Using whole grain in home baking

an invitation to come to the bakery

Hi hi,

As usual, I want to begin by expressing my gratitude for everyone being here. Special thanks to those who have recently subscribed, welcome. Also, to those who took the time to like and share my recent newsletter, as well as everyone who was able to make contributions to my GoFundMe campaign this week. Thank you. Please help me keep this momentum going. We are up to 63 contributions, and are almost at 50% of our goal. Please help us get into the home stretch!

I have had some requests to hold a sourdough class at the bakery, and I thought I could do some brainstorming here. If you think you would be interested in a in-person or virtual baking class at Tommy’s Whole Grain, please let me know. So, allow me share my thoughts on hosting a baking class.

My approach to baking is a little loose. For me it’s art, not science. There are principles and techniques we need to learn, but more than anything, we have to learn the willingness to try. Every attempt has positive outcomes as long as we maintain the right perspective. I can’t show someone how to do something perfect every time, and I wouldn’t try. What I would want to do, is open people up to trying, and sharing tools to increase the likeliness of delicious, beautiful, wonderful results. Can you tell by reading this that the Tassajara Bread Book was one of the first baking books I used to learn how to make yeasted doughs? There were some really valuable lessons I learnt from that book, lessons that still influence me today.

Working in the kitchen

What is it, closer than close?

Not impervious or distant, not

stiff or unresponsive. A get-down-

in-the-mud mind: Food comes

alive with your presence, reaching

out, laboring, taking the time

for flour, salt, water, yeast,

to come together, for a bowl

that breaks, the dirty dishes,

a leaky faucet, always more

to cooking than meets the eye!

Each thing asking to be seen, heard,

known, loved, a companion in the dark.

“Take care of the food” it is said,

“as though it was your own eyesight”

not saying, oh that’s all right, we

have plenty, we can throw that away.

Table, teapot, measuring cups, spoons:

the body within the body, the place

where everything connects.

Ripe, succulent fruit, leaves, stems,

roots, seeds: the innermost mind

awakening fully manifesting. What

are you up to, after all? What is

a way of life that is satisfying,

fulfilling, sustaining and sustainable?

Cups, glasses, sponges, one

body with a hundred faces,

a sticky honey jar, the half-

empty cup of coffee, each asking

to fulfill, each offering the touch

of the beloved.

Enter, plunge into the heart

of the matter: an unknown destination,

an unknown adventure unfolding

with your wits about you and your

not-so-wits. Things emerging in life,

Life emerging in things, no separation.

Concentrating on food, concentrating on

myself, with heart opening, hands offering,

may everything be deliciously full

of warmth and kindness.

Coming from the earth, coming from the air,

a cool breeze, a spark, a flame, go ahead:

Cook, offer yourself, hold nothing back.

Cooking is not like you expected, not like

you anticipated. What is happening in unheard

of, never before experienced. You cook. No mistakes.

You might do it differently next time, but

you did it this way this time. And if you want things to stay

the same, remind yourself they have no unchanging nature.

“Wherever you go, remember, there you are” O.K.?

Go ahead. Keep moving. Watch your step.

-From The Tassajara Bread Book, page vii.

I would want to introduce people to whole grain baking, of course. We could talk about the grain itself, varieties of wheats and non-wheats, where to source them from, recipes for cereals and pseudo-cereals.

When I bake at home, I’m not overly keen on trying to transform my home oven into a high-heat steam-filled professional oven. If people want to use stones and chains, crank the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and pre-heat a dutch oven, they are more than welcome to explore that. When I bake at home, I prefer using baking tins at a slightly lower temperature. I’ve found I can make beautiful and delicious bread without needing a banneton and white-hot dutch oven, and I don’t need to smoke-out my kitchen.

Homemade bread using 100% whole grain wheat, Ruth, developed at BreadLab.

Sourdough baking starts with good flour and a healthy starter. Dough temperature and gluten development will insure the formation of gas, and the dough being able to withhold it. Shaping is important for proper crumb structure and even baking. In the class, we will go over all these things in detail. A few fundamentals get reduced down to standard operating procedures. Once you have that framework, it becomes easier to execute and experiment with new variations.

Homemade brioche using 100% whole grain Marquis from Cedar Isle Farm.

Please join me at the bakery for one of our upcoming classes. It will be an opportunity to develop some baking techniques, get a closer view of how we operate at the bakery, and support us. We will start at the beginning, and go over different grains and a healthy starter. I would love to show you the wonderful mill we use, on loan from Washington State University’s BreadLab. We can mix water and flour, and begin the process of making sourdough bread. During bulk fermentation, there will be time to talk about equipment and have a dialogue, answering any questions you might have.

Dates will be announced shortly, likely starting early next month. More information will be coming soon, but please let me know if you think you would like to attend.

I am always grateful for you, dear reader. Hope to see you in the bakery soon.

Tommy