The truth comes out of the oven

I love to bake, but I consider myself a dilletante when it comes to this hobby of mine. I flit about from cakes to pies to laminated doughs and various types of breads, never spending too much time on any one of them. Since I have a 9-to-5 office job, I haven’t dedicated myself to the craft, although I greatly admire the professionals who commit to baking with passion and intensity. That’s why I was enthralled by Saveur Magazine’s discussion with Jeffrey Hamelman, one of the few certified Master Bakers in the US. 

Hamelman has been baking for over forty years, and has taught thousands of home bakers through his work with King Arthur Flour in Vermont. He loves all types of bread, from artisan rustic loaves to flatbreads to egg breads to rolls and beyond, and says that “If a bread is made with respect for fermentation and ingredients, if it’s made with care and authenticity, then I think it has a place in our collective bread basket.”

This egalitarian attitude comes about partly because Hamelman believes the bread culture in the U.S. did not develop in the same way as it did in other countries. Here, we borrow bits of this and that, choosing pieces that suit our needs, tastes, and desires. While this means we don’t have a uniquely defining bread, it also allows us to experiment in ways that would seem blasphemous elsewhere.  Hamelman refers to a saying by French baker Professeur Raymond Calvel: “La vérité sort du four,” meaning “The truth comes out of the oven. If the breads are better-please keep it up.”