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These are not new rules that we made up. They are traditional methods developed and refined by the French masters years ago in small local bakeries with wood fired ovens. Baking FORMULAS with the ingredient amounts calculated by percentage and measured by weight as opposed to a RECIPE with ingredients measured by cups and spoons is a universal technique and language used by professional bakers. Adopting these methods can dramatically improve any home bakers knowledge and artistry provided, they spend some extra time with a pencil,paper and calculator doing the math before they get their hands in the flour. Extra time is the the essential ingredient to making artisan bread. It was trying to make bread quickly and easily that derailed the course of American bread production and led to the squishy, white, flavorless stuff full of chemicals that we have became accustomed to. It is human contact with dough and the knowledge of what the ingredients will naturally do on their own when touched and mixed in different ways that makes artisan bread.
The only rule that we have about making bread is that there are no absolute rules. It is generally said that cooking is an intuitive process based on feelings and inspiration and that baking is a calculated procedure with rules that need to be followed precisely to get the best results. But there are too many variables to set any hard and fast rules. Any situation can be defined absolutely with rules set up for that particular circumstance but when the process is repeated in a different environment everything will come out differently. It is impossible to control all the variables (down to the last little floating bacteria) that flavor your preferment and ultimately the finished bread. What may seem like contradictions are really a constant balancing of influences. For example, all the things we said in the first paragraph have an opposite to them. We might suggest dissolving yeast in water first for mixing very small batches or treating the dough a little roughly to achieve a small hole structure in a moist sandwich bread or using a dry dough to make decorative loaves for display only. So rules that may seem black and white are actually a little gray. Be an intuitive baker but keep track of what you’ve done.
Test the advice you are given and see if it works for you. While we can't tell you how much water to add to your flour we can tell you how to set up tests to figure out which of the flours that are available to you will work best for your situation and how to use Bakers' Percentages to monitor all the influencing factors. Try it and see. Set up some science experiments, always tasting and touching, getting your hands and nose in the food in at all stages of production. With careful note taking and measurement, when you make a loaf of bread that is delicious to you, you will be able to do it again. You can break down other people's recipes and change them to your taste. When you add a special ingredient to create a signature bread, you will know how to adjust the other ingredients to compensate. This is where the art comes in to artisan baking. Science = Control = Artistry. When you have the background knowledge to really know what your materials can do and why they are doing it you will have the control you need to make exactly what you envision. You will also be able to work through and use all the happy accidents that happen in the process to create an inspired and delicious loaf of bread.
Bakers Percentages are the first step in advanced breadmaking. See our bread scans to see how the amount of water in the dough mix defines the bread. We will add other subjects to this page every three months, so check back soon to learn about mixing, measurement, fermentation and more.
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