Crust: The bread crust is formed from surface dough during the cooking process. It is hardened and browned through the Maillard reaction using the sugars and amino acids and the intense heat at the bread surface. The nature of a bread's crust differs depending on the type of bread and the way it is baked. The crust of most breads is less soft, and more complexly and intensely flavored, than the rest, and judgments vary among individuals and cultures as to whether it is therefore the less palatable or the more flavorful part of a particular style of bread.

Crumb: The soft inner portion of bread also referring to the pattern of holes inside. This is not to be confused with small bits of bread that often fall off, called crumbs.

Scoring: (also called slashing or docking) Bread is scored just before the bread is placed in the oven. This allows bread to properly expand in the oven without tearing the skin or crust and also allows moisture to escape from the loaf. It also releases some of the gas, mainly carbon dioxide, trapped inside the dough. Proper scoring also allows the baker to control exactly where the loaf will open or bloom. This significantly improves the appearance of baked breads. Scoring, finally, creates varieties in forms and appearance.

Bake day (yesterday) was a warm, beautiful day outside that turned nasty at the end... kind of metaphoric for the bake which was wonderful at the beginning... the early loaves were actually beautiful... but then the bake degregraded as the day went on... and the kitchen temperature climbed... and the doughs started proofing faster... a kharmically strange day all around... The New Bread of the Week: Levain Crackers with Sea Salt, was rather labor intensive and my first attempt at crackers so I was navigating new, barely charted waters. I am selling them at an introductory price...

If you would like to preorder for future Weekly Bakes, please use the order form. Check the calendar below to see when The Weekly Bakes are scheduled.

To order bread available on this page, please send an email.

May

M	T	W	R	F	Sa	Su
		01	02	03	04	05
06	07	08	09	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

June

M	T	W	R	F	Sa	Su
					01	02
03	04	05	06	07	08	09
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

Bread Type	Ideal Meal Pairings
Cheese Breads	◌ Grilled vegetables and meats ◌ Soups and stews ◌ Heartier meals ◌ Hummus, dips or fruit and cheese plates
Focaccia	◌ Pastas with tomato sauce ◌ Braised or grilled meats ◌ Sautéed seasoned vegetables ◌ Panini ◌ Mediterranean cuisines
French	◌ Variety of meats, soups and salads ◌ Cheese and fruit courses ◌ Bruschetta with garden fresh tomatoes,extra virgin olive oil and basil leaves
Rye	◌ Flavorful meats: braised, roasted, smoked, or cured ◌ Smoked fish ◌ Reuben (or other sandwiches)
Sourdoughs	◌ Grilled and roasted meats ◌ Vegetables and fresh greens with flavorful dressings ◌ Tangy complement to hearty meals
Sweet/Fruit	◌ Toasted at breakfast ◌ Bread puddings ◌ French toast
Whole Grain	◌ Breakfast toast ◌ ...with egg dishes ◌ Sandwiches ◌ A hearty addition to any meal

“The skilled baker, working with his hands, doing the same work each day, takes his place with the artisans of history: the potters, coopers, carpenters, and smiths. His work may excel and reach toward perfection, but there is little, really, that is new for the bread baker to invent. ... The baker, each day, tries to perfect something that was worked out hundreds of years ago. Mastering the art of fermentation is the ultimate aspiration of the bread baker, and the secret of fermentation, though not scientifically enumerated until quite recently, have been understood for hundreds of generations. When it all goes just right (which it rarely does), and the day's breads have attained more than just good taste, but are, for that day memorable and charismatic, then the baker knows again why he sets his alarm for that challenging hour. And when all has not come out of the oven just as he had wished or expected, he gets another chance tomorrow—each day we have the opportunity to redeem the setbacks of yesterday.”
― Jeffrey Hamelman, Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

Evaluating Bread: Learn how to judge good artisan breads from Jeffrey Hamelman, author of Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes (one of a limited number of Certified Master Bakers in the United States, and past captain and coach of Baking Team USA).

