Happy New Year and Bread
Ernest Miller
I hope the holidays went well for everyone!
I know it has been a few weeks since my last newsletter. I apologize,
but holidays are a busy time for a cook. Extra days, extra hours and
still plenty of family obligations. Actually the beginning of the
year is not a bad time to be a cook (if you have a job). The
restaurant is slower (much, much slower compared to the holidays) and
there is time to experiment and do some playful cooking (specials,
that sort of thing), do some training (I'm looking forward to pulling
some shifts in different kitchens - and perhaps some bartending) and
when you're done with work, you're not too exhausted and stressed out
to cook at home. Plus, because of the cooler weather, having the oven
on at home is a good thing.
This also means that this is the perfect time to take care of one of
my New Years' resolutions (and I'm not talking about more time spent
at the gym - though that is on the list too). One of my resolutions is
to cook bread at least once a week. I used to do a lot more bread
baking, often twice a week. But, with other projects and work, I
haven't baked on a regular basis for 9 months or so. So my resolution
was to get back into baking on a regular basis.
Baking bread is something that I find very satisfying. I love the
feeling of working with dough with my hands, the kneading, the
shaping, the scoring. Those who've gotten more than a few of these
newsletters also know that I'm a big fan of fermentation ... and that
is exactly what causes yeasted breads to rise. I really love the smell
of rising bread (particularly sourdough), it smells alive and
nutritious (I know that is funny descriptor, but that is what it
smells like to me). My mouth waters at the thought. And everyone can
agree that a house filled with the smell of freshly baked bread is
comforting on several levels. And darn if it doesn't taste as good as
or better than bread you can buy in the local supermarket and even
many local bakeries.
Baking bread can be involved, and I'll be attempting some of the more
complex loaves this year, but most bread baking is actually relatively
simple. My goto loaf, in fact the one I baked this week, is based on
the no-knead method pioneered by Sullivan Street baker Jim Lahey and
popularized by the New York Times' Minimalist Cook Mark Bittman. If
you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend it. There is very little
effort involved and the results are outstanding (slice, brush with
garlic oil and toast on a grill ... wow). The basic recipe here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
There are now several books out elaborating this method with different
recipes, as well as a number of online variations. A nice healthy
whole wheat sandwich bread recipe is available from King Arthur flour:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/no-knead-100-whole-wheat-bread-recipe
Whether you've baked before or not, I highly recommend giving these a
try. You may find yourself baking more and more.
So what does this have to do with food preservation? Well, there are
a number of points to touch on.
First, home baked bread is made without preservatives. This means
that it is good for only a day or two before going stale. To preserve
the goodness, you'll want to properly store it. A paperbag and
breadbox are great for that day or two. Don't refrigerate or store in
a plastic bag, they promote moisture retention and moldiness. The best
option for long term bread storage is slicing and freezing. This is
especially important for those specialty loaves that you don't use
regularly. Just slice the bread, put a couple of slices (or however
many you normally use) into a freezer bag (vacuum seal if possible),
and freeze (you can keep slices separate with some pieces of parchment
paper). When you're ready to use it, pop it into the toaster or low
oven to reheat, thaw it at room temperature (remove from plastic bag
first) or even pop it into the French Oven (microwave). You can
freeze whole loaves, but do so only if you plan to use the whole loaf
later. Reheating and then refreezing will lower the quality.
Freezing is really a great way to have home baked bread on a daily
basis. Just bake enough for a week or two, keep what you want to use
immediately and freeze the rest to use over the next couple of weeks.
Second, so your bread went stale. That isn't necessarily a tragedy.
In fact, for most of humanity's baking history, stale bread was a
staple ingredient in kitchens. We've sort of forgotten this since the
advent of industrial, preservative-laden bread that stays "fresh" for
a week or more. Work with stale bread. Stale bread is a great thing if
you're looking to cook from your pantry. French toast and bread
puddings (savory and sweet), of course, and remember that dressings
aren't just for Thanksgiving turkey. Many soups and sauces are
classically thickened with stale bread crumbs, especially Spanish
recipes. Pan fry homemade croutons in a flavorful oil for something so
much more flavorful than you can buy in those foil-lined bags. I could
go on and on; the options are limitless.
Indeed, I'll often use my dehydrator to dry my bread quicker in order
to pulse it in a food processor for bread crumbs. Vacuum storage is
best for storing the bread crumbs at room temperature, but if there is
any fat in the bread they will eventually develop off flavors due to
rancidity. Freezing will keep them indefinitely.
Speaking of dehydrators, a box dehydrator actually makes a pretty good
proofing box. Just remove the trays and you can put your bread rising
container in the dehydrator and hold it at the perfect temperature for
rising bread. Dehydrators aren't just for dehydrating ... but that'll
be another newsletter.
Third, proper food preservation is important to bread ingredients.
Dried yeast freezes well if you only use it occasionally. If you do
freeze it, however, you'll want to proof it before use later (add it
to warm water - 110 degrees - with a little sugar and wait 5-10
minutes and look for signs of activity, bubbles, etc.). Unless you use
them quickly, whole grains should be stored in the freezer. Unlike
regular flour, whole grain flours contain fat, which can go rancid.
Freezing will significantly extend the life of these flours. Freezing
can also eliminate bug infestations. If you fear infestation,
freezing for three days will kill any eggs in the flour. If you do
have an infestation and don't want to toss the flour, sift it to
remove existing insects and freeze it for three days to kill any
remaining eggs.
Fourth, there are a few bread preservation techniques you should
avoid. Recipes calling for baking bread in canning jars should be
avoided. Canning jars aren't designed for the dry heat of an oven.
They may break and their useful life will be reduced. Canning these
baked breads by putting a lid on a hot jar are right out. Breads
aren't acidic enough to prevent botulism. Also, you can't can recipes
containing flour or bread. So you've made a fantastic romesco sauce
(if you haven't tried romesco, you really should - it can be used in
so many ways it is almost ridiculous), but romesco is traditionally
thickened with toasted bread crumbs, so, sorry, but you won't be able
to safely can it.
Well, I'm still catching up on a few things, but I'll be at the
Hollywood Farmers' Market this Sunday.
If you have any questions in the meantime, email me anytime at
ernest...@gmail.com
Enjoy life and bake some bread!
Ernie