07/04/07

Hamelman Country Bread

I was away for a short holiday in Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. My last visit was about twenty years ago but it was still fun. The flora there is amazing. Here are some examples

Bird of Paradise Heliconia

I do not know the name of this flower but they look like some specie of giant Morning Glory Flower growing wild all over the country side. Each flower is about 6-7 inches long.

Anyway, back to bread. I was looking for a way to "encourage" my daughter to eat my breads. She is not a fan of hearth breads and does not share my love for walnuts and raisins. The only time she ate and enjoyed bread that I made was a simple plain white loaf. This week, I decided to make Hamelman's Country Bread. This bread is 50% pre-ferment. This was more than my usual 30% so I thought it might be more flavorful.

When I sliced one of the loaves, I couldn't help reminiscing my bread making journey. My early loaves were closed crumbed and gummy. People who sampled the breads commented that they tasted like those colorful steamed buns made as offerings to the gods. It certainly took me a long while to analyse and overcome all these problems.

They tasted so good I made another batch to last me for the week.