Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Bread Builders


While I have been sick with the flu for the last 6 days, I have read and re-read the book The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. Was very inspiring to read, and I even tried one of the old French bread recipes for the farmer's market.(before the flu) My bread turned out well if I do say so myself. It was a sourdough rye. Now that I read that book, I want a masonry oven even more now than ever. The bread was nice, but with a lovely masonry oven, the crust could have been crustier, and the crumb could have had better texture.Are any of Alan Scott's apprentices out there in need of a Hawaiian vacation, and just wanting to test out your skills so you can help feed the people of Hawaii?? Oh, and yes, it is Thursday, that means if I want my sourdough to be just right, I need to start tonight. I don't do well on 1 hour of sleep. Lack of sleep might have had something to do with my coming down with the flu last Saturday afternoon. These are the sacrifices one makes for the art of fine bread making!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you take it out of the oven at 10:00 at night - is that really a bad thing? Instead of 3 a.m??? Just your mother speaking here.

Sunny said...

I know that would be better, yes.

Helen Ruth said...

OH wow, hope you're feeling better!

I too would like to try that kind of bread from such an oven. I enjoy watching Andrew Zimmerman on the food channel. He's always traveling the globe and I especially enjoy when these different cultures bake breads.

Unknown said...

Hi I am living on the big island of Hawaii for a few months, is there a good bread bakery? Looking for European artisan bread...so far bread found on the island seems like bread machine bread (only a small step up from wonder bread)

Sunny said...

Well, you can get some nice bread at the Sea View Farmer's Market, but that is too far to go for most people. The Hilo Farmer's Market has some bread, but I have not tried it yet.It looked pretty good.
You can get La Brea Bread at Island Naturals in Pahoa and Hilo. Hilo Bay Cafe used to import their bread from France, but I am not sure if they still do. Cafe Pesto makes their own flat bread from their wood burning oven. This Island is home to a million rice eaters, so you will probably do better just baking your own:-)