Thursday, January 21

Did You Resolve to Become a Better Bread Baker in 2010?
Try My Artisan Bread Baking Tips!


My Classic Farmhouse White with A Few Cups of Whole Wheat Flour Tossed In

I recently spent some time updating the Ten Tips on How To Bake Better Artisan Breads at Home post I wrote back in 2005, and it was interesting to see the little ways my bread baking has changed over the past four and a half years.

I'm still following most of the tips, though I don't use my beautiful wooden bread bowls as much as I used to—preferring to let my dough rise in straight-sided plastic containers with snap-on lids instead—and I rarely bother making steam in the oven anymore. I've also started baking all of my pan loaves (these Chicago Metallic commercial loaf pans are the best) on a hot baking stone to simulate the 7-foot wide ceramic hearth deck oven waiting for me in our almost finished commercial kitchen. The results are fantastic.

If you're a new bread baker looking to improve your loaves, you might take a look at the tips—which are simply things I've learned that have made my breads better. And if you're already a seasoned bread baker, I invite you to share your own tips in the comments section.

And you're all invited to come bake with us over at A Year in Bread! Our first offical year of baking is long since past, but my best baking pal Beth (aka kitchenMage and author of the wonderful book, Picture Yourself Cooking with Your Kids) and I are still sharing recipes and information on the site—and hoping to do a lot more posting there in 2010.

You'll find our complete index of recipes on A Year in Bread here. And if you have a beloved bread recipe, we hope you'll consider sharing it in our Friday Favorites series, which you can read more about here.

Meanwhile, Beth and I are giving away a copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day, a new book by the authors of the bestselling Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. You can enter to win here.

Ready breadie? You might enjoy some of my other bread recipes:
How To Make Pita Bread
Oatmeal Toasting Bread
Parisian Four Hour Baguettes
No-Knead Crusty Freeform Bread
Italian Rosemary Raisin Bread
Fresh Tomato & Basil Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Whole Grain Cottage Cheese Bread
Italian Black Olive Cheeks
Carrot Herb Rolls (and a bargain bread book for beginners)
Three Onion & Three Cheese Pizza (pizza dough is a great place to start)

Not quite ready for yeast yet? My Beyond Easy Beer Bread requires five minutes of work and rewards you with a warm, crusty loaf in under an hour. Year after year, it's the most popular recipe on Farmgirl Fare.

© 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the flour covered foodie farm blog where no knead can be good, but sometimes the act of kneading by hand is the very best part of bread baking.

5 comments:

  1. OH WOW, YOUR BREAD LOOKS WONDERFUL! I STARTED MAKING BREAD WHEN I WAS 12, MY MOM TAUGHT ME TO MAKE IT IN A BIG BOWL AND ALL WAS DONE BY HAND..I WOULD MAKE 8 LOAVES A WEEK. ON A FARM THAT GETS EATEN FAST WITH DAD AND BROTHERS. IN SEPTEMBER I DID A POST ON MAKING BREAD...MOSTLY WHOLE WHEAT..IT TAKES 90 MIN. FROM START TO FINISH WITH JUST ONE RISING. IT IS SO GOOD...COME CHECK IT OUT WILL YOU? COME SAY HI :D

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  2. Since I was given a 75 year old sourdough starter by a friend of a friend, I've been doing a great deal more baking, and experimenting

    http://newtofarmlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/food-transformations-aka-creative-use.html

    Unfortunately, I haven't converted my wonder-bread luvin' fambly yet, but me myself, I enjoy sourdough caraway rye and sweet sourdough oatmeal rolls and suchlike delicious baked goods on a near-daily basis.

    (hence my thighs)

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  3. I can attest to the absolute delicious-ness (is that a word?) of Farmhouse White!! (Not that I have made it but my brother has, and I'm determined to give it a try this year!) It is sooo good! I think it is a taste of heaven and I love, love, love good bread!

    (hence my thighs, too! LOL!)

    Thanks, Susan, for a reminder of all of your wonderful and helpful hints and recipes. Just another reason why we all love your site.

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  4. I'm excited to see Year in Bread is back! I followed you the first time and all of my bread recipes have come from that site or foodiefarmgirl site. We haven't purchased bread in years. Thanks for the inspiration. (on your recommendation - I bought myself a wooden bowl and I love it)

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  5. Hurrah for homemade bread! I never buy bread. It's all homemade, and now it's nearly always sourdough. We love it.

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December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and I especially love hearing about your experiences with my recipes. Comments on older posts are always welcome!

Please note that I moderate comments, so if I'm away from the computer it may be a while before yours appears.

I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy your e-visits to our farm!