The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book Part 23

Sponges offer a lot of flexibility. When your schedule is unpredictable, a sponge will be hurried up or will wait awhile, without so much damage to the bread as if it were a straight dough. Besides, sponges can be made to move faster or slower as you like: suggestions follow.

BIG BATCHES.

It is pleasant and even fairly easy to prepare dough for two loaves of bread by hand. When you are faced with kneading twice that, though, some serious muscle and endurance are required. By kneading in stages and letting the yeast do some of the work, the process can become a lot more manageable. For example, you can make five loaves of Scottish Sponge Bread if you're in fairly good shape. The sponge also gives you the option of making different kinds of bread-say, wheat, rye, and raisin-buckwheat at the same time.

STRONG FLOURS CARRY WEAK FLOURS.

Low-gluten wheat flour and flours from other grains as well as beans have a lot to offer nutritionally, and they may have outstanding flavor, too; but in some cases adding them at the beginning of the fermentation period can make poor bread. However, you can make a sponge with the high-gluten wheat flour, let it ferment, and then add the weaker flours with the other dough ingredients, and get the best use of each. Both Scottish Sponge Bread, which is designed to include some pastry flour (or other low-gluten whole wheat flour), and Busy People's Bread, which uses bean flour, are examples of ways to do this.

A sponge dough ordinarily requires four risings: one for the sponge, and two plus the final proof for the full dough. When you use a weaker flour in the dough, only one rising between sponge and shaping may be required. Be alert to the state of the dough, and evaluate it cannily before you decide to let it rise again prior to shaping. If it seems nearly ripe, round it and let it have a little longer rest than usual, then go ahead and shape without further ado. Consult A Loaf for Learning if you need to review these techniques.

Most recipes can be adapted to the sponge method. For best results we suggest you choose the sponge pattern that is closest to the timing you want to follow, and divide your own recipe's ingredients similarly. The amount of flour and water, the temperatures of the sponge and dough, any other ingredients that may be included-all these affect the fermentation of the sponge and the success of the bread. Still, with a sponge, there is always leeway. Ideally you use it to make your dough when the sponge has risen as much as it can and started to recede or fall back. But if you need to, you can take it up much sooner or let it go much longer and-still have good bread. Longer-fermenting sponges, like longer-fermenting doughs, give you more flavor, nutrition, and keeping quality.

A professional baker's sponge usually contains half to three-quarters of the flour, the yeast, part of the sweetener, and enough water to make a stiff stiff dough. That is what we recommend. A variation that is popular with home bakers is the so-called wet sponge, made from part of the flour and all of the liquid, but we find it ineffective, messy, and unpleasant to work with-not worth the trouble. dough. That is what we recommend. A variation that is popular with home bakers is the so-called wet sponge, made from part of the flour and all of the liquid, but we find it ineffective, messy, and unpleasant to work with-not worth the trouble.

The chart on the next page is intended to give a quick overview of the basic possibilities for making sponges of various timings. What it comes down to is mixing up about half the flour and water with enough yeast to let the mixture ferment in the time you have for it. To lengthen the time, use less yeast, mix a stiffer sponge, include the salt, and keep it cooler. To hasten its work, include more yeast, make it softer, hold the salt until you make the dough, and keep it warmer. Though sponges are accommodating and flexible, it isn't a case of anything goes. If you are just trying the method out, we suggest following one of the recipes with the sponge procedure fully explained so that you can get a feel for the process before you do your own adaptations.

- Scottish Sponge Bread - Busy People's Bread - Yogurt Bread - Overnight Started Bread

Making Sponge Doughs Suit Your Timing

TO PREPARE THE SPONGE.

Dissolve the yeast as you would for a normal dough, using whatever amount is called for to make the sponge. It is necessary to dissolve the yeast according to the manufacturer's directions in warm water, but if your sponge is to stand for more than a couple of hours, you will want to use as little warm water as possible so that the sponge will not be too warm and ferment too fast.

