I have come to serious bread making only recently. I watched a short YouTube video about German bread that covered many highlights about bread in Germany and also brought up the fact that traditional, independent bakeries are disappearing and along with them the art and craft of bread making. This trend, of course, is not unique to Germany, it is also happening in France, where “artisanal know-how and the culture of the baguette” has recently been added to the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. And I am sure we all have noticed the steady decline of independently owned small businesses in our own towns, cities and neighborhoods.
I have a soft spot for bread, maybe because I am from Germany and have missed eating the type of bread I grew up with after coming to the US, or maybe because my grandfather was a baker and baked into his 70s. So, the baker gene skipped a generation, but I love the process of seeing the dough develop, letting the yeast and sourdough leaven a bread and then baking a delicious soft and moist bread with a nice crust.
I used to bake bread off and on, just for myself and the results were good enough for me to eat. I experimented without really knowing what I was doing. These rather flat loaves had good flavor but were not quite what I was missing. Still they were better than what I could buy in grocery stores. When I saw the YouTube video about the decline in traditionally baked bread, I decided it was time to study and do some serious baking to help keep good bread alive and be able to share it.
The journey has started. You are welcome to join me and come along as I share my experiences with bread baking, food science (yes, making bread IS a bit of a science too), and much more. And also hope you will try some of my creations.