We’re all stuck inside these days and as much as you might want to spend all day every day on the couch going through every netflix show ever, you might also want to be productive with your time and learn a new skill.
And what better time than now, when you are basically stuck in your home, with nothing but your thoughts and anxieties about the collapse of society and the existential dread of your own mortality?
Can’t say bread with help with all of those, but it might….?
Anyways, I’ve been baking my own bread for about 7 years now and it’s one of my favourite things to do. The process, the feeling of dough in my hands, watching the dough rise so drastically, and then finally seeing - and smelling - the finished product. It’s a relaxing experience for me and I hope it becomes relaxing for you, too.
If you’re new to bread making (or new to long-fermenation bread), I highly recommend you start with my how-to on making bread, so you know certain terms like autolyse, shaping, proofing, etc. It’s a really handy guide complete with GIFs so you can get the basics down and be confident! It’s also great because it doesn’t require a starter, which takes 1-2 weeks to properly get going, so you could make this bread today and be eating it tomorrow morning!
Note: Some of these bread recipes are from 2014, when I was still learning about photography and lighting so excuse some of the horrendous studio-light photos, I didn’t know better
Once you’ve got a handle on the basics, you can add preferments and different flours to your dough to see how they alter the flavour of your dough.
This bread incorporates a biga (a portion of dough that is fermented the night before) that makes up 50% of the bread as well as whole wheat flour into the final dough.
Once you’re more comfortable with the basics of bread, you can start adding some inclusions to your favourite dough!
This Kalamata Olive Bread is a personal fave - big chunks of salty olives studded throughout your bread!
With all this time, you can always start making your own sourdough starter. It can take a week or two to get it properly mature and consistent but, hey, we’ve all got a lot of time now so if not now, when? Baked has a great sourdough starter how-to that is really clear and easy to follow. Get it going now and you can be making your own sourdough next week!
Once you’ve got your starter going strong, give this sourdough loaf from Tartine bread a shot!
So far, all the breads on this list have been long-fermentation, no-knead breads. If you’re after something a little less rustic, I’ve got some more refined bread recipes to fit the bill!
A personal favourite is this braided pesto loaf. It’s visually gorgeous with that bright green pesto and it’s a fantastic loaf for snacking all on it’s own. The braiding is a lot easier than it looks, too!
Hopefully these recipes will keep you busy for a while and you can discover the amazingness of homemade bread! Choose one recipe or make them all! Bread, especially the rustic loaves, can be sliced and frozen - perfect for when you’re craving a piece of toast slathered in butter with a pinch of salt.