Stir the yeast mixture and the other liquid into the flour, mixing thoroughly to the desired consistency, and then knead only briefly, about five minutes: enough that the dough can hold the gas generated by the yeast, but not completely, since there will be more kneading later when the dough is made.

Put the sponge in a container that will let it rise quite a lot before it falls back-more than double, at least. Cover the container with a plate or a thick damp towel so that the contents don't dry out and crust over; keep where it will be the right temperature, and protected from drafts.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH.

Soften the sponge in the liquid called for in the recipe that has not already been used in the sponge and then add the rest of the ingredients according to the instructions in the recipe. If you want the dough to rise quickly, use warm liquid; if you want a more leisurely rise, cooler; but expect the dough to be livelier than it would be without the sponge, and if you use warm liquid, the dough will probably rise and be ready to deflate in about an hour. For a very very fast dough, add an extra teaspoon of yeast; the first rise may take nearly an hour, but the second rise and the proof will be exceptionally fast. Keep this version very warm for rising and proofing. fast dough, add an extra teaspoon of yeast; the first rise may take nearly an hour, but the second rise and the proof will be exceptionally fast. Keep this version very warm for rising and proofing.

If the sponge did not include the salt, don't forget it now!

The Rising Place Everybody's home is different, and so each baker has to play sleuth to find the warm place or the cool one where the dough can rise best. Drafty log cabins with wood heat present the greatest of challenges because the heat is dry and p.r.o.ne to extreme ups and downs, but apartments boasting air conditioning and forced-air heating have their problems, too.

Some entrepreneur will someday invent and market a compact little warming box, good for breadmaking and also for incubating yogurt and tempeh. It will be well-insulated, use little power, be adjustable from 70 to 110F or so, keep steady heat (oh, especially, let it keep steady steady heat!) and offer a method of humidifying the atmosphere inside in a controlled way. In our dream, this wonderful box is easy to clean and not too expensive, a home version of the commercial bakery's proof box. Until the happy day this comes along, here is a very funky, very simple version you can construct. heat!) and offer a method of humidifying the atmosphere inside in a controlled way. In our dream, this wonderful box is easy to clean and not too expensive, a home version of the commercial bakery's proof box. Until the happy day this comes along, here is a very funky, very simple version you can construct.

Place a heating pad under a towel; put a cake rack on top and then the dough in a big covered bowl. On top of this structure set an inverted corrugated box or styrofoam ice chest. Stick the thermometer inside the dough's snug house to keep tabs on the temperature. Adjust the temperature by changing the setting on the heating pad or by lifting the box a little to let in air. For the final rise you can get a humid atmosphere by putting the shaped loaves in covered ca.s.serole dishes, or in loaf pans in sealed plastic bags that have a little water inside.

Of course you don't have to go through all this if you're working with a dough that rises more slowly at normal room temperature, or if your house has a place like a sunny porch that is already just warm enough for your rising dough. Whatever the temperature, be sure to protect the dough from drying out by covering it with an effective lid, and from exposure to drafts with a layer or two of toweling or newspaper, a box, or some such.

OVEN RISING.

If your oven has a pilot light or an incandescent bulb, the easiest thing is to set the dough in its bowl or pan in the oven to rise. But watch out! Most ovens are warmer than you might think-we have mentioned this before-so experiment by keeping the door ajar (say, with a rolled-up towel) until you get it just right. The heat in the oven will be steady but dry, so be sure to protect the dough from crusting over.

The usual method for keeping the dough from drying out on the top is to cover the bowl with a damp towel. Usually we have a lot of respect for such conventions, but this one is a mystery. What happens every time is that either the towel dries out and doesn't do the job, or the dough rises into it, and becomes one with the towel forever. A platter, a lid, a matching bowl inverted on top-any of these is much better.

