Week - 2 Bonjour Dr. Maillard and Thank-you

I made fresh baked bread today and then used it for my wife's Mechelle's lunch today. I felt like I accomplished a solo mission on the space shuttle to the moon. Much like space travel, you have a team, formulas, steps and then a finished mission or loaf of bread in my case.

Let me introduce our team: Alisa is to the right of me, and Sunny is behind the camera, and a gentleman, in theory, named Dr. Louis Camille Maillard. We dubbed our team team France.

So Bonjour everybody and let's begin the process of making a French Bread Baguette using the 12 steps in yeast dough production.

The formula:

1 lb 10oz Bread Flour

1/2 oz. Sugar

1 oz. Yeast

1/2 oz. Salt

1 pt. Water Cold

1/2 oz. all purpose shortening

If using this formula at home divide in half.

The term formula is used by professional bakers ( especially bread bakers) instead of recipe. Baking is truly a science based on time and chemical reactions. Hence, we follow a 12 step process:
1. Scaling ingredients

2. Mixing
3. Fermentation

4. Punching

5. Scaling

6. Rounding

7. Benching
8. Make-up and Panning
9.Proofing - at home place wet towel over dough in oven low, in AZ outside

10. Baking

11. Cooling

12. Storing

Following this process and MISSING part of it is how I was introduced to Dr. Louis Camille Maillard and how he will always be part of my team. He was a French Physician and Chemist whose 1912 studies of the reactions between acids and sugars were a major contribution to the scientific community. His studies led to a term called the Maillard Reaction that in baking causes the outer crust of breads and bake goods to brown. This reaction contributes to crust formation and flavor.

So when our French Baggette came out of the oven. Chef Colley (2nd person to the right in top picture) asked us how much sugar we used. He could tell by the color that it needed more sugar. It was light yellowish brown instead of a brown color. Which leads me back to step 1 - scaling; we didn't correctly weigh are sugar correctly for this formula. One thing to keep in mind when you're scaling is trust the scale not what you think. In the formula it calls for 1/2 oz. of sugar meaning pour sugar into the formula until the scale balances for that 1/2 oz. of sugar. Do not just put in a half an ounce. It's a science.

The bread was good and it's great to make some new friends. My wife loves me even more now that I'm baking bread. Life is good and so is the smell of fresh bread.

Houston we have lift off. This is team France signing off.