tips and advice
Hello everyone,
I have been making bread for the last two years on and off, knew it was something i enjoyed but it wasn't until 4 months ago i took it very seriously and am in love with it. I am very thankful to have found this forum, the only guide i had for the last 4 months was my bread book. I have read some of the topics here and it seems to be just the place, as i'm falling into the need to know more category very sharply. I can bake good basic bread and i have a couple of times, though my consistency is not there. My weakest point would be the shaping process , this is what tends to get me all the time. Sometimes my bread "rises" to the occasion other times it just wants to stay flat and wide like a ciabatta, i have done this a few times and mistakenly came out with a very nice tasting bread similar to ciabatta with the big air holes, but not what i intended to shape. Although i never gave up constantly trying again and again to "feel" my way around the dough. The other thing is my slashes were not opening up fully in the oven at first, but with more tries it got much better, this being that i added the steam factor. Can we really bake Artisan bread like the bakers at home in a normal gas oven? Help would be greatly appreciated. I live in Bahrain and we lack good bread. Am willing to do anything to set me on the right path to great Artisan bread. I read about Todd and his experiance which i relate to 100% and has given me the courage today to keep going after lots of attempts. Thank you. I love the fact that you opened a micro-bakery with just 3 breads, starting off small and you never know where your passion could lead you. I would love to do a bread course to get my head straight about the science. Good to be here, i feel i am finally in a good place now.
Thank you all.
ghazi