When you are covering the shaped loaf, if the dough is ripe if the dough is ripe so that there is no trace of stickiness to it, a damp towel will not adhere to the loaf-but it can still dry out. Keeping the loaf in a closed plastic bag or in some other closed s.p.a.ce like a big covered pan or canning kettle will protect the shaped dough during its final rise. Provide extra humidity if it is needed by putting a little hot water in the bag or kettle. so that there is no trace of stickiness to it, a damp towel will not adhere to the loaf-but it can still dry out. Keeping the loaf in a closed plastic bag or in some other closed s.p.a.ce like a big covered pan or canning kettle will protect the shaped dough during its final rise. Provide extra humidity if it is needed by putting a little hot water in the bag or kettle.

Halfway through the final rise, the time comes when you have to preheat the oven. The bread's inside: what to do? Here are some ideas: Set the nearly risen loaves in a draft-free place, turn on the oven, and don't worry about it.

Float the loaves in their loaf pans in a dishpan of warm water, covered over with another dishpan. This astonis.h.i.+ng idea is super-effective because of the humidity; the water will stay warm for as long as half an hour if there is enough of it. Add some boiling water should the bread need more time after that.

When the bread is about three-quarters risen, simply turn the oven on with the proofing loaves inside. They will continue to rise while the oven preheats. Start a little sooner if your oven takes a long time to get up to temperature, a little later if it preheats very quickly. This is definitely a daredevil technique, but it can work well if your timing is just right. Note that for breads that require high initial heat, especially heat plus steam, this method won't do; save it for recipes that include milk or plenty of sweetener. (Please remember to remove the plastic bag or whatever you have used to keep the bread from crusting over while it was rising. Thermometers, too. You'd be amazed at how hard it is to get melted plastic off the oven rack.) You can set the loaves on a heating pad for the last part of the rise. A hot-water bottle will work too; it is good for about half an hour. Since it will be very very hot at the beginning, cover it with towels to even out the heat and protect the bread. hot at the beginning, cover it with towels to even out the heat and protect the bread.

KEEPING COOL.

So far all this has had to do with finding or devising a Warm Place, but if you are making Desem or French Bread or want to have a long cool fermentation for an eight- or ten-hour dough or a long-rising sponge, what you want is a Cool Place. This can be much harder to find, unless your climate is temperate and there is a porch, cellar, or garage that stays cool without being drafty. Sometimes a low cupboard on the shady side of the house is just right.

French bread requires dry proofing, which makes it a poor choice for any humid day even on a cool porch. For other doughs, here is an option that sounds fantastic but works: make a secure bundle of the dough tied up in a muslin or linen cloth and float float it in a tub of cool water. When you return to it the bundle will have become a soccer ball, bouncy and nicely fermented. The timing has to be careful, because there is no finger-poke testing! Less spectacular, also effective: just leave the dough in its bowl and place it in in an ice chest, keeping its temperature steady and proper with cool water around the bowl. it in a tub of cool water. When you return to it the bundle will have become a soccer ball, bouncy and nicely fermented. The timing has to be careful, because there is no finger-poke testing! Less spectacular, also effective: just leave the dough in its bowl and place it in in an ice chest, keeping its temperature steady and proper with cool water around the bowl. Again, a thermometer is most helpful in adjusting all these. Again, a thermometer is most helpful in adjusting all these.

Paraphernalia MECHANICAL HELP.

There is nothing like the satisfaction of making bread by hand, feeling the dough develop its own life and supple strength as you knead it in a rhythm as old as mankind, etc.-but. If you need to make a lot of bread, or have a time schedule that is snugger than tight, or if you have a physical problem that makes kneading difficult, various machines can make it all possible. In this section, we look at helpers specifically with kneading. The following chapter takes up the topic of breadmaking machines.

FOOD PROCESSORS.

In your kitchen, you may already have a food processor with its special kneading blade. Your machine's manufacturer will have included instructions for kneading dough; please do compare them with our instructions. But whole wheat dough is substantially different from white-flour dough, and the method we present takes these differences into account.

