Baking Bread

One thing that quite a few people have taken up in 2020 is sourdough bread and baking. I actually started baking bread quite a few years ago, when through a couple life changes I got extra time back on weekends. It took me a couple months or so to find a good bread recipe for the high altitude here in Colorado, but once I found it, I took to it with a vengeance. 

It’s not a sourdough. Let me be clear on that. I have tried doing sourdough. Like my gardening efforts, sourdough does not thrive for me. I get the occasional good loaf, but not much beyond that. And the bar is just too high for me. The bar being Boudin’s sourdough bread out of San Francisco. Anything less and it is just not worth the calories. 

So I have stuck with the country French recipe that I learned. And most of the time I follow the recipe and make your traditional, no-nonsense, large or small baguettes of a nice crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside simple French bread. 

It's not difficult. Sugar, yeast, salt, flour, and water. That's all it takes.

The magic is not in the ingredients, it's what you do with the ingredients that makes it turn into a delicious vessel for butter. (And, yes, as much as I love bread, I love butter more. And bread is just a way to enjoy butter.)

In the last couple years or so, I have improvised on the recipe here and there. Usually to good results. But not always. Sometimes it turned out delicious. Sometimes it turned out edible, but not such a good idea. And occasionally, it turned out to be good building materials, but not at all edible.  

In the process, I learned what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t work.  For example, a little plain yogurt makes it a bit chewier and moister. A bit of vanilla is a bad idea. And whole wheat--mix it up a little with white flour or the end result will be a dog biscuit that even the most loyal dog will tuck their tail and run away from.

What's this got to do with market research? I have watched as the DIY movement has taken off in our industry as software platforms have made doing a survey more accessible to the masses. For those who have learned research basics and know how to write a good question, this has been a great leveling of the playing field. And for research departments, I totally get the idea of bringing much of the research process in-house. But for the person who thinks that a survey is simply turning on a switch (I have been told this by clients before--literally), understand that it takes practice to get to a point where you can do a survey with good results. You need to learn the rules. And you need to get really good at it before you try to riff outside the rules. So if you are going to insist on doing-it-yourself, at least get some help from someone who knows the basics.

PS: If you want the recipe for the bread, direct message me. Or if you want help getting your DIY efforts off the ground, the same.

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I have been involved in the market research field, as a corporate-side research manager, a bulletin board platform co-founder, and then a research agency owner for over 35 years now. I have learned a thing or two about doing research better. My intent with these articles is to share practical and thought provoking ideas to elevate your research game, whether you are the person conducting the research or the person using it to make better decisions. (Or if you wear both hats!) 

Twitter: @TripleScoopPMR