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Stick a thermometer in my bread?
Really? Stick a thermometer in the bottom of my bread to see if it's done? Listening for a hollow sound doesn't seem to work too well for me. Do I just need more experience? | I've baked for more than 10 years now ...
... and I never used the "thump the bottom" method. You may need more experience, but until then, there's nothing wrong with using a thermometer while you build said experience. |
San Francisco flour Co-op
I posted this as a reply to another thread but thought it was better as a separate topic.Basically im a home baker in SF and been wanting to buy 50lb bags of flour from central milling or giustos as the price per pound is less than half the cost. Problem is i want to buy 2 or 3 different flour... | SF Flour Coop
Hi. Would really like to discuss this project with you. Have purchased from Central Milling quite a bit but the 50# bags are a problem. And the 5 pound bags are not enough and cost a lotmore.I live in central Oakland, recently transplanted from Marin. I am mobile however. Cell is 4153099975 if you wa... |
Giusto's Specialty Foods
Hello out there!,I'm curious as to what has happened to Giusto's Specialty Foods. I've been a fan of this company for many years and have recommended them to countless bakers and chefs some of who are frequently on Food Network and The Cooking Channel. Rumors abound that the company has sold ou... | Central Milling Flour
I also seem to recall reading that the Guisto family is no longer involved with Guisto Specialty Foods. Keith Guisto (somehow related to the original Guisto family) Baking Supply in Petaluma sells Central Milling flours in a retail shop opened on the premises last year. You can get all types of f... |
A Bread Symphony
... or, the Bread Ballet? Nice choreography, ChainBaker :)The beauty of breadmaking. - YouTubeMerry Christmas!dw | Fun!
Thanks for the link, it struck just the right note! Merry Christmas to you, too. |
Rising
My bread rises beautifully but as soon as it goes in the oven it drops! does anyone know why and how I can stop this please? | We need more information
We need more information about your bread to help you. Please provide a recipe and your methods. It could be that you are over proving the bread, or that it needs to be punched down and have a second rise, or it needs a cold final prove in the fridge, there could be a lack of gluten development... |
Freezing Flour?
We recently had an infestation of pantry moths. After weeks of cleaning and discarding many infested containers, we finally got rid of them. One preventative measure from several sources on the net recommends freezing containers of cereal grains (dry cereal, rice, oatmeal, etc) for a couple of days im... | Freezing flour
I keep all my whole grain flours plus raw seeds and nuts in the freezer. Also consider using pheromone traps to monitor and control pantry moths. I particularly like Pro-Pest brand pantry moth traps.Paul |
Site Issues? Maybe?
Morning folks. For the past 4 days I've been having issues where no matter what browser I use (normally Chrome), I am losing connection. Wifi is still active, but just the browsers. I've gone through everything I can find info on through the net, including uninstalling and reinstalling Chrome. I've ... | This site is the only one
This site is the only one that causes me problems also. However it is related to unclicked-on ads taking over my iPhone. No problems with Safari on the MacBook, just with the iPhone. Photos also are a problem, they display 90 degrees rotated and I am not aware of a way using this site's to... |
What happened to "The Rye Baker" website?
I tried going to Stan Ginsberg's www.nybakers.com and www.theryebaker.com websites tonight but both websites are not available. I sent a message to Stan (Elagins) and await his reply but wondered if the community has any news? I do hope all is well. | All is well. My ISP's servers
All is well. My ISP's servers went down earlier today and they haven't come back up yet. No worries. |
New Year's resolution
I really, really must get rid of all the different starters I've started (and abandoned or neglected) over the last year. I'm running out of containers, for one thing, and I only ever use one or two of them regularly.That said, I'm sure I'll start a whole bunch more over the coming year. :)How man... | I was maintaining four
because, what the heck, it's a hobby. But for the past year I'm down to two: a 60% rye starter and a 75% mixed flour always-ready-to-use levain. Everything that I make comes off one of these two. In the sense of mixing an impure levain for a dough, when I build a levain that is officially all ... |
I'm Back ....... From Exile
A self-imposed exile actually.First, belated Merry Christmas to everyone, and may your New Year bring health, happiness and prosperity, not to mention lots of bread!!!!. OK, back to my exile. I was posting a lot here, and baking a lot. Many will give the advice "Pick a bread or a recipe, wor... | Welcome back!
I admire your discipline! It has definitely paid off! Those loaves are gorgeous!I am having too much fun trying different combos to stick to one bread only although I am sticking to a sort of base recipe and change up the ingredients. I am looking forward to you posts. |
What's the secret to that incredibly flavorful Kaiser roll crust?
I've recently fallen in love with a medium sized Kaiser roll found at my local Sam's Club. These rolls remind me of the exquisitely fresh hard rolls that my Mom would occasionally buy from the bakery truck that delivered our sandwich bread three times a... | Kaiser recipe
Anyone tried this recipe?http://changeabletable.com/Changeable_Table/Empty_Nest:_Cooking_for_two_%28or_fewer%29/Entries/2010/6/9_Kaiser_Rolls.html |
Light airy sourdough ?
HI Bakers I have a question about the density / lightness of sourdough.I was making a wholewheat recipe and it called for 500g of starter for 1000g or flour. I only had 250g starter so i added 2g of instant yeast to compensate. The dough rose beautifully and the final loaf was exactly what i’m lo... | hybrid
It is not wrong to mix sourdough and commercial yeast. It is just different. There is nothing wrong with a hybrid dough. The flavor of the sourdough might not come out as much, so some people never do it. As to light and airy, usually that comes from more fermentation. But I will let others address that. |
Rapid rise instant yeast
Sorry people for all the questions. I have never baked before until recently. Somewhere on the King Arthur website, while reading some reviews, I noticed someone talking about NOT to use rapid rise instant yeast. I can't find it again. However, my wife purchased some of that yeast a couple of w... | No problem with instant yeast
Its use is supported in Hamelman's and Reinhart's books, just to name two authorities. Each of them gives conversion factors from one type of yeast to the others. |
Internal temperature or recipe time?