Most processors can handle only one loaf at a time, and sometimes only part of one, but they are so fast that if you have nerves of steel, you could process several loaves in sequence in less time than it would take you to knead two loaves by hand. When you want to prepare a standard two-loaf recipe, measure out the ingredients for each loaf separately, except the yeast. Prepare the yeast according to the directions in the recipe, and then when it is time to add it to the bowl, stir it thoroughly and pour in just half.

Keep in mind that the pitfall of using a food processor is that it works so fast and so efficiently that you can easily overknead the dough. Stop the machine often and feel the dough to see whether it is ready, using the criteria described in A Loaf for Learning.

Mixing & kneading whole wheat bread with a food processor Dissolve the yeast in the warm water required in your recipe. a.s.semble all the other ingredients. Use cool cool liquids for the rest of the recipe; the processor will heat the dough by as much as 25F. If you take the temperature of your mixed ingredients before and after processing the first few times you make bread, you can learn to gauge the actual amount your own machine heats the dough, and use this information to plan how warm the water should be in future bakings. liquids for the rest of the recipe; the processor will heat the dough by as much as 25F. If you take the temperature of your mixed ingredients before and after processing the first few times you make bread, you can learn to gauge the actual amount your own machine heats the dough, and use this information to plan how warm the water should be in future bakings.

Put the flour and salt in the work bowl and pulse until mixed, about 15 seconds. Add the liquids and then the yeast mixture in a steady stream while the processor is running. (If you are adding b.u.t.ter, or ingredients like nuts and raisins, set them aside for now.) Add the liquids as fast as you can and still give them a chance to mix well. If you work too slowly here, the dough will become stiff. Add liquid until the flour comes together as a dough ball, then stop the machine to feel the dough.

With a little practice, you will learn how much liquid to add how fast. If the liquid measure is too much for the amount of flour, the dough will feel mushy and probably stick under the blade and strain the motor-the machine may even stop. Turn it off and sc.r.a.pe the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, bringing the dough up over the blade and center post. Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of flour over the dough and process, repeating until the dough is not so soft.

If you're not adding enough water, the dough will be dry and hard-so much so that the blade may turn without moving the dough. If this happens, stop the machine and cut the dough into pieces. Put it back into the bowl and sprinkle it with a tablespoon of water. Turn on the processor and, with the machine running, gradually add more water as needed until the dough softens. If the liquids have not blended evenly into the dough, the underside where the blade is turning will become very soft, even sticky, while a hard ball forms on top. If this happens, remove the dough and cut up the hard part. Replace it in the work bowl with the softer part on top. Then process the dough again, adding more water a tablespoon at a time if necessary until the dough is soft and cohesive.

If your recipe calls for adding cold b.u.t.ter to partly kneaded dough, add it about halfway through processing.Add raisins, nuts, etc., at the very end, or by hand after processing is finished.

Once the dough feels reasonably soft, process it very briefly; then feel again carefully to evaluate it. Moisten your fingers with water and squeeze the dough. It should be soft enough that you don't feel any strain on the muscles in your fingers when you squeeze it, yet not so soft that it loses all feeling of substance and feels almost runny. (Ignore the fact that the dough is sticky.) Process for another very short time, adding water or flour a tablespoon at a time as needed to make a soft dough.

The machine will complete the kneading of one loaf's worth of dough made from high-gluten flour ("bread flour") after about 125 revolutions once the dough ball forms, but a lower-gluten dough may take only half that many. If the dough ball suddenly falls apart and spreads against the sides of the bowl, stop the machine. The processing has been a little too long; check the time or count, and with the next loaf, allow a little less. Meantime, the dough is probably fine. Remove it from the bowl, shape it into a smooth ball, and set it aside. Process the next part of the dough if you are doing two loaves, and then go back to your recipe to let the dough have its first rise.

THE DOUGH HOOK.

Some home mixers have a dough hook attachment, and some of them are powerful enough to handle whole wheat dough. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, try using it to knead one loaf at a time. You will see very quickly whether your machine can handle the job.

