Flour is the most useful and versatile pantry staple there is. It's cheap, it stores forever, and it is a crucial player in bit parts and starring roles across a wide range of recipes. While a number of ills (social, environmental, and otherwise) have been laid at flour's feet in recent years, and its price is rapidly adjusting upwards, there is nothing that can replace it, especially in its highest calling: bread.
While there are a wide range of things that fall under the name "bread," the two most versatile and cheap are rustic flatbreads (or "crackers") and the classic pain ordinaire that makes everyone who isn't French wish they were. The two chief components of either one are flour and water, which aren't interesting simply mixed together and eaten (feel free to trust me on that one.) Obviously, then, it must be pure technique that gives bread its magnificence.
The first part of technique is ingredient selection. To make bread, it seems obvious that you want bread flour. It is an important distinction to make, though. High-protein wheat is essential to the taste, texture, and nutrition of the final product. I use King Arthur bread flour, which is slightly more expensive than the alternative supermarket generic, but more than makes up for it in versatility. Plus, the company has strong ethical and environmental credentials, so hippies can't yell at you (as much.) Also, since it's high-gluten, it absorbs much more water, so the bread can be far lighter and crustier, while the carbohydrates also fully dissolve, so your bread won't taste like flour pudding.
Salt is the second essential component of all breads. Flour itself, no matter how you treat it, won't have strong flavor, so a good salt will help accent it appropriately. Whenever I say salt on this blog, I mean sea salt. It doesn't have to be fancy flaky sea salt, or Hawaiian red, or French grey, just some kind of sea salt. Iodized and kosher salts are too purified; they fit the chemical requirement for salt, but they have a sterile flavor, and they lack trace minerals that are important for health. So do yourself a favor and grab a big box that says "sea salt" next time you're stocking up.
Yeast is only essential for risen breads, but it is absolutely essential for them. There are many kinds, with many different attributes, but I use active dry, because it's cheap and easy to work with, and can be just as flavorful as fresh (which is expensive, finicky, and difficult to find.) Modern yeast is a tricky thing; it has been engineered to produce carbon dioxide as quickly as possible. While it needs no patience, it also doesn't give the yeastie beasties a chance to develop the interesting byproducts that give real flavor (to bread, beer, or any other fermented product.) So controlling (fancy word for "slowing") the rise is the important part; as long as the brand provides reliably live yeast, the flavor difference will be negligible.
Lastly, a quick word on water. It's best to work with purified water for bread, for flavor and biology reasons. For one, you don't want weird chlorine or metallic smells messing up your beautiful loaves; but bad water can also prevent yeast from rising, or flour from absorbing enough. Something run through a tap filter is plenty clean; just make sure to purify it.
So, we've got flour, salt, and yeast in the pantry over there. Tomorrow, we'll address rustic flatbreads, which are incredibly easy, quick, and very versatile as dietary staples or party food. Then we move to pizza dough, where my New York blood will trump my Chicago locale in a thin-crust blowout. Real, risen bread, like this:
will follow shortly thereafter; it's tricky to master, but well worth the effort.
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