During my research on the above subject, I have found many opinions on the subject. Some say internal temperature when bread baking, while others say follow the recipe times. What are your suggestions on the correct way to tell when bread is done? | I have no thermometer to test the internal temp
So I follow baking times and if it looks like it needs more time then I give it extra time till the crust is a nice caramel colour and it sounds hollow if you tap the bottom.If the dough is lower hydration then it needs less time. The higher the hydration the more time it... |
Bakery Heat & Air
Hi Folks, We are in the midst of building our small bakery, and we are at a point where we need to decide on heat & air. Because of the unique nature of bakeries, we have not been able to locate a great deal of local "experience" to help us understand the advantages/disadvantages of certain systems. ... | another resource
while there are definitely some professionals that contribute to this forum, you might get answers from people in the know at the Bread Baker's Guild of America forums.http://www.bbga.org/though some knowledgeable person may still chime in.good luck! i hope to open a small bakery someday myself in a f... |
Diastatic malt
Diastatic maltQuery.To make it at home you sprout wheat or barley seeds until the germ is as long as the seed itself; then dry and grind them.I wonder if the same procedure can be used with sprouted seeds one can buy at supermarkets. | Diastatic malt
In theory, you could purchase barley sprouts, dry and mill them. I do not see barley sprouts around here. And, you want to dry and mill soon after they sprout. The folks that watch their barley sprouts that closely, are folks making malt.I have made my own malt, but I find it easier to just buy at the lo... |
Honey vs sugar
I would like to start using honey in place of sugar in baking, However, with the many variations in the amount to use that I have heard, what are your opinions? Opinions on organic honey or sugar are also welcome and what is raw honey? | Raw honey hasn't been
Raw honey hasn't been pasteurized. In most baking recipes folks add and subtract the amount of sugar to personal taste anyway so unless the exact amount of sugar is essential to a successful outcome I would experiment. Lot of honey out there that has never been near a bee, so I would avoid Chin... |
Pure maple syrup vs sugar
I am going to start using unfiltered honey in my baking to replace the refined sugar. Would you be able to use maple syrup and in what ratios if that is possible? | Sure, why not?
After all it's mostly sugar - 2/3 sugar and 1/3 water, so you would need to use 50% more of it and adjust water accordingly. |
cookie size
How do bakeries make those large flat looking cookies. I have purchased oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies from a couple of bakeries, that are about 4 inches in diameter by about 1/8 inches thick. How do they do it? So many questions from a learning disabled beginner and you people are so generous w... | I love soft oatmeal cookies
With raisins and chocolate chips. I know what you mean. Delicious.While I have never made them here is a recipe from a quick google search. Looks good from this side of the computer http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-the-best-chewy-oatmeal-cookies-230151 |
yeast proofing
I'm reading and hearing about what temperature water should be for yeast proofing. Some have told me 110-120, while others suggest 120-130. If you were to use one temperature vs the other, would it make an appreciable amount of difference in the end result? Thanks y'all. | Depends on type of yeast
and whether you use °F or °C. I would think that second temp group is almost killed off so it would be much slower if at all.http://www.thefreshloaf.com/faqs/baking/yeast |
Pfeffernusse Recipe?
Just wondering if anyone might have a recipe for the type of pfeffernusse (German "pepper nut" cookies) that are rolled out into pencil-sized ropes, cute into small "nuts" and baked. These are not the cookies rolled in powdered sugar. I have misplaced my recipe, but if memory serves it included ... | Try this thread
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/26055/needed-recipe-german-pfeffernusse-cookiesYou could also try the website of Mennonitr Girls Can Cook. http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/ |
measuring ingredience
I have done much research on how to measure ingredients for baking. Some people have suggested measuring by cup or using teaspoon or tablespoon. On the other hand, some have suggested measuring according to weight. While making bread this morning, I put flour in a 1 cup and leveled off. I then pou... | You did not really put flour
You did not really put flour directly on the scale, did you? Digital scale will have a tare button which allows you to cancel out the weight of the bowl you weigh the flour in.4.25 oz is 120 gram, and the only place I know where a cup of flour weighs 120 g. is deranged minds of King Arthur... |
Chemical Composition of Unglazed Clay Flower Pots to be used like a La Cloche?????
