeps switching off and on among the three or four top brands.  My sister in law (a wonderful baker) swears that she can tell the difference when she makes her signature parker house rolls.  She doesn't like Red Star.  So it got me to thinking that among the many bakers here there might be some who have had experience with this.

This isn't a problem - it's just a big conundrum to me, and I'm simply wondering whether anybody can solve it...

The other day, I asked my husband what sort of bread he'd like for me to make the most.  He said a regular loaf - but salty! extra salt!  So I warned him that salt can kill yeast, and at best we'd have a very slow rise, but he said he didn't care - just salty!  (For safety's sake I made another loaf, the same recipe but without extra salt, too!)

So I went ahead with it - taking a basic loaf recipe with white flour, water, scalded milk, butter, sugar - but I upped the salt to about 4 or 5%.  Like I had predicted, the rise was extremely slow and small, both in the dough and the final proof.  I went ahead and popped it in the oven with steam, and it turned out to have excellent oven spring and a nice soft gold crust.  We were pleased.  

But upon the tasting - it was salty enough, perfectly so - but for reasons I simply can't explain, it tasted exactly like the breakfast biscuits we've had in a diner in the United States!  The other loaf tasted like a normal bread.  

Where did the biscuity flavor come from???  Spooky!  I just can't figure it out!  Any hints, ideas?  Thanks!

I have never had good luck with sourdough starters. When I lived in "Nearly Canada, North Dakota" my starters never developed any sour taste. I think it was just too cold in our home, even when I placed on our hot water heater. Then again, I only tried them in the winter.

Now I live in "Nearly Mexico, Arizona". Our home is a constant 74 degrees. This time I'm trying a rye and water starter with the 3 step method of 2 oz rye/2 oz spring water for 48 hours, 2 oz rye 4 oz spring water 18 hours, 4 ounces wheat flour, 4 ounces spring water.

I just started stage two. At the end of stage one, I've got great bubbling, but little volume growth (was supposed to double, I gained about 25% volume). The smell is very tangy, but very unpleasant tasting. Not to be gross, it tastes like barf. It is not the definite musty taste. No sign of mold. Is this the normal taste for rye starter?

Thanks, and 17 1/2 hours to go until stage three!

I smelled my starter before I baked today. It was trying to tell me something.

In the begining, this starter was never very sour, but now at one month old it has changed and can be where ever I steer it. This one had been mildly neglected this week and got pretty powerful.

It told me it was going to be very sour and I don't like "very sour." I should have waited a day or two and washed the starter until it smelled like what I like to eat. 

Next time I crank up a starter to cook with in a day or two, I'll not only shoot for volume but also taste.