Happy 2016 Bread Lovers!

Hello Fellow Bakers! And Happy (almost) New Year!!

It is this time of year that I try to take deeper breaths amidst the often chaos, and I become more aware of the importance of this. What it does accomplish -- is it turns my gratitude practice inward and more solid, as the clarity of what is most important in life becomes beautifully more prominent. That is -- more family, more love, more nature, more pausing. And unmistakenly now, more writing is part of this. Yes.  And thus, here I am again. Twice in one month. Somebody give me a cookie.

Or a loaf of bread. Sure it is my mission to teach people to make their own, and I've seen dozens and dozens of wonderful pictures, but it would be nice if perhaps one of my students happened to make an extra one week, or even dropped off a few slices one day...

Hint hint. Just kidding...Or am I? ;) ;) ;)

Perhaps it will help if I answered more questions. Afterall, I am well aware of how daunting baking bread can be in the beginning. I remember my crazy first loaves. Not the prettiest. Certainly the densest. Maybe  "brick" is the most appropriate word to describe them. But you just have to keep at it. As Yoda says, "There is no try. Only do."

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Some bread vocabulary explained (in laymen's or laywomen's terms)

autolyse: the time after your initial mix of flour and water, before you mix in the wild yeast (starter) and salt. It is between 30 and 60 minutes usually, and is essential for the initial enzymatic activity of the grains.

'air' kneading: a phrase that Andrew Whitley (an amazing British baker who wrote Bread Matters) uses to explain the belief that sourdough bread does not need to be kneaded. Ooo, a pun! And Chad Robertson also exemplifies in his book <a>//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=tf_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=breadculture-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=0811870413&amp;asins=0811870413&amp;linkId=A37J2IZDYLLQPJRS&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true</a>" target="_blank"&gt;Tartine Bread that dough can simply be given 'folds' every 30 minutes or so during the initial rise.

retard: aka 'bulk fermentation': this step occurs in your refrigerator. After your initial rise and shaping (after 3-4 hours), you place the dough in the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours to a max of 28. I have found that my sweet spot tends to be around 16-24 hours, but everyone's fridge will have a slightly different temp, so find what is best for you. It is during this stage that the wild yeast interacts slowly with the enzymatic activity of the whole grain flour, water, and salt. In my opinion, this is where the bread develops the ability to be considered probiotic and more easily digested, so please don't shorter this process. 24 hours is ideal -- 8 is the minimum and over 28, your bread may be overproofed or spoiled.

proofing: the 'final rise' of your dough after it has spent time 'retarding' or 'fermenting' in the fridge. This is the hour or two when the dough sits on the counter, rising, getting closer to room temp, before it is placed in a Dutch oven or on a pizza stone for baking.

over-proofing: oh, if I had a nickel for every time I overproofed a loaf when I first started baking, well...Let's just say it happens to the best of us  especially when we are just beginning to learn how to bake bread. There is a particular test that many bakers use to determine if their bread is over- or under-proofed.

1. Poke the dough after it's finished its bulk fermentation or retarding in the fridge. If the dough leaps back at your finger, it is likely underproofed (meaning it didn't have enough counter time during the initial rise.

2. Poke the dough: if it stays indented and doesn't bounce back, it is likely overproofed. Meaning -- you let it go too long on the counter initially or in the fridge. You can still try to bake it, but it probably won't have any oven spring.

3. Poke the dough: perfectly proofed: you poke the dough and it slowly and steadily rises back to meet your finger. Well done, baker!

I sincerely hope that these vocab terms and tips were helpful. Thank you for reading my blog this past year. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below. You know I always love hearing from you! I am greatly looking forward to seeing what Bread Culture has in store for 2016!