Bread Help?!

[butternut]

Hi Folks-

Baking-the final frontier for this cook. I've done most everything else in this biz, but I've never been much of a baker. I suppose it always seemed too exact a science, or something.....

Please clue me in to what a proof box is (or a proofing oven?). When is it necessary?

Also- would love an easy and delicious recipe for a BREAD BOWL, the kind of giant roll that can hold SOUP. The ones I have encountered have been sourdough (recipe????) but would also like to hear about other possibilities.

Thanks!

[momoreg]

Butternut,
Welcome to Cheftalk.

A proof box is a humid environment to rise bread in. They are typically found in professional bread bakeries, while most home bakers end up just finding the warmest part of the house to rise their bread. The humidity of a proofer is nice because it prevents a crust from forming on the dough before baking. But covering the dough will also prevent that.

Sourdough is a nice candidate for bread bowls because of its sturdiness. If you look in past posts in the Baker's Dozen forum, you will find lots of info. on favorite bread baking books, most of which focus on baking with a starter. In general, it yeilds a chewier, more flavorful bread. I highly suggest checking out that forum.

[KyleW]

Hiya Butternut. Welcome to our little corner of CyberSpace. I agree that sourdough would be a great candidate for bread bowls. Feeling adventurous? You can grow a starter from start to finish in 5 days using nothing but flour and water. Get a hold of The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. If you really want to start playing with bread, this is a great first book. It covers all kinds of bread baking, not just sourdough.

[Isa]

Welcome to Chef Talk Butternut.


Kyle is a great baker. Take some time to visit his website, you'll find lots of information ion baking and making your own starter.