BREAD MAKING TIPS
I asked for more bread-making advice from Marie-Chantal Perrett, owner of the family bakery Flour Water Salt. She delivers artisanal bread through her community supported bakery, and also sells at local farmers’ markets. More information is on their website (www.slowbreadbakery.com).
Tips for home bakers from Marie:
When cleaning up, use a big deep bowl and a bench scraper. The bowl will minimize the flour mess and the scraper makes cleaning up so much easier.
I advise people new at baking to remember that yeast is a living organism that reacts to its environment. If it’s warm, it will rise faster, if it’s cold, it will be slower. Pay attention to how your dough is behaving rather than listening to the timer.
To create a good oven spring (the way the bread rises while baking), placing a pizza stone, unglazed food-safe clay tiles or baking steel in your oven makes a big difference because it provides great thermal mass. You have to warm (preheat) these tiles but it’s worth it!
Using a spray bottle, it is a good idea to spray inside the oven before shutting the door. You can do this at 30-second intervals about three or four times. Providing steam during the first couple of minutes improves the oven spring (springiness of the bread) and creates a shiny, blistered crust.
I also encourage big batches of bread, that way you can freeze some and really make your work worthwhile.
Last but not least, if someone finds themselves regularly making bread, investing in a good stand mixer is worth it. It does all the hard work!