Browsing through the bookstore I chanced upon a book on 100 bread recipes. The magnificent pictures of the various breads made me realise how one could get creative with the same basic ingredient: flour.
Baking my own bread became my newest fascination for the next couple of weeks. I understood why it’s said that bread baking is therapeutic. The sight of the rising dough and the aroma of freshly baked bread evokes a sense of satisfaction for having made something from scratch. I often sit down with the book and gape at the beautiful creations. After baking my own bread I had a new found respect for this staple food. I say, forget the low carb diet, go bake yourself some bread!
A few pointers:
- Do not use too much sugar with the expectation of making your yeast get excited sooner than required.
- Salt should be avoided. I suggest, after the bread is baked, dab it with some salted butter to cover for the lack of it in the dough.
- Let the dough rise till it is double the original size. Yes, it requires a lot of patience.
- Cover the dough with a damp muslin cloth to keep it moist at all times.
- If you want a crusty exterior, leave a bowl of hot water in the oven while baking and also spray some in the oven.
Amongst my favourite breads to bake is a warm, cheesy focaccia having the fragrance of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with flavourful herbs. Here is link to a recipe from Mario Batali: Cheese bread from
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Talking about cook-books, you could talk about some of your favourite ones, those that have probably inspired/excited you the most. Maybe in some future post.
Keep it goin!