Reading through old posts I ran across a Cloche type of baking lid that someone made using a regular unglazed flower pot. While reading through the comments I found quite a few contradicting statements about the safety of using clay pot... | The clay flower pots are much
The clay flower pots are much the same as terracotta pots and sculpture. This link may help. The clay used is almost always lead free. After you have baked fat into the clay I don't believe that bread could leach anything out. Running them through a self cleaning oven cycle would renew the... |
Advice needed
My wife and I recently purchased a bread machine and weren't happy with results of our first foray into bread baking. Therefore, we returned it and decided to try making bread with a Kitchenaid stand mixer. She told me that bread making was my responsibility. I have never used a mixer, let alone tried m... | Questions
There are a lot of steps in bread making, so it would not be easy to summarize how to do it. Depending on how you learn best, there are books, online articles and forums (especially here) that answer any question you could have. There are countless videos for every step in the process.Like any mastery, it t... |
Paddle or hook
When using a stand mixer for sandwich bread, would I use the paddle first to mix ingredients or use the hook? | Either
I typically just use the hook, but if you want to, you can start with the paddle for incorporating about the first half of the flour, and then switch to the hook to finish the job. |
Advice needed
My wife and I recently purchased a bread machine and weren't happy with results of our first foray into bread baking. Therefore, we returned it and decided to try making bread with a Kitchenaid stand mixer. She told me that bread making was my responsibility. I have never used a mixer, let alone tried m... | Start simple
Welcome to this site! You will find a LOT of advice here and I would treat it like advice you get from everyone on how to raise kids or conduct your life. Say "Thanks" and use what works and discard the rest. Advice can range from simple to very complex. Again, use what works for you as you have a few lear... |
Bread on a deserted island
Which one, of the breads you make, would you take with you to a deserted island? Only one (1) choice please.My selection: Rustic Bread. From “Bread- A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes - Jeffrey Hamelman p.107-108” | Interesting question
Thinking about this from a different angle i'm going to have to go with a bread that goes well with fish. After all it is a desert island and that might be all there is to eat. Providing i'm able to catch some. Still a difficult choice but Broa de Milho would be a good contender. |
Olive Oil vs Butter - Resulting Bread color
Hi, New User specifically to ask on this topic. I have searched the internet (somewhat diligently) trying to find an answer, but have not - so i am hoping this forum can help me.I have a relatively simple bread machine recipe that i have evolved from a online recipe starting... | The milk solids in butter
The milk solids in butter will change things a bit. In addition, butter is solid at room temperature, and oil is not. This will change the crumb. As to the color change, are you using extra virgin? |
Sesame pita...or not?
Hello,I'm proofing sourdough pita as we speak.2 cups flour 50:50 wholewheat to bread flour2 tbsp oil4oz starter~200ml waterIf I knead sesame seeds in prior to letting it rest and baking, will the seeds mess around with the puff? As in, will I still be able to split the pita in half easily and stuf... | Sesames on the outside do wonders
If my memory serves me correctly in the final shaping I would have sesame seeds not flour on the board when I rolled them out. They came out fabulously ! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.Happy Baking! |
Cottage Baker Farmers Market Questions
I was recently licensed as a Cottage Baker. I recently asked another question and I received great advice. I am very small probably for many tell me not worth it I am trying to see if it is worth it all. I do about 4-5 artisan breads but I also do enriched yeast breads and quick s... | Small Markets..
It's all about timing and what you can bake in-time. If the market starts at 10am, and you need to get there by 9:30 to setup, then ... You might be looking at 9am for the last bread out of the oven. Allow 45 minutes between oven loads and work backwards from there.You might be able to get away with bak... |
Is it safe to heat active dry yeast to make a substitute for nutritional yeast?
Nutritional Yeast isn't available at my location so i'm looking for alternatives.While searching Seasoned Advice i've found this question How can I make nutritional yeast?. But i don't want exactly to grow nutritional yeast. It's too diffic... | 1) killing yeast?
Use boiling water, that should do it. 2) still safe to eat? Yes but remember the golden rule... Too much of anything is not a good thing. Check out the purine content of dead yeast and compare to other foods. A little is fine but I wouldn't go replacing my daily protein quota with yeast protei... |
Salt & Baker's Percentages
Quite often I see reference to people using 1.8-2.0% for salt.Now, if my understanding is right, this is a weight equal to 1.8-2.0% of the total flour in the recipe, including starter (if making sourdough).When I do this, I find the salt overwhelming in the flavour of the bread, so I stick wi... | Try bulk fermenting longer
If your oven spring is too much, try bulk fermenting longer. Must be a taste thing. I regularly bake with 9g salt and 450g total flour weight. Doesn't taste salty to me, but that's just my taste. I normally bake with whole wheat, whole spelt and whole rye, all of which have fairly pronoun... |
Volcanic Bread
Has anyone tried baking volcanic bread at hoe? Read this story to see what I mean.http://extra.cr/2e69Mz7 | 2 cups of sugar! it's Cake!
My goodness that's sweet! But looks like it could be fun baking in hot sand. Bet they bake other food too in the sand, nature's "Crock pot." |
Converting bread machine bread recipe to rolls
I want to convert this recipe to dinner rolls. I've actually done it before, but I can't remember how!I think I'd mix the ingredients together, knead, let it rise, make into 2 oz rolls, let them rise individually, and then bake, but how long should each rise be and how lon... | Honey whole wheat rolls
Recipe is from More Bread Machine Magic by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway:Butter Milk - 1cupOil - 3 tablespoonsHoney - 3 tablespoonsSalt - 1 teaspoonWW flour - 2 cupsAP flour - 1 cupInstant yeast - 1.5 teaspoonsAdd the ingredients to the pan. Run the machine on the dough cycle. When it is finishe... |
Removing odour from jar lids
I bought several small jars containing prepared garlic, chilli, ginger, mint etc, a while ago. These jars are very stylish and I thought they would come in handy for keeping yeast, salt, seeds, etc. I have washed the jars but cannot get rid of the strong smells from the lids. I've tried was... | Try stainless
Brushed SS surface even better. Use a SS bowl and all the loose SS utensils you can muster and some washing up soap, lathering each one well using the warm lather on the lids and into the bowl to soak several hours. Rub bowl surfaces often and rinse everything well. Let dry with lots of circulation. ... |
Bombarded With 'Pop-Up' Ads
Hey Folks,,,, All of a sudden I'm getting ad's continually in all discussions. Has anything changed?? I've checked my browser settings and a few other things… all is OK. I'm OK in other sites. Thanks | Me too!
