instruction stringlengths 2 23k | output stringlengths 3 23.1k ⌀ |
|---|---|
TFL Tee Shirt design
Here's my candidate for a TFL Tee Shirt design. (Thanks, flournwater, water for the idea!):
David | Thanks
Beautiful. Thanks for the image. |
new name
I have a request. I need a name I can live with. I was just goofing around when I came up with the current 1234, and now I'm stuck with it! Or am I??? I don't know how to get it changed, and I would love some suggestions for a new one!!!! Anyone want to help me with a new name? I'm beginning to think o... | My name
My name was my dogs name she was a Saluki,,,Qahtan...... |
Electric bread slicer
hi bakers I wanted to know how many of you are using home electric bread slicers....I am baking a loaf and freezing it in slices and am interested in a slicer. Do they work well ...I read that they fold up out of the way and they cut a good slice are the budget version ok for a couple of loaves a ... | I''m glad that you posted this, as
I've been thinking about it, too. We would use it just as much for slicing meats and cheeses as we would for bread, so something easy to clean and big enough for large roasted meat cuts / massive sourdough loaves is in order.Looking around here, and on general recommendations, we're ... |
Blue Cheese Walnut Rolls
A while back Trishinomaha created a post called King Arthur's Gruyere Cheese Breadhttp://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gruyere-stuffed-crusty-loaves-recipe. If it has cheese, my husband and I will love it. It was bookmarked for a future bake and today :
I've had a hankering for some bleu chee... | Looks great! I have been on
Looks great! I have been on a Blue Cheese in my bread kick lately. Two weeks ago I made a Blue Cheese and walnut bread. I'm going to try Blue Cheese and Pumpkin seeds this week. They do counter all the fats. |
Farmers Market Requirement
Does anyone else have a problem with breads that are sold at farmers markets being required to be sold in covered plastic bags? My area is finally catching up with the times with farmers markets sprouting up across town.
Friends have been trying to encourage me to sell my sourdough baguett... | Legal requirement, no doubt
The rule is probably mandated by your state's health department and/or statutes for sanitary reasons.
I know the breads I've seen at the outdoor markets are all bagged. I don't have a problem with that since one can always wash veggies, but you can't wash bread.
Check with the manager of th... |
No Knead bread.Why a wooden spoon?
I'm a new bread maker.Only a few days at this and I've not tried anything except the real easy (but very tasty) no knead type bread.I see that most of the people telling how to mix the no knead tell me to mix using a wooden spoon.I do not own a wooden spoon.I used a big metal spoon un... | Don't need one
Not sure what recipe you're looking at, but the original no-knead recipe credited to Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery and published by the NY Times makes no mention of any spoon, let alone a wooden one.
Your hands will do a very nice job. |
Has anyone else noticed...
...that nearly every Tom, Dick, and Harry is named David?
David G | I have noticed that
Yup. I noticed that in a post I called "Too many guys named David". That was before another dozen or so Davids came on board!
D.... |
Food Grade Lye - Cheap(er)
I keep reading posts about how food grade lye is expensive and have been kicking myself for not remembering where I ordered mine from. Finally my source, Essencial Depot, sent me a promotional email so now I'd like to pass their address on to adventurous bagel bakers everywhere:
www.essentia... | Lye
Awesome Summer! THANK YOU!! I have never tried lye in my bagel water but I will now!! AND I want to make some Goats Milk soap so I can use it in that as well!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! |
Unbleached? Not here....
The only bread I've made so far is no knead and the instructions said use either bread flour or unbleached all purpose flour.To date I have only used bread flour.Went to the store today to buy the unbleached all purpose.Wanted to build a couple loaves using it instead of the bread flour just to... | What'll happen? You'll get bread.
If you use bleached instead of unbleached your bread will come out a little whiter (but you probably won't notice unless you put two slices side-by-side), and you will likely get a touch of residual bleaching agents that you wouldn't otherwise.
