Wild Yeast

Notes from my kitchen, in which I bake bread and raise a few other matters

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Donate for Vermont

This is Norwich Sourdough. It was the first sourdough recipe I posted on this blog, and is still one of my most popular recipes. Many people have written to tell me that it was the first sourdough recipe they had success with. This feedback has been wonderfully rewarding for me, but now I am asking for a little bit more in return.

Norwich Sourdough was named in honor of Norwich, Vermont, a lovely small town I had the pleasure of calling home for several years before settling in California. Norwich is also the home of King Arthur Flour, whose Vermont Sourdough bread was the inspiration for Norwich Sourdough.

Now my heart is aching for the people of Vermont, where the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Irene has left thousands of people without their homes and/or their livelihoods. Although the town of Norwich seems to have come through without devastating damage, it will take years for much of the rest of the state to recover, and it makes me cry.

If you have enjoyed Norwich Sourdough, or have learned from or been inspired by anything you have found here on Wild Yeast, I ask you to consider thanking me by making a donation to one of the following organizations assisting in the relief effort in this beautiful state:

Vermont Disaster Relief Fund

Vermont Red Cross

Vermont Foodbank

The Information You’re Searching For

I like this blog to be informative. Looking at the search terms that land people here helps me know what information they are looking for. Sometimes, though, I think they’re let down because I haven’t really addressed the topic in the way they probably expected.

I don’t like to disappoint, so allow me to address a few of those search terms now:

firmament baking stone — It’s not hot enough in the firmament for a baking stone. Try going in the other direction.

potatoe bread — I only do potato bread, but Dan Quayle may be able to help you out.

does putting bread yeast in my septic do any good? — I’m not sure, but I put my yeast in the refrigerator, and that works fine.

how to make a miche slip cover — I don’t slipcover my miches unless I’m having company, and then I usually just get one of those cheapo ones from Target and add a few beads for that personalized touch.

my eclair cannot pop up — I’m always getting spam about remedies for this. I’d be happy to forward some of it on if you send me your email address.

Tools: Baking Bang for Your Buck

People often ask me what I recommend as the most important tools to get first, if you have a limited budget for baking equipment. These items are listed in roughly the reverse order in which you could pry them from my hands. It’s also not a bad list of gift ideas for any bread baker in your life.*

  • Baking stone. It’s hard to get good crusty hearth loaves without one (and here’s why). High-end is the Fibrament, but a less expensive stone, or even unglazed terra cotta tiles, will do the job, although they’re more prone to breakage. $10 – $100.
  • Steam set-up for your oven. This is not an item you can buy; it’s rigged from inexpensive components. Steam is essential for most crusty breads. Read more about the why and how of steam here. $15 – $25.
  • Bench scraper (aka bench knife, dough scraper, or dough cutter), like this one. Cuts ciabatta dough into pieces, lifts sticky pieces of dough off the counter, and cleans your counter of tenacious dough bits and loose flour. About $12.
  • Digital scale. It is my personal mission in life to see that everyone measures their baking ingredients by weight, not volume. More about that here. I like the My Weigh i5000 and the Escali Primo. $25 – $50.
  • Instant-read thermometer. Dough temperature is important for proper fermentation. Read more about temperature here. A thermometer is also useful if you don’t know whether your loaf is fully baked yet. The Thermapen is wonderfully fast but pricey; this Taylor Digital Thermometer works fine for much less money. $15 – $90.
  • Small ingredients scale. Ingredients like yeast and salt that are usually called for in amounts of 10 grams or less are best weighed on a scale that has precision to a tenth of a gram. However, these  ingredients also measure fairly well by volume, so this is not an essential tool. It’s nice to have, though. $20 – $40.
  • Stand mixer. Although nice to have, especially for certain doughs like bagels and brioche, most breads can be mixed just fine by hand, so a mixer is a lower priority. Mine is a KitchenAid 6-qt. and I recommend it. About $400.

*Note to my male friends on the appropriateness of these things as gifts to wives/girlfriends: For birthdays and other occasions, it might depend on the woman in question, and on the gift — mixer, probably; scale, perhaps; lava rocks, doubtful — but for anniversaries, just don’t do it! Trust me on this one.

Bake Sale for Japan

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. — Howard Zinn

When: Saturday, April 2, 2011; 10 a.m. – 2 p. m.

Where: Dozens of locations in the Bay Area and nationwide. I will bake for the San Jose event at Roy’s Station (197 Jackson Street).

Who: Professional and amateur bakers, cooks, artists, artisans, and musicians coming together around food to make something BIG happen.

How: Want to help? We’ll need bakers, artists, volunteers, and lots and lots of customers. If you live in the South Bay, please send offers of help to Paige Bayer at sanjosebakesale@gmail.com . If you live somewhere else, check out the national event page to learn more about a bake sale in your area.

Why: So we can donate BIG BUCKS to Peace Winds Japan.

Worth Its Salt

A recent commenter on one of my recipe posts remarked: “… my dough was very sticky not coming together. … Thinking it must be too wet, I added a little more flour to no avail. Then I realized I had forgotten to add the salt. Shortly after adding the salt the dough came together well. Is this coincidental, or does salt play more than a flavor enhancing role? ”

This was absolutely not coincidental. Considered to be one of the four essential bread ingredients (along with flour, water, and yeast), salt does indeed do something more than loafing around and tasting good.

  • Salt affects dough texture, making it stronger and less sticky, as the commenter noticed.
  • Salt reduces oxidation of the dough during mixing. Oxidation causes the degradation of carotenoid pigments in the flour that contribute to flavor and crumb color.
  • Salt regulates yeast activity, causing fermentation to progress at a more consistent rate.
  • Salt affects shelf life. Because it attracts water, it can help keep bread from staling too quickly in a dry environment. However, in a humid environment, it can make the crust soggier.

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