Tar(paininthearse,butreallygood)tine Bread
Years ago when I was getting into baking artisan bread a friend told me about Tartine, this bakery in SF. I saw they had a book out last year and put it on hold at the library (I don't like buying cookbooks without trying it, so many of them are fluff). When it finally came my turn to get the book from the library (apparently it was popular) I started. What's interesting and kind of a pain about the method they give for home bakers is that you do not add any commercial yeast. You make a starter out of water and flour. Amazing. Yeast from the air, your hands, the grains of the flour are what leaven the bread. After a week of feeding and training the thing, you're ready to go.
From there its pretty much a standard bread recipe like the no knead where its a very high water content (which makes the bread super moist!) and you cook in a dutch oven for steam. Only that i think because the yeast is a little less powerful, you really need either patience or a proofing box (or both!) to get it to rise properly. I finally figured out to use my microwave with some cups of hot water to do it, as it is winter and cold around here. The bread, even though a pain in the arse, and a waste of a lot of flour (feeding the starter), is very, very good. Sour, but not quite sourdough, and very moist. Great texture and a lot of flavor. The little cutting pattern they use is fun to (a box). What I'd like to do next is try to figure out how to modify this recipe to not use the starter. Some sourness will be lost, but perhaps with a long cold rise, I can get some of the acidity and complexity. We'll see.