• 2013
  • 06 May: Leinsamenbrot (Farmington Sourdough Flaxseed 60% Rye)
  • 29 Apr: Unsuccessful New Bread of the Week
  • 22 Apr: Toast Bread (English-Style Pullman) & Pain au Levain with French & Rye Sourdoughs
  • 15 Apr: Farmington Sourdough 66% Rye
  • 08 Apr: Roasted Garlic Levain
  • 01 Apr: Quarkbrot
  • 18 Mar: 7-Grain Whole Wheat Levain
  • 11 Mar: Bialystoker Kuchen (Bialy) & Deli Rye
  • 04 Mar: Cracked Wheat
  • 25 Feb: Sonnenblumenbrot
  • 18 Feb: Grissini, Feast of Fornicalia Bake
  • 04 Feb: Honey Spelt Bread
  • 28 Jan: Brown Rice Bread
  • 22 Jan: Volkornbrot
  • 14 Jan: Pain de Mie (Bread of Crumb)
  • 07 Jan: German Farmer's Bread, Whey Bread
  • 01 Jan: Happy New Year!, Pain de Mie pans, Hamelman's Bread
• 2012
  • 21 Dec: Happy Winter Solstice!
  • 17 Dec: Whole-Wheat with Pecans & Golden Raisins
  • 10 Dec: Oatmeal with Cinnamon & Raisin
  • 22 Oct: Cranberry & Walnut Levain
  • 15 Oct: Pain Normand
  • 08 Oct: Orders-Only Bake
  • 24 Sep: Sourdough Seed Bread
  • 17 Sep: Whole-Wheat Multigrain
  • 10 Sep: Cheese Levain
  • 04 Sep: Potato Bread with Roasted Onions
  • 19 Aug: Ciabatta
  • 12 Aug: Wholegrain Semolina Bread, Brazier, Solo Sprayer
  • 05 Aug: Semolina Bread, Site Redesign, Illustrated Glossary of Bread
  • 15 Jul: Bagel Enlightenment!, Fougasse, Visual Dictionary of Bread
  • 08 Jul: Return of Pain Rustique, Bagel Chips, Croutons, & Bread Crumbs
  • 01 Jul: Five-Grain Levain (Sourdough), Bagel Experiment Continues...
  • 24 Jun: Bagel Experiment Begins
  • 17 Jun: Roasted Potato Bread
  • 10 Jun: Acquisition: The Beast (Kepler)
  • 28 May: New Location, New Baker's Table
  • 14 May: Oatmeal Improved, Fougasse (redux)
  • 07 May: Oatmeal Bread & Fougasse w/Olives
  • 23 Apr: Roasted Garlic Fougasse & Daobread.com begins
  • 16 Apr: Pain au Levain with Whole Wheat & Petit Brioche à Tête
  • 09 Apr: Farmington Sourdough with Whole Wheat & Saltzstangerl
  • 02 Apr: Farmington Sourdough with Increased Whole Grain & Salzstangerl
  • 19 Mar: Demi-Boules and Demi-Loaves
  • 12 Mar: Farmington Sourdough White
  • 05 Mar: Toasted Sesame & Whole Wheat Sourdough Bagels
  • 27 Feb: Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough

©2012-2013 Daobread | Last Update: 20130520

Daobread is a small-scale bakery. Sunday is bake day. Monday morning, pictures and descriptions of The Bake are posted here; and an email/tweet is sent to the customer list letting them know what is available. Ordered bread is delivered on Monday afternoon.

Monday, 20 May 2013

A very thin, crisp whole-wheat cracker with cumin undertones and a bite of coarse sea salt. Good with humus or other strong dip.

Ingredients: white whole-wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, toasted cumin seeds, mature liquid levain culture, kosher salt, and coarse sea salt.

Available: 8 bags (4 oz)
Price: $1/each (introductory price)