Heavy-duty machines made specifically for kneading dough do a wonderful job. Our own Hobart 30-quart mixer kneads bread for a dozen families. All our recipes have been tested both in single batches by hand, and in batches of sixteen loaves by machine; all our recipes work beautifully both ways. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, compare the instructions from its manufacturer with the following, the method we have worked out for kneading whole wheat dough. Instructions for kneading doughs containing rye flour are different; see this page this page.

Mixing & kneading whole wheat bread with a dough hook Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Measure the flour and salt into the bowl. Turn the machine on slow speed to mix them.

Using unbreakable cups, pour the liquid ingredients and the yeast mixture in a steady stream into the bowl while the hook runs on slow speed. Add the liquids without haste, but without dallying, either. The flour will look like it is getting evenly moistened; then when most of the liquid is in, it will begin to look like mud.

Stop the machine and feel the consistency of the dough. Moisten your hand with water and squeeze the dough. Is it soft or is it stiff? Ignore the fact that the dough is wet and sticky. Does the dough resist your touch? Does it strain the muscles in your fingers when you squeeze it? Then it is too stiff. On the other hand, the dough must have enough flour to hold its shape. Does the dough feel waterlogged, as if the flour is not contributing much substance to it? Does it have a runny, liquid quality to it? Then it has too much water. Feel deep into the dough, not just the surface.

If the dough is not right, thoroughly mix in more water or flour, a little at a time, and reevaluate until it is right. If you are using a coa.r.s.e, stone-ground flour, it will take up the water more slowly. Whatever kind you are using, the dough will benefit from resting for 10 to 15 minutes before you make the final adjustment in water-flour balance, and proceed to the actual process of kneading the dough.

The first few times you mix dough in your machine, you may want to do all the mixing on slow speed, so that you can observe the changes in the dough. Later on, though, this will be the time to turn the machine to medium speed. As you continue to beat it, the mudlike mixture will come together into a soft claylike dough. The gluten is forming, but the dough's surface continues to look rough and b.u.mpy, and if you feel the dough-stop the machine first!-it feels quite sticky. The next big change comes when the dough reaches cleanup-it all comes off the sides of the bowl to form a ball. The dough feels a little drier. Shortly after this, the dough becomes fully developed, so watch it closely: the dull, rough surface develops a smooth, satiny sheen, and the dough stretches rather than tears over the hook. It feels drier, and if you stretch it gently, it will form a thin uniform translucent membrane without thick strands or lumps in it. If you hold this up to the light, it is faintly webbed inside. Look for brown flecks of bran against the bright white gluten sheet.

If the kneading is continued on too far, the dough loses its elasticity, softens, and will pull into long rubbery strands. Finally, it becomes wet, runny, and quite sticky again. Loaves made from overkneaded dough will tear in the shaping or proofing, and they will not rise high.

The amount of time it takes a dough to develop fully depends most of all on the amount of protein in the flour and the speed of the mixer; wetter doughs take a little longer than stiffer ones. With a good strong flour the dough may be mixed and developed in a little less than ten minutes at medium speed, somewhat longer at slow speed. This will vary with the quality of the flour, so watch the changes in the dough and don't depend on just how much time the machine has been running.

Using your dough hook to knead rye bread Collect all the recipe ingredients so that they are measured and handy. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Use slow speed to mix the flours and salt in the bowl. Add the liquids slowly but steadily, using the flavored liquids first, plain water last. When you have added the first two-thirds of the wet ingredients and a stiff dough forms, turn the machine off and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Then, drizzle the last third or so of the liquids slowly into the dough as the kneading proceeds. Each time you add water, the dough will fall apart against the sides of the bowl. Wait until it comes back together, and then once again add a little water.

Keep checking as you near the end of your allotted water. Stop adding it when the dough reaches proper consistency. The larger proportion of rye flour there is in the dough, the less kneading it will tolerate The larger proportion of rye flour there is in the dough, the less kneading it will tolerate; ten minutes is about right for a normal recipe with four cups wheat and three cups rye flour, but there is no set rule. Ideally it will take the same amount of time to add the liquid as it takes to knead up the dough, but if you think that the dough can take more kneading-if it is more than half wheat flour, it might-keep the machine going a little longer. Always be alert to the condition of the dough so that you can stop as soon as it begins to get sticky.

