Just Baking

This is my first post on Just Baking, and I’m looking forward, in a weird way, to many more.  The reason I say “in a weird way” is that I’m just starting out doing any baking, and I hope to share some of my experiences, both good and bad.

My reason for getting into baking at all is basically to add another dimension to foods I can offer as a “personal chef”.  My first passion is outdoor cooking, and I wanted to be able to offer clients something more than just what are called “CHB”s (Cheap Hamburger Buns).  CHBs have their place, but how many times have you had a sandwich where the bread made a difference?  Even Subway makes a big deal out of the fact that their bread is baked on the premises.  So my ultimate goal is making bread or buns to be served either along with barbecue or with barbecue on the bread, and I want to do more of an artisanal type bread then just plain old white bread.

Why am I posting here?  I’m guessing most of the writers will be very accomplished bakers, with great advice.  I, however, am just a guy in the trenches trying to figure out how to tell if I’m even getting it right… And I won’t get it right all the time.  Here’s a great example, as well as an example of why NOT to give up!I decided about 6 weeks ago to give this a shot, and I downloaded some great info from the King Arthur Flour website.  They have great resources, as well as good products, for bread baking.  I downloaded an online class on Bread From the Hearth: Baguettes & Ciabatta with Sug Grey & P.J. Hamel, and started from there.  Here are some baguettes from my first run.

What I found out my first time is that when the poolish is to be used within 16 hours, it really means it!  In barbecue, there’s not really any difference between letting a rub sit on a brisket an extra hour or two, but timing and proportions are everything in baking!

So I paid better attention to the clock last week, and I came up with these:

Same recipe, same baker.  What did I do differently?  Besides watching the clock better, I also cooked on full convection.   But even before putting the bread into the oven, I could just feel the difference in the dough.  I also wasn’t as tentative making the slashes on the dough, and the baguettes opened up really nicely, had a nice, crispy crust, and were soft and moist inside.

My point is that I’m learning from scratch, and I’ll try to relate my stumbling improvement here.  Next week, I’m trying yeast rolls for the first time, to get them right for Thanksgiving (and I’ll be writing on Get Your Grill On all about the turkeys being smoked for Thanksgiving, too!).