bake - March 2019 - 9

BLENDING FLOURS
FOR FLAVOR

technical corner

"Basically, all of our breads are made from blends of flours,"
says Baker, who arrived on the San Francisco scene in 2005
after growing up in Vermont. "I blend for function, using as few
flours as possible. What I want to make is delicious bread in as
affordable a way as possible."
As of three years ago, all whole grain wheats coming into Josey
Baker Bread are grown in California; they work with prominent
local farmers like Fritz Durst, a sixth-generation grain farmer in
the Sacramento Valley.
Baker acknowledges the "inherent tension" in finding balance
in baking breads with freshly milled flours from local whole
grains that customers want to and can afford to buy. A $7 loaf
of bread is not exactly accessible to the masses, he recognizes.
And yet Baker understands the importance of both pushing the
craft and paying the bills at the same time. "It can take tricky
calculations to pull it off. I try to be scientific and pragmatic."
Jan Schat, a professional bread consultant who is a Coupe du
Monde de la Boulangerie champion, agrees that flavor is playing a more prominent role in the craft bread world of today.
There are more specialty ingredients (local grains) for bakers
to work with, and although some can get expensive, bakers
should be excited by the possibilities.
Schat has crafted breads that include a low percentage (10%)
of a single varietal whole grain flour with wonderful results.
He's done so in classics like French baguettes, resulting in "phe-

For Josey Baker, who runs the acclaimed Josey Baker Bread

nomenal" flavors.

in San Francisco, blending flours is now standard practice to
achieve the desired results of making breads with complex, de-

"Small additions of single varietals into liquid levains, or pool-

licious flavors that appeal to an ever-growing fan base of Bay

ish, bring out interesting flavors. I find that to be exciting,"

Area bread lovers.

Schat says. "To me, it's nice if you can transition people into
better flavor and nutrition. It's an exciting world of flavor that is

With the careful attention to detail of a veteran wine maker,

definitely worth pursuing."

Baker and his small team of bread bakers and pizza makers specialize in freshly milled whole grain sourdough as the backbone

Bread shoppers care about transparency, variety, growing prac-

of their operation at The Mill, a bakery cafe they helped open

tices and other factors, similar to the progressions that have

in 2013 with Four Barrel Coffee. They stone mill all flours in the

occurred in the craft beer, wine and coffee industries.

JOHN UNREIN

bakery daily and bake bread and pizza seven days a week.
"People care about that stuff more than ever," Baker says. "I'll be
One of the shining stars is a bread called Red, White + Rye,

curious to see what happens over the next 5 to 10 years. We care

which is made with red wheat and white wheat flours and a

about what has value to the customer. You have to be making

small percentage of whole rye flour. The 1½ pound loaves sell

something that people want to eat - for all of these values to

for $6.99 apiece.

factor in. What's happening now in bread is really remarkable."
bakemag.com | MAR 2019 > 09

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bake - March 2019

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