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Kerri Conan's avatar

Hi Everyone! Some of you have asked me about the foil ring used to adapt large Dutch ovens so they can bake like the required 2-quart size. (The technique is described on page 41 in the book.) Yesterday I posted two Google links but the sharing is going to be a challenge. So I'm putting them on my IG feed @ourdailybowl with the #bittmanbread tag so you can find them either path. (Thanks, Naomi, for the smart idea!)

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Kerri Conan's avatar

Hi Everyone! So excited by your enthusiasm and questions! Let me try to answer them all in one place by clarifying why the Bittman Bread process is a little different than what you might be used to or have researched elsewhere. Here goes:

--You can make a fresh starter based on the recipe here or the Beginner Bread directions in the book; or you can convert your current starter to whole wheat. There are detailed directions and photos in the book about building and maintaining our starter from all three situations.

--Once bubbling, the starter lives in the refrigerator. So you only need to feed it or bake every 7 to 10 days. (As Scott does, too, as he describes below.)

--Because the starter lives in the fridge the leavening power is less active than that of a constantly fed one that lives at room temperature. Some might describe this state as what they're used to use or call "discard." But maintaining and feeding it our way is what allows such flexibility in your baking schedule and frequency.

--For the recipes in this book, we use it straight from the fridge to start every recipe with what we call a "jumpstarter." (The only exception are the Crumby Cookies, which are made from dried breadcrumbs; we've also included several short prose recipes for interesting stuff to do with extra bread.)

--By beginning with the jumpstarter, you're feeding the semi-dormant starter so it's ready to make bread, or any of the other dozens of baked foods in the book. Bakers call this a "preferment" or you may have heard the terms poolish or sponge.

--You always use at least 100g of starter (again from the fridge) to make the jumpstarter. Some recipes call for more. That's usually about 3/4 cup, depending on how thick your starter is.

--When you bake something, you feed the starter to replace what you took out--in some ratio of water to whole wheat flour that depends on the thickness you want to maintain. We explain that with photos and details, too, but usually it's 50/50 or maybe 40/60 with a tad more water than flour.

--So you need to maintain 200-250g starter in a container in the fridge. That way when you take out the 100-200g to begin baking something from Bittman Bread, you always have 100g or so to fuel that replacement feeding.

--If you don't bake in a week or so, yes, you still have to feed the starter and return it to the fridge. One choice is to truly discard that 100g or so you're going to take out for feeding. Whenever you decide not to bake but need to feed the starter, that means you're wasting no more than 1/3 cup flour, far less than if you're trying to maintain a starter on the counter.

--The other option is to use that 100g to bake something in the book besides a loaf of bread. (In addition to all sorts of whole grain boules and sandwich loaves, there are sweet and savory pancakes, waffles, dinner rolls, flat bread, English-style muffins, and cake.) Or even use what you pull off in other so-called "discard" recipes.

--Bittman Bread basic recipe is a relatively small whole grain boule, like 8 inches. It bakes in either a 2-quart Dutch oven or a 5-quart pot fitted with a loose ring of foil in the bottom. A double recipe fills that standard 5-quart pot for what we call Big Bittman Bread. That larger loaf is more the size of bakery bread and is perfect for larger families or gatherings.

--Whole wheat bread keeps better than white: a few days at room temp and then in the fridge for many more if there's any left. We find that it serves 4 or so for a meal; 2 will nibble on it for a couple days; and 1 person will usually finish it in less than a week.

I hope this helps clear up your questions. Or if it raises more, that's fine, too! I'll hop back on tomorrow. Many thanks again to you all!

K

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