This happens every once in a while and I'm sure right before the Holidays Floyd could use some extra cash just like the rest of us. |
NC Wheat Montana Coop
Just got this from a friend <www.ncwheatmontanacoop.com>. Has now 3 pick-up locations in NC. I don't know if they provide this service also in other states. would be worthwile to check with them. Does anybody have experience with their flour? If the flour is good it seems to me worthwile. Good pri... | link doesn't work
www.ncwheatmontanacoop.com
doesn't work for me. |
flour in Muncie Indiana
Hello! I am attempting to teach my young friend in Muncie a basic white bread via zoom but I live in Canada and I am completely unfmiliar with the brands of flour available there.I am looking for decent one that I can get without her having to order it and wait weeks for shipping. (I think they ... | Walmart and Meier
Walmart and Meier are in Muncie Indiana. They are major grocery and dept stores. They should carry Gold Medal and King Arthur.King arthur AP: 11.5% protein. King Arthur Bread: 12.7%.Gold Medal AP: about 10.5%, I think, don't hold me to it. Gold Medal Bread: 12%. |
New Baker, New Business
I have been baking for 51 yrs. but I have only been baking Artisan bread for about 3 or 4 months. I have been through a lot of life changes the past 2 yrs. and with encouragement of frIends and family I decided to have a small bread business per the Alabama Cottage food law. I already have all m... | farmers markets
Possible places to start:http://www.thefreshloaf.com/search/node/farmers%20markets |
annoying ad pops up!
the last week or so I have an annoying wine advert popping up when I go to this site and also when switching between tabs! how can I stop it, it's driving me crazy!Leslie | Try this:
AdBlock PlusClick on the green download button and follow the prompts. It's free and gets rid of the ads. |
Brazilian bakers, unite! :)
Hi Brazilian loafers (well everyone is welcome) :)I just put together a little bread forum in portuguese. It's a working in progress, but already functional (I think) :)The idea is to have a place to talk about local bread baking stuff, like our poor flour availability, for instance.If you w... | Okay...,
@Vk,Id' like to hear about the reasons Brazil has such poor flour. Is this true for Argentina as well? I think your site will grow over time as more aficionados come to realize the value of good bread. You might want to check in with us every once in a while to keep us posted on your progress.Best regards,Wild... |
Low oven temperature
I have a commercial oven at work, but I have just started making bread recently. I am starting with soft dinner rolls and cinnamon swirl bread. I use it to rise my dough also. I pour boiling water in a pan on bottom of oven, close the doors and turn the temp on 90 degrees f. It rises in about 25 m... | Hot oven = good spring
Usually putting a product into a hot oven will give it the best oven spring, which makes it fluffier and will give it better coloration. Will it taste better ? That depends on who you're feeding, but in general, yes it will taste better. Putting your breads into a hot oven will help a delicious c... |
Frankenbaggies?
While in Costco this weekend, I noticed an end cap display of "shelf-stable" baguettes to take and bake at home. These were at room temperature, mind you, not frozen. The "Best by" date, which isn't in the photo, is in February of 2017. I didn't stay to read the details, nor did I buy one to try out,... | At that stage of their development, they look
way better than mine do! I wonder if they were nuked to make then shelf stable and they glow in the dark so you can use them as light sabers too? |
Meadows stone mill
I have a meadows stone mill that i bought at an estate sale, ser. # 8-30869-60,I tore it down, cleaned everything, put it back together, plugged it in and made corn meal, If anyone is interested please contact me, i am trying to post a pic. Thanks. | Interested in buying some
Interested in buying some corn meal, or a mill??? :) |
A couple of questions
Hello!I've been working on a plain white bread flour sourdough loaf, using either KAF Bread Flour or Bob's Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour. My starter is 100% hydration (half AP/half whole wheat) and fairly active I think. When I make a 75% hydration bread, it bakes into a nice shape, with little sp... | Some ideas
1. The higher the hydration the more challenging the lift! The less forgiving your dough is the less room for any mistakes. Make sure you have developed the gluten enough and have shaped the dough well. If you are currently only doing one shaping then trying including a pre-shape, allowing the dough to relax... |
white bread texture
When I bake white bread my loaf is light and airy. But I want a more dense texture. What's the answer to this. My grandmother always had what I wanted. Any suggestions would b appreciated. | Recipe and type of flour?
:) |
Bake Bread Using Bleached Bread Flour?
I have a very established sourdough starter using un-chlorinated water and unbleached organic flour. However, I only have bleached bread four in the house to bake with at this time. I'm not sure if bleached flour would destroy everything once I mix it all together. Is it worth the... | Bleached flour will work just fine
Using it will also give you a baseline to see what differences and how much you see when you get and try using unbleached. |
Pasta water in breadmaking
HI everyone
I've had nice results making bread with water from cooked potatoes, but we don't cook potatoes too often. I was wondering if water from cooking pasta would achieve the same effect. Both seem to be a similar 'carbo soup' kind of concoction, and there is always a lot of pasta wate... | 1st thought, yes; 2nd thought, no!
I never thought about that, but why not give it a try. On second thought, pasta water is pretty salty--Lydia B. on PBS says it should taste like the sea, so maybe that is not such a hot idea. Also, there is probably a big difference between potato water which probably has good stuff i... |
No Knead Bread problems
I am seeking a bit of advice for baking no Knead bread.Most of the recipes I have come across are pretty much the same, and couldn't be more simple, but every time I have tried it they never come out as described in the recipes. Specifically, instead of having a light and fluffy crumb, they alwa... | Rubber like crumb
Seems to point to a high protein flour being used. For a more soft crumb you'll want something in the range of 11.5 - 12.5% protein. The stronger the gluten the more rubbery it can become. Do the recipes advise on the flour they're using? |
Bread baking classes?