Dough Cutter/Sc.r.a.per This tool is truly indispensable for dividing dough for loaves or rolls, and also for sc.r.a.ping the kneading surface clean afterward. Ours came from a bakery supply store more than a decade ago; now they are available everywhere in kitchen shops and hardware stores. The edge is square and not sharp, protecting the tabletop, but it goes through dough without fuss.

There is also a flexible plastic version of this which works beautifully for sc.r.a.ping dough out of the bowl, but not quite so well for the other uses.

Dough k.n.o.b I can't imagine getting along without the dough cutter, but this this bit of practical woodcraft is definitely just for pleasure. For mixing up the dough, no spoon can match its efficiency. We have never seen one in a store or catalog, but anyone who knows how to use a wood lathe could make one in a jiffy. The dough k.n.o.b is turned from a 1 -inch dowel about 11 inches long. The handle is about inch in diameter. This is the shape: bit of practical woodcraft is definitely just for pleasure. For mixing up the dough, no spoon can match its efficiency. We have never seen one in a store or catalog, but anyone who knows how to use a wood lathe could make one in a jiffy. The dough k.n.o.b is turned from a 1 -inch dowel about 11 inches long. The handle is about inch in diameter. This is the shape:

Pans & Other Miscellany Bread may not be better-tasting when it is baked in a standard size pan, but it does make predictable slices for sandwiches and for putting in the toaster-not unimportant considerations for most of us. However, you can bake in almost any heatproof utensil that gives room for rising and that will let you remove the loaf after it is baked. (We know someone who thought it would be groovy to use a rustic clay bean pot. The bread did did bake well, and he eventually managed to get it all out by various methods.) bake well, and he eventually managed to get it all out by various methods.) We have sized our recipes carefully so that they will fit into two medium loaf pans: 8x4 (or, if you measure the top, 8 x4 )-21 X 11 cm. We greatly prefer this size of pan for whole-grain breads. The larger (5x9) standard pans were designed for cardboardy white bread, and unless an extremely high-gluten flour is used by a really terrific kneader, slices of whole-grain breads made in these pans tend to fall apart when they are spread with anything stiffer than pea soup. Besides, it is not so easy to cook the bread thoroughly in the large pans without drying out the crust. The smallest standard pans, usually called fruitcake pans, are about 3x6 . The slice is too small for a reasonable sandwich, though the bread bakes well enough, and in less time. You would have three or four loaves from one recipe using these.

It would be impossible to discuss the merits of all the pans and crocks and stones and whatnot that are available to the enthusiastic and well-financed baker; but sometimes normal kitchen equipment does just as well as some of the expensive stuff. For example, stainless steel bowls: grease them well and dust them with cornmeal or sprinkle with seeds to be sure the dough doesn't stick. The 1 -quart size is just right for one loaf's worth of dough. If the bowl is fairly shallow or squarish, the loaf will be shallow or squarish too, and look as if it were baked free-form. If the bowl is deep and round, the bread will come out looking like a soccer ball with a slightly flattened top. These loaves can be very pretty, but note that whenever the loaf becomes rounder and deeper, is more spherical, or is larger because there is more dough in it, it will take extra baking time. When it is flatter (but well-risen) or longer and narrower than the norm, it will take less time to cook through. Bread that has not risen well takes the longest time to bake. Bread that has not risen well takes the longest time to bake.

The recipes in this book work beautifully baked in two eight- or nine-inch pie tins; or free-standing on a cookie sheet if the dough is not too soft. (If it is too soft, it will sag and make a large, flattish, crusty, airy-but delicious-loaf.) Two normal loaves can also bake side by side in an 8 inch square baking dish. To be sure that they don't cling to each other after they're baked, a little fat between them does the trick. They will require extra baking time: to check, turn them out and let them fall apart. Touch one loaf where it was next to the other, as if you were testing a cake for doneness with light finger pressure. It will spring back if it is done. If it doesn't and your fingermark stays wetly there, put the loaves back for another 10 minutes of baking, more or less.

