I recently picked up the new cookbook, Artisan Breads at Home, published by the Culinary Institute of America. The author, Eric Kastel has created an amazing book. The photography alone is worth the price of the book. It is filled with luscious pictures of bread. The publisher write up says there are 170 photos, I haven’t counted them; I’ll take their word for it.
Like many people in the food community, I have a bookshelf filled with cookbooks. The bread making shelf is by far, the biggest. I love making bread. It is something I learned from my mother at an early age and I’ve never lost the pleasure of making fresh bread. As we all know, some cookbooks are better than others. No, that’s not quite right – some cookbooks speak to me and some don’t. The ones that resonate with me are quickly covered in flour and spattered with oil. So when you look at the cookbook shelf, you know which books I use over and over again. I’ve only had Artisan Breads at Home for a week and it is already getting that floured look.Artisan bread -- what does that even mean? One good way to define it is by ingredients. Most artisan breads have only 4 ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt. Some recipes call for more ingredients like milk or eggs. The short ingredient list sets it apart from grocery store bread. Another way that artisan bread is different is the use of a pre-ferment. This is akin to a sourdough starter. The average pre-ferment is a small batch of bread dough made ahead of time and allowed to ferment on the kitchen counter overnight.
The recipes in this cookbook all call for added yeast, in addition to the pre-ferment (Rapid-rise yeast to be more particular.) This was new territory for me. When rapid-rise yeast first came on the market, I dismissed it as a bread machine heresy. Eric Kastel convinced me to put aside my prejudice and I’m glad I did. The book directs us to mix the rapid-rise yeast in with the flour, before water gets near it. And then the whole thing proofs together after mixing. Revolutionary!
There are three main kinds of pre-ferments: Biga which is a dry dough; Poolish which is wetter, closer to a sourdough sponge; and pate fermentee, which is also called an “old dough” pre-ferment. A piece of dough from a previous batch is used to make it. Baguette recipes traditionally call for the use of a pate fermentee.
Anyone who wants to eat more healthily or trim their grocery budget can benefit from learning to make artisan breads, including sourdough bread. The ingredient list is small and that means the bread you make is good for you. Artisan Breads at Home makes it easy to learn how to have gourmet bread for every meal.
