2011 and Bread

Happy new year! It seems I was just toasting to 2010, and now it's already 2011. I'm not one that does resolutions, or so I think. I guess I don't sit down and write a list of things I'm going to do, change or quit. But I usually do think of something I want to improve in my life which is pretty much the same thing. Last year I said I wanted to cook more, make more meals from scratch and become more daring in the kitchen. It is what inspired this blog. Well, I'm happy to say that in 2010 I cooked more and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I've learned so much in the past year. I also discovered I have a love for baking bread. So, my goal for 2011 is to bake 36 different breads. Yes, 36. I initially planned on a bread a week, but that might be a bit too ambitious. I received two awesome bread baking books and bread baking 'stuff' for Christmas. I haven't even started and I've already learned a bunch of new stuff from these books. It's going to be a great adventure. I'm prepared for moments of frustration, and when a bread fails, I will be baking it again. I'm looking forward to how much I'm going to learn and will be sharing all about it here. If anyone else has any cooking or baking goals for 2011 and is blogging about it, please send me your blog link. It would be great to also follow along with others. And If I have any home baker readers, please share any tips and advice that may help me on my bread baking journey.

The books I'll be using:
The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Baking Artisan Bread by Ciril Hitz

proofing board, flipping board, couche, sheet pan.

Here's what it all really means: Proofing board: for resting dough and working with the dough. (Basically a large cutting board.) Couche: Tightly woven cloth usually made of linen used to cover the dough during proofing, and helps separate and support long bread dough forms. I'm making my own out of a 16x30 piece of linen. (In french it means bed.) Flipping board: used to transfer dough forms from the couche. (As least this is what I understand at this point.) I just bought a board and my husband is going to sand down the sides for me. Proofing: the final rising of the dough. Sheet pan: Instead of buying a stone to bake the bread on, I'm going to buy unglazed quarry tiles and put them in the sheet pan.

I didn't really post much near the end of the 2010. I was in the kitchen cooking and baking though. Here are some breads I made at the end of last year.

rosemary bread, roasted garlic bread, and olive and cheese focaccia bread