Farine

Crazy for Bread

Josey Baker and Jonathan Bethany on whole-grain artisan bread for the home baker


Bread made with 100% Sonora wheat grown within two hours from San Francisco

Unlike many of the classes and demos at the Grain Gathering, the whole-grain for the home baker workshop took place in the lobby kitchen of WSU Extension, a place well-suited for a demo but hardly the perfect stage for a dance. Yet a choreographed performance is what Josey and Jonathan opened with, arguing that were no better introduction to the five golden principles of whole-grain baking than the W.W.W. S. B. pas de deux.

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Dave Miller on milling and baking (revised)

Dave Miller of Miller’s Bake House in Oroville, California, needs no introduction. A marvelous baker and dedicated miller, he has become a living legend in the world of bread. So I knew his workshop would be excellent (and mobbed) but I also knew that since he was planning to cover all the stages of whole-grain breadmaking starting with milling your own flours, I would only attend the first afternoon if I didn’t want to skip pretty much everything else at the Grain Gathering.

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Five flatbreads by Jeffrey Hamelman

It is always a thrill to take a class with Jeffrey Hamelman, Director of King Arthur Bakery in Norwich, VT, and author of Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes but to watch him bake in a wood-fired oven in a beautiful orchard with a soft breeze swirling around fruit-laden appletrees takes the experience to a whole other level, especially when the first breads start sliding out, blistered and bubbly, and the air fills with the seductive fragrance of fire-burnished dough.

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Jeffrey Hamelman: flatbread with chocolate and anise liqueur

I have eaten my share of anise flatbreads over the years (Moroccan bakers sell them at open-air markets in Paris) but I can’t remember any as sinful as this one. With no anise seed in sight, the flavor comes from generous pre- and post-baking sprays of anise liqueur (Jeff actually used Pernod) and a melted dark chocolate filling. Make it at your own risk: by the time you have your second bite, you’ll know you just got yourself a serious new addiction!

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Jeffrey Hamelman: Tunisian savory flatbread

In Jeff’s own words, “this is a good basic flatbread formula. It is easy to make and quite versatile, supporting a great variety of fillings.
The 85%-extraction flour gives it more color and flavor than white flour. If you don’t have access to high-extraction flour, you can either mix some whole-wheat flour with your white flour or sift whole-wheat flour to remove some of the bran and use that.

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