Jeff Hanselmann demonstrates handling of dough as he guides his students in doing their own. Photo Kendra Williams
By Kendra Williams
I knew making sourdough bread took time. What I didn’t know was just how many steps and techniques are involved in turning flour, water and a sourdough starter into a loaf of bread.
I found out Sunday afternoon during a three-hour sourdough class with Jeff Hanselmann, owner of Frannie’s Mini Donuts and better known locally as the Donut Man.
A few years ago, Jeff’s own sourdough education took him to Italy, where he spent six days training nine hours a day, practicing the techniques over and over. He also brought home a sourdough starter originating in Italy, which became part of our lesson.
The bakery and cafe, operated by the Hanselmann family, subsequently received an AMEX Shop Small business grant last spring. The grant has enabled them to launch bread-baking classes designed to teach people how to bake bread at home for their families, friends and neighbors. The free classes, which accommodate up to six people, are being offered on Sunday afternoons throughout September, with additional dates expected.
A loaf of sourdough can take 12 hours or more from start to finish, although much of that time involves waiting. Fitting the process into a three-hour class, therefore, required considerable preparation on Jeff’s part.
Jeff provides all the ingredients and tools and guides students through making their own dough, demonstrating techniques along the way. Since he bakes bread regularly, he also had dough at different stages ready to go. That allowed me to work through each part of the process without waiting hours for dough to rest for the appropriate amount of time. As one batch moved on to its next stage, another was ready for me to practice the next technique.
And there were a lot of techniques to learn. It took some concentration, but it was also a lot of fun.
Three hours later, I headed home with something I certainly didn’t have when I arrived: a much better understanding of sourdough, the knowledge to make my own, and two loaves in the refrigerator waiting for me to finish the process and bake the next morning.
I awoke the following day with anticipation and followed Jeff’s carefully written final steps and baking instructions that he’d demonstrated the day before. The results were well worth the effort. I stood for several minutes admiring two freshly baked loaves before finally cutting into one for breakfast. It tasted every bit as good as it looked. I may have found a new hobby.
Those interested in trying their hand at sourdough can sign up for one of Jeff’s bread-making classes through Eventbrite by going here.
For those who would rather leave the bread-making to Jeff, Frannie’s serves made-to-order breakfast sandwiches on his sourdough and other scratch-made breads, croissants and other goodies.
The post Making Sourdough Bread With the Donut Man appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