Try to bake your breads or rolls as close to the center of the oven as possible, or a little above center. If you have to use the bottom rack, it is helpful to use two baking sheets or two loaf pans one inside the other to deflect some of the heat from the bottom of the bread. Check halfway through to see whether you should reverse the pans for an evener bake. Be sure there is at least a couple of inches of air s.p.a.ce all around the edges of the baking sheet.

If your baking pan or dish is pottery or gla.s.s, take time to warm it up a little before you put in the dough. Very cold pans can chill the dough on the crust, making the bread dense there. The result may just be a tough crust, or the crust may actually separate from the loaf where it was chilled.

BAKING IN CANS.

Readers of the original Laurel's Kitchen Laurel's Kitchen may be surprised to see that we have not recommended baking in the 46-ounce juice cans. We loved them in the old days, when we were never sure just how high our bread would rise: if all the slices are round, sandwiches are the same shape whether the bread is high or squat! may be surprised to see that we have not recommended baking in the 46-ounce juice cans. We loved them in the old days, when we were never sure just how high our bread would rise: if all the slices are round, sandwiches are the same shape whether the bread is high or squat!

Our enthusiasm for cans faded when we discovered that the cans were soldered with lead. We chucked out all of them, and switched to loaf pans. The FDA banned lead-soldering of cans for food storage shortly thereafter. Now, unless you run across very old cans, or some cans containing imported foods, you may never see a lead-soldered can with its telltale grayish-black stripe along the seam on the inside. Still, if you choose to use cans for baking, please use new ones, so you know what's been in them. Wash them well, with attention to the crevice along the seam at the bottom.

Best choices for use for baking are food cans of sauerkraut, pineapple juice, or tomato-based juices: these have the most durable tin linings, and no varnish coating. Coffee cans are good, too, for special-size loaves.

Ovens Every oven has its own peculiarities, and bakers learn, usually by error and trial, how to work with the challenges presented by the ovens that bake their bread.

Typically, the hottest place in the oven is the bottom, with the heat rising up the sides, across the top (next hottest), and down into the middle. The evenest heat is in the middle. Modern gas and electric stoves have thermostatic controls but most thermostats have a wide range between their on and off temperatures. When you preheat to 400F, the burner goes on high and heats the oven to 500F. Then the thermostat registers, and the big burner goes off, leaving a tiny "holding flame." Gradually the temperature goes down to 400F. You put the bread in with efficient speed because you know that leaving the door open causes loss of heat. Even so, the inside temperature descends to 350F. The relatively cold loaves further cool it to 300F, and the thermostat registers. The burner blasts on again, raising the inside temperature to 450F.

Because of its very uneven heat, a "flashy" oven like this bakes poorly. If your oven performs this way (one of ours does), try to preheat well, and be sure to put the bread in when the temperature is up. up. This is one place where an oven thermometer is useful: let it help you chart the pattern of your thermostat's ons and offs. This is one place where an oven thermometer is useful: let it help you chart the pattern of your thermostat's ons and offs.

One way to even out oven heat is by putting quarry tile on the bottom rack. These are clay tiles about 6 inches square and inch thick, which you can get cheaply at any building supply store. Nine of them would do the trick for most small household ovens. Be sure to allow at least 2 inches between the sides of the oven and the tiles so that the rising heat can circulate. Preheat for at least at least half an hour to get the tiles hot. Since they hold the heat, if your oven is insulated well, it will use less fuel to maintain the temperature, so the extra preheating shouldn't mean much extra fuel. half an hour to get the tiles hot. Since they hold the heat, if your oven is insulated well, it will use less fuel to maintain the temperature, so the extra preheating shouldn't mean much extra fuel.

