Artisan Bread, Neyond The Niche

Can artisan bread baking be fast and easy? Recipe editor and baking instructor
Judith Fertig thinks so. Her latest cookbook, 200 Fast & Easy Artisan Breads,
seeks to make this time-honoured form of baking more accessible and
approachable.

Potential consumer trends aside, members of Canada’s Artisan Bakers Quality
Alliance (ABQA) say not so fast. They have joined forces with George Brown
College’s Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts in developing the new Artisan
Baking Skills Certificate. Designed for those who are working for or pursuing
employment with an artisan baking organization, the program includes a
distance-learning course Fundamental Theory of Artisan Baking as well as
some online and on-site courses.

According to the ABQA website: ABQA artisans bake breads that are rich in
nutrition and taste. They are made with a culture (sourdough or starter) and
given an uncommon amount of time to rest. The result is bread that has a special
combination of texture and complex flavour, and a moist crumb that is unique to
sourdough bread. As with fine wine or cheese, the flavour and mouth-feel of
bread comes from maturing the dough, and the natural fermentation process.

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