viince wrote:
> I personally think the most important factors when making bread are
> baking and fermentation.
> Other important factors such as mixing, shaping, handling, slashing,
> etc also contribute to the quality. But I think the baking makes the
> biggest difference.
>
I think it was Peter Reinhart who once said that that the baking only
contributes about 10% of the final quality of the bread. I'm not sure
how you quantify that, but it's probably close to right. However,
baking can detract a whole lot more than that 10% if it isn't done right.

My own feeling is that what is most important in any given loaf of bread
is what wasn't done right. A great baker, a great oven, a great mixer,
excellent fermentation, great shaping and great baking.... but the flour
was seriously sub-par. You're gonna get an OK loaf of bread at best.

A great loaf of bread is like a symphony where all the players are
playing their parts with distinction. The triangle player being off
time can make a symphony a disaster or a joke. A violinist who isn't
quite there can bring tears to your eyes. And so on.

Mike


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Mike Avery mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com
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