 Submitted by Ford on January 16, 2009 - 12:04pm
I have heard the ex[pression, "Water makes the baker rich." I would like to know the source of that quote or a similar one. I know this refers to the face that a slack dough will rise more than a dry one and thus give a loaf with more volume, BUT who said it?
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Are you sure about that quote?
The omniscient Google does not lie....
Johnster
I have searched the internet
I have searched the internet and I agree no results. I am not sure of the exact quote, just the sense of it. I thought it came from Mike Avery, but he does not acknowledge it.
Water, a Baker's Best Friend
Although I don't know who was the first person to use the expression, I believe it refers to the fact that water is less expensive than flour and that a bread with a higher hydration will bring the baker a higher profit margin.
SteveB
http://www.breadcetera.com
I agree that is the sense of
I agree that is the sense of the quote. I would like to be able to attribute it to the correct author. Perhaps your topic is a truer quote.
Nice collection
http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_AllAboutBread/BreadFactsQuotes/index.cfm
It's in Hamelman's book, and
It's in Hamelman's book, and I think he attributes it to German bakers. It refers not to the volume, but rather to the weight of the bread, since the bread is sold by weight so the higher the percentage of water in the finished loaf, the higher the profit margin.
Mike
I have "Bread, A Baker's Book
I have "Bread, A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes" by Jeffrey Hamelman. I looked again today, and I cannot find the reference. If you can find the page number, I would appreciate it.
Ford
Water makes the baker rich.
That's from page 189 of Hamelman's 'Bread: etc'. The full quotation:
Rye doughs should be fairly loose textured, so be cautious about adding flour. Looser doughs bring out the full robust flavor of rye more thoroughly than dry doughs, which ferment with difficulty and tend to have poor volume (another aspect of rye bread is the economic one, underscored by a saying among German bakers: "Water makes the baker rich").
Stewart
I do thank you for finding
I do thank you for finding the reference. I knew I had read it, but I could not retrieve it, and it has been knawing at me. I found the reference, just where you said it was.
Not an expert, and I don't
Not an expert, and I don't claim to be, but when I read your post, my first thought was the old addage about the quality of the water making, say, New York bagels, or Parisian baguettes what they are. Maybe it's referring to that? Lots of folks say that's why you can't replicate a good New York bagel at home: it's that New York water. Or maybe I'm just adding to the confusion!
Myth about water
...That is a widely believed myth about NY bread and bagels.
Peter Reinhart actually spends a lot of his time dispelling that old myth.
Fact: You want the best possible quality from the water you use.
Absolutely no taste should come from the water itself.