The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

In Praise of the Amateur Artisan Baker

rossnroller's picture
rossnroller

In Praise of the Amateur Artisan Baker

I don't for a moment regret purchasing the great bread books I have by Hamelman, Reinhart, Glezer and Lepard, but to be honest, the main value of these texts for me is turning out to be the anecdotes, general information and wisdom their authors impart in their commentaries throughout their books, rather than the recipes.

I've tried a few of their recipes and all have been good, but frankly, I generally prefer those posted by home bakers like Shiao-Ping, DMSnyder and you others I've identified as bright stars in the bread forum/blog constellation. I'm beginning to think that the best home bakers know home baking better than any pro, and that the great sourdough bread recipes I've tried from this and other home baking forums reflect this.

Perhaps the best combination of all (from my perspective as a home baker constantly in quest of better home-baked bread) is when great home bakers start experimenting with breads modelled on the recipes and techniques of the great pro bakers. Shiao-Ping's recent Gérard Rubaud post (which I consider something of a landmark), inspired by the fabulous interview MC conducted with Monsieur Rubaud, demonstrates that quite dramatically, I believe.

Just some thoughts that have been brewing for a while that I felt might be appropriate to share here.

Cheers all
Ross

 

Crider's picture
Crider

I don't own any bread books (yet). Haven't yearned for any because of the great advice and ideas on the internets.

breadbakingbassplayer's picture
breadbakingbass...

I have a collection of books that I read more for ideas and techniques rather than recipes...  I've been doing this for quite some time now so I prefer to write my own formulas and see if they work...  Some work great, and others fail miserably...  But that's how you learn...

Also, baking at home you have much more freedom to bake whatever you want than if you were a professional that has to fulfill orders every day...

copyu's picture
copyu

'T.G.F.I.'—"Thank God For Internet"—that is MY motto!

If I'd been trying to bake seriously without help from reading here, I would've been using 'cream of wheat' thinking it was REAL semolina and wondering what I was NOT doing correctly. I could give dozens of other examples regarding 'wild yeast', lactobacilli, caramel, hydration, malt powders, yada-yada-yada...the internet has been a kind of "knowledge explosion".

I'll NEVER, EVER, give up my dozen or so printed baking books, but their usefulness would be much lower without resources such as TFL [and all those lovely conversion calculators, 'wikis', dictionaries...!]

Most of all, it's the people you get to mix with through this great innovation. We use the latest technology to learn the 'tricks' that our ancestors took in their stride. Shared Wisdom—how cool is that?

I agree with the original post and the respondents, so far!  

Abracaboom's picture
Abracaboom

In which other forum can we wear our "frugality" as a badge of honor? Have I already told you about the 8" floor scraper I found at a garage sale for $1 and which, after sanding off most of the rust and a little grinding, makes the best baker's scraper in the world? Or my batard proofing hammock built out of scraps?

If only duct tape could withstand 500ºF!