The Art of Baking Artisan Bread - Tools of the Trade

I've read several articles in the last few months saying that homemade bread is better than store-bought. I agree with that, to a certain extent. I also read, as I've read on one of my favorite bread sites, it is so easy to make. I do beg to differ, because, even with the best bread machine, so many variables go into making bread. It does not take much to ruin a loaf of bread. I can say that because I've tried it with a bread machine, with a mixer using kneading hooks, and kneading by hand in many areas of the United States and then some. I have tried it at sea level on both coasts of the United States, the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, and, now, in the Rockies at over 6,300 feet. Trust me. I have the pictures to prove it. You don't have to taste them to know that tasting them would have been a bad experience. The pictures say it all.

However, the joy of biting into a piece of bread you baked yourself is incomparable. Sure, it can be a headache, but the end result is worth it.

Before you start, think about this: If you don't like a mess, maybe bread baking is not for you. You will get flour on the floor, on every surface within reaching distance and then some, on your clothes, and in your hair, on your hair, and anywhere else you need to scratch. Clean up is not necessarily an easy or fun thing, but the end result, that being the bread you baked yourself, is worth the effort and the mess.

There are dozens of tools of the trade. Some you can must buy, some you can improvise at home. Here are some that you must have, should have, and might want to have: