When Bread is Pain
February 29, 2008 at 12:09 am | In Baking / Cooking, Food | 55 Comments… When it’s French bread! Translations aside though, French bread should be anything but a pain, seeing as it’s one of the most simple loaves you can make. Flour, water, salt, yeast- Nothing to veganize, even! At least that’s what I thought when first attempting this most basic bread back in January. Wouldn’t you know, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Especially when you run out for a “quick” grocery shopping, get distracted, and don’t return for six hours? (Hmm, can you see a pattern here…?) Having already shaped and set the dough off on its final rise, there was nothing more to do but bake them off, although I didn’t exactly get two picture-perfect baguettes as I hoped for. Instead, my oven ultimately gave birth to…
Conjoined twins. The crust was a gorgeous golden brown, the crumb was airy and chewy, but alas, these loaves would make a French baker blush. After such an experience, you can understand why I couldn’t control my laughter upon the announcement of this month’s Daring Baker Challenge- You guessed it, French bread!
This time, with Julia Child’s recipe spanning 8 pages in it’s original print to guide me, I simply couldn’t fail. Going for the traditional baguette shape again to make up for my previous mutants, it was certainly nothing new or innovative, but exciting all the same. The hardest part of completing this challenge was getting home and scraping together enough time between book signings and events to complete it!
No muss, no fuss, just a few things I might work on for next time. As you can see, I was a bit shy when it came to slashing the dough, so they weren’t quite deep enough… And then, there’s that tiny little step that I completely forgot. I know, it was an unforgivable, egregious error I made, skipping straight over the final rise… But you know what? The bread was so delicious, I didn’t even realize my oversight until a week later when I was uploading the photos!
A dense crumb, you say? Why yes, that does happen when you don’t let the darned bread rise before baking! I can’t really complain though, as it made incredible toast for a good number of breakfasts nonetheless.
One of these days, I’ll complete a challenge with flying colors, flawlessly executing it and achieving the ideal results. …Just not this month, that’s for sure!
55 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
-
My Cookbook
-
My Ebooks
-
-
-
-
Flickr Photos
More Photos -
Awards
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
OOoh – I absolutely adore french bread – the simplest of ingredients and goes with so many things. Plus day old bread is great in soups. Yum. I have been making my bread from scratch for a while now to avoid all the junk in the commercial brands and french bread is a great stand by. Hey – your bread looks really good – I actually like the bread denser every so often just to do different things with it and get a different “bite” to it. Some of the best old peasant breads are very dense. Okay, I’m going to stop babbling now because I’m working up a craving. :)
Comment by teeni — February 29, 2008 #
You’re too funny. I almost forgot about my bread also. The batards look like they came out pretty good. :)
Comment by Gigi — February 29, 2008 #
Gorgeous loves – they really look like the proper thing. Well done for seeing down your bread demons. :)
Comment by Annemarie — February 29, 2008 #
Hello,
I live in Luxembourg (right next to France) and the French also have a baguette similar to what you made (so without the extra rising) which they call Ficelle (or string). It is shorter than a ‘normal’ baguette and is rather compact on the inside. The crust of a ficelle is also a tad thicker than regular baguette. This kind of baguette is often used for sandwiches that have fillings like roast veggies in olive oil as it will absorb the oil nicely (marinated goat cheese with herbs and olives is another favorite). Ficelles are also mostly made flour that is not the white processed stuff of the original baguette.
Cheers Eva
Comment by sweetpea16 — February 29, 2008 #
these are absolutely gorgeous french bread!! great job on this month’s db challenge!!
Comment by dhanggit — February 29, 2008 #
Ooh, they looks lovely! I adore bread making.
Comment by Melisser — February 29, 2008 #
Congratulations on your twins! Glad you are facing the bread making challenge, that is wonderful!
Comment by Gretchen Noelle — February 29, 2008 #
It would be pain-less to devour that bread, no question! It looks beautiful to me just as it is.
