Ever since I started baking, I’ve joined bread forums in different countries; France, England, Germany, Spain. Though lots of things in bread are similar, you would be surprised by the maze of different names for everything from fermenting approaches to types of flour. Going to Google recently, I found a site called Opain. It’s terrific. I tapped into the site’s hydration calculator, and even though my French is rusty, I was able to come up with some awesome bread. Mind you, I did sort of run amok with the various flours. But all said and done, the loaf below proved the web’s value to bakers.

The calculator is based on the total hydration of the bread you’re baking. Previously I made a bread with a lower hydration of 53 percent, and was really pleased with the results. I upped the anty and went to 65 percent, not sure what I would get. Being without my usual flour on this late night last minute bread bake, I had purchased a Turkish flour at my local corner store. I spied that his flour was a low 10.5 precent of protein, weak and good only for pastry or flat bread. Never one to surrender (at least not in the kitchen) I proceeded with my crunched numbers.

As mentioned, I also added additional flours; mix, kamut, quinoa, whole wheat, and rye. At first the mix was wet.  But after mixing the dough, surprisingly the folds suggested that my chemistry was working. The bread was retarded overnight and baked. The result is a nice moist bread with a good crumb. Baking can be like wine, where you’ll never know till you uncorked the bottle.