Good Bread, Good Bakers, and the Secret Gerard Taught Me

(Originally Published on August 21, 2015 by Trevor Wilson)

Bread is good. Forget about gluten for a moment. Forget about carbs. This isn’t a discussion about whether bread is healthy or not. I’m simply talking about the joy of eating good bread.

Because it is a joy.

In all its forms, bread is a wondrous thing. And even better than eating bread is making bread. Bread bakers are a fortunate bunch. They have the know-how to take a few basic ingredients and turn them into something almost magical.

Yes, magical.

Handmade bread is simply that good. It holds a place in our hearts that most foods will never attain. Bread is culture. Bread is community. Bread is family. And so the bakers of bread bear a heavy responsibility . . . it’s important that we not disappoint.

What Makes Good Bread?

Some say good bread has hearty crust, open crumb, and tang. Others say good bread is light, fluffy and almost sweet. So which is it? Chewy or soft? Sweet or sour?

The truth is that good bread is whatever bread you think is good. No single style is superior to another. Like beauty, good bread lies in the eye of the beholder.

So let’s not be so quick to judge another’s choice of bread. Looking down on someone’s loaf says more about us than it does them. Best that we avoid elitism and snobbery.

Now, I enjoy many styles of bread, from crusty artisan sourdough to plain ‘ol factory made sandwich bread. Each has its own place as far as I’m concerned.

That said . . .

The kind of bread I personally enjoy making is European style hearth breads. You know, the standard fare of the artisan bakery. I’m especially intrigued by sourdough. There’s just something about making these long fermented, labor intensive breads that I find irresistible.

Maybe it’s the challenge. Maybe it’s the tradition.

Or maybe it’s just plain fun. Who knows? The “why” is irrelevant. These are the breads I’ve chosen to focus my career on. These are the ones I obsess about. And many other bakers do, as well.

So What Makes a Good Baker?

On the surface this sounds like an easy question to answer. Skill. Technique. Training. Experience. These are all qualities a good baker must possess, right?

Wrong.

A good baker is someone who puts their heart into every loaf they make. It’s as simple as that. If you put all of yourself into the bread you make, you are a good baker.

I’ve seen bakers with years and years of experience half-ass their way through their daily production. Hell, I’ve half-assed it myself more than a few times. And it doesn’t matter if the result is passable or not. This is not how good bread is made.

On the flip side, I’ve seen new home bakers struggling through every loaf they make. The dough is too sticky. The loaves are difficult to form. The proofing is misjudged. And the final loaf resembles something akin to a mangled pasty brick.

Yet this baker put their heart and soul into that brick. This is a good baker. This is a baker who will get better and better. A baker who will excel.

It’s the mindset that makes the baker.

I’ve written about this in depth. It’s the Master’s mindset. In short, it’s about maintaining presence and awareness; about attention, care and deliberate practice — the drive to improve. Regardless of the Master’s experience or skill, he will at all times remain a student. Simply put, no one knows everything.

And so the good baker is the one who always does his best, but still looks to do better.

Now, speaking of Masters . . .

Gerard’s Secret to Great Bread

“It’s a little thing, but that’s why it matters.”

Gerard Rubaud’s exact words to me.

We were at his bench and we’d just turned out a batch of dough onto the table. Truth be told, I can’t even remember what it was he was referring to. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the truth he spoke . . . and how it hit me like a ton of bricks.

It confirmed a belief that had been building in me for a while. The best bakers — the best at anything, really — pay attention to the little things. Whatever they may be.

This is something that I cannot stress enough.

And it’s a theme that you’ll see repeated over and over throughout this blog. Little things matter. You simply can’t put your best into every loaf if you neglect the little things. They bring intangible qualities to the bread you make.

What do I mean by that?

I firmly believe that food is more than just its collection of macro and micronutrients. Bread is more than just carbs and salt and vitamins. It’s those things, yes . . . and it’s more. It’s YOU! It’s the effort you put into it. The attention and care. The little piece of you that gets imbued into every loaf you touch.

It’s the reason why Grandma’s cookies will always taste the best.

The more of yourself you can put into your bread; the more character your bread will show for it. And if you choose to neglect the little things — because “they don’t matter” — then your bread will show that as well.

The greatest bread can only be made with the greatest care.

Gerard knew the secret.

Now you do.

Cheers!

Trevor J. Wilson

Original comments no longer active.

Comments

1. Rositza Ilieva saysOctober 11, 2016 at 6:53 AMWow! I’d read this again and again! Because it is the way I see the joy of making bread too! Thank you very much! For the inspirational view. After your words I will never be ashamed of my experiments and bricks and flat, but eatable (for me ) results. Every time it is not so good I can feel it can be, I’m inspired to go further. Because not only little things matter, but also I’m always competing with myself – is it a bread, is a croissant, is it homemade butter or cheese, or a tango dance. It is the way magic happens.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysOctober 15, 2016 at 2:52 PMWell said! And so true! All that really matters is that we do our best and always strive to do better. In the end, results matter only in as much as they act as a measure of our effort. So long as we continue to improve, so will our results. Cheers!TrevorReply
2. Carol Mahon saysFebruary 24, 2017 at 5:29 PM❤️✌️Reply
3. Michael Koontz saysOctober 6, 2017 at 10:03 PMTrevor,
   I don’t know exactly what I want you to do, but I can tell you the subject. Can you do something with mother dough. It’s a simple concept that has an element of elusiveness to it.
   Regards
   Michael
   Las Cruces
   New Mexico, Aka The land of EnchantmentReply
4. Rod saysNovember 11, 2017 at 3:05 PMExcellent. I’ve tried to work with sourdough for awhile now and with very little success. I’ve been trying and trying and tossing and pouting and decided “I hated Sourdough anyway!” Then I watched a ATK episode with Julia and Dan. Got my starter going according to the method they use. And just let everything come together naturally… IT WORKED, and now I have a mature starter. It fairly jumps out of the bowl! And little by little I’ve come to bake two or three loaves with a wonderful rise and crumb. Today’s effort was the best and the tastiest… And I remember what I did! Thanks for your encouraging site!Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysNovember 18, 2017 at 7:16 PMHey Rod, glad to hear everything’s working for you! Sourdough is a tricky thing. Well, it’s a thing that requires patience anyway. I believe that everyone has the ability to make great sourdough bread. It requires only one thing from a person . . . to stay the course. Many can’t. And so they give up in frustration. Those who stay the course, however, will be rewarded with a lifetime of joy and challenge. The two are really just flipsides of the same coin. Can’t have one without the other. So keep up the good work, my friend. It is its own reward.Cheers!TrevorReply