do you bake? BREAD BREAD BREAD!

[ChefWide]

I love to bake, but I need to limit this love fest on this thread to...


BREADS!

As a younger man I traveled and did journeyman work at bakeries in as many different locations as I could. SF with some really great artisanal bakers to Paris at what may be the oldest working bakery in the world. Baking bread is like therapy for me.

I have my own thoughts on what makes a bread experience what it is, but I would really like to know yours. Again, no recipes, just how, when and where and more importantly, how did it make you feel?

This is a really broad topic, so if I may, let's limit it to breads you would eat either by themselves, as a meal, with a meal, not sweet-deserty/sweet-breakfasty stuff.

I learn and grow through you.

 

[WODIN]

Bread is evil.

 

[ChefWide]

Bread is evil.

Bread without love is evil and should be left in the garbage can where it was made.

... i have issues with sliced, platic packaged, last for weeks, transfat sugar laden bag o shit bread.

Tell me you havent hammered into a monster chewey double sourdough and fucking loved it?!?

 

[WODIN]

I can honestly say that I've never had really good bread as you describe it as being.

 

[ChefWide]

I can honestly say that I've never had really good bread as you describe it as being.

everyday a new chance to get deeper into it. every day.

we'll remedy that soon enough, Kodiakman.

 

[The Shadow]

I like hard crusted bread that you have to PULL apart...

 

[ChefWide]

I like hard crusted bread that you have to PULL apart...

yes. totally....

get deeper into it for me: you mean thick brown crust that is almost elastic, with dense chewey bread inside that is moist and dense?

or are we talkin crust that crumbles a little and then bread that is light but that you really have to pull to get to give?

like a Sour Pain de Cereal and a great Ciabatta or Double Baggette... if your into it...

 

[The Shadow]

yes. totally....

get deeper into it for me: you mean thick brown crust that is almost elastic, with dense chewey bread inside that is moist and dense?

or are we talkin crust that crumbles a little and then bread that is light but that you really have to pull to get to give?

like a Sour Pain de Cereal and a great Ciabatta or Double Baggette... if your into it...

the former...although the light crusty bread-type is good as well.

 

[ChefWide]

the former...although the light crusty bread-type is good as well.

My choice for many occasions. I love real sponge sours.... are you into really sour sourdoughs? Almost tangy?

 

[The Shadow]

Depends on the food......WIth soups and salads - yes.

 

[ChefWide]

Depends on the food......WIth soups and salads - yes.

now we are getting there.... you hit that soup thread yet? chime in, I need the help.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

ok, best bread i ate was on an island in the greek dodecanese, they would take it out of the oven fresh and hot as hell, throw them on one of those motorised tricycles that they all drive up in those mountain villages, and then stop at all the crossroads on the islands, tooting their weird horns, so that people would come out of their houses and buy a loaf or 3 (they also did this with milk, water, fish, vegetables etc, it was great, since they knew what fat bastards we were and stopped specially in front of our house there

anyway, it was great, broad loaves about a foot long, wrapped in paper, sweet white with a hint of aniseed (i think) that butter would melt right on to, i would regularly eat a whole loaf on my own (given that you would buy a loaf for 80 drachmas, which is about 60 cents AU, or 45c US, and it made me feel...full. and very fat. which i was, at the time

 

[ChefWide]

ok, best bread i ate was on an island in the greek dodecanese, they would take it out of the oven fresh and hot as hell, throw them on one of those motorised tricycles that they all drive up in those mountain villages, and then stop at all the crossroads on the islands, tooting their weird horns, so that people would come out of their houses and buy a loaf or 3 (they also did this with milk, water, fish, vegetables etc, it was great, since they knew what fat bastards we were and stopped specially in front of our house there

anyway, it was great, broad loaves about a foot long, wrapped in paper, sweet white with a hint of aniseed (i think) that butter would melt right on to, i would regularly eat a whole loaf on my own (given that you would buy a loaf for 80 drachmas, which is about 60 cents AU, or 45c US, and it made me feel...full. and very fat. which i was, at the time

GREAT!!!! Local, time honored, love filled bread just plain kicks the shit out of imitations, regardless of how well executed in no small part because you are at the source. Makes a huge difference. Mental set and setting.

Did you do this bread for breakfast? wine with it? Sounds like student on vacation partying with his mates surviving on local goodies, priceless.

 

[Sigmund Roid]

US bread sucks, it is loaded with trans fats and sugar and tastes like horse dung. Go to Europe, (yes GD, dodeca bread is good), and eat some natural hard crusted bread with little nuts and seeds on them which is tender on the inside.

 

[ChefWide]

US bread sucks, it is loaded with trans fats and sugar and tastes like horse dung. Go to Europe, (yes GD, dodeca bread is good), and eat some natural hard crusted bread with little nuts and seeds on them which is tender on the inside.