Given that no oven is perfect, do what you can to use the one you have to best advantage. For example, the thermostat on the top of the oven should be allowed to do its job: let the heat reach it. Don't use an 18-inch cookie sheet in an 18-inch oven: the heat will be trapped below, the bottom will burn, and the top will never get hot. Allow at least 2 inches around the edges, and 1 inch between whatever loaves you have inside. Since a lot of heat is lost when the door opens, arrange the racks before before you turn on the oven-and allow an extra five minutes of baking time for each opening of the door. Never open the door during the first 15 minutes of baking. Another tip: black pans or cookie sheets concentrate heat, making things brown fast where they touch, so never use them on the bottom rack. you turn on the oven-and allow an extra five minutes of baking time for each opening of the door. Never open the door during the first 15 minutes of baking. Another tip: black pans or cookie sheets concentrate heat, making things brown fast where they touch, so never use them on the bottom rack.

CONVECTION OVENS.

For breadmaking, the convection oven has the advantage of recovering very quickly the heat lost when the door is opened; for this reason, loaves should have a fuller proof than those baked in a normal oven. The heat is very dry, though, and if the dough is soft and even slightly over overproofed, a characteristic long tubelike hole may form just under the crust. Slas.h.i.+ng the loaf before you put it in the oven will help, but being careful not to overproof is the best protection.

Small, relatively inexpensive convection ovens for home use are available everywhere. Our experience with them is limited to one breadmaking demonstration we gave at a local community college. Two loaves were rising in their pans on top of the oven while the demonstration progressed: it seemed like a nice warm place, but the bread rose with agonizing slowness. Later we figured out that the oven was vibrating the bejabbers out of those poor loaves! It did bake them beautifully, however.

BRICK OVENS.

After years of rubbing sticks together for fire and eating in a place that allowed about half an inch per person, we finally were able to build ourselves a kitchen and dining place. We decided to include a brick oven for reasons of economy and ecology-and because we had become addicted to Flemish Desem Bread, which is traditionally baked on the hearth.

A brick oven bakes well because it provides steady, steamy, intense, radiating heat at the beginning and steady, gradually descending dry heat for the rest of the bake. This gives old-fas.h.i.+oned, so-called lean breads (no added fat or sugar or milk) crispy-tender, s.h.i.+ny, ruddy crusts and full, sweet flavor.

We've been using our brick oven for three years now, and we love it-not only for the bread it bakes but also for the continuing adventure of firing it, for the marvelous smells, and even for the small measure of independence it gives us from our utility company. Wood-fired bake ovens are still used wherever people make bread, their many styles adapted to the climate of the place they're built. To give you an idea, here are a few examples.

The oldest and most straightforward kind is one that is also a firebox: a fire is built inside the oven itself, and then when it is hot enough, the coals are raked out and the ashes mopped. The oven is closed down for a while to let the temperatures even out; then the bread is put in and the opening sealed with one or another sort of door. The simplest of these, the beehive oven, is used all over the world in hot climates. Made of adobe or brick, it usually stands outdoors to keep its heat isolated from the living quarters. Our friend Alan Scott, who loves his desem as much as we do, has built a number of four-loaf-sized beehive ovens in his backyard, using heat-resistant concrete. They work wonderfully well.

The most sophisticated and complex design we found came from Finland and is perfect for very cold climates. The oven is part of a ma.s.s of brickwork intended to keep the house well-heated. The fire from the fireplace or stove chamber enters a chimney that winds around the oven on at least three sides, heating the brick from the outside. By the time the draft from the fire leaves the building, it has relinquished all its heat into the brick ma.s.s and pa.s.ses from the building cold.

Our costal Northern California climate is cool but not so cold that we need to use the fireplace all year. We made our hearth oven part of the fireplace, but separate from it so that they can be used independently. They share a common chimney, which also vents the kitchen stoves.

To tell the whole story would take another book, but if you are thinking of going this route, here are some things to consider.

WOOD.