面包烘焙：讓我不再抓狂

當我還是初學者時，烤面包的過程常常伴隨著等待的痛苦和焦慮。就為了烤出一塊還算不錯的面包，我常常需要搭上一整天的功夫，其他任何事都不能做！直到某一天，我受到一本烘焙指南的“點化”，頓悟了烘焙的秘訣。自那時起，我終于不用再為烤面包而抓狂了。

It took me a long time to get around to1） baking a loaf of bread， and when I finally did， I stayed home all day to do it. It seemed such a mysterious and intimidating process. What was “kneading2）” and how did you do it？ What happened if the bread didn’t rise3）？ If it rose too much？ Suppose it got in the way of a draft4）？ The recipes I read assumed a familiarity I did not possess， but I figured it couldn’t be all that difficult since people had been baking bread since man began. But to put me at my ease， I called in a more experienced friend to help me.

One gloomy winter day， we set about to bake. My friend insisted we do something called “setting the sponge”—that is， mixing up a little sugar and some of the flour with the yeast and water to get the yeast started. Then we sat around drinking coffee till the sponge got frothy5）. When the rest of the flour was added， my friend showed me how to knead by putting the dough on a floured surface， pushing it away from her， folding it over and pushing it away again， each time giving it a quarter turn. Very soon the dough had the springy， soft texture of a baby’s bottom. I was very impressed.

We rolled the dough in soft butter and put it in a warm bowl， wrapped in a warm towel， in a warm place to rise， and while we waited we had elevenses6）.

About an hour or so later， we peeked under the towel and I learned what the term “doubled in bulk” means. The dough had grown to twice its size. The next thing to do was to “punch it down.” I found it very satisfying to give that puffy， balloon-like dough a good smack， which flattened it down at once. Then， as instructed， I kneaded it again. This time it was springier and seemed to come back at me. Again the dough was rolled in butter and put in a warm place， all dressed up in its protective snowsuit.

“Let’s go out，” I said.

“Oh， no，” my friend said. “It isn’t worth it. We’d have to turn around and come right back anyway.”

By this time I began to feel fidgety7）.

“How much longer will this take？” I said.

“About another forty minutes to rise， and about an hour to bake，” she said. “Let’s have lunch.”

We had lunch and then we played a desultory8） game of Scrabble9）， punctuated10） by punching the dough down again， forming it into loaves and slipping it into buttered loaf pans. We sat around a little while it rose a bit more， and then we baked it.

The result was a perfectly nice loaf of bread， but after spending an entire day in its service， I expected something a little more heroic.

Then I read a book that changed my life： English Bread and Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth David. I read it as if it were a novel： I took it to bed with me and stayed up late to finish it. I did read it as a house-bound person reads a travel book since I was now the mother of an eighteen-month-old daughter and I did not see how I could meet the demands of a loaf of bread and pay attention to a child at the same time.

But as I read I came across the interesting fact that bread dough will rise slowly and well at room temperature， which， considering the temperatures of most American houses， means a lukewarm11） place. If left to rise for a long time， only a small quantity of yeast is necessary. The process is rather like marination12）， and develops the taste of wheat （rather than the taste of yeast）.

And then I read this liberating sentence：

It’s really a question of arranging matters so that the dough suits your time table rather than the other way around.

Why， you could have knocked me over with a pastry brush13）！ This meant that I could mix up the bread in the home， leave it to rise and actually go away！ I could come home when I wanted， punch the dough down， give it a short second rise and bake it during naptime. The idea that bread baking was something that would accommodate itself to me was downright thrilling.

The next morning I embarked on a Bloomer loaf—a whole-wheat baguette-shaped bread.

Unlike many recipes this one had no setting of the sponge and no proofing14） of the yeast with sugar. The ingredients were flour， water， yeast， salt and a little milk.

Most recipes tell you to coat the dough with butter or oil （to keep it from sticking to the bowl）. This recipe asked you to roll it in flour， which in my opinion gives a better crust15）. It is baked on a floured rather than a greased baking sheet16）.

And of course most recipes state that bread dough is fussy17） and must be treated with extreme care， put in a warm place and wrapped up tight. This recipe called for a warm bowl， a towel and a cool place.

I did as I was instructed， put the bowl on my dining room table， and then my daughter and I went about our business.