Siggy, that is total horseshite. There are fantastic regional breads all over the US and some of the very best bread in the world is coming out of honest bakeries like RockHill.... I have lived in four european countries, and yes, you have a very good point that much less packaged shit bread is consumed there, but not every american stuffs themselves with WonderCrap.

You need to speak from experience and generalize a little less. There are treasures and dung heaps in every culture.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

Did you do this bread for breakfast? wine with it? Sounds like student on vacation partying with his mates surviving on local goodies, priceless.

as i recall, they would come more than once (at least, to our house ) and so yes, we had it for breakfast sometimes, smeared with butter, over coffee, or during the day coated with olive oil, mashed tomatoes, and salt (im sure youve tried this sometime, chef) or in a super footlong mega sandwich we would take to the beach (where we would go everyday), or at night plain, with whatever mezethes (finger food style of eating common in greece, chopped savories, vegetables, grilled metas and salad). youre right, the bread was a highlight, rather than an accompaniment, when we were there. it was great

i didnt drink wine at the time, but some of us liked that traditional dry greek wine called retsina. all the australians around here call it rats piss, and i kind of agree, its awful

im going to be back there in half a year, chef, its going to be mad

the euro is going to kill me though

 

[ChefWide]

as i recall, they would come more than once (at least, to our house ) and so yes, we had it for breakfast sometimes, smeared with butter, over coffee, or during the day coated with olive oil, mashed tomatoes, and salt (im sure youve tried this sometime, chef) or in a super footlong mega sandwich we would take to the beach (where we would go everyday), or at night plain, with whatever mezethes (finger food style of eating common in greece, chopped savories, vegetables, grilled metas and salad). youre right, the bread was a highlight, rather than an accompaniment, when we were there. it was great

i didnt drink wine at the time, but some of us liked that traditional dry greek wine called retsina. all the australians around here call it rats piss, and i kind of agree, its awful

im going to be back there in half a year, chef, its going to be mad

the euro is going to kill me though

Aye, the euro is good from my current perspective, but way the hell to strong for travelers needs... I have some old and great friends in Athens and in Mikonos if your itinerary ever drags you there... some truely great folks that know how to live life... PM me when the time comes, no shit.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

Aye, the euro is good from my current perspective, but way the hell to strong for travelers needs... I have some old and great friends in Athens and in Mikonos if your itinerary ever drags you there... some truely great folks that know how to live life... PM me when the time comes, no shit.

chef, i might...even though i have to avoid as many people as i can in greece, since im related to half of them, and theyll no doubt suck me into dining with them every night, and bore the hell out of me also, i hate putting people out, but ill certainly drop by mikonos if i can

my plan this time is simple: im going to fairly well live on protein powder and grilled meat, train fiercly in the morning, work on my tan at the beach after that, reading books etc with the occasional scuba/snorkelling etc, then rage all night, applying the principle of a pub crawl to the hot foreign tourists that descend on the islands every year

i figure the euro isnt going to hit me too badly, but still, back in the days of the drachma, you would buy the nicest little yiros for 100 drachs (70 cents AU, or about 50c US) hieneken for 150, entry into a club plus a double sized drink was 500 drachs...i mean, really, you just didnt care how much things cost, it was so stupidly cheap from a travellers perspective

when did you go, chef? or have your mates moved there from wherever it was that you met them?

wowee im getting excited

 

[ChefWide]

chef, i might...even though i have to avoid as many people as i can in greece, since im related to half of them, and theyll no doubt suck me into dining with them every night, and bore the hell out of me also, i hate putting people out, but ill certainly drop by mikonos if i can

my plan this time is simple: im going to fairly well live on protein powder and grilled meat, train fiercly in the morning, work on my tan at the beach after that, reading books etc with the occasional scuba/snorkelling etc, then rage all night, applying the principle of a pub crawl to the hot foreign tourists that descend on the islands every year

i figure the euro isnt going to hit me too badly, but still, back in the days of the drachma, you would buy the nicest little yiros for 100 drachs (70 cents AU, or about 50c US) hieneken for 150, entry into a club plus a double sized drink was 500 drachs...i mean, really, you just didnt care how much things cost, it was so stupidly cheap from a travellers perspective

when did you go, chef? or have your mates moved there from wherever it was that you met them?

wowee im getting excited

We all met in new york years ago when they were there for school, I knew one of the guys from Georgetown... we have partied in paris and points south but I have yet to make it to Mikonos... my loss in a serious way.... my closest friend of the bunch runs some clubs and restaurants there... worth looking him up, you will be poluted when Vangeli gets through with you, guaranteed.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

We all met in new york years ago when they were there for school, I knew one of the guys from Georgetown... we have partied in paris and points south but I have yet to make it to Mikonos... my loss in a serious way.... my closest friend of the bunch runs some clubs and restaurants there... worth looking him up, you will be poluted when Vangeli gets through with you, guaranteed.

ok now we're talking

 

[ChefWide]

ok now we're talking

indeed.



MORE. Flat breads!?!? Who here has a mother or grandmother or family member that still bakes bread? holiday breads?

this is great.... now MORE!