I live in in Shorewood, just west of the Joliet IL, and have been looking for a bread baking class that is somewhat local to me and have had no success. There's Joliet Junior College but they only offer a basic cooking classes for those looking to go into the hospitality field for work. There ar... | Hi Michael,
I've been
Hi Michael,
I've been teaching myself to bake bread since February and have learned a lot from the BBA by Peter Reinhart. The bread books listed on this site are great, but I find all the info here much more informative. Most people are willing to put their recipes in their message, so I just bo... |
Chocolate Babka
Hi Folks, While researching my latest craze of Artisan bread, I spotted a pic to the side of the webpage I was looking at , and it had an unusually beautiful shaped loaf of bread which turned out to be a Chocolate Babka. I was intrigued and researched more recipes and was overwhelmed as usuall at all... | Try Melissa Clark's Chocolate Babka
Hi and welcome to the forum. "Well I am sure most you have already found out that sometimes folks post recipes incorrect on purpose. I don't know why folks do this why throw folks under the bus." I've been part of this forum for more than 2 years now and have never known personall... |
Bread Quiz
https://www.buzzfeed.com/sarahaspler/can-you-identify-these-breads?utm_term=.pup1NwKok#.kcabZzdBV | I can't believe it
I missed the one identifying the Arepa, which I actually actually grew up eating! Doh! |
Reality Check for Bakery Business
Hello Everyone,I am Jay and I am a very small enterpreneur at the age of 29. I am in tech industry at the moment but I love baking.I am at the stage of choosing a path for my upcoming life because current business is not doing well. I thought about learning how to bake by myself as i l... | How good a baker are you?
If you're going to make a living baking, you need to be able to produce products that people will be willing to buy - people you don't know. So, one thing you should do early on is to assess if your baking is at a commercially viable level. Not that this isn't done by asking your friends and f... |
Help for a newbie HELP :):)
I'm new to the hobby and was drawn by the lure of a good, homemade sourdough. I brew beer at home, so fermentations don't intimidate me. I have a nice, healthy sourdough starter, so I'm good there. I purchased Forkish's FWSY and tried my hand at the Overnight Country Blonde. It didn't go wel... | Welcome to the club!
I mean not only the people-addicted-to-baking-good-bread club, but the I-can't-deal-with-FWSY-high-hydration-dough club! That is not an easy place to start. Check out my latest blog post for my solution> http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/48681/reduced-hydration-fwsy-harvest-bread-success.I suggest y... |
I think maybe I'm studying the wrong thing
Ugh. Here I am, making bread to avoid writing an anthropology paper that is due this week. Bread baking is just so much more fun! My husband suggested that maybe I'm just studying the wrong thing. If only I could afford baking and pastry school... June | Hey H, funny you should
Hey H, funny you should mention photography. I enjoyed photography as a hobby for some years and then decided to do it full time as a wedding photographer. Man, did I not know what I was getting into! Needless to say, I am no longer a wedding photographer. Mind you, I did move countries and ... |
Anyone up for a visual critique? Sourdough !!!!
Anyone up for a visual critique? Thanks in advance! | Looks fine to me ...
Did it taste OK?-Gordon |
kitchen aid pro line 7 qt stand mixer anyone?
Is anyone using this mixer? http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/kitchenaid-pro-line-stand-mixer-7-quart/?cm_src=AutoRel after reading all the sad reviews about the present day Kitchen aid stand mixers I was 99.99% decided to buy the Electrolux for bread making and othe... | no problems with mine
I've had it for a couple of years. Use it for some bread dough recipes (pizza, pita) and for its pasta attachment. Seems very sturdily built.It's quite big, so storing it and moving it on/off the counter are (small) annoyances. |
Artisan Bread Tour of Northern Italy: Need Suggestions
I'll be visiting Northern Italy to hike in the Alps near the Matterhorn, also visiting areas in the vicinity of Milano. We would love to visit artisan bakeries.Please offer suggestions! We have a car, so small, off-the-beaten locales are fine.Thanks in advance! (We... | Sounds like an awesome trip.
Sounds like an awesome trip. Hope you photograph and document it and share! |
conversion
Whilst looking through baking websites I came across this conversion from yeast to sourdough which puzzled me. It said for every teaspoonful of dried yeast remove 62 grams of both flour and water and replace it with 124g of starter at 100%.That it itself didn't sound too bad but when i tried to convert one o... | I've never favoured Paul Hollywoods recipes......
Have you seen the amount of olive oil he uses ?!! 5 teaspoons of dried yeast is a massive (and I think quite unnecessary) amount to use.I'd also suggest a dedicated sourdough recipe, there are plenty on TFLEnjoy! |
Romertopf Clay Baker
HiI was wanting to try baking in a cast iron dutch oven, but cannot find one here in Sth Aust under $250 odd, so purchased a Romertopf instead. However, when I got it home, I noticed the inside lower part is glazed. Is this suitable for baking sourdough loaves at high temp and do I need to soak, ... | It's ok
It's normal, I think most modern Römertopf bakers are glazed. At least mine is (the bottom part of it, inside). And it makes wonderful loaves. Don't worry about it too much. I never soaked it or oiled or anything, I just gave it a quick wash after unpacking for hygiene reasons, let it dry and then used it every... |
Fridge too cold??
at what temperature will yeast stop working. Ive made a few different batches of dough (brioche, and a sourdough) that i let proof at room temp for about one hour. I then put them in the fridge overnight to finish proofing slowly. when i wake up in the morning and take a look at the dough, which has b... | First question:
What's the temperature in your refrigerator? |
Bread is driving you crazy
And not in a good way. At least thats what these guys are saying:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4809873/ | Clearly, they've had too much
Clearly, they've had too much bread. |
Paris flooding humour
I thought folks here would enjoy this:Syrup Trap: Paris officials sop up rising Seine waters with giant crusty baguette | It's all in one's attitude
The rain and flooding probably isn't doing much to promote tourism, but if there's a lighthearted way to look at it, then it can't be so bad.Thanks, Floyd. |
Outstanding post on KAF blog
There is a beautifully written and photographed post on KAF's blog Flourish. If you don't usually follow this blog, I recommend clicking the link - enjoy!! | Wow!