Three hours later we returned. I punched the dough down and gave it a second kneading， gave my daughter her lunch and put her in for her nap. An hour before she woke up， I formed the loaf， slashed the top with four diagonal18） cuts， brushed it with water and set it in the oven.

The result was absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe I had baked such a perfect loaf of bread： a dark brown crust， a beautiful smell. I let it cool down and when I cut it， it had air holes just like a loaf from a French bakery. Furthermore， it was delicious. Everyone loved it， and I assumed it was beginner’s luck.

It was not， for I have now made this bread over and over， with varying proportions of white to whole-wheat flour. I have added wheat germ or corn germ， made it with all water and no milk， let it rise all day， half a day， with a short first rise or a short second one. One afternoon I was about to leave the house when I realized that the second rising was probably over and I had forgotten about baking， so I punched the dough down again and let it rise a third time， and the resulting loaf was one dinner guests tore apart with their hands. The second best thing about this bread （the first is its taste） is that， unlike most things in life， it adjusts to you.

過了好久我才抽出時間來自己烤面包，當我終于騰出空兒來烤的時候，我為此在家耗了一整天。面包的制作過程看上去如此神秘而令人生畏。什么叫“揉面”？怎么揉？要是面包沒發起來會怎樣？發過頭了又該如何是好？假如它被過堂風吹了怎么辦？我看的那些配方都假定讀者是精通廚藝之人，我卻不是。但是我想，既然人類自古以來就會烤面包，那應該也不會太難。不過，為了讓自己安心，我還是叫了一位更有經驗的朋友來幫忙。

一個陰沉的冬日，我們開始烤面包。朋友堅持要先發一個“海綿酵頭”—也就是將少許糖、部分面粉與水和酵母和勻，讓酵母開始發酵。之后，我們就閑坐著喝咖啡，直到酵頭里起了很多泡沫。朋友將余下的面粉加入酵頭，然后向我演示如何揉面：將面團放在撒了散粉的面板上，向外推揉，再卷回來，然后再向外推揉，每揉一次都將面團轉1/4周。很快，面團的質地就變得像嬰兒的屁屁一樣柔軟且富有彈性。這令我大為驚嘆。

我們把面團裹上軟化的黃油，然后將其放入一個溫熱的碗中，用一塊溫熱的毛巾蓋上，再把碗放到一處溫暖的地方讓面團發起來。等待期間，我們享用了午前茶點。

大約過了一個鐘頭，我們朝毛巾下面偷偷看了一眼，這下我可知道“體積增加一倍”是什么意思了。面團大小漲至原先的兩倍。接下來要做的是“把它拍扁”。我發現給這個脹鼓鼓的像個氣球似的面團來一記猛拳讓人很有滿足感，拍打后面團立刻癟了下來。接著，我按朋友的指示又揉了一遍。這一次，面團更有彈性，似乎能反彈回來。揉好之后，面團被再次裹上黃油，披上御寒的毛巾，然后被放到一個暖和的地方。

“咱們出去吧。”我說。

“哦，不，”朋友說，“那樣劃不來。反正就算出去了，咱們也得馬上掉頭回來。”

這時，我開始感到不耐煩了。

“這還要花多長時間？”我問。

“還得再發40分鐘左右，之后大約要烤一個小時，”她說，“咱們吃午飯吧。”

我們吃過午飯，又漫不經心地玩了會兒拼字游戲，其間幾次起身，去把面團再次拍扁，整形成條，然后把它放在涂過黃油的面包烤盤上。我們又百無聊賴地坐了一會兒，等面團發得更大一些，之后就開始烤了。

最終“出爐”的面包堪稱完美。然而，在為此忙活了一整天之后，我期待的是更加了不起的成果。

后來，我讀到了一本書，它改變了我的生活。這本書叫《英式面包和酵母烹飪法》，作者是伊麗莎白·戴維。我讀這本書就像讀小說：我帶著它上床，熬夜把它看完。我讀這本書，的確像是一個被困在家里的人讀旅游書籍，因為我現在是一個18個月大的小女孩的媽媽，我不知道自己怎樣才能同時兼顧烤面包和照看孩子。

但讀著讀著，我發現了一個有趣的事實：烤面包的面團在室溫下也能慢慢發好。考慮到大多數美國家庭的室內溫度，這意味著把面團放在一個稍微溫暖的地方就行。如果發酵時間長的話，只需放少量酵母即可。這個過程有點像腌漬，將小麥的味道（而不是酵母的味道）發揮出來。

