What to Do When Alice Waters Calls, Seeking Bread

By Samuel Fromartz

I was leaving the gym when I checked my messages. Alice Waters' office at Chez Panisse was calling -- yeah, right. Who was this really? 

When I called back, it turned out Waters was calling and looking for a baker for her charity dinner in Washington, to replace one who had dropped out. Barton Seaver, a friend and chef at Blue Ridge,  suggested me. "We hear you make the best baguette in DC," said Sarah Weiner, Waters' assistant. "Well, yeah, I won a contest," I stammered, "but I just bake at home. The most I've baked was for Thanksgiving dinner." 

They needed to feed 40 -- at a $500 a plate dinner at Bob Woodward's house. Could it be done in my home ovens? I said I'd call back. I went home to figure out how much bread I needed to bake and realized I could probably do it -- 5 big loaves and several baguettes. I then called Peter Reinhart -- the renowned baker and author I've known for a couple of years -- to see what he thought. "That's not a lot of bread," he said, and he encouraged me to give it a whirl.

So began my first gig as a professional baker -- at an Alice Waters' dinner.

I quickly settled on breads I made time and again and eat at home -- a pain au levain made with sourdough and a mix of white, whole wheat and rye flours; a pane casareccio di Genzano, an airy white big loaf crusted with wheat bran that I picked up from Dan Leader's Local Breads; and of course, my baguettes. 

I've never baked this much bread before, so I worked out a timeline -- and good thing too, since I would need to begin Friday to have the breads ready on Sunday. I started by feeding 50 grams (about a quarter-cup) of sourdough starter Friday morning, building it to 150 grams. On Friday night, I fed it again to take it up to 450 grams. Saturday morning, I refreshed it a third time. By Saturday evening, when I needed the ripe starter to make my doughs, I had over 1500 grams (3.3 pounds) of the stuff. With that steady feeding every 8-12 hours, the starter was bubbling, itching to impregnate the dough. It's pictured at left, and below, in the big bin on the right.

I measured out the flours and began mixing the dough. I don't really knead or use a mixer. Rather, I combine the ingredients by hand until they come together. Then I let the shaggy mass rest so the flour slowly soaks in the water, then fold it over every hour or so to develop the gluten. By the end of the process, the dough glistens with moisture. If you pull away a small piece and stretch it, you should be almost able to see through it -- the so-called windowpane test that shows when a dough is done. This folding technique is a cousin to the no-knead method, since you just fold over the dough and let time do its work. It works beautifully, especially since my home mixer couldn't handle the volume of dough I made. 

Now the magic began -- the first rise, the source of all flavor -- and luckily it was a chilly night. Why was that important? Because I let my sourdoughs rise in an unheated basement storage room that is about 55F. That's the perfect temperature for a languid fermentation, when the sugars in the bread develop. Bakers buy proofing cabinets that cost thousands of dollars to get this temperature with refrigeration. My solution was less precise, but it worked fine. The genzano and baguette doughs rose in the refrigerator, since they contained instant yeast as well as sourdough and I wanted a slower fermentation.

At 7 the next morning, I took the pain au levain dough out and let it warm up for about an hour. I then shaped three boules, letting them rise for 2-1/2 hours. In the meantime, I heated up the baking stones in my double-oven. Then I repeated this with the Genzano loaf, about an hour later, and then the baguette. 

The rise went well, full of oven spring. I attribute that to the levain, which you'll recall had built over a 52-hour period with successive refreshments, including the last one in the dough. (Pictured below are the pane casareccio di Genzano - Genzano Country Bread).

I finished baking at about 2 p.m. and let the breads cool, then delivered the loaves for the dinner. Jean-Pierre Moullé, the chef at Chez Panisse, was there to greet me. We talked briefly about the breads and I mentioned I was a home baker, not a professional.

"I know, but you did not bake these at home," he said.

"Yes, I did," I countered -- and I noticed his eyebrow rise a bit.

Later that evening, at a party preceding the dinner, Alice Waters took me aside, bread lover that she is, and thanked me warmly. It was a nice moment.

For a home baker, there's always the moment of anticipation when the bread comes out of the oven and you wait for it to cool before tearing into it. Alas, with these loaves, I didn't get a chance to cut into them, to evaluate the flavor and aromas or assess the interior crumb or the density of the crust -- all crucial to a decent loaf. But I trust they were fine. 

The thing is, I don't bake for a living. There is no daily pressure, no waking at 1 a.m. to get to the ovens, no staff, no orders. It's just me and the bread. And until yesterday, I've only given my breads away to friends. Now I've donated them for a worthwhile cause. Maybe I've just widened the circle of people who eat my bread. And that's just fine.

Comments

[Jill, The Veggie Queen]

I give you credit for saying yes but more credit for checking with the experts especially my friend and colleague Peter Reinhart who knows all things bread. If Peter told you No, then there was no way.

Now you know that baking for 40 isn't that tough. When it turns into 100 or 400, just nicely say, "No" and run the other way, unless, of course, they pay you, and then you've got to decide if you bake for a living. Sounds like you've got that answer firmly in mind.

Great job.

