Study of Bread

Last winter my mom bought me a mixer for my 30th birthday and introduced me to the craft of baking. I've always enjoyed baked goods, especially fresh bread, cookies, or donuts. When I was finally able to see the process unfold, I was very eager to embark upon a new hobby. That winter from Christmas until early Springtime I had become an avid cookie maker. I enjoyed the entire process, from the ingredients, the mixing, the baking, and of course the eating. I discovered my favorite recipes were the butterscotch cookies, sugar cookies, and chocolate chip cookies. However the baking phase ended by early spring and was replaced by my gardening phase.

After a 2nd successful gardening season, I was ready to re-embark on a new phase of baking. Once again for my 31st birthday my mom bought me a bread-maker. (She herself has become a highly skilled baker, especially with breads and cakes over the past few years.) The bread maker was a very impressive machine; it was both a mixer and an oven in one. However I only made a few loaves in it, until my mom suggested I upgrade to her Kitchen Aid heavy duty mixer. (This was because she got a new one for Christmas and gave me her old one). She explained to me the free reign there was in using the mixer over the bread-maker. I thus gave my bread maker to Philip and begun to experiment with her mixer, which we've often called "The Weapon".

The Bread Making Process

I've quickly learned the difference between cookies and bread is the magical ingredient of yeast. Yeast is what makes the bread rise. It brings air into the dough, which then provides a soft and fluffy quality. However bread making requires much more patience than cookie-making. This is because the dough needs times to rise.

Step 1: The first step in standard bread making is to mix the ingredients. Of course each recipe is different and depends on the type of bread you want to make; however the staples of most bread usually require flour, water, salt, and yeast. Additional ingredients could be sugar, eggs, milk, olive oil, honey, and spices. Also it is a handy tip to activate the yeast with water before mixing and put it in a crevasse within the flour mixture.

Step 2: The second step is the kneading of the mixture which can either be done by hand or thru appliances. (In my case I use the Kitchen Aid mixer; aka "The Weapon"). The purpose of this is to disperse the ingredients and unite the mixture into the shape of a round ball. It's a very sticky process, and takes time for the dough to turn, stretch, and expand. Once the dough is united as a firm ball, it is ready for the rising stage.

Step 3: The rising is perhaps one of the most tricky parts of the process and requires multiple variables, such as temperature and humidity. This stage is where the dough fills with air and doubles in size. The dough should be placed in a large greased up bowl with a cover over it such as a towel. It is also important that it be placed in a warm spot such as in the oven or the microwave. It often takes 1-2 hours for the dough to double in size.

Step 4: The next step is my favorite part of the process, which is the shaping of the dough. Depending on what type of bread you're going to make, it needs to be rolled, flattened, stretched, or shaped a certain way. This is best done on a table covered with flour. After which comes the toppings, glazing, and fillings depending on the type of bread your going to make (I believe this is a step of it's own, vital to making good bread). Another handy tip at this point is to give the shaped bread some more time to expand which is called proofing.

Step 5: The final touches such as slashing, glazing, topping, and fillings are what makes the bread distinctive and much more enjoyable. Slashing the top of the dough, allows the bread to rise in the oven without additional cracks. Glazing and toppings are what give the bread an enjoyable crust. Examples include butter, egg-wash, sugar, flour, poppy seed, honey, etc. Fillings also depend on the type of bread, whether a sweat or a meal it brings more flavor to it. Examples include cheese, sugar creams, guava, fruit, and meats.

Step 6: The last step of the process is baking the bread in the oven. This usually takes 20 to 30 minutes and normally requires the oven temperature to be over 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spraying the oven with some water or a tray of ice provides steam which gives the bread a crispy crust. The longer the bread is in the oven, the harder it will be. (it's the same case with cookies; people who prefer soft cookies/bread should remove it from the oven sooner). Once finished allow some time to cool, but not too long, because the best time to enjoy fresh bread is when it's nice and warm.


Types of Bread

There are many types of bread which can fall into some basic categories such as white, wheat, rye, flat, etc. (Below is a list of the categories and examples of breads that fall into that category. Also note that many of these breads can fall into multiple categories)

