Today, my featured guest blogger is Sissy from the blog Eat Bread with Me. I met Sissy a couple of months ago at the Masters Bread-Baking Class at the Asheville Bread Festival. During the masters’ class, we learned more about bread-baking through hands-on demonstrations, but we also had the opportunity to network with other bakers around the country.
I wanted to showcase Sissy’s bread because she is originally from Brazil and likes to incorporate unique flavor combinations in her loaves. The bread she created for this post includes a porridge made from tapioca, a popular ingredient in Brazil. It is a very interesting sourdough bread that I hope you will try.
A little bit about Sissy…
Before we learn how the bread is made, let’s find out a little bit about Sissy’s background.
How long have you been making bread and how did you get started?
I started baking bread when I was a teenager, back in Brazil, where I’m originally from. A good friend of mine gave me a potato bread recipe. I made it once and changed it many times. I remember making it with purple cabbage, just to change its color.
I took some time without making any bread and then started again, years later, when I got concerned about what was in my food. Then I decided to make everything I could, myself.
What do you like to do besides baking bread?
I like to take photos, travel, to be outdoors and to spend time with my husband and kids. I homeschool my kids. I also love to read and wish I had more time to do so. One of my dreams is to be a writer.
What are your favorite types of bread to make and why?
My favorite types of bread to make are the “no recipe ones”; in other words, the ones I create myself. I can never follow a bread recipe without changing it or making ingredient substitutions. I get distracted if I have to pick and choose a recipe from a book, so I just look through them to have ideas about ingredients and methods and that is all. Also, I incorporate levain in every recipe I make and that is a challenge, mostly when making enriched breads. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it is the challenge I’m after and that is what keeps baking bread interesting.
Do you use any special flours or grains in your bread?
I only use organic local flours. I like to play with different flavors, so I try adding new ingredients all the time. Sometimes I grab something left over from a meal and go for it.
Why did you start your blog?
I started my blog after sharing bread with friends. They would ask me for the recipe and I would not know. So I thought that a blog would be a great way to write them down and to keep it for my kids. Having a blog takes time, and sometimes it is very hard to keep posting. But in a way it makes me feel like a writer.
For more info about my blog go to http://eatbreadwithme.blogspot.com/
I am definitely going to try this…love tapioca and have been experimenting with grain shakers and sprouted flours. Have teff grain, do you think grinding in coffe grinder will do for converting to flour?
Hi Margot, adding the teff flour is optional. It will be pretty coarse if you grind it in a coffee grinder, but you could certainly try it.