接下來，我就讀到了這句令我如釋重負的話：

這其實是一個如何安排的問題，要讓面團符合你的時間安排，而不是反過來。

哇哦，這可真是令我大吃一驚！這意味著我可以在家把面和好，放在那兒讓它自己發酵，然后真的就可以走人！我可以在自己想回家的時候回家，把面團拍扁，讓它在短時間內二次發酵，然后趁午睡時把它烤好。烤面包是一件可以隨我而變的事，這個想法可真是太令人興奮了。

第二天早上，我開始做布魯姆面包—一種長棍形全麥面包。

和許多配方不同，這份配方不要求做海綿酵頭，也沒說要放糖好讓酵母發泡起效。用料是面粉、水、酵母、鹽和少量牛奶。

大多數配方都會叫你在面團表面裹上黃油或其他食用油（以免面團粘在碗上）。這個配方則讓你在面團上裹一層面粉，我認為這樣烤出來的面包外皮更脆。烤盤上也是撒面粉而不是刷油。

當然，大多數配方都宣稱做面包的面團很難伺候，必須特別小心對待，得把它裹得嚴嚴實實的，放置在一個溫暖的地方。而這份配方要求的則是一個溫熱的碗、一塊毛巾和一個涼爽的地方。

我按照要求操作，把碗放在飯廳的桌上，然后就跟女兒去忙我們自己的事去了。

三個小時后，我們回來了。我把面團拍扁，又揉了一次，然后喂女兒吃午飯，哄她午睡。在她睡醒前一個小時，我給面團整形，在頂部交叉劃了四刀，刷了層水，然后就把它放進烤箱了。

結果令人興奮無比。我不敢相信自己居然烤出了如此完美的面包：它有著深褐色的外皮，香氣撲鼻。待它稍微冷卻之后，我把它切開，里面的氣孔就跟從法式面包房買回來的面包一樣。而且，它很美味。大家都愛吃，而我以為這是初學者運氣好。

不過并非如此，因為如今我已經做過很多次這個面包，白面粉和全麥面粉的各種配比都用過。我往里面加過麥芽或玉米胚芽，完全用水和面，不加牛奶，讓面團發過一整天，也發過半天，有時讓一次發酵的時間短點，有時讓二次發酵的時間短點。一天下午，我正要出門，忽然意識到二次發酵大概已經完成了，而我早忘了烤面包這件事，于是我把面團再次拍扁，讓它三次發酵，結果烤出來的面包讓前來用餐的客人們用手掰著就能吃（譯注：布魯姆面包的質地與法棍類似，較硬，通常要用刀切著吃）。這種面包的第二大好處是（第一大好處是味道好），和生活中的大多數事情不同，它會遷就你的時間安排。

1.get around to：抽出時間來做（或考慮）

2.knead [ni?d] vt. 揉，捏（面團或其他食物）

3.rise [ra?z] vi. （面團、面包等）發酵

4.draft [drɑ?ft] n.〈美〉（房間、煙囪等處的）通風氣流（= draught）

5.frothy [?fr?θi] adj. 起泡沫的；表面多泡沫的

6.elevenses [??lev（?）nz?z] n. （上午11點左右的）午前茶點

7.fidgety [?f?d??ti] adj. 坐立不安的；煩躁的

8.desultory [?des（?）lt（?）ri] adj. 漫不經心的

9.Scrabble：縱橫拼字，一種用字母牌在方格盤上拼字的游戲，可供2～4人玩。

10.punctuate [?p??kt?ue?t] vt. 不時打斷

11.lukewarm [?lu?k?w??（r）m] adj. 微溫的，微熱的，不冷不熱的

12.marination [?m?r?ne??（?）n] n. 用腌汁浸泡；腌泡

13.此處套用了習語“knock sb. over with a feather”，意為“使某人十分驚詫”。這里將feather改成pastry brush （生面團）是為了符合語境。

14.proof [pru?f] vt. （面團、面糊等）發酵，起泡

15.crust [kr?st] n. 面包皮；（餡餅的）酥皮

16.baking sheet：（烤箱的）托盤

17.fussy [?f?si] adj. 難以取悅的

18.diagonal [da???ɡ?n（?）l] adj. 斜的；對角的