Comment by Ricki — February 29, 2008 #
Haha, oh Hannah, you always brighten my day with your wit – the loaves for this month’s DBC turned out exceptionally well, as usual. J’aime le pain français! :0)
Comment by VeggieGirl — February 29, 2008 #
This reminds me of my mother’s bread. I can just smell it right now. Mmm… gorgeous!
Comment by Romina — February 29, 2008 #
I’m laughing at the conjoined twins bread. That does tend to happen a lot in my baking experience. Your baguettes look absolutely beautiful. Great job , Hannah!
Comment by veron — February 29, 2008 #
Wow, that looks so yummy! My dad used to bake bread, but I’ve never tried it myself. I think you could have just invented a new type of bread with the conjoined ones. I’ll take two!
Comment by Anna — February 29, 2008 #
Hannah – I laughed so hard at your conjoined twins French bread…because some of my gluten free recipes turn out that way too. So I was quite surprised when my little gf ficelles turned out so nicely. This is a great bread recipe, even though it takes a long time to rise and ferment it turns out a fabulous loaf. You did a wonderful job on your DB loaf…simply scrumptious.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Comment by Sheltie Girl — February 29, 2008 #
Hannah, your first attempt looked like my first attempt many years ago as well (before I discovered the Julia recipe)
I’m so glad you had nice bread even with only 2 rises. Good luck on your book and hopefully you will have a chance to taste this bread after a 3rd rise soon.
Thanks for participating with Sara and I this month
Comment by breadchick — February 29, 2008 #
You need to get The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. You will really enjoy it. He’ll teach you to use the fridge as a cooking tool–enabling you to go places and do things while exciting things happen to your dough.
Comment by balabusta — February 29, 2008 #
I often end up with conjoined twins or triplets even when baking. The crust on your final loaves look great, even if the crumb is slightly dense!
Comment by brilynn — February 29, 2008 #
I always love how fresh bread looks! Both of the breads in this post look delicious to me, even if they weren’t prepared completely as planned. Those crusts are beautiful.
Comment by Bonnie — February 29, 2008 #
Iguess I was in pain going through 15 pages for this recipe…. but you did so well! I just love yours! well done!
Comment by Big Boys Oven — February 29, 2008 #
Secret: I love dense bread. It would be no “pain” at all to eat this, Hannah!!
Comment by Cakespy — February 29, 2008 #
Well, your second attempt at bread was perfect!
Comment by marye — February 29, 2008 #
You conquered it -you Daring Baker! Fabulous looking baguettes with Julia’s recipe! Nice job!
x x x
Comment by Gabi — February 29, 2008 #
Haha, that’s funny. But the bread looks good and ready to eat!
Comment by Jenny — February 29, 2008 #
Hannah I love you :) The conjoined twins made me smile, inside-out! What a wonderful post and your bread is gorgeous! Great job!
Comment by Tartelette — February 29, 2008 #
Ooooh I love French Bread – yours looks yummy!
Comment by Teresa — February 29, 2008 #
Your conjoined twins made me giggle! And your batards are truly lovely.
Comment by Mary — February 29, 2008 #
Your bread is absolutely stunning! I’m slowly becoming obsessed with your blog :)
Comment by rivkafriedman — February 29, 2008 #
The conjoined twins story was so funny! My first bread baking story involved forgetting to put eggs in EGG BREAD. Hm….. Absent-minded much? :) Anyway, lovely results this time!
http://confessionsoftart.blogspot.com
Comment by Irene — February 29, 2008 #
Thanks for a very entertaining post! I actually found myself giggling as I read it. =) The loaves came out beautifully, despite the lack of rise time. Great job!
Comment by Dawn — February 29, 2008 #
tell you what, I prefer a dense crumb anyway. yours are the most amazing homemade baguettes I’ve ever seen.
Comment by Anke — February 29, 2008 #
Wow I love French bread and these look delicious Hannah, lovely photos too.
