The Lee Family Bakes (Okay, really all Jonathan)

Anadama Bread

I have successfully baked my first two loaves of bread. Ever. It was thrilling to be perfectly honest. I am kind of odd about bread. I insist on buying bread that only has 6-7 ingredients. It is reassuring to recognize all the ingredients because let's be honest, most breads have plenty of things that have no business being in bread to begin with (take a look at the label on your bread at home). That being said - I never have actually taken it upon myself to make a loaf. Until now.
I was a little intimidated by the book when it first arrived at my door- and even more intimidated when the first bread was a two day bread. But in the end, it actually wasn't too bad. I may have to purchase a mixer that can handle bread, ie has a bread hook attachment, but for now I prefer to be kneading the bread by hand. It feels like bread making in its pure form. Or at least that is what I told myself when I was hoovering over the ball of dough for 15 minutes last night. I couldn't get the bread to pass the "windowpane test" but gave up and figured it was good enough.
And it was.
There were a few little hiccups along the way...At first I was worried because all I had was a darker molasses, but the taste didn't end up being to overpowering once baked (yes I sampled the dough - of course!). I thought it would be a good idea to grab the baking rack with my bare hand and now have the blisters to prove it. I under oiled my ceramic baking pan that I was using for the first time... and it was so pretty with the bread rising happily over it's edges. But the loaf itself was a little less pretty after I struggled to free it from its ceramic home. But it ended up basically intact and tasting lovely and the other load looked great.
All in all, a successful experience that I am looking forward to repeating every two weeks! Pictures to follow.
-K

Anadama, this is good bread!

Crusty, fragrant brown bread, waiting for salty butter or a wedge of tangy cheese. Dark, because I also had to make do with blackstrap molasses, but like Kate notes, the flavor and fragrance aren't overpowering. Instead, the bread is slightly sweet and somehow more old-fashioned for its brown nobbiness. It tastes like a cold Boston night, redolent with baked beans and snow.


This bread seemed pretty straightforward, despite the two-stage fermentation and the difficulty of achieving Reinhart's windowpane texture (could anyone do that? I kneaded forever and still the dough kept tearing--I finally stopped when the gluten was as tight and stretchy as spandex, windowpane test be damned). I don't have a picture of the failed windowpane, but I did snap an image of the soaker and flour before being integrated. Isn't the color contrast pretty?

I like how the soaker teases the sugar from the polenta without breaking the crunch of the grain. I broke the rules by letting the sponge ferment for several hours--not purposefully, we simply had to leave the house before the first hour was up--but the bread's flavor and texture are lovely. Perhaps a longer sponge led to increased flavor? I don't know, but the yeast had a field day: the last hurrah, I suppose.

Also, instead of baking the bread immediately after the last rise, I followed Reinhart's instructions to retard the loaves in the fridge until I had time to bake them the next day. I was surprised to come home from the beach to find fully risen loaves in the fridge, but I left them on the counter to warm for a few hours, and they baked up fine. Here they are before the refridgeration and slow rise:


I think the variegated colors in the finished crumb are interesting (places where the molasses is less integrated?) and wonder if it's a sign of lack of skill, but I'm pleased with the tight but tender crumb and the crunchy crust.

Hello, breakfast. Get in my belly! --Rhi

Bread Masters of the Universe

Glenna, Kate and Jonathan,

We embark on a doughy adventure; may it be filled with flour and happiness.

Until the first bread,

Rhi