The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Drawing a line.. of bread, choice and honesty..

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Drawing a line.. of bread, choice and honesty..

Admittedly I haven't baked in the past two months. I think about it all the time, and of course the daily emails from TFL stoke the fire. It's summer, it's hot, family visitors invaded my house, my kitchen gets ridiculous hot at the best of times, life, work, etc.. so I've taken a break. Charlie (white) and Ingrid (rye) are aging well (albeit they're being neglected) in the fridge as I type.. but I've recently had two bread experiences that are rant worthy..

#1 - Two weeks ago we went to a local farmers market a few towns over as a way to escape the city on the weekend. Imagine my surprise and happiness when I come across a baker stall with a depleting supply of freshly baked loaves and flour bags for sale from my favourite local mill (ok, it's the only local mill I buy fresh milled flour from locally). It set me up to think, wow, he's gotta have some great bread and I need to buy some... the pickings were slim at that point in the morning so we settled on a sourdough cheese loaf and an instant yeast herb loaf.  I specifically asked which were sourdough and that's there reason we bough the cheese bread (my wife wanted the cheese bread, and I wanted a sourdough loaf). They both looked rustic and great. Upon cutting the cheese bread my first clue that something was amiss was when I realized he must have used what looked like Kraft Velveeta cheese slices as his cheese source. The second was when I put it to my nose and realized there was virtually no aroma. And the third was when I took a bite and thought "no way this is sourdough".  Let me count the ways - wow, i was disappointed. Now I know, there's a 2% chance that it was a sour dough loaf. But frankly, no way no how. Why would someone do that? Maybe it was the $7 price tag - but as I said to my wife after I bought it - i wanted to support a local baker. I just happened to chose the wrong one!  He seemed like a nice guy! That second instant yeast herb loaf? We opened it the next day - completely dense as a board, stale and just as disappointing. Another $5 unwisely spent. Maybe he thought people just don't know or don't care. I'm not sure. But really?! Ugh..

#2 - This past week a new bakery/restaurant opened up in the city. It's a well known place and this is a new location for them. It's big, it's the first week, new employees, and there's got to be tons going on. I saw for a week before they opened they were training new staff in the bakery section that I could see through the street side bakery window. I was excited by the activity inside! My daughter whet to check it out after opening and bought me a beautiful looking sourdough. It was text book looking. Great bloom, great crust, well baked. Clearly a sourdough smell to it. The crumb was a bit dense but fine considering the first week, I'm sure it will only improve.  But it was 100% white flour. I'm like, what?! Completely uninspired flour. Honestly, I just couldn't eat it. Two days later I ended up cutting it, freezing it, and will toast it on the bbq with olive oil and use it for bruschetta once the tomatoes start to ripen! It really made me realize how far down this bread journey I've come. The complex flavours and smells from whole grain sourdough with long ferments is a truly worthy endeavor we should all aspire to experiencing as bakers.

I wonder if all this means I've become some sort of "bread snob".. maybe so. I like to think baking bread has tought me to eat more thoughtfully.  But to quote the title of a good book "bread matters". It's one of the most fundamental and important foods in my life. Making it well, sharing it well, matters. I can't connect with other ingredients  the same way - when cooking pork, beef or fish - I can when making bread. I'm always on bread alert at restaurants. I smell my bread all the time - sometimes overtly, sometimes depending on company covertly. I think of how to improve my baking. How to impact the process to change the outcome. Of sharing it with family and friends. Of how the dough feels, smells, develops. Of the joy only an amazing oven spring with great ears can provide. Am I the only one that feels this way? Not among this TFL or wider bread tribe. I know that. But when I venture out of the tribe and come across those that are simply making or selling bread in a commercial way like the two examples above, I can't help but wonder - don't you get it?!

Ok.. rant over..

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

There is an NPR program called Snap Judgment.  In the introduction to one episode  , the host gives a great example of this  http://snapjudgment.org/senseless   listen to the intro on the psychology class and wine and see if it rings a bell.

After years of using only 100% home milled whole wheat, I went to  a baking class, and when they handed out the bread that was baked in that class, which was all 100% AP white flour, it tasted like cotton candy to me.    

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Or said differently - there's no going back. It's blue pill versus red pill (the matrix) stuff.  So I agree. I've had this very experience in other parts of life.  With time, experience, exposure, thoughtfulness, you develop a minimum standard, a limit to what you'll accept, an appreciation for what is good, mediocre or bad versus what is good but just not for you. I get that and appreciate it's at play here.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

and taste each others' breads. You experience makes me wonder just exactly what each of us is striving for. Is it the same or are we worlds apart? Something to ponder. 

Bread Buddy's picture
Bread Buddy

I have been baking Artisan bread for many years now. I have studied this art and practiced it and taken professional classes continuously. One never stops learning and honing their skills if they are truly looking to make the best bread they can. 

Among the many things I have learned is there is no one perfect bread for everyone all the time. And good "white" bread is just as fantastic as good whole grain bread!  Really is there anything better than, the simple perfect French bread baguette, and difficult to achieve because it requires specific skills.

I am absolutely a bread snob. I won't eat or buy inferior bread. But I would never limit myself to one type of bread. 

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

You are a knowledgable and discriminating consumer.

Your preferences may differ from that of others, but good white bread is different from bad white bread, even if you prefer whole grain loaves.

David

enchant's picture
enchant

If you had these complaints after being invited to a friend's house and being served his home made bread, I'd say yeah, you're a bread snob.  But if someone has set up a booth at a flea market or has opened a professional bakery in the city, they should be held to a higher standard.

I make bread that I'm fairly happy with.  Others have tasted my bread and said things along the lines of, "Wow, this is great!  You should sell it at a flea market!"  I take the compliment graciously, but in reality, there is no way that I'd feel comfortable selling my bread at a flea market.  This is putting a high label of quality on my bread.

What's unfortunate, bread1965, is that years ago you might have enjoyed these breads.  Ignorance was bliss.