Artisan Bread Baking
Artisan breads recipes
contain a few basic ingredients, i.e.
salt, flour, water and yeast, sometimes
with extra ingredients like fruit, cheese
or nuts, and almost always with a sourdough
bread starter that has undergone a lengthy
pre-fermentation process. The sourdough
starter (or occasional sponge) acts as
the leavening agent, and uses wild yeasts
and lactobacillus; this gives artisan
breads their distinct sour, yeasty taste.
Because artisan breads are by definition
hand-made they often have a rough, rustic
shape. Artisan breads come in many different
shapes, flavors and textures, and a skilled
artisan baker can produce very different
breads using the same dough, depending
on how he shapes and breaks the bread.
Traditional artisan breads include baguettes,
flat breads (focaccia, pita, tortilla,
etc.) and various sourdough breads.
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