Sunday, October 28, 2012

Tartine Bread: Day 1

I have not been quite as lazy as the time between posts might lead you to suspect. I have made breads, but they've all been repeats of breads that I've already written about. Also, my younger daughter gave birth in August to my first grandchild, and Jim and I are taking care of him until his coveted slot in infant daycare opens up. Meanwhile, I've been staring at this book cover, telling myself I really should start this bread:
It's been nearly two years since I got Tartine Bread for Christmas. In the intervening months, I've started reading it probably a few dozen times, and always felt rather dispirited about the time and effort it was going to take to get going with the bread. Every time I read the first chapter, about Chad Robertson's quest for the perfect bread, I'm amazed at how much time and energy he spent looking for ways to blend the most mundane ingredients--flour, salt, and water--into a thing of beauty. He traveled from Northern California to Provence to the French Alps to Bourdeaux back to the northern California countryside, and finally to San Francisco, where he opened his now-famed bakery. His book, he says, is a "baking guidebook to get you where you want to go." I'm not sure where I want to go, but I've now taken the first step."
My first step is mixing a goop made of bread flour, whole wheat flour, and water. And there it will stay for a few more days until bubbles form around the sides and on the surface. We'll see.

6 comments:

Melinda said...

Yes! I knew when the weather started to change you'd make bread again!
I look forward to this bread outcome.
Looks gloopy!

Jenn [knittybaker] said...

Congrats Marie & Jim on your first grandchild!

I loved the breads and pictures in the Tartine bread. I never had the courage to make them. Looking forward to reading about your journey making the bread.

Marie said...

Melinda,
You're so right--the first frost activates my bread-baking gene!

Jenn,
Thank you--he's a delight! It is intimidating to start a bread that takes a whole book to describe, but so far, not so hard, although I think it will get harder when I actually turn on the oven.

Stephanie {Clockwork Lemon} said...

Excited to see you post about this book!! I was getting into sourdough but more recently cheese making has taken over my kitchen. Back to baking sandwich loafs for me! Looking forward to more posts about tartine

Marie said...

Stephanie,
Cheese making sounds really exciting--and scary!
And sandwich loaves are delicious. I'm not convinced that this bread will be any better than the breads I've baked with commercial yeast, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Rosemary & Garlic said...

The thirty pages kind of scared me off, I am loving your recent loaves though.