[Ed Bruske]

Great job, Sam. Now, we just need to convince Alice Waters to do these parties in September instead of January. I could feed Woodward and all of his guests out of my garden.

[Fran Costigan]

Sam, I got weak in the knees reading this wonderfully descriptive story about your bread. First pro gig for Alice Waters..uh. I especially love the line-'but you did not bake these at home," he said.', I related. The breads look gorgeous. Maybe next time you send a loaf or 2 to SOHO, you can tuck in an extra for me.

Your home must have smelled so good! Great!

[Susan/Wild Yeast]

Nicely done, Sam! I'd say Alice Waters was very lucky you were available.

[Cheryl]

What a wonderful personal and professional milestone. Bravo, Sam. You should be immensely pleased!

[Heidi]

The bread looks beautiful Sam. Bravo for taking the plunge :) -h

[Rodney North]

I loved this story and I'm not even that interested in baking. It reminded me of all those sappy hollywood stories where the rookie / minor leaguer / etc is pulled off the bench or out of the stands at the last moment and asked to win the big game.

[Ken Peterson]

Bravissimo! What a wonderful job of baking, and of telling the tale.

[Rebecca Blood]

Can you suggest a recipe for the pain au levain made with sourdough? Your description has my mouth watering and my fingers itching to try it myself.

[Sam Fromartz]

Rebecca, I hope to in the future, but won't be soon. In the meantime, check out some of the recipes at one of my favorite blogs, WildYeast: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/

Or check out the ones at The Fresh Loaf.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/

Or any decent cookbook, like ones by Peter Reinhart, Dan Leader, or Nancy Silverton, as a start.

[Elizabeth Dunn]

Congratulations, Sam! What an honor! And what beautiful loaves!

It's also great to see a recommendation of *Bread Alone* (Leader), my first serious baking book which is not as well known as the terrific series of books that Reinhart has published more recently.

[Stone Turtle Baking]

Congratulations Sam,

A great story and a great experience and beautiful breads. Try the Polish rye in Dan Leaders Local Breads - it was a real hit at our Farmer's Market.

[MC]

Bravo, Sam! The loaves are gorgeous. Considering you were working with your home oven only, it must have been quite a challenge to stagger the proofing so that all the loaves were not ready to bake at the same time... What an achievement! You must be very proud.

[Odessa Piper]

I ended a long day helping chef Jean Pierre at Alice's lovely dinner with a sandwich made from Sam's levain. It was truly some of the best bread I have ever eaten- and I'm now obsessed with how to become Sam's friend.
Odessa Piper

[Barbara Graham]

Wow, Sam, I am so impressed. This is fabulous--and I'm breathlessly awaiting an invitation to dinner. Bravo!

[AC]

What a wonderful story. Congratulation.

[Parke]

Sam, that is terrific. What a beautiful photo of the finished loaves.

[Jen]

I love this story so much. Thanks for sharing it.

[Daniel Rios]

Absolutely amazing, and beautiful loaves. I love that feeling of someone saying I couldn't have possibly baked the wonderful bread they are holding- at home in my tiny oven.

[Patty Marguet]

baking bread is the most heart-warming activity i do . . . it kneads me into a smooth elastic mood! . . . your story of baking for alice waters' charity event is not only inspirational but useful– i sometimes bake for a crowd when i host my family for dinner. thank you for sharing your techniques and photos which show the sculptural nature of the craft . . . what a talent!

[Jeremy shapiro]

Sam,
Fabulous and inspiring, open your bakery!

Jeremy

[bpl luv2cknbk]

Beautiful Loaves!!! So glad you conferred with Peter; he made the breads for a charity Slow Food dinner for about 100+ people when Alice Waters came to Charlotte, NC a couple of years ago. I'm an avid home baker and can feel everything you must have felt throughout this process. Great job.

[Debra]

Bravo, well done! Makes me weak in the knees just thinking of having to bake for such an august audience. But, after all, you were the one who wrote about why homemade beats bakery bread!

[Lynn]

Your first time baking professionally and it's for Alice Waters? Wow! Beautiful loaves.

[Laura]

Congratulations on your wonderful achievement and thank you for sharing it with us. Wow.

[Denise Young]

Loved reading about this, Sam. I knew you would blow them away. I agree with everyone on this feed who insists that you take your baking to the next level now.

[Rebecca Gerendasy]

Great story, Sam - and beautiful loaves of bread you created! Bravo!

[Cindy Williams]

Incredible breads....I can see why they contacted you to do the breads.....amazing. Bravo!

[molly]

Beautiful Sam! Well done indeed. Love the picture of the crazed mass of starter.

[Deb]

Lovely loaves! What do you do to your oven to get such fabulous oven spring?

[Angela@spinachtiger]

You are now my hero. I would have freezed up, panicked, wiggled out of it. Fear would have taken over, AFTER the shock of Alice Waters wanting muy food. She is also my hero. I'm so happy for your "moment." You pulled it off spectacularly and you made amazing bread. I can smell it. I am so happy it was winter and you could get that cold basement. I was glued to this post because I was asked to teach Italian cooking at a gourmet shop and I froze. I would do a fantastic job, but I still froze.

[Carey]

How cool is that! Way to go Sam.