Baking Bread on a Quarantine Dime

Houston Chronicle

With a stay-at-home order in effect, Houstonians have had to get creative with indoor activities. Getting in the kitchen is a no-brainer, and bread might just be the best project to keep busy while stuck between four walls.

Photos of people’s starters are circulating on social media, which is nice and all, but for folks who’ve never made bread before, those bubbly doughs may seem intimidating. A starter is not actually required for all breads. If you’re starting out, maybe leave the sourdoughs for another time.

“Yeasted breads, made with active or instant yeast, are typically the easiest to make because they’re easier to control,” says Tasos Katsaounis of Bread Man Baking.

Many breads can be made with very few ingredients — you might even have them already in your pantry — and packets of active dry yeast bought at the grocery store are a fine substitute for fresh yeast. Novice bakers should rise to the challenge, and Houston bakers are ready to share their wisdom (and some recipes).

“Home baking is so much fun, it’s relaxing, and it’s a nice outlet,” says Anita Jaisinghani, chef-owner of Pondicheri and its Bake Lab, a bakery above the restaurant. “I don’t know why people don’t bake more.”

Very few tools are needed. A big, non-porous surface should be used to lay out dough, like a cutting board or just a kitchen countertop. Make sure to have oven-proof dishes of various shapes and sizes, depending on what you’re baking. Sure, a KitchenAid stand mixer is nice to have, but doughs can be mixed and worked by hand.

“Getting a feel for the dough is always a good start for the new baker,” says Rakesh Nayak, executive pastry chef at Common Bond.

Once you’ve got your bare-bones equipment and a recipe you want to attempt, remember the cardinal rules of baking.

“Don’t be afraid of the scale,” says Jaisinghani. Baking is a science, so using exact quantities is critical to the bread coming out well. Do not approximate, she warns. Nayak suggests measuring out all the ingredients in separate bowls before starting any of the steps in the recipe — a technique called “mise en place.” Make sure the bowls are clean and free of moisture, he adds.

The next two words you need to learn are proofing and kneading. The former is the time the dough spends resting before a bake, allowing it to ferment and rise. The latter is the process of working the dough to create gluten, an important component for the texture of the final product.

These two often work in tandem, although you’ll find “no-knead bread” recipes that only require two quick folds, but need a long time to rest and ferment, at least 12 hours. These can be great if you have time on your hands and aren’t feeling confident about the kneading. No matter which path you take, make sure to follow instructions literally and don’t cut corners, as there’s not much room for error.

“Every step can go wrong if you don’t follow the recipe,” says Nayak. “If you don’t mix well, your end product will be too hard. If you don’t proof well, your end product will be too dense.”

Kneading is a good skill to practice and can actually be quite therapeutic once you get the hang of it. Have some flour on the side to add (in moderation) as needed.

“If I’m doing a small batch, I build the dough like a volcano, if you will,” says Bobby Jucker, co-owner of Three Brothers Bakery. “Fold it over and over. Push in with the fleshy part of your hand where your thumb is. Keep pushing towards the center and make it into a ball.” Repeat this motion until the dough has a smooth texture, then cover it with a dusting of flour and a piece of plastic wrap or a cloth and let it sit for the required time.

When it comes to the actual types of bread to bake, there are myriad options that are great for beginners and don’t require many ingredients.

“You want to start off slow, start off small, with not very ambitious recipes,” says Weights & Measures chef Fernando Rios. “That will help you understand the fundamentals of baking.” He suggests simple dinner rolls or sandwich bread.

Nayak believes brioche is a great starting point for people learning about breadmaking, because it’s actually quite versatile. “If you roll it round, it will be a brioche,” he says. “But if you roll it as a hot dog shape, take a sharp blade to make a small slice in the middle.” He likes to add pesto sauce or grated cheese in it, then bake it.

Another bread that is great to play around with is focaccia. “Focaccia is a fun bread to make, and it’s super easy,” says Jucker. “Mix it on the table, put it in a pan, let it rise, put your olive oil and your herbs on top. You can add different things like mushrooms, olives, or onions.”

Rios often makes flour tortillas at home. He mixes flour, water, lard or vegetable oil, and a bit of salt, shapes the dough, lets it rest for just 20 minutes, then puts each side on a hot griddle for just a couple seconds until the tortilla puffs up.

Jaisinghani makes roti, a similar type of flatbread used in Indian cuisine. She also likes scones and biscuits because they can be shaped, cut and put in the freezer until ready to bake.

“I am so obsessed with fresh baking,” she says. “I will only eat something with an hour of it coming out of the oven or will freeze and reheat it before eating. The difference between a warm and room temperature baked good is night and day.”

Baking any kind of bread is incredibly rewarding, but it can take a little while to master. If you make mistakes and something doesn’t turn out quite as expected, it doesn’t have to be a total failure. For example, Rios suggests soaking tough bread to make bread pudding, or cutting it up into croutons for a salad.

“Have patience,” says Katsaounis. “Baking bread can be a very difficult thing to do consistently. Respect the process and never take shortcuts.”

emma.balter@chron.com
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Baking Bread on a Quarantine Dime

With a stay-at-home order in effect, Houstonians have had to get creative with indoor activities. Getting in the kitchen is a no-brainer, and bread might just be the best project to keep busy while stuck between four walls.

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