Loaves 24 thru 26 – SFBI Class Day 2

Posted on Feb 29, 2012 in classes, loaves

In Sunday’s San Francisco Baking Institute class we made olive sourdough, rye and semolina loaves. Like Saturday, I made fifteen loaves of bread but am only counting it as three.

We had measured all our dry ingredients out on Saturday afternoon, so we were able to jump right into mixing. We used SFBI’s industrial size mixers to incorporate the ingredients – mixing each batch for about six minutes. The photos below show the process we went though – for me the highlight was the aesthetic treatment of the rye loaves. They were dusted with flour and then scored. After baking, the flour made a white crust, while the scores became beautiful dark stripes in a wheat stalk pattern. Obviously, each of the loaves had a very unique flavor, but their shapes also lent them purpose: the olive loaves were larger, perfect for slicing for dinner; the rye loaves were smaller and would be great for smaller sandwiches or toast; the semolina was ideal for sandwiches, both in flavor and shape.

We spent much more time in the classroom on Sunday, and most of that was learning about sourdough starters. Frank took us through the creation, care and feeding of starters. (My first starter was kind of a dud, so I’m going to start over again following his directions.) Then we talked through all the variables that affect the flavor of your bread, in particular how acidic (or sour) it is. I took copious notes on this, my left brain was loving the science of it and my right brain was loving the art of balancing eight different variables to achieve a personal taste ideal.

During the weekend I took 15 pages of (Moleskine sized) notes, on top of notes I scribbled in the margins of the handouts. A week later and I’ve already read through them three or four times; each time something more registers into the big picture. I’d definitely recommend this class to anyone who’s serious about baking bread at home – there was a nice balance between getting your hands into the dough and your brain into the science.