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On The Rise

Slow Food For The Ultimate Slowdown: Why Everyone’s Baking Bread

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If you’ve noticed countless photos of homemade sourdough bread and challah all over your social media feeds, it’s not a coincidence. 

Since the pandemic began – and especially during the lockdown – people nationwide have been embracing breadmaking like it’s the best thing since, well, sliced bread. And it’s not just because of boredom. Or a lack of food. The appeal of breadmaking, especially during uncertain times like these, is manifold.

To get to the bottom of the breadmaking boom, we spoke with South Florida bakers, who shared their experiences in the kitchen over the last several months, as well as an area psychotherapist about the emotional implications. 

Plus, if you want to try the trend yourself, we got the scoop on breadmaking basics as well as essential tools and an easy beginner’s recipe. Because, in times like these, a slice of homemade bread slathered with butter can make the world go away for a while.

But let’s hope this pandemic is soon toast. 

The Social Effect

During the early days of the pandemic, panic buying created shortages at the grocery store. The uncertainty of the food supply chain inspired some to provide the bread missing from their tables. 

Enthusiastic bakers stockpiling active dry yeast and flour created a demand for sourdough starter, which makes bread rise. The starter, which forms a natural yeast through fermentation, requires a labor-intensive “feeding” of a flour and water mixture in a jar for six days or more until it’s bubbling and doubled in size. 

Sourdough aficionados and “bread influencers” all over social media have been sharing photos of golden, crusty loaves and artful “breadscapes.” But inexperienced bakers sometimes end up with flops.

Before she attempted sourdough, Anita Platt of Fort Lauderdale tried making a variety of breads, including several challah recipes, with mixed success. 

“Along the way, I kept seeing Facebook ads about bread baking and sourdough bread in particular,” she says. “It sounded appealing, but I was intimidated by the process of making the starter, so I ordered starter online.”

However, things didn’t exactly go according to plan, Platt recalls: “You still have to follow a process to get it to the point to use it to make bread. I followed the instructions and even had several email exchanges with the company support department. My starter never bubbled and doubled like it should. They are sending more, and I will try again.” 

All You Knead Is Love

Bagels or baguettes, ciabatta or challah, bread is the cornerstone of cuisines the world over. It unites us all. Breaking bread at mealtime represents unity and sharing – the simple act of nourishing ourselves and our families. Now, more than ever, that’s an important ritual.

“Sharing bread with others is humanizing and socializing in a temporarily isolated world where many crave companionship or caring,” says psychotherapist Suzanne Chait-Magenheim of Palm Beach Gardens and Manhattan.

Iris Dahoah, a caterer, food blogger and cooking teacher from Boca Raton, agrees: “The smell of baking bread just brings us together. There’s nothing more comforting than warm, delicious bread. In these times, people want to be comforted. They turn to bread. Food for me is love. And love is sharing, and it all kind of intermingles together.”

Dahoah, who comes from a family of cooks, is the proprietor of IT’S Kosher Catering and offers recipes, tutorials, and cooking and baking classes through her new blog, Lalush By Iris. (Lalush means “to knead” in Hebrew.) The pandemic jumpstarted her blog, she says, which has enabled her to teach women who may have previously been intimidated by breadmaking. 

“I help them break that fear,” Dahoah says. “Baking bread is not all that difficult. It’s doable by following step-by-step instructions.”

In The Moment

With bad news and uncertainty escalating daily, baking is a way to exert control over one’s environment.

“As bakers, we are in charge of our little world for a few hours,” Chait-Magenheim says. “We are empowering ourselves during a form of relaxed concentration. The repetitive pounding and kneading provide an escape from the nagging worries of everyday life.”

She notes that breadmaking is actually a simple form of mindfulness, the practice of being present: “Mindfulness is a popular method used by psychotherapists and pain specialists to relieve anxiety and depression.”

For clinical researcher Catherine Tjan of Miami, while working from home and in lockdown with her parents, breadmaking became a new weekend project. On a normal weekend, she’d be out shopping or socializing. 

“The all-day activity of bread baking added structure to my day,” she says. 

Her favorite to make is a focaccia recipe from Paul Hollywood of “The Great British Bake Off," she says: “It takes a while, but it doesn’t require that much hands-on babysitting, like other breads."

