The Last Week in Bread (for now, at least)
So this week constitutes the final week of Round 2 of Pandora’s Bread Box Community-Supported Bakery subscription. This was a great round; 8 weeks, 3 days a week for 21 subscribers. It was demanding but rewarding. The number and type of subscribers expanded (ie they’re not just all close friends anymore) and more and more challenging breads were included in the weekly boxes.
I’m grateful to all of the subscribers for supporting the CSB and providing feedback, both positive and negative. Its been fun getting to know each of the subscribers better and trading baking stories.
For the final week, the breads are Ciabatta, Soft Pretzels and Florentines. Ciabatta is one of the most difficult breads to make because it is a very wet dough. A wet dough, surprisingly enough, has a high proportion of water to flour making it about the consistency of thick goop. This make it incredibly difficult to manipulate, shape and work with. It takes about an hour to mix all the water into the flour (doing so slowly allows the strength of the dough to build so it can accept all of the water, otherwise you run the risk of disintegrating your dough). It then rests for 3 hours, building strength, flavor and the characteristic air bubbles. You then shape it (basically just stretch it out into its rectangular shape) and let it rest for another hour. Then you slide it onto a 460 degree baking stone and bake it up.
Ciabatta was the first type of bread I ever tried making. I made it every weekend for 5 months and I never ever had any success. The dough was never wet enough and I never got the big holes that are characteristic of the bread. This was before I understood much of anything about baking: the direct relationship between the wetness of the dough and the size of the holes, how to slowly mix in the large amount of water, how the strength of the dough increases the longer it ferments.
It was all I could do to keep making bread, I was so disheartened. Little did I know I was attempting to make one of the most difficult breads out there; not a good choice for a newbie.
Anyways, I’ve finally got a good handle on it. There’s definitely room for improvement and I’ll keep refining my technique. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy it.
The pretzels are really fun to make (and to eat!) They’re a great snack and should be eaten the day you get them. Seriously, after a night, the salt melts into the dough and they lose they’re crisp outside. Eat them today!
I like to just eat pretzels plain, but many people dip them. Honey mustard is a popular dip. Just mix 3 tablespoons of mustard to 2 tablespoons of honey. I encourage you to mix the types of mustard, such as a combo of Dijon and Deli/Brown mustards.
The final baked good this week is Florentines. When I was a kid and my sister and I would accompany my mom to the grocery store, the lady at the bakery counter would always give us a free cookie. Sophie would bounce around in her choices, always getting a different kind. But I had found my favorite, the Florentine, and never tried anything else. For those of you who know me, I guess my sticking with one thing once I like it is not so much a surprise. But its my memory of eating that Florentine as I followed my mom around the store that have nurtured a special fondness for them.
Anyways, I hope this week’s breads are delicious and enjoyable for everyone. I’ve had a great time this round and hope to be baking for you all again next round.
