Artisan bread from scratch

[fortyfeetunder]

A few questions...

1) Any good recipes?

2) Do I dare use my breadmaker to make the dough?

3) Or do I play with my Kitchen Aid mixer?

[housewolf]

1. What sort of bread(s) are you looking to make?

Commercial yeast or sourdough?

All white, whole wheat or multi-grains? Seeds?

Lean French Breads or richer breads?

Thick, crusty breads or soft crust?

There are literally tons of recipes available, and you'll probably want to experiment with both the bread maker and the KA to find out which gives you the kind of bread you prefer, you'll get a bit different results from the machines. For artisan-style breads, many people mix their dough in their breadmaker, then take it out to rise & shape. On the other hand, many people love their KA's or other mixers for mixing their dough - lucky you, you'll get to experiment.

Do you have experience making bread, or are you a newbie?

Give us an idea of what you're looking for and then we'll be better able to help. There are several sourdough bakers here as well as other avid bread bakers, so come on and join in.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. Here are some answers:

I'm willing to experiment with both yeast and sourdough.

And I tend to be more of a whole-wheat or multi grain type, with seeds, crunchy crust. I like high-fiber food because I need to eat more of it.

I've been using both KA and breadmaker for last 4 years. Made bread since I was a kid. So I've gotten the hang of dough mixing. I have been intrigued with artisan bread and thought it was time for me to make instead of buying it!

[housewolf]

7. Start with a good artisan bread baking book if you can

"Crust and Crumb" is a great one, as is Dan Leader's "Bread Alone", and Rose Levy Beirenbaum's "The Bread Bible" (her book "regular" bread as well as artisan loave but her recipes are utterly fantastic). "The Village Baker" is also a favorite of mine. "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" is Peter Reinhart's "sequal" to "Crust and Crumb" but I'm not sure it's a great starting place. I've learned from all these books and more.

Take a couple of hours, if you can, and visit a good bookstore. Places like Barnes & Noble have places where you can sit and browse. Pick out a few bread-baking books from the shelves and go sit down and browse through them. You'll find the one that speaks to your heart, showing you the kind of bread that you want to make. Then take it home with you. If you can't afford the bookstore's price there are used copies available online, through Amazon or ebay or other used book source. (And I strongly suggest that you start with only one and stick with it until you feel ready to move on to other techniques, so that you don't get yourself confused by different baker's techniques).

Why do I recommend starting with a book? It's simple - they have pictures. They show you what starters should look like in various stages, what bread dough looks like in various stages, how to shape a loaf, and more. You may know all that but pictures are still helpful. That kind of help is invaluable. Not to mention the inspiration the pictures of the baked loaves provide...

The most important thing you'll need for baking artisan loaves is a baking stone in your oven in order to simulate a hearth. There are a variety of materials you can use for this - refractory bricks, a manufactured pizza stone, unglazed quarry tiles (you can get these at a tile store), a kiln shelf from a ceramics kiln. And a source for adding some water when you put the bread in to create steam - a cast iron or other substantial pay you can put on the bottom, a spray bottle for spritzing the sides of the oven, or some such thing.

If you want a starting place, I posted a recipe here for French Bread 2-3 months ago, I'll see if I can find the link for you.

Here it is -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=12192#12200

If it's not what you want, ask again.

[fortyfeetunder]

8. Thanks!

And I will ask the spouse for the Crust and Crumb book (to make up for the Calphalon pan he decimated....)

[Warpy]

2. "Crust and Crumb"

Buy it. Sit down and read it cover to cover.

That book will teach you more about making artisan breads than years of practice will.

I wish he'd written it when I was just starting to bake bread 30 years ago!

[calico1]

4. Warpy, could you tell me if that

book has recipes for non wheat flours?

[Warpy]

5. If you're looking for gluten free, no

However, "gluten free" and "artisan" don't belong in the same sentence. "Gluten free" and "edible," maybe, if you're a good baker.

Yes, there are recipes using all varieties of flour, and the book is set up in a way that one can produce endless varieties.

[calico1]

6. Thanks. That's what I was looking for.

More variety than just wheat, wheat, wheat.