 

[Kroliczek]

Making bread is very gratifying.

It's a lot of work, relatively, because I can just go and buy it at the store (lol), but the end result is always worth it.

Baking bread is an art...almost spiritual for me.

 

[jerseyart]

The only bread I'll ever bake is banana bread, but I do it extremely well

I will still get up really early on a sunday morning sometimes and get the bread froma great bakery fresh out of the oven.

 

[ChefWide]

Making bread is very gratifying.

It's a lot of work, relatively, because I can just go and buy it at the store (lol), but the end result is always worth it.

Baking bread is an art...almost spiritual for me.

Gratifying: yes it sure is, the whole process is so simple, just a little love one way or the other to get a totally different result. It's alive, literally, you need to feed it, to nurse it, to form it, to give it life.

One of the most precious and outrageously extravagant things you can do for another person is to set up a batch of breaddough the night before, cover it tight and keep it in the fridge, wake up real early and get it going again, bake it and present warm, fresh bread made with your own hands as breakfast to your lover. The effort, the caring, the planning... how much more meaninful is that than a five minute trip to the store? no offense y'all that dont bake, but ANYONE can make GREAT bread with just a little planning and a tiny bit of love.

 

[gab9681]

I like just about any bread out there. Even the "dung-heap" stuff that is plastic wrapped. Bread is great in any form really. My freshman year in college I used to buy a loaf of shitty wheat bread and a can of nacho cheese. I would heat up the cheese, dip the bread and have what my floor mates used to call "ghetto fondue". But nothing beats fresh home baked bread. My first love was a bread fanatic. She was obsessed with it. She loves baking so much so went to school for it. She even baked my wedding cake and the bread for my reception. She can't cook for shit, but she is a goddess of the ovens. In highschool, while all my other buddies were buying their girls necklaces and flowers, and shit like that, I was going to gourmet bakeries and picking her up some loaves of fine breads.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

indeed.



MORE. Flat breads!?!? Who here has a mother or grandmother or family member that still bakes bread? holiday breads?

this is great.... now MORE!

well...i bake on occasion

i make fat fluffy white rolls that are slightly sweet, and fall apart very easily. i kinda screwed up the recipe for normal rolls once upon a time but everyone went mad for them...so i adopted the recipe

 

[jerkbox]

i prefer my bread in liquid form

 

[gab9681]

i prefer my bread in liquid form

Yes, I had forgotten about the liquid form of bread. In the liquid form, my favorite is easily Markascher Landmann (sp?). That's like 2 whole loaves in a glass! Awesome stuff.

 

[jerkbox]

Yes, I had forgotten about the liquid form of bread. In the liquid form, my favorite is easily Markascher Landmann (sp?). That's like 2 whole loaves in a glass! Awesome stuff.

hmmm, never had that. looked it up, and it's a schwarzbier....dark


Märkischer Landmann

got some good reviews, i'll have to keep a lookout for it

 

[gab9681]

hmmm, never had that. looked it up, and it's a schwarzbier....dark


Märkischer Landmann

got some good reviews, i'll have to keep a lookout for it

Yeah, it's black as tar. A buddy and I had several when we were in Berlin for business. It was incredible. There we were, chilling in the lounge at the Berlin Hilton. There was some sort of ball going on while we were there. All these beautiful ladies in slinky gowns were coming down this huge staircase in the lobby right next to the lounge. The beer, the girls, the fact that it was all being paid for by the company.......heaven in it's purest form.

 

[jenscats5]

Sadly, I don't have "the touch" with pastry or yeast..... I've killed more yeast than should be allowed during a lifetime.... my croissants never rose and were teeny-tiny.....

When I was in France, breakfast was my favorite time. Fresh rolls with real butter & fresh jams were da bomb! With hot, sweet coffee..... Oh my!

I also love hot fresh crusty bread dipped in marinara sauce.....

*sigh* fresh, hot, crusty bread........... yum!

 

[Sigmund Roid]

Siggy, that is total horseshite. There are fantastic regional breads all over the US and some of the very best bread in the world is coming out of honest bakeries like RockHill.... I have lived in four european countries, and yes, you have a very good point that much less packaged shit bread is consumed there, but not every american stuffs themselves with WonderCrap.

You need to speak from experience and generalize a little less. There are treasures and dung heaps in every culture.

Ok, if you say so. I AM talking from experience but didn't spend too much time trying to find the best bread. I will try to find a decent baker harder next time.

 

[Raina]

My grandma bakes bread EVERY Saturday. It comes uot of the oven between 11:30-12. If she's going to be out of town she'll figure out some way to make it right after she gets back. Somewhere between 8 and 20+ people show up every week for bread. It's the best.

It's the only dang thing that intimidates me a bit. I've made it twice. I should get more gutsy and give it another go. I'd feel much better about eating bread that I made vs crap from the store. There's no comparison.

 

[RADAR]

Dang it yall! before i got thru reading this i went and made some toast & jelly!


RADAR