• White Bread: This is perhaps the most common type which uses a light colored flour
• Baguette (French) Long thin loaf of bread with crispy crust and soft middle
• Ciabatta (Italian) Crispy crust, soft middle; ideal with Pasta
• Bagel (Polish) Ring-shaped bread, deep-fried, and often topped with seeds
• Bread Rolls: Soft circular shaped rolls
• Breadsticks (Italian) Very thin slices of bread
• Cottage Loaf (British) Odd shaped spherical loaf of bread
• Donuts: Bread rolls, shaped, deep-fried, and glazed and filled with sweets
• Cinnamon Rolls: Bread rolls, shaped and glazed with the disctintive flavor of cinanaomn. 
• Pretzel: (Germany) Distinctively shaped thin bread, topped with salt and seeds
• Zopf (Switzerland) Braided dough brushed with egg yolk and a sweet taste
• Victorian Milk Bread (British) Standard loaf of sweet milk laced bread
• Stromboli: (Italian) Thinly sliced bread filled with Mozzarella and Basil
• Brown Bread: This type of bread uses whole grain wheat flour which gives it a darker brown color
• Multigrain Bread: Made with multiple grains of whole wheat flour and seed toppings
• Whole Wheat Bread: Uses flour that is primary milled from whole grain wheat
• Rye Bread: This type of bread uses rye grain as well as mixtures of wheat which gives it a much stronger taste that the standard brown or white bread
• Landbrot (German) Loaf of bread made with rye wheat and topped with flour
• Pain de Seigle (French) Thinly sliced bread with rye wheat
• Pumpernickle (German)
• Flatbread: This is basically a type of bread that does not use yeast

• Pita Bread (Greek) Thin and chewy with a hollow center. Very popular among Middle Eastern countries and also key component in my favorite type of food, Gyros
• Crumpet (British) Circular flat roll with spongy texture
• Piadina (Italy) Thin bread often folded as a sandwich wrap
• Pizza (Italy) Thin bread that is flattened and topped with pasta sauce, cheese, veggies, spices, and meat
• Roti (Indian) An extremely thin slice of bread that is unleavened made from wholemeal flour
• Tortilla (Mexican) An extremely thin slice of bread made from ground wheat flour
• Naan (Indian) Extremely thin, oven-baked and broiled bread
• Quickbread: Perhaps the easiest to make bread, it basically substitutes the ingredient of yeast with baking powder or baking soda; ( I would hardly consider these things as bread)
• Cookies
• Muffins
• Pancakes
• Cake
• Brownies
• Biscuits
• Cornbread
• Banana Bread
• Arepas (Venezuelan, Colombian) Cornmeal based and deep-fried
• Broa (Portuguese) Cornmeal based, baked
• Empanadas (Venezuelan, Colombian) Cornmeal based; filled with meat, cheese, or potatoes 
• Sourdough Bread: This distinctive bread incorporates a starter fermentation process; which gives more texture to the dough; in some cases the dough has to rise for several days before cooking

• Miche (French) Rounded loaf with distinctive sourdough texture
• Pain de Campagne (Italian) Rounded loaf with springy texture, chewy crust, and tangy flavor; often topped with flour
• San Francisco Sourdough (American) 
• Pane Di Semola (Italian)
• 49er Flapjack (American) Crepe made with sourdough
• Rugbrod (Danish) Used with Rye Wheat and a long fermentation
• Crisp Bread: Flat and dry type of bread containing mostly flour (Once again hard to consider crackers as bread)
• Cracker 
• Crisp Bread (Scandanavia) Traditional crisp bread consisting of Rye
• Enriched Bread: Bread that is flavored and infused with additional ingredients
• Carrot Bread
• Pumpkin Bread
• Cheese Bread
• Walnut Bread
• Tomato Bread
• Chocolate Bread
• Potato Bread
• Raisin Bread
• Dill Bread (Swedish) infused with dill, onion, and cream cheese

My Favorite Bread Recipes

I've been baking regularly for about a month now, and my interest in this new hobby continues to grow. I suppose this passion comes from my mom who is always in the kitchen cooking up a storm since we were young. It's always been a great family bond for us to work together in the kitchen. I find that the hard time and work it takes to cook makes the food all the more enjoyable. In a way it's an art-form that can only be perfected through practice and meticulous patience.

In regards to baking I hope to continue to master this hobby in the many years to come. I find it to be the perfect partner to my other favorite food hobby; gardening. Thus I will continue to bake thru the wintertime and garden in the summertime. The thing I love so much about baking is that it's a very cost-efficient. All I basically need is flour, salt, and yeast, and can make numerous rolls at a time. There are still so many types I still want to experiment with. These are some of my favorite thus far;

• Ciabatta/Baguettes (Long thin loafs with crispy crusts and soft middles)
• Glazed Donuts
• Pepporoni/Mushroom Pizza
• Pan de Jamon (Bread filled with ham, bacon, cheese, and olives
• Roscon de Bocadillo (Bread filled with cheese and guava)
• Calzones (Bread filled with Pizza ingredients)
• Pita Bread (Used for Gyro Meat)
• Sweet Bread Rolls