Saint Paul Bread Club
We knead to bake!
Other Links:
Bread Baker Biography – Marlin Pierson (4/11/2008)
Who are you?
Marlin Pierson.
How long have you been baking bread?
I started baking bread in October of 2006.
Who taught you how to bake bread?
I learned from multiple sources. Reading books, my mother-in-law, my wife, a close friend and the St Paul Bread Club.
When did you start baking bread at home?
After meeting Klecko at the Minnesota State fair in 2006.
What’s your favorite bread to bake?
Cracked wheat and buttermilk dinner rolls and challah.
What bread do you make most often?
Cracked wheat and buttermilk dinner rolls.
Where do you get your bread recipes?
My mother-in-law, bread books Crust and Crumb, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Bread, or off the internet.
How do you mix your dough?
With a stand mixer.
How do you proof your dough?
In the oven slightly warmed with the oven light on to maintain the warmth.
How do you bake your bread?
I bake the bread in our home oven with steam.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction in baking bread?
I like the better flavor and texture of the homemade bread.
What was the most difficult bread you ever made and was it worth the effort?
Craisin Pecan Sourdough bread.
What was the most unusual bread you ever made?
Sprouted grains bread.
What was the most unusual ingredient you ever used in making bread?
Sprouted grains flour.
What was the simplest bread you ever made?
Everyday white bread.
What’s your favorite flour?
Dakota Mills bread flour.
What’s your favorite yeast?
Bulk active dry yeast from Mississippi Market.
Do you bake with sourdough?
Yes, I have a rye sourdough starter.
What kind of oven do you use? Do you use baking stones or water pans?
We have a KitchenAid electric double oven. I have tile on the lowest shelf in the oven. I spray water on the sides of the oven when the bread is first put in the oven.
What’s your favorite tool for making bread?
Instant read digital Thermometer and digital scale. By weighing the ingredients I an able to get consistent results every time. I use the instant read thermometer so I don’t overbake the bread.
What kind of bread pans do you have?
I use 1 1/4 lb. bread pans and cookie sheets.
What shape loaves do you make?
Braided, sandwich loaves, and batard.
What’s the biggest batch of bread that you have made at home?
Eight pounds of dough.
Do you bake bread year round?
Yes.
If you buy bread, where do you buy it?
I purchase sprouted grain bread from Cub Foods or Mississippi Market
What’s your favorite bread book?
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Crust and Crumb by Peter Reinhart.
What is the bread book you would recommend to beginners?
Crust and Crumb by Peter Reinhart.
How did you find out about the Bread Club?
I visited the Creative Activities Building at the Minnesota State Fair and listened to Klecko speak about the club.
What was your first Bread Club meeting?
Fall of 2006.
What do you like about the Bread Club?
I get to listen to other individuals explain tips and trick to making bread.
What have you learned from the Bread Club?
The bread club can teach you all about bread baking. Everyone is very interested in having the members succeed at baking bread.