The main difference between unbleached A... |
Need Professional advice for a new oven
Well, it seems that I am at a crossroads in my baking venture. I need a second oven and would prefer gas but we have to have LP out here. With the volume of baking I am doing now for our market I am thinking that a regular home oven isn't going to last long as I am running the ov... | Flourgirl51,
I would check
Flourgirl51,
I would check Ebay, it normally has a great choice also professional gear and sometimes free shipping.
Thomas |
Help needed regarding norpro bake pan
Does anyone know how much dough in weight that the NORPRO 8x4 1/2x3 inch bread pan holds and how long to bake it at 350 degrees?? I called the company and they have no idea and I don't have time to experiment today. Thanks! This is for wheat bread. | My guess would be about 16
My guess would be about 16 ounces of dough, with a baking time of 30 to 40 minutes depending on what type of bread you are making.
There are two common sizes for loaf pans: 8 1/2 x 4 inches and 9 x 5 inches.
The smaller size usually is for 1 pound loaves; the larger, for 1 1/2 pound loaves.
-... |
small town in need of bread
As mentioned in my intro post a while back, I'm an ex-pat living in rural Nicaragua where the community is supplied with endless corn tortillas but devoid of good artisan bread. As such, I have taken it upon myself to bake my own. So far, so good, I'd say. There have been a few moments of... | 10 to 12 loaves
I've got a book in front of me, The Great Canadian Bread Book by Janice Murray Gill, with recipes for Basic White Bread Made in Quantity. Now her recipes are for white sandwich loaves which include milk and fat, but excluding those, for 12 loaves, she only goes up to 3 tbsp. of active dry yeast and 3 t... |
Floyd's Bagels
Sometimes I feel as dumb as a box of rocks, but right now I'm driving myself nuts trying to find Floyd's recipe for bagels. Could someone please give me the link, I will be forever grateful.
Carol | Try search
If you type in "Floyd's bagels" in the search box, you'll find the recipe.
The TFL search function is excellent and you'll learn all sorts of interesting things during the process. |
Starter only floats half of it
Hi Bakers! I am a newbie, have created maybe 7 loaves of sourdough french bread, and I am wondering - does the starter have to float completely? Some of it floats, and then some goes to the bottom. Comments? | Float test does not really
Float test does not really work all that well and was totally unknown until a few years ago when some entrerprising writer put it in their book. |
can you add VWG to regular bread flour to make hi gluten?
I've seen two recipes tonight with the KA high gluten flour, which of course I don't have. So can you add more VWG to bread flour to be the equivelent?
Thankd | Honestly, a great deal of
Honestly, a great deal of recipes that call for high-gluten can be made just fine without the VWG. It just depends on how faithfully you want to re-create the recipe's crumb texture. A lot of folks actually bring the protein content down by adding some all purpose flour, which creates a much s... |
Bread Texture
Every so often when I make whole wheat loaves, my bready comes out lumpy. It rises this way and seems to have thin layers that tear into holes. Anyone have an suggestions as to why this occurs? | Sounds like it probably isn't
Sounds like it probably isn't kneaded enough. Or, if you are kneading it for a really long time, perhaps you are over kneading it and causing the bran to break up the gluten strands. But I think the case is probably the former.
Tell us more about the recipe.
--Pamela |
Blogs and beginners
I've noticed that all the bloggers here have great looking breads. I think it's going to be awhile before I get good enough (If ever) to start a blog of my own. When I make what I think is a pretty decent loaf I look through the blog pages and think " Oh Man, do I have a long way to go". You guys ar... | Whoa, Dave! Don't feel like that!
I have been baking for years, blogging on here over a year and I was telling Pamela yesterday about a weekend FLOP I did. Where I let time get away from me and let my dough rise over the bowl and collapse down the freezer in an awful mess. No baker is perfect. I guarantee that if you p... |
Whipping Cream ideas
Salutations, I was thinking of a way to use Whipping Cream in a recipe last night and considered this may make an interesting thread on TFL.
How about it...What do you use Whipping Cream for?
note: I have three young children, all's fair. :-)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxOTR1wIcds All the best... | interesting topic...