A lovely article and a dedicated and triumphant performance. Martin is right, it's not about the win, it's about the journey. Much congratulations!Thank you, Robyn, for sharing it with us,Cathy |
chelsea buns
Does anyone have a recipe for chelse a buns using a starter. | Sourdough Chelsea Bunc
You might want to take a look at this link--not a recipe, but some interesting comments on the technique:http://sourdough.com/blog/chelsea-buns |
Bread in literature?
Like a lot of you, I suspect, I have been compiling a kind of "commonplace book" about bread. It's a notebook of recipes--some handwritten, some cut'n'pasted--and pages of things like easy substitutions, conversions, etc.
I've started adding short passages from literature that involve bread in some... | Gimpel the Fool
I was listening to a Selected Shorts podcast from PRI this week, and there is the story of Gimpel the Fool--I think by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Gimpel was a baker, who--despite being a fool--rose from being a worker in a bakery to owning his own bakery--it's an amusing story and nicely read on the podcas... |
Classes in the Putnam , Dutchess or Westchester NY area
Hi, Was wondering if anyone could suggest some bread/baking classes in Putnam , Dutchess or Westchester NY area. I've been baking bread for a while but would like get some class room style training with pros. I'm looking for more of a boot camp style class given... | Hey Angelo,
I bet the CIA
Hey Angelo, I bet the CIA has some classes which is up in Hyde Park. I'm positive you can take a course at the French Culinary Institute in NYC. The latter is where I got my training and I'll go ahead and assume it won't be cheap. Might I suggest going to a nice artisan bakery and asking i... |
Victorian Bakers
Those of you who have direct or indirect access to BBC 2 television transmissions might be interested in this programme. Episode one of three to be broadcast this Tuesday.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vn7sq | Victorian Bakers, BBC2
Thanks for posting this, Jon. I have set a diary reminder. Looks really interesting. Best, Colin |
Video of Tartine process
The short film The Art of Making Bread appears to show the Tartine bread process from start to finish, with some minor variations. Might be helpul for someone trying to learn the techniques, especially the fold-in-the-bowl part. | Bread video
That video was pretty interesting. Always nice to watch others do things correctly. The slashing was neat, I never dig that deep, maybe that's why it usually does not work too well. Thanks for the link. Jean |
besam flour
Ok folks besam flour.. Now I have for years made pakoras etc with this flour but never baked bread with it. So can I have youe expert advice and comments please. | Since I had to search for
Since I had to search for both besan and pakoras this advice obviously comes not from direct experience. I would try adding a small amount to a favorite recipe and see if you like it, you can always increase the percentage if the results are favorable. |
La boulangerie de l'écové
Yet another great bread making video. Enjoy.
-Mark | Thank you for sharing this video.
It reminds me of how little mechanization we really need to make good bread.Linda |
Crust and Crumb critique?
Anyone up for a visual critique? Thanks in advance! (20 % whole wheat, 80 % KA Bread flour, 75% hydration) | Beautiful
I'd gladly eat that whole thing with a smile on my face. Might not have time to critique the crumb :)Looks well fermented and well baked. A slightly tighter shaping might leave you with less holes toward the crust, but honestly I think this bread is a testament to consummate skill. Keep doin what you're doin ... |
Best day yet!
After many train wrecks, I finally had one of those days when you feel like a REAL BAKER! I realize I've only learned about .5% of bread baking, but today... today I made the forum proud :)Friday I took my starter out of the fridge, fed it, then worked in the yard all evening. This morning I found a nic... | Good for you!
We'll be looking forward to the photos. |
What have I done wrong to get this kind of crumb?
The openness of the crumb of this loaf is very uneven. Anyone know what could be the problem? I also noticed that the final proof (retarding) did not proof much at all. I should have taken a photo to show but I forgot. The bread look ok from the outside though. | I've been there...
What helped me was dabrownmans advice to preshape the dough let it rest and then do the final shaping before retarding the dough. That helps get rid of some of the big bubbles.Like BakEr said, bake straight from the fridge if its had a full proofing before it goes in the fridge, that's what I do.What... |
Job Love, Enthusiasm, & Talent/Ability
Hey Folks,I'm probably arriving late to the dance, but I just stumbled across the following video. I got such a good feeling and lots of grins out of it. Oh,,, did I mention that I picked up about a zillion tips.If I had just one sixteenth of his ability and dough mastery I woul... | Love it!
Reminds me of some crazy days back in the bakery. Except what we were drawing in the flour wouldn't be suitable for video. Ah . . . good times, good times.Cheers!Trevor |
Convection or Not
I just realized that my home oven has a function for Convection Roast, and then I found out that it is good for baking Artisan Bread. Has anyone on this forum used that for baking their bread? Did you have good result? | Convection…..
