Ree Drummond is a professional cook and baker, but even she has recipes that elude her and cause her great distress. In an interview with Home by Trendsetters magazine, the Pioneer Woman revealed she has an issue with one doughy staple: artisanal bread. She explained, “I’ll make it and it’s fine and it tastes like bread, but I just can’t nail it. It’s different every time. It’s my nemesis.”
What makes artisanal bread special? Making artisan bread is, well, an art. It requires a lot of time — we’re talking up to nearly a full day — and patience to allow flavors to develop through a lengthy fermentation process that uses active or wild yeast as opposed to instant yeast, which doesn’t need much time to rise. While it ferments, the dough is susceptible to temperature and humidity fluctuations, and it can be temperamental depending on the quality of the flour you use. But even if you successfully make it past the obstacle course that is fermentation, you still need to clear the gauntlet of exercising a perfect baking technique.
Don’t be afraid of baking bread
When you are ready to bake your masterpiece, the oven needs to be just the right balance of hot and steamy while your artisanal bread bakes. This requirement is mission-critical because you are looking for rapid expansion. If you have too much steam, the crust could end up rubbery and unimpressive rather than crispy. When you have too little steam, you are cursed with your artisanal bread rising too soon. It’s easy to understand why Ree Drummond finds this process to be her kryptonite.
During the interview, Drummond also confessed that if she had a choice between baking or cooking, she would pick cooking because baking “…is very precise and it’s about perfection.” Spoken like a perfectionist.
That said, you don’t have to make artisan bread to enjoy a loaf of this carb. The best breads to bake for beginners that should be on your bingo card if you are bread-making-curious include easy recipes for pita bread and white dinner rolls. These breads can be less time-intensive and more forgiving to environmental elements beyond your control. If you are looking for a good recipe to start with, try Tasting Table’s 5-ingredient yeast rolls.
