Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Often, I am asked what is artisan bread. The definitions and interpretations of that single word are as varied as the people who use it. In an effort to convey what I think the term means, I'd like to present a series of posts
The following is a quote from Abram Faber, used with permission:
....Oh! Because it is the baker, not the loaf of bread, who is the artisan.
The skilled baker (artisan) crafts the loaf of bread.The loaf then stands on its own to the customer. If you call it Artisan Bread I suppose an artisan should have been involved in its creation.. But then again why not just call it bread, confidant that you the artisan baker, its parent if you will, did all you could for it and are sending it out to make its own way in the world.
As Lee just said, "I know plenty of educated people who do not know the difference between the words artisan and artesian... but they still go out of their way to buy good bread."
The BBGA promotes artisan baking because it promotes the idea that we learn and practice and use all the skills and knowledge available to us in order to make the highest quality product possible within whatever category of baking you are doing: pan bread, bagels, hearth breads, etc... IE: NOCOMPROMISES!
The BBGA promotes the idea of learning skills, but in the end, the skills that each of us use to bake our personal best possible loaf are as varied as:
And on and on like this...So my recommendation is that when you are proudly proclaiming yourself an artisan to your customers, take the time to explain whatever you do from this list or your own list of those skills you have mastered to consider yourself an artisan.
Give them this insight into why your breads take a little longer to produce, might cost a little more, and might not all look identical to each other. But in the end remember.. The bread is just a loaf of bread.. It has to stand on its own. We hope its finished qualities will announce that it was created by a skilled craftsperson...an artisan. But in my mind the loaf itself will never be artisan or artisinal. And I too am still not sure if this longer version: "artisinal" is even a necessary or real word. Microsoft dictionary doesn't list it. Anyway, Artisan does just fine.
Its just a fairly simple concept: someone who has taken the time to properly learn and execute their craft. I like the word Artisan.
We could call it corrupted by the big players and move on to
Craft baking,
Old world baking, or
Authentic baking
I agree with others who have said that if successful enough then those new phrases would simply be co-opted by the industry as well. So why not stick with the word in our mission statement and that some of us have even named our bakeries after and defend it by educating our customers about just what those SKILLS are that we ARTISANS employ.
Wouldn't it be great if just one educated customer walked into the Safeway (or grocery store) and asked the worker reheating a mass produced, tasteless, chemically flavored and preserved, par baked product there (and said), "hey, this is A LOT denser than a traditional French baguette, could you tell me its hydration?" Or, "you know at my local ARTISAN bakery they don't have to use preservatives because they lower the PH with plain old flour and water in a skillfully made pre-ferment and it makes it taste better too!"
You won't need Gov't regulation then. You will have employed your customers as the BS detectors and sent them out into the world to work for better bread on their and our behalves.
-abe faber
Sometimes the term Artisan is used arbitrarily and capriciously.
When you find good bread, please eat more of it!
JoEllen
The following is a quote from Abram Faber, used with permission:
....Oh! Because it is the baker, not the loaf of bread, who is the artisan.
The skilled baker (artisan) crafts the loaf of bread.The loaf then stands on its own to the customer. If you call it Artisan Bread I suppose an artisan should have been involved in its creation.. But then again why not just call it bread, confidant that you the artisan baker, its parent if you will, did all you could for it and are sending it out to make its own way in the world.
As Lee just said, "I know plenty of educated people who do not know the difference between the words artisan and artesian... but they still go out of their way to buy good bread."
The BBGA promotes artisan baking because it promotes the idea that we learn and practice and use all the skills and knowledge available to us in order to make the highest quality product possible within whatever category of baking you are doing: pan bread, bagels, hearth breads, etc... IE: NOCOMPROMISES!
The BBGA promotes the idea of learning skills, but in the end, the skills that each of us use to bake our personal best possible loaf are as varied as:
- The skills used to build and use wood fired ovens.
- The procurement and use of organic ingredients.
- Milling our own flour.
- How to bake 100 percent from scratch.
- The business skills required to run a shop profitable enough to live to bake another day that also respects its employees needs like health care, etc....
- Working with pre-ferments and long fermented doughs.
- Operating a bakery that recycles and otherwise considers and minimizes its negative impact on the environment.
- The skills required to work with high hydration doughs.
- Understanding the complexities of baking well with major ingredients other than wheat, such as rye, and spelt.
- The skills required to work with only flour, water, salt and leavening to create complex flavor.
And on and on like this...So my recommendation is that when you are proudly proclaiming yourself an artisan to your customers, take the time to explain whatever you do from this list or your own list of those skills you have mastered to consider yourself an artisan.
Give them this insight into why your breads take a little longer to produce, might cost a little more, and might not all look identical to each other. But in the end remember.. The bread is just a loaf of bread.. It has to stand on its own. We hope its finished qualities will announce that it was created by a skilled craftsperson...an artisan. But in my mind the loaf itself will never be artisan or artisinal. And I too am still not sure if this longer version: "artisinal" is even a necessary or real word. Microsoft dictionary doesn't list it. Anyway, Artisan does just fine.
Its just a fairly simple concept: someone who has taken the time to properly learn and execute their craft. I like the word Artisan.
We could call it corrupted by the big players and move on to
Craft baking,
Old world baking, or
Authentic baking
I agree with others who have said that if successful enough then those new phrases would simply be co-opted by the industry as well. So why not stick with the word in our mission statement and that some of us have even named our bakeries after and defend it by educating our customers about just what those SKILLS are that we ARTISANS employ.
Wouldn't it be great if just one educated customer walked into the Safeway (or grocery store) and asked the worker reheating a mass produced, tasteless, chemically flavored and preserved, par baked product there (and said), "hey, this is A LOT denser than a traditional French baguette, could you tell me its hydration?" Or, "you know at my local ARTISAN bakery they don't have to use preservatives because they lower the PH with plain old flour and water in a skillfully made pre-ferment and it makes it taste better too!"
You won't need Gov't regulation then. You will have employed your customers as the BS detectors and sent them out into the world to work for better bread on their and our behalves.
-abe faber
Sometimes the term Artisan is used arbitrarily and capriciously.
When you find good bread, please eat more of it!
JoEllen
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