Party Breads! : How to bake the wow factor into luscious breads your guests will love, whether youre planning ahead, or your guests are on their way

The Artisan Bakery School

All contents copyright Penny Williams and Dragan Matijevic 2015

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Published by Pendragan Publishing

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This book cannot be copied, reprinted or redistributed for sale by any mechanical, electronic or other means. The design, photographs and text remain the properties of the authors.

The information contained in this text has been verified and documented as carefully as possible. The authors cannot be held liable for the use of its contents.

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Pendragan Publishing

Old Home Cottage

Sparkwell

Plymouth PL7 5DQ

United Kingdom

First Edition 2013

As sugar becomes the new coke (dangerous and addictive), bread is set to become the new cake. A well-made loaf has enough wow factor to make it the king of the table, yet still be healthy enough for everyone to enjoy guilt-free. This book shows you how to make the kind of stunning, luscious loaves that will nourish bodies and warm hearts. Goodbye to refined sugars. Goodbye to e-numbers, additives, colourings and things you cant even pronounce, never mind digest.

Bread has always been about sharing and celebrating around the table, which is another good reason to give it a starring role at your party, or to take a loaf along as a gift to your hosts. With our new FAB (Faster Artisan Bread) Method, you can make genuinely impressive artisan breads with no hassle at all, even if you have never baked before. With the recipes in our Last-Minute section, you can make beautiful bread part of even the most impromptu get-together. You can even make vegan or gluten-free breads for everyone to enjoy.

We put this book together for people who love their friends, and want to feed them well, no matter what the occasion. We hope you will be as inspired by these recipes as we are.

Happy baking, and have a great party!

Dragan and Penny

Sometimes you know when the party is going to be, and sometimes it seems to have started before you know it.

This book is divided into recipes for breads you need to start a day or two ahead, using our FAB (Faster Artisan Bread) Method, and breads you can make in 2 hours, possibly even with the help of your guests. All the breads are as gorgeous to eat as they are to look at, and very good for you too!

If you have guests already coming up the path, go straight to Last Minute Recipes. Get all your ingredients out on the work surface and co-opt a couple of guests into making Magic Morsels. These are probably the easiest to make, the fastest to bake, and the most adaptable in terms of toppings.

If you have the luxury of a few days before anyone arrives, please leaf through the whole book before you start and ideally have a go at one of the FAB recipes.

The FAB method relies on something called retardation, which means letting the dough rise very slowly in the fridge, for a minimum of 24 hours. This means the flavour develops better, the crumb is bouncier, and the loaves are crustier, just like the kind of artisan bread you would buy in a really great farmers market.

FAB recipes are easier than most artisan breads because they benefit from recent research proving that kneading is unnecessary, providing the dough gets sufficient hydration and enough time to develop by itself.

Once you are ready to begin, get everything organised on the kitchen surface: all your equipment and all your ingredients. Measure your ingredients, including the water, very precisely. Professionals use digital scales, which are not expensive, and make the bakers life a lot easier. Accurate measuring, whether cups, spoons or scales, gives better results, every time.

Sample Schedule:

If your party is on Saturday lunchtime or evening, here are your 3 Steps:

1. Thursday evening: mix the ingredients (3 minutes) and refrigerate

2. Friday evening (24 hours later): Rock & Roll into shape (1 minute) and refrigerate in proving basket

3. Saturday morning (12 hours later) bake straight from the fridge (30 minutes in oven)

Total hands on time - 4 minutes - 1 day (36 hour) cycle

Please note that terms such as Rock & Roll are explained in Basic Techniques. By following our unique Three Steps Method, you will be able to bake a beautiful loaf first time.

Time, Temperature and Technique

The three magic elements that rule the whole process of bread making are time, temperature and technique.

Time - the more time you give your dough to develop, the better its taste will be, and the better it will be for your health. But if you leave it too long at normal temperatures, it will collapse.

Temperature - if you lower the temperature you will be able to extend the time. This process is called retardation. It slows down the rate at which yeast ferments and dough rises, so that the flavours and dough texture can mature. The common myth is that the dough has to be kept somewhere warm, while in fact it will still be active even inside a cold fridge. By lowering the dough temperature and keeping it in the fridge for between 24 hours and 124 hours, our FAB breads will taste amazing, even though weve hardly touched them! The ideal dough temperature before putting our FAB dough into the fridge is 30C - 86F and in the fridge it is 10C - 50F, although it can be lower.

Technique - we have explained the simplest techniques below so that they are really easy to learn.

After your first try at a recipe, you can experiment with different timings to find out how mature you like a particular dough to taste. Shorter times give a more tender crumb and a milder taste. Longer times give a bouncier crumb and a tangier taste. Its best to plan in 12 hour intervals, so you are either working in the morning or the evening, which will make your scheduling easier.

Please note that while the leaner, plainer FAB doughs like the FAB Great White can be left for up to 100 hours in the fridge, any doughs made with additional ingredients, such as FAB Olive & Pesto or FAB Pepperoni, must ideally be left for no longer than 36 hours.

The 3 superfast steps for FAB breads - 24 hour cycle:

1. Mixing the Ingredients (5 minutes) - morning

2. Refrigerating all day and Rock & Rolling before bed (1 minute)

3. Refridgereting over night & Baking in the morning

Check your basic equipment

a) Digital scales or cups