Journal entries from last year

8/23/07

News that wheat prices are going higher, and along with that headline, that huge (mega) companies like Sara Lee and Kellogg are getting squeezed. Nothing could make me happier. The whole economy of how we produce and consume food is so screwed up. Eveything is based on cost and profit. In my case, my profit margin is so high, I don't have to worry much about rising raw food costs. And the reason my margin is so high, is that I don't have the overhead that the big companies do, plus I don't have to compete in the fast lane of bargain-priced bread. The world of super markets and discounters is entirely separate from the world of coops and small stores I deal with. Of course, the big retailers would just love to force the small guys out of business, but that's been the way of the world for eons.

As long as bakers like me, and other food producers too, can continue to sell our goods locally in a local economy, then we will survive and thrive. It's our way of fighting the system -- a system that undercuts local economies and working class people all over the world.

8/18/07

Something that is unique about making bread in this environment, that is, at home, where one can constantly be in contact with the process, is that there is enough time -- time to allow the dough to fully mature and reach its peak of flavor through the fermentation process.

This simply cannot be done in an industrial environment unless people are working around the clock, and that necessitates making a lot more product, and the cycle spirals up and up, until the quality of both product and of work enjoyment suffers.

The rythms of a small bakery are based on this constant attention, and that more or less means you have to have it nearby . . . in the home. But the results are unparalelled. Bread of this quality cannot be produced in the usual bakery. There is a tradeoff. I really would like to have a nice shop in town, but then I'd either have to move there, or change the way I make the product, and it wouldn't be the same.

8/21/07

My current method for french bread is as follows.
I refresh the starter the night before, up to about 4 pounds worth.
Next morning mix full starter batch of 16 or 17 pounds.
Mix poolish at 12 pounds.
These are mixed at about 8AM and are for all the doughs, not just the french bread.

at 11:00 I mix the autolyse for the french bread, just the flour and water, and mix for about 4 or 5 minutes. Hydration is about 74 to 75%.
At 1PM or so mix the dough, adding the starter at around 14% the total flour weight and poolish at 15%. Add salt here as well, 1.8%

Mix this on low for a few minutes to incorporate.
Mix on medium speed (2nd gear on Hobart) for 4 or 5 minutes.
Pointage lasts 3 to 4 hours, 76 degrees.


. . . . . . . . ............ Speaking of time, this entire process requires inordinate amounts of time. The fire has to burn slowly, the doughs have to rise slowly. This is REAL slow food.