Quinny,When I was using a stove / oven (elect) about the only time I'd switch on the fan was during the last 5-10 minutes of the bake.I think that is that it is hard enough to keep sufficient steam in a vented oven, which most are, without the convection fan blowing and if your bake is in a 'dutch oven' w... |
Creme de la Creme - a new baking show starting tonight on BB2
I doubt it will have the charm or warm nature of The Great British Bake off, but a new show from the same producers is starting tonight on BBC2 at 8pm - Creme de la Creme. "Important professional chefs compete to produce the most impressive miniatures and sh... | I'll watch it ...
via iPlayer as I'm about to go & do my bread mix for tomorrow mornings bake and will miss the start of it.I'll watch the first one at any rate - the 2nd? Who knows... :-)-Gordon |
Visit to Winchester City Mill, UK
Over the Easter weekend I was able to visit Winchester City Mill, an historic restored watermill operated by the National Trust.The mill has regular demonstrations of stone-grinding whole grain flour, which is also on sale to the public. It was a really enjoyable and informative visit.... | Winchester City Mill
How wonderful that the mill has been preserved and is still in operation. It is a beautiful building and the white water rushing under it is indeed impressive. Thank you for your post. embth |
Tartine Country Loaf Questions
Hello. I am new to bread making, and this is my first attempt to bake Tartine's Country Loaf. As for the first time, I'm pretty happy that it is still edible, but it is certainly not as good as I've hoped. The crust is slightly thick and the crumb is not as open. Any suggestion would be a... | Tartine loaf
Well personally, I think the loaf looks wonderful! I'm very impressed that a new baker has done so well with a Tartine recipe (which are quite tricky to deal with). I'm surprised at a couple of things though:Dough didn't spread out during bench rest. I rarely find Tartine breads to be that firm. If mine ar... |
Raisin water
Hi can someone bring me up to speed on raisin water please. Could you use sultanas? I have heard that apple cores can be used too is this correct? | Try this Fresh Loaf link
to Dabrownman's Yeast Water primer: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/35473/yw-primerHe's done a very nice write-up on the subject |
proofing basket question
Good morning everyone. I am new to the forum and have been an avid BBQ enthusiast over the past 4 years. There is a trend going on that has connected me to baking recently. I have caught the bug and I am baking up a storm over the past month. I am just into bread making and learning a lot f... | Baskets/Bannetons ...
I think what you get is really a matter of personal taste - and what final shape you want your bread to be... I've baked free-form boulles, bloomers, etc. as well as breads in bannetons in my Kamado Joe in the past. All good stuff - however I don't go for high hydrations at all - even with sourdou... |
Adding Gluten to 100% Gluten Free Flour? Magic or nonsense?
I've been wondering for the longest time what would become of a loaf that was made with gluten free flour, ENTIRELY, yet had added vital wheat gluten, and was yeasted, "kneaded" then allowed to rise. It's not for gluten free purposes obviously, but for experim... | First reaction
My first reaction was- "What's the point?" BUT we do have a number of posts from people that are low carb and seeking bread and VWG is low carb enough for them. Not a lot but a few. There is a forum here called "Baking for Special Needs" that would be the best place to post, I would think.I always encour... |
Problem with oven rise
I have been baking a particular bread recipe for several years and have always had an excellent loaf from this - in fact the only time the loaf was not just right was when I got distracted and measured the flour wrongly.I have always used a breadmaker to mix and knead the dough then removed the d... | Might be a bit overproofed.
Might be a bit overproofed. Perhaps the new machine doesn't develop the gluten quite as thoroughly as the old machine. Do you use the finger test to make sure the dough is ready for baking?As an aside, 15 minutes for proofing? Yikes. That's incredibly fast. You would get a lot better bread b... |
DDT
Hi! I know it's not simple to come up with a super precise formula for calculating DDT, but do you know any which tries to take the amount of preferment into account fx one which incorporates baker's percentage? The amount of starter I use varies a lot, and I would like to hear how you would handle this. I hope the... | What is DDT?
The only DDT I am familiar with is an insecticide. So to what are you refering? Also what is fx?Ford |
First failure :(
I bought a new book of bread machine recipes recently and tried a recipe for rye bread. It was a pretty standard looking recipe apart from using warm water. However, during the rise stage the dough blew up to about twice the normal volume, nearly touching the lid and almost spilling over the sides of t... | At least
you figured it out in one more try. It took me 7 or more loaves to tweak my honey oatmeal bread recipe so that it would come out consistently. I had flying crusts, I had collapsed tops, I had dough rise and hit the lid, I had all kinds of things happening. For me, the amount of yeast was key. For you, it may b... |
L-Cysteine
I've read about L-Cysteine on this forum and elsewhere and I'm trying to get hold of it. For those who don't know, it's a kind of dough relaxer. I would like to know where I could get hold of some? I am in the UK. But it would be interesting to hear if it's possible to purchase elsewhere too. Thanks. | It is a supplement and you
It is a supplement and you should be able to find it with the vitamins and other supplements at your local store. Do take note that it is derived from hair or feathers. It is an amino acid so it relaxes the dough chemically by breaking it down quicker. Here is a link for those interested.http... |
Ovens.. Bah!
So today I ran a little basic bread course for some chaps at the church my wife goes to - all went well as usual, but being somewhat out of my own kitchen had to rely on the ovens in the church... Now, I've cooked there before and used the ovens, but I hadn't quite appreciated just what these ovens were...... | Same issue here
i have a fan (convection) oven with a covered element on the bottom, a circular element around the fan at the back and the broil element on the top. My oven had been acting very erratically for months in spite of a few service calls. It would not maintain the heat in bake but it would get up to temperat... |
HELP!!!!!!!