However, she notes that “everything about making bread is detail-oriented. You have to have the right measurements. It’s very step-by-step. You can’t rush it.”

Yet breadmaking’s meditative quality also extends to bakers with limited physical strength. Julie McGinty of Deerfield Beach, who suffers from arthritis, makes a “no-knead” bread in a Dutch oven with a recipe that her son, a corporate chef, sent her.

“It’s super fun and satisfying to make,” she says. “This bread is a good type for those of us who have lost hand strength to knead.”

But Tjan says the best part of baking bread is the reward at the end: “You can eat your mistakes, too.”

In addition to the mental and emotional benefits of at-home breadmaking, there are also dietary benefits, Dahoah says: “Home-baked bread is much healthier. It contains five to six ingredients while store-bought bread has up to 20 ingredients, including chemicals, additives and preservatives.”

Breadmaking For Beginners

There are a few key concepts of the breadmaking process that bakers must grasp to yield a successful result, Dahoah says. Yeast is probably the most confounding part, but she tells students not to fear it.

“It sounds crazy, but yeast is a living thing,” she says. “Don’t show it fear, or it will give you a lot of trouble. Let the yeast and flour and dough lead you to the place you want to get to. The truth is it is really easy if you follow these basic steps and use these tips to set you up for success.”

Make sure you use high-quality yeast, she says. There are two kinds of yeast, active dry and instant, and Dahoah uses them both for making challah, rolls and bagels. Mix the yeast and sugar with lukewarm water in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients, and knead for no less than 10 minutes. 

Kneading is extremely important as it allows gluten, a protein found in grain, to develop in the dough and give the bread a light texture. Under-kneaded dough will not rise enough, and the bread will be heavy and dense. 

Next, shape the dough into a ball, grease the dough and place it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise in a warm area in your kitchen for an hour. Shape the bread, cover with a light cloth or plastic wrap, and allow to rise again for up to an hour. The second rising is important and will result in soft, fluffy bread.

Finishing steps vary, depending on the recipe, but all breads have one thing in common: They serve as a balm for body and soul. 

Iris Dahoah’s Quick No-Knead Bread

The easiest bread for beginners is a no-knead bread. For this recipe from chef and caterer Iris Dahoah, no mixer or kneading is required. Gluten develops because of the warm water and longer resting time. (Makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients

Tools

Instructions

In a bowl, mix the warm water; yeast; and date syrup, sugar or honey. In a plastic container, place the flour and salt; mix. Add the oil and the yeast mixture; stir for 1 or 2 minutes. (If you want to add seeds or other mix-ins, add them now.) The dough will be wet and sticky. Close the lid, put a towel over the container and leave it in the kitchen in a warm place for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Dust your work surface generously with flour. Using a spatula or dough scraper, remove the dough from the plastic container onto the floured surface. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Turn each piece of dough, folding it edge-to-edge 2-3 times. Rotate, and fold edge-to-edge again to shape each loaf.

Grease loaf pans; cut parchment paper to fit each pan plus more to allow the loaf to rise. Grease the parchment paper; transfer the loaves into the pans. Cover the loaves with a light kitchen towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Spritz some water on the bottom and sides of the oven; bake for 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.

Stock Up

Must-Have Breadmaking Supplies

Baking Pans: Common sizes are 9-by-5 inches and 8.5-by-4.5 inches. Shiny pans reflect heat, so baking time is generally longer. You’ll also get lighter crusts than breads baked in dark pans that absorb heat. Pans for French breads and other specialty breads are also available.

Dough Hook: It’s used to knead dough with hand or stationary mixers right in the bowl. Use the flat paddle to mix the ingredients, and switch to the hook for kneading.

Measuring Spoons and Cups: Don’t “eyeball” the amount you need. Use measuring spoons and cups for accuracy. Level off dry ingredients with a knife or straight edge.

Rolling Pin: If you don’t have one, use a can or other type of cylinder to roll out dough.

Thermometer: When you bake with yeast, it’s crucial that water temperature be accurate. Water that’s too hot can kill your yeast. Look for a thermometer with a stainless-steel stem as well as a dial or digital readout.

Wire Cooling Rack: The steam that builds up in the pan can make bread loaves soggy. A rack helps bread cool down when it’s just come out of the oven.

Source: Breadworld by Fleischmann’s Yeast (ACH Food Companies, Inc.)

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