The Artisan Baking Process
Not all bread is created equal. You don’t need to be a baker or a foodie to tell the difference between a crusty, freshly-baked HBC loaf versus the supermarket sliced variety – beyond that, however, things can get confusing.
“Artisan” is a term you see a lot in the food world these days, along with “craft”, “fresh” and “real.” They’re usually used to signify care, expertise and quality of ingredients, but currently there are no official restrictions on who can use these terms; so it’s always worth finding out the story behind the label.
At Hartford Baking Co. we use the word “artisan” to sum up just how much attention we give our products; the long, traditional processes we use and the way we closely monitor every single handmade loaf. It’s this hands-on attention to detail that makes our loaves different than what you buy on the supermarket shelf.
Texture
When different bakers get together to compare breads, bigger holes always win. Human hands are gentler than a piece of industrial machinery, so shaping all our loaves by hand allows us to keep all those gorgeous fermentation bubbles intact. This process leads to very pleasant, lightly textured bread, perfect for soaking up EVOO or a savory sauce.
Digestibility
Artisan bread is actually easier to digest, because the enzymes have had time to begin breaking down the gluten in the flour while fermenting. And it will last longer – as a rule, the longer the production process, the longer its shelf life will be.
Flavor
The key to a flavorful loaf of bread is time and patience. Most of our breads take over 24 hours from start to finish. Mass-produced bread, on the other hand, uses various chemicals and high-energy mixers to speed up fermentation, resulting in a process that can take as little as 60 minutes from mix to bake.
By contrast, a long fermentation process gives the dough up to 24 hours to develop, allowing the natural enzymes to react with the flour in their own time for a much more robust flavor and texture.
Whether you call it “artisan,” “craft,” or anything else, it’s clear that traditional artisan method make an all-around better product. Whether you buy it from a market, a bakery or even make it yourself, there’s no doubt that slow and steady wins the baking race.