LOL, I confess when I saw Graham's post under the Technical Forum, I thought it was this kind of culture he was referring to.
I'm finding making the kind of bread found in 'western' countries, more specifically, sourdough breads, a lonely pursuit. In Malaysia, or possibly in many parts of Asia, preference is for soft and sweet breads/buns with all sorts of fillings. I can tell that these breads are full of improvers and softeners. [url=http://www.thebakerscottage.com.my/bunsdetail.asp]Click here for examples[/url]. In my opinion, if not for their fillings (red bean, sambal, custard, and etc), the breads are practically characterless carbs made from bleached flour. To make the kind of breads I like, I've to source my flours from organic outlets for unbleached/wholemeal flours. My family, who are fans of sweet-filled breads, are slowly but surely beginning to appreciate 'real' bread, as my skills improve.
Sigh...I'm wondering if tastes will ever change for more flavourful breads. To each his own, I guess.
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Hi Teck Poh,
I can understand how you feel cos I am facing kind of the same thing here, I gave some sourdough to my family and friends to try the other day, I got mixed reaction, some think it's not bread like what it's meant to be (too chewy and hard crusted) while fewer said it taste good... They are so use to the soft square white production line kind... Sigh...
Hope they will slowly appreciate....
Happy Baking
Don
Hey, Don. It's good to see you and Francis (is he here?).
Oooo....happy to report that, today, I found another person (a church friend) who said she really loved my bread which I brought to church last week. In fact, she says she loves 'western'-style breads which have texture, unlike our local commercial breads. Was so excited that I wanted to share with her straightaway on how to make it. She was hesitant and hinted that she didn't have a bread machine, and she finds bread-making intimidating. That brings us to common bread-making myth #2 (#1 being breads [b]must[/b] be soft and white)...to make bread, you need a bread machine. I also go to a local online cooking board, and everyone in the breads forum talk about making bread using bread machines. <insert emoticon rolling eyes>
Mission #1: To locally seek out bread lovers.
Mission #2: To convince homebakers that one can make bread with our pair of hands and minimal kneading. In fact, it's a real pleasure doing it this way.
TeckPoh, that is the sort of stuff I found when I was living in the Phillipines, and the bread was so sweet. It took me about 6 months to find a German baker who had a little shop making decent bread. That was where I learned about sourdough, and that's about 27 years ago now.
- Thank you