FRIENDBaking Artisan BreadBaking Artisan BreadW I TH NAT U R A L S TA R TE R SWITH NATURAL STARTERSFEW PLEASURES ARE SIMPLER or more soothing than a slice of warm, freshly baked bread, and few bakers know bread like Mark Friend, founder of Farm to Market Bread Company. Mark has been baking bread for forty-fi ve years and is celebrating the twenty-fi fth anniversary of his beloved Kansas City bakery. Now readers can learn to create (at home) their own starters: San Francisco Sourdough, French Levain, Rye, and Biga, the Italian pre-ferment. With these starters and pre-ferment, they can hand-mix, form, and bake artisan breads. In four clearly organized chapters, Farm to Market bread master Mark Friend guides aspiring bakers from starter to warm, aromatic baked bread. After you learn the four core recipes, there are variations for each to add to your baking repertoire.9 781449 48784351999$19.99 U.S.A. ($25.99 Canada)ISBN: 978-1-4494-8784-3Printed in the U.S.A.Cover design by Spencer WilliamsCover photos by Thomas GibsonMARK FRIENDBaking Artisan Bread_MECH.indd 16/19/18 4:25 PMBAKING ARTISAN BREADThe best way to appreciate artisan bread is to get in the kitchen and make it yourself, step by step. Naturally fermenting a starter, mixing it with flour to form a dough, mixing the dough to add structure, letting the dough slowly rise, forming the loaf, and then baking it are techniques that date back 7,000 years. Today, amid a return to the artisan way of baking, we continue that history of bread as we bake in our own kitchens, walking in the footsteps of the thousands of bakers who have gone before us. In the following pages, you will learn that two of the most important components of true artisan bread baking are a healthy starter and attention to detail. You will develop your baker’s intuition and grow in your ability to “know the dough,” like so many bakers before us did, so that extra water or flour can be added just because you “know.” INTRODUCTIONBaking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 107/2/18 3:36 PMBaking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 117/2/18 3:37 PMBaking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 127/2/18 3:37 PMWe start with the starters, which are pre-ferments, from the well-known San Francisco Sourdough Starter (page 26), which gives that distinctive tang to bread; to the French Levain (page 31), which is less dense and sour; to the Rye Starter (page 37), which brings a richness to rye bread; and in a later chapter the Italian pre-ferment known as Biga (page 116). Biga is not a starter, but rather a pre-ferment made with baker’s yeast and fermented for 12 to 16 hours prior to the final dough, creating a nutty flavor.Some of the baker’s terms you encounter in this book may differ from those that you are familiar with. For example, we use proof sometimes instead of rise. Proof came from bakers seeing the dough rise as proof that the yeast of the starter was working. Essentially, they mean the same thing. Start your bread journey in this book with the San Francisco Sour-dough Starter (page 26) and, specifically, the San Francisco Sourdough Boule (page 58). This loaf will let you practice the art of artisan bread, from weighing the ingredients to mixing the dough, letting the dough ferment, forming the loaves and letting them proof, and baking like an artisan baker. And all with delicious results.There are, admittedly, a lot of steps to follow in the tradition of artisan bread baking. All these techniques have been created and passed down through generations of bakers. As you learn about the importance of starters in bread baking, you will progress toward making the perfect loaf simply by knowing and responding to exactly what that bread dough needs. And I will help you every step of the way.Baking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 137/2/18 3:37 PMBaking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 797/2/18 3:38 PM80 BAKING ARTISAN BREAD WITH NATURAL STARTERSMakes 2 round loaves or boulesThe French have been baking this bread in village ovens for centuries, the tops crosshatched with the individual marks of each family so that they would know which loaf was theirs when it came out of the oven. This French Farm Boule predates what many people think is the classic French bread—the long and thin baguette, which was first made about 1920. This round loaf lends itself to flavor additions, as you’ll see in subsequent recipes. But it is delicious on its own. It has the crisp, dark, blistered crust and airy interior of the best French bread. And you have the satisfaction of having made it all yourself. Unlike the sourdough breads, you don’t need to start with a sponge. You just mix the starter right in the dough. To get the best flavor and texture, you need to use a mix of flours. See page 21 for those I recommend. You will also need two proofing baskets. If you start in the morning, you can have a loaf of this wonderful bread by dinner.DOUGH1 cup plus 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon (200 g) Levain Starter (page 31) 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons (435 g) bread flour, plus more for dusting ¼ cup (30 g) whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (15 g) rye flour 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water, 78–82°F (26–28°C) 2 teaspoons (11 g) saltOlive oil, for greasingMIX THE DOUGH. To mix by hand, place the starter, flours, water, and salt in a bowl and mix with your hands or a dough scraper until you have a smooth and soft dough. Pick up the dough with both hands and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Squeeze the dough through your fingers until the dough is so firm that you can’t squeeze it through your fingers anymore, about 5 minutes. Continue to work the dough by stretching the dough horizontally with your fingers and hands. Then fold each side into the center, one over another, to form a long rectangle about 5 by 15 inches (13 by 38 cm), like a three-panel brochure. Repeat, dusting with a little flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic, approximately 5 times.To mix using a stand mixer, place the starter, flours, water, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix for FRENCH FARMBaking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 807/2/18 3:38 PM81LEVAIN, THE FRENCH NATURAL LEAVEN5 minutes on low speed (the 2 to 3 settings on a KitchenAid), scrape down the bowl and the dough hook, and then continue mixing for 5 minutes longer on medium speed (the 4 to 6 settings on a KitchenAid), or until the dough is smooth and elastic.FIRST FERMENTATION. Transfer the dough to a stainless-steel bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 3 hours at room temperature, above 72°F (22°C).PRE-SHAPE AND REST TIME. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Divide in half with a dough scraper. Using your hands, gently pat and guide each half into a round about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for another 15 minutes before the final forming. FINAL FORMING. Dust your hands with flour. Use a dough scraper to lift the dough rounds off the floured surface to make sure they’re not sticky. (If they are, gently brush your floured hands over the sticky places.) With your hands, pick up an edge of the dough and pull it to the center of the dough round. Make a quarter turn, fold the next edge to the center, and repeat this flattening, quarter turn, and repeat again. With your hands, gently smooth around the circumference. Repeat with the second dough round. Turn each round or boule over so its smooth side is facing up. Each boule should be about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. FINAL FERMENTATION. Dust the inside of 2 proofing baskets with flour. Place each formed boule, bottom side up, in the prepared proofing basket. Cover each boule loosely with plastic wrap and let proof for 3 hours at room temperature, above 72° F (22°C).To prepare the oven for rebar steam baking, place an oven rack on the lowest rung of the oven. Arrange 10 small rebar in a single row along the bottom of a broiler pan; place the broiler pan on the lower oven rack. Arrange the second oven rack just above the broiler pan. Place a baking stone on the second, higher oven rack. After you put the loaf in the oven, pour 1/2 cup (120 ml) room-temperature water into the prepared broiler pan. Be careful of the hot steam. Quickly close the oven door.To prepare the oven for cloche baking, place 1 oven rack on the lower third of the oven. Place a baking stone on the oven rack. Remove the second oven rack. When placing the boule in the oven, quickly invert a stainless-steel bowl over the loaf, creating a loose seal with the baking stone, and close the oven door. Remove the bowl after 10 minutes of baking to release the steam.Baking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 817/2/18 3:38 PM82 BAKING ARTISAN BREAD WITH NATURAL STARTERSBAKE. After preparing the oven for either method of steam, preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C) for 3 hours. Lightly coat a wooden peel with flour. Gently place 1 boule on the prepared peel. With a bread lame or razor blade slanted at a 45-degree angle, make 3 horizontal and 3 vertical slashes (like a tic-tac-toe game), 1/8 to ¼ inch (3 to 6 mm) deep, across the top of each boule. Slide the boule off the oven peel onto the baking stone in the oven. (If using the rebar method, pour water into the broiler pan. If using the cloche method, place a stainless- steel bowl over the boule immediately after sliding the boule into the oven and remove the bowl after 10 minutes, as described above.) Total loaf bake time is 30 to 35 minutes, until the boule has turned a golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom of the loaf in the center.COOL ON A COOLING RACK. Repeat the baking process with the second loaf after allowing the oven and baking stone to come back to temperature, about 15 minutes. If the loaf is going to be eaten within 3 days, it is best kept on your countertop, unwrapped. The natural protection of the crusty exterior will preserve the soft interior crumb. For longer storage, wrap the loaf and store in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, thaw at room temperature and reheat in a 400°F (205°C) oven for 3 to 5 minutes.Baking Artisan Bread_TEXT.indd 827/2/18 3:38 PMNext >