Before I talk about the results of my two "experiments", I mentioned in a previous post that I would be assessing each loaf/recipe on a number of criteria. I have narrowed those criteria down to a few that I feel will allow me to both assess and describe each recipe fairly. These are:
- Flavour
- Crust
- Crumb
- Chewiness
- What the bread is especially great for
After recording each of these, I will consider the loaf as a whole, then give it a rating out of ten.
The first recipe I tried was for a fairly hands off "Heritage Bread" from Michael Smith's Back to Basics cookbook (2013). While the final product was quite tasty, actually making it was a bit stressful. I love descriptions in recipes, especially if I've never made that particular thing before, but it can also backfire if your version doesn't react the same way as they've said it should. When I mixed the ingredients for this dough (which did not require the yeast to proof, something I was both grateful for and skeptical of), the mixture was quite...soupy. Thankfully, this loaf is baked in a loaf pan, so it didn't matter in the end, but it also wasn't what I was expecting when he said it was a "high-moisture dough". The resulting bread was a perfectly respectable first start, with great flavour, although the crust was quite chewy after the first day. Thankfully, I was able to resuscitate it in the form of toast, but I definitely wasn't able to make any sandwiches with it.
Heritage Bread:
Flavour- yeasty and nutty
Crust- very thick and crackly; chewy past the first day
Crumb- fairly dense, small bubbles formed
Texture- nicely chewy, slightly spongy past the first day
Great for- toast or dipping in oil and vinegar
Overall rating- 7.5 out of 10
The bread I made the following week was The Minimalist Baker's "Easiest Whole Grain Seeded Bread". I chose this recipe because if I'm going to buy a loaf of bread from the store, I'm most likely to pick something with plenty of seeds or grains in it. I like texture in my bread, not to mention the health benefits. This recipe also seemed to be a nice step up difficulty-wise from the Heritage Bread. It was, again, a fairly hands-off recipe, but did have a few extra steps that required some attention. While not a mix-it-and-forget-it project, it also was not so difficult that I couldn't see myself making it every week or so. I ran into problems again with the texture of the dough, although this time it was so tough and unyielding that my hands started to cramp during the kneading process. I do feel that I've become better already at judging the right temperature for the "warm" water these recipes always call for. I know enough about yeast to know that the temperature does make a huge difference, and that too hot or too cold can kill the yeast (it is a living thing after all), and given how well this loaf rose, I think I'm coming along quite nicely. This bread was super tasty, and the texture was definitely better than the last loaf.
Whole Grain Seeded Bread:
Flavour- toasty, nutty, well rounded (from the seeds)
Crust- soft, with a bit of chewiness
Crumb- medium to small bubbles, not overly dense
Chewiness- fluffy, with just a bit of resistance
Great for- sandwiches, toast, anything
Overall rating- 9 out of 10
From these two weeks, I have a few areas I'd like to improve in:
- Understanding the effect add-ins (like fats or sweeteners) have on the flavour/texture of the bread
- Making a bread that requires a starter (fermented dough used in place of yeast)
- Trying more "traditional" recipes
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