...and video too. Looks like you've got some potential superstars there. I was just doing some experimenting with tiramisu and made up mascarpone cheese with heavy whipping cream along with the filling that goes between the ladyfingers. MMmmmmm!-Mark |
Neglected starter questions?
OK, I left it in the fridge for a few weeks all by it self with no care at all.
I took it out and it looked funny, liquid on top and some discoloration "spots" on the surface both on the dry places above the liquid as well as under the liquid, but after I mixed it up it looked and smelled (... | I don't know all your
I don't know all your answers....but I think I've read that it's a good idea to pour off the liquid that gathers at the top of the starter when it's been neglected. It also sounds like your starter may need one or two more feedings to be "healthy/strong" for baking. |
Edible disaster
Well, I decided to bake a no-knead loaf the other day. I find my house is cool so I use a slightly heated oven as my place of choice to rise my bread. A few hours into the rise my son decided to preheat the oven to 300 to warm up some chicken. He yells out " hey. what's that smell in the oven?". Now my ... | If it tastes good, that's all it counts
Way to go to be creative! That's the fun part of bread making. If it doesn't turn out exactly what we're going for, we can always make it into something else!
Just two weeks ago I saw a water roux starter recipe and I really wanted to try it. I must have made some mistakes in... |
Bread Shelf Life
So, my bread is drying out pretty quickly, which makes me sad. As a single person with only one girlfriend, we can only eat so much at once, and I am running our of houses for housewarming gifts. What's the best way to keep bread from getting stale? | Smaller loaves
If the recipe calls for two loaves, you can make three smaller loaves and freeze the excess.
Of course, then you create a situation of running out of freezer space... |
The Little Loaf That Could
Has anyone had a slip up like this that ended up ok? I set out on the right foot yesterday converting my Liquid Levain into Stiff and building a little overnight preferment in preparation of making Jeffrey Hamelman's Pain au Levain. Step by thoughtful step ( I need to concentrate hard now be... | Disaster recovery
That's a beautiful bâtard, ein!
I have had quite a variety of mishaps, usually when transferring loaves into the oven. I have managed to recover the bread in each instance and end up with a very edible product.
You obviously did the right thing. In fact, your bread looks so nice, you may have discove... |
here's another cool bread site if anyone is interested.....
It might not appeal to the advanced on here, but I keep going back to this site, and just thought I would share, esp since they have a pretty large whole grain bread section. Hope someone finds it useful too!
http://www.cookingbread.com/index.html | Interesting, but....
They only offer volume measurements.
Really odd considering it's a Canadian site. |
Yeast and health
Hello!
I have just stopped following an alkaline diet which banns yeast consumption. My reasons for stopping were the lack of science behind the approach. However, some things remained with me, like the sugar free part of the diet.
However, for a couple of years now I've been suffering from repeating s... | Google sourdough health benefits...
You'll find a whole lot of information there. Sourdough has been touted as being good for anyone who has allergies to commercial yeast; I don't have an allergy, but I love sourdough because it's so low on the glycemic index that I can eat white bread without my blood sugar spiking. |
There is no flour, none whatsoever, at the supermarket
I have yeast, I have sourdough, but I will run out of flour in three bakings. I'm in Honolulu, Hawai'i. | Hidden Bob's Red Mill.
In my local store, Indianapolis, of a regional chain, there is a Bob's Red Mill section across the aisle from the main flour section. Most of the BRM stuff there was gluten free. But on the bottom shelf, I saw some regular (not organic) BRM 5 lb AP flour, that people had missed. Maybe because ... |
porketta recipe
Does anyone have an authentic recipe for Porketta? All my online searches seem to yield the same two recipes (posted below). Any input would be of great value. I will probably take the best of both recipes and combine, unless anyone can point me in the right direction.
most common recipe found all o... | Porchetta
The Zuni Cafe recipe for mock porchetta is widely available on the web & is delicious. Just Google Zuni porchetta. Patsy |
recