Bread Builders (eBook)

Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Preface ix

Introduction Looking for Real Bread, Finding Masonry Ovens xiii

Chapter One Naturally Fermented Hearth Bread 1

Visit: Upland Bakers, Marshfield, Vermont 18

Chapter Two Bread Grains and Flours 23

Visit: Giusto's Specialty Foods, South San Francisco, California 41

Chapter Three Leavens and Doughs 43

Visit: Sands, Taylor, and Wood (King Arthur Flour), Norwich, Vermont 69

Chapter Four Dough Development 72

Visit: Acme Baking Company, Berkeley, California 89

Chapter Five Baking, Ovens, and Bread 93

Visit: Consulting and Marketing Services, South San Francisco, California 108

Chapter Six Masonry Ovens of Europe and America 113

Visits: American Flatbread, Warren, Vermont 123

The Cheese Board, Berkeley, California 127

Chapter Seven Preparing to Build a Masonry Oven 129

Visits: Mugnaini Imports, Watsonville, California 149

San Juan Bakery, San Juan Bautista, California, and Home Fires Bakery, Leavenworth, Washington 153

Chapter Eight Masonry Materials, Tools, and Methods 157

Visit: Cafe Beaujolais, Mendocino, California 169

Chapter Nine Oven Construction 173

Visit: Depot Town Sourdough Bakery, Ypsilanti, Michigan 193

Chapter Ten Oven Management 195

Visits: Della Fatoria, Petaluma, California 210

Rani and Keith, Garberville, California 213

Chapter Eleven A Day in the Life at the Bay Village Bakery 216

Bakers' Resource: Sourdough Microbiology 227

Recommended Sources 233

Glossary 236

Bibliography 243

Index 246

lt;p>Review from Ecology Action Newsletter-

The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens, by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott, is a serious book, written for people who take their bread baking seriously. It is not a cookbook but one whose object is to help the baker understand all parts of the process that go into creating an excellent loaf. As such, it is a technical journal that thoroughly details natural fermentation, bread grains and flours, leavens and dough, and dough development. The second part is about masonry ovens and their construction, since both authors agree that such an oven is a necessary part of creating the excellent loaf. Each chapter of the book includes a visit to a commercial or private venture which is using some or all of the processes being described. The book is not a light read but should prove inspiring to those wanting more information about the baking process, how to construct a masonry oven or anyone who is glad to see that these traditional methods are being nurtured rather than forgotten.