400 g starter800 g water1200 g flour40 g saltI measured 1.8 % or so of salt to the TOTAL weight of the batch, instead of the total weight of the flour. This is only my second batch of bread and the first batch I left out the salt completely.Am I going to be disappointed again? Have a overdone the salt too... | should have used...
looks like I should have used 25-28 g of salt, so I've added .28 % salt to the batch. How bad is it? |
slashing dough
How Do I Get A Razor To Slash My Risen Dough? I Used A Brand New Exacto knife Floured The Dough And Knife But it Just Drags Across And Sticks To The Dough. Never Cuts It Just Deflates It. I have Also Tried Very Sharp Butcher Knives With The Same Poor Results | Slashing
I tried a razor for a bit too, but I've gone back to a sharp serrated steak knife. Seems to work much better. On very slack doughs I'll usually sprinkle a little flour over the surface of the loaf first to reduce the 'drag'. |
Pop Up
Hi Guys .. is anyone else getting an annoying Uber pop up on their home page? Only just started. No way to delete it. | The ads on the internet have gotten
completely out of hand. Myself and a couple other posters have noted this problem on a couple previous times. If you're using Chrome, try this: https://adblockplus.org and click on the install button. It got rid of all the annoying ads that creep into this site. They also have ... |
Dry "crust" while proofing or raising bread
I'm relatively new to bread baking, having only started a couple of months ago. And I think I have a problem when it comes to proofing that may not be a real concern, but I'd rather know.My problem is that every time I try to proof bread, or even raise it the dough on the top... | Oil or....
....cover the bowl with a damp cloth. I grease my bowl with Crisco, then turn the dough over to make sure it's greased when I turn it top-side up. It's quite a natural thing to do when making bread. |
Crumpets going grey but not mouldy
Hi there, We have been making sourdough crumpets for the last 6 months or so, and recently they have been turning a little grey, but actually not really going mouldy which they used to do. I have been doing lots of research on why this might happen but have found so many variables an... | Timeframe?
What sort of timeframe are you talking about here? Ideally crumpets ought to be eaten the day they are made. I can't imagine them going grey in a day. Mouldy? You said they used to go mouldy? Again - after how many days? Are you making to package & sell?More information might be handy - basic process/recipe,... |
What are Community Bakes?
Hi,I am new to this site, and I was going through looking at ways to participate and what type of information is here. I came across references to Community Bake events, for example, this post, but I could not find anything explaining exactly what it is and how it works. If someone wouldn't mi... | Community bakes
Community bakes are, (I hope I describe this well) where someone posts a recipe or a challenge, and the community all bakes the same recipe or challenge. Past community bakes for example were rye breads with at least 50% rye, or baguettes, you can search for community bakes and find others. They are op... |
Alternative to Dutch Ovens
I read here and there on the site that bakers are a bit tired of getting the same boule shape from baking breads in dutch ovens. Let me suggest 4 qt Romertopf clay bakers. Even if you buy them new they are cost competitive with dutch ovens purchased new but I bought both of mine at thrift sto... | interesting
that this should appear today. I just finished doing a large dough batch which I divided and baked one in a small DO and the other half in a clay baker (make unknown but not Romertopf) to compare results. Same dough, same oven at the same time. My clay baker results were much better although I haven't ye... |
Bread Sign
I’m looking for a tin bread sign similar to the one shown to hang on the wall behind my stove, sort of like a back splash. It would have to be about 40” wide. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, John | or instead you could
If you have (or can get) a reasonably high-res photo, you can have it printed on metal. Google offers many search results for "print photo on metal". |
All is well except CO2 holes
Why can I not get large CO2 holes. Mix good / 1st rise very good / 2nd rise outstanding.Am I over working the dough? The bread taste good, but has the look of industrial white bread.Thanks for any insight. | There can be many reasons for
There can be many reasons for lack of large holes, but here are the top 2 IMO:Too low of a dough hydration - not enough water in your doughOverworking the dough - intensive kneading vs. stretch-and-foldAre you getting good browning of your crust? If not you may be underproofing, which is a... |
Matzo Experts?
Just wondering if there might be someone out there who can help me.On occasion, I get to stop into a good Kosher Deli and almost invariably, will order a Matzo Ball soup.It usually comes as one ball, about the size of a baseball or slightly larger and in a nice, clear chicken broth.The Matzo Balls are a... | The 4 things to make Matzoh balls ight and airy
Are club soda (seltzer water), baking powder, separate egg whites and fold them in, make sure to over them as they simmer gently. Using none of any gives you sinkers the favorite of many. The more BP the fluffier, 1/2 to 1 tsp per cup of matzoh Using seltzer and BP eve... |
Bread Storage
I have found that my bread holds longer placed cut side down on my board covered with a paper bag. Buying bags though in small quantities is a problem. Any suggestions as to where I might find them would be appreciated. | Northern or southern hemisphere?
Orient or Occident?These inteweb thingies get into every nook and cranny, you know, and there are people from all over reading this stuff. Maybe even from where you are. |
Lords, ladies and loaves
One for the linguists: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-34735855 | Old German
The meaning of hlaef-dige is not absolutely certain, but seems to be "loaf-kneader" with the last part being related to "dough"."-dige" is still used in German. A suffix not related to dough but more like an adjective indicating qualities related to the loaf or showing possession. I translate when reading... |
Bread to go with Grapefruit Marmalade?
Hi Everyone,My husband is a HUGE fan of grapefruit, so I'm making him a grapefruit lovers basket for V-day. I'm including homemade grapefruit marmalade and would like to make a special loaf to go with the marmalade. Since I am not a grapefruit fan, I am having trouble coming up wi... | I'd suggest either a plain white loaf...
...without a great deal of flavour of its own, so that it doesn't detract from the flavour of the grapefruit for him, or something with a good strong flavour which will stand up to the grapefruit. Perhaps a pumpernickel? It works very well with sauerkirsche (sour cherry jam). |
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