Comment by eatersregret — February 29, 2008 #
Conjoined twins! Hahahahahahahaaaa! I’m so glad you tried again. I was shy about the slashing too. My mom slashed one with a really fancy zig-zag stroke. Mine was a little X. But, they both tasted great! ;)
Comment by Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy — February 29, 2008 #
I would gladly perform surgery on the twins w/a bread knife I have…….but only if I am allowed adoption of at least one of them. French bread is the best…….jam, jelly, brie, pesto………….just schmear and consume.
Comment by Stacey — February 29, 2008 #
I love seeing the different photos of your different attempts.
Looks like you definitely got the hang of it this time! :-)
Comment by carrie — February 29, 2008 #
It was a fun challenge. Isn’t it amazing how 4 simple ingredients can come together into something so delicious (and vegan)?
Comment by Dayna — February 29, 2008 #
sometimes the most simple things are the most challening.
i wanted to tell you how awesome yr book is. i am probably one of the last vegans to get it but i am so happy i now have it. i have made a variation of yr party bars and tonight i made my hubby the peanut butter bombs (i think that’s what they are called). both excellent!
you inspire me!
Lori
Comment by Lori- pleasantly plump vegan — February 29, 2008 #
Awww what an improvement! Although I fancy those conjoined twins muchly. :)
And you simply can not manage a flawless execution of a DB challenge.. for I will be alone in my less than flawless executions. :)
Beautiful work, sweets!
xoxo
Comment by Lisa — February 29, 2008 #
Haha, to funny. I love the conjoined twin bread! As well as the other breads… But the conjoined French Bread is adorably funny. Maybe could start your own line of bread? Conjoined French Bread. Beautiful.
Comment by Tarah — February 29, 2008 #
One of my favorite breads!
Comment by Oiyi — March 1, 2008 #
Your breads look wonderful. They are a great rustic colour
Comment by Katie — March 1, 2008 #
That bread looks perfect! I don’t think it missed the final rising.
Comment by Alisa — March 1, 2008 #
Haha, conjoined twins indeed. But hey! They look delish!
Comment by maria~ — March 1, 2008 #
well, it looks like you did better this time around! :)
Comment by Jaime — March 1, 2008 #
Great photos!
Comment by dwoodward20 — March 1, 2008 #
very well done!
Comment by Sara — March 2, 2008 #
Yes, you need to get violent with the bread and slash it to death. :)
Comment by peabody — March 2, 2008 #
This was a challenge where it was easy to get distracted!! :) Your bread still looks great!
Comment by Deborah — March 2, 2008 #
I love the conjoined twins. Looks like something I would have done! Your batards turned out beautifully with such a lovely brown crust. Nice Job!
Comment by kellypea — March 2, 2008 #
Ha, I did the final rise and my crumb is about the same density. Guess we’ll both have to try it again! :)
Comment by JennyBakes — March 2, 2008 #
Amazing how these four little ingredients can give people such fits, isn’t it? And yet, in the end, it’s much more forgiving (of skipped final rises, for example :-) than we’d imagined. Very well done!
Comment by Susan — March 2, 2008 #
I don’t think the rising that you forgot affected your bread too much. Looks good. I tried twice, risings and all and wasn’t too successful.
Comment by Aparna — March 2, 2008 #
Haha Congrats on success! Either way, I definitely would have gobbled up the first batch. Regardless of being flat and conjoined, it still looks like yummy bread to me! :-D
Comment by Suzie — March 3, 2008 #
Ooh, that bread looks perfect for vegan French toast! Props to you for making your own French bread – mine comes from my work or Whole Foods. Haha, your “conjoined twins” may not be the result you hoped for, but they sure look delicious! I would have eaten them. :)
Comment by ruby red vegan — March 3, 2008 #
Ooo looks great! I like the picture of the squashed looking bread too. :)
Comment by Ashley — March 3, 2008 #
If the bread comes out flat, call it Ciabatta ;)
Comment by Suganya — March 4, 2008 #
hhmmmm, yes I do see a pattern with the long shopping sprees ;-)
Your conjoined twins do look adorable and most importantly tasted good. And lucky you, you get a second try with the DB challenge. Well done!
Comment by Nora — March 4, 2008 #