Rolling in serious dough
South San Francisco — UP at the crack of dawn, the campers were bused to a nondescript building in an industrial district. Inside, men and women in uniform were calling out orders.
"Action, action! Let's go!"
A military encampment?
No, it was Camp Bread 2005, a celebration of artisan bread sponsored by the Bread Bakers Guild of America that brought together bakers from the U.S. and Canada last week for three days of demonstrations, lectures and, best of all, hands-on classes taught by some of the superstars of bread.
And if the teachers, dressed in crisp, white baker's jackets, got a bit insistent at times, you didn't hear any complaining. This total-immersion weekend was heaven for the bread-obsessed. Within a week of the announcement of the event, all 200 attendee slots were filled and a waiting list started.
Most of the students were professionals (only about 20% were home bakers), including such experts as Sumi Chang of Euro Pane in Pasadena. Many were from Northern California and the Pacific Northwest -- the mother lode of artisan bread in this country.
Camp Bread was actually less like a camp and more like an extremely lively academic conference, with labs, except that you could eat the results.
It was serious bread. Artisan bread-making processes are based on those used in Europe for centuries to make hearth breads. They often begin with a starter (sourdough or one made with commercial yeast) that's allowed to develop for at least 12 hours.
The main dough is mixed for a relatively short time, just four or five minutes in some cases. Then the risings of the main dough -- professionals call the first rising the fermentation stage, and the second the proofing -- can take as many as three or four hours.
The general rule: small amounts of leavening and large amounts of time to develop flavor.
The scene was intense, with simultaneous workshops -- taught by the rock stars of bread -- unfolding throughout the San Francisco Baking Institute's training center building. In a supply room, popular author Peter Reinhart demonstrated his baguette methods before rapt attendees, while in the vast kitchens, King Arthur Flour bakery director Jeffrey Hamelman taught techniques for rye breads, and legendary teacher Didier Rosada took a group step-by-step through the mysteries of sourdough.
