Baking Bread at Home

I really like bread. Bread is always best fresh. Started trying to make my own and found out I like baking bread almost as much as I like eating. Most of what I’ve learned is a combination of a few bread books (Flour Water Salt Yeast and Evolutions in Bread by Ken Forkish) and youtube videos (King Arthur).

Rustic Loaves

All rounds because that’s the only shape of proofing baskey I have. Though some of these were proofed just in a bowl with a floured cloth. This is one of the more common loaves I make. Generally with mostly white flour but will add some whole wheat or rye some times. I think some of these are sourdoughs but I don’t enjoy keeping up a starter so mostly just use instant yeast. My favorite way to add a lil extra is with pre-ferments, usually a poolish.

Pan Loaves

Generally make these for sandwhiches and if I just want to make something a bit easier since the shaping matters less due to the pan. Favorite of these is the Shokupan, or Japanese milk bread. To meet this is the platonic ideal of your standard white sandwich bread. Particularly like making egg salad sandwiches with this.

Italian trifecta

I’ll make some ciabatta, focaccia and recently this fougasse which was a real treat. Really like making focaccia in particular and is great with soups.

Other

This is a special one. The recipe comes from my mom whose family is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There is a lot of Finnish heritage and this is a sweet cardamom bread they call Nisu that is very common up there. I think cardamom breads are well like in Finland and adjacent regions still but my brief research hasn’t found a bread quite like this. But its a fun bread that we generally enjoy around the holidays especially, and is nicely braided up similar to Challah, but far sweeter I believe.