Here Comes The Pain: Inaugural Edition
Welcome back, friends. It’s been a little while since my last post. I haven’t been what you might call busy, but there’s certainly been a lot going on. All good things to come. More on that later.
One of my biggest regrets I have about my culinary training is that I never branched out into pastry and bread making. I’m very confident in making and cooking a wide variety of foods, but even the most basic cakes, cookies and pies require I follow a recipe. I don’t think I’ve ever made buttercream before. I don’t know my ass from my elbow when it comes to dealing with chocolate, even though a talented friend tried to teach me once.
My bread making abilities are even more of a mixed bag. I never really learned the basics. One day, I just jumped into making sourdough because yet another talented friend and colleague was doing it. We learned as we went, but oftentimes it felt like I had dived into the deep end of a pool before even learning to float.
I really appreciate the art and craft of a slowly leavened, expertly folded boule of sourdough. The flavour and the funk, what’s not to love? But, if I’m being honest, I don’t really love MAKING sourdough. I know it’s trendy and cool and all the hip cats on Instagram are doing it. I just don’t want to dedicate a day and a half to one loaf of bread. I’m a busy guy.
So, I want to learn more about other kinds of bread. I feel like yeasted breads aren’t getting their due love these days. So, once a week, I’m going to do a bread experiment and share it with all of you. Today’s the inaugural edition of “Here Comes the Pain!”
… get it? Because in French, pain is bread? Alright. Nevermind.
I wanted a simple little loaf of basic-ass bread. Something not too fussy. A loaf that if I started it in the morning, it would be ready by the afternoon. So, I settled on this particular recipe. It’s quick, easy and the results were terrific. I mean, there’s no bells and whistles, it’s a basic white bread. But the bread you make yourself is always the tastiest.
My Kitchenaid mixer made short work of the dough kneading, and baking on my pre-heated pizza stone gave a nice, crackly crust on the bottom. If you, like me, are a novice baker looking to build confidence, I can wholeheartedly endorse this recipe.
Basic White Bread
Ingredients:
- 7g dry active yeast
- 360g all purpose flour
- 90g spelt flour
- 354g room-temperature water
- 5.6g kosher salt
Method:
- Place the bowl of your stand mixer onto a digital scale and zero it. Weigh all your ingredients right into the mixer bowl. Attach the bowl to the mixer and using the dough hook, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 ½ hours.
- Gently scrape the dough out onto a clean, well-floured kitchen towel. Fold the four compass points of the dough (north, south, east and west) gently into the centre, flipping the dough over so the seam side is down on the last fold. Wrap the towel over the dough and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 475°F. If using a pizza stone, let it heat up in the oven.
- Unwrap the dough, and CAREFULLY slide it onto the preheated pizza stone (or a sheet pan covered in parchment paper, if not using). Reduce the heat to 450°F and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a dark brown crust has formed and it smells like bread.
- Let the bread cool fully on a wire rack for at least an hour before tearing into it.
That’s just about the simplest bread I’ve ever seen. It’s so rewarding and so tasty! The return on investment in time and effort is huge. I’d say the first edition of Here Comes the Pain has been a roaring success. Next week, we’ll try something a little more difficult. But for now, let us bask in the glory of the bread we ourselves have baked.
If you’re going on this bread journey with me, I’d love to hear how it goes for you! Shoot me an email or leave a comment down below! Until next time!
