I bake bread. My family has a tradition of this. Everyone loved my Grandma Ashley's homemade biscuits and my Aunt Marie made the best yeast rolls in the world. My grandma and my aunt have passed away now and the title of Family Bread Maker has passed on to me.
So I was very happy to receive this book in the mail recently:
Look at the rave review on the cover from the founder of La Brea Bakery: "A masterpiece of baking that will turn your kitchen into a Parisian boulangerie." A Parisian boulangerie. A Parisian boulangerie. Oh my.
I thought I would read through it first. Here's what I read early this morning, as I ate my breakfast:
'Much as a wine connoisseur tastes and experiences each bottle, a baker fully experiences the loaves that he bakes. When the bread has cooled a bit, I hold it up to my ear to listen to it "sing"---soft crackling sounds. I admire its warm golden color. I slice it and deeply inhale its aroma. I listen as the crust crackles and snaps in my hands. I admire the crumb - the shiny holes, the color, the textures...I shut my eyes, and Ah! The aroma embraces me....''To listen to it "sing"...crust crackles and snaps...The aroma embraces me...Parisian boulangerie....' I couldn't resist. I suddenly decided to try my first recipe from this book today.
It's still rising, so it will be a few hours before I can actually listen to it sing, but I'm very hopeful.
Are you a baker, too? What kinds of bread do you bake? Have you ever heard bread sing?
Here are a few of my favorite bread-ish posts from the past:
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I adore that cookbook!! Like you, I'm a very experienced bread baker but I learned new things, loved the writing style, and got several new recipes to try.
ReplyDeleteI have never made yeast bread, isn't that crazy?
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that I have this book.
ReplyDeleteMy loaf is rising now and I'm thinking about how I want to score it. The scoring, according to the book, identified each family's bread in the past in France. Can I create my own family score? I think so.
(Shhhh, Diane...Don't tell anyone, but making bread is much easier than one might think....)
ReplyDeleteI love freshly-baked breads. But here's the rub... I don't bake. Thanks for sharing your experience. ;)
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like freshly baked bread, I think.
ReplyDeleteFresh baked bread is the best. hot from the oven with butter.
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm, nothing like freshly baked homemade bread!
ReplyDeleteI have baked bread before with good results, but haven't in a long time. Maybe seeing this book will inspire me to try again. Wish I could taste your bread today!
I totally have a passion for bread--eating rather than baking, but still a passion. I have been wanting to try baking my own bread so it sounds like this is a book to check out.
ReplyDeleteInspiring - but my baking is not too good - due to an inability to follow recipes exactly! Cheers
ReplyDeleteDid it sing? Did it sing?
ReplyDeleteIt sang! It really sang!
ReplyDeleteI use the bread machine to make teh dough and then bake the loaf in the oven - nothing to creative - just plain white and rolls etc though this week I made cinnamon and garlic Monkey Bread - check out out my Weekend Cooking post :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy baking, but I'm very much an amateur - bread is certainly not on my list of things to attempt any time soon. However, nothing beats the smell of fresh bread. The smell of a new book comes close, I must admit.
ReplyDelete:-)
Bits & Bobs
I haven't baked bread in a long time.I found a super easy recipe a few years ago and I'm afraid we ate far too much. I can ignore ice cream and cookies, but warm bread and butter is my downfall. I need to learn moderation. ;) Here's the recipe.
ReplyDeleteMy husband recently bought My Bread by Jim Lahey. It also talks about bread singing and crackling. Both loaves he has made recently have done a bit of whistling and crackling. I showed him your post. He'll probably be looking for this book too! Hope your bread came out good :)
ReplyDeleteIf there is more out there about singing bread, I'm in. I'm off to add My Bread to my Amazon wish list. Thank you, Terri!
ReplyDeleteI love to bake, making dough and giving it shape is so relaxing. And eating it later - yummy. It definitely makes a beautiful song in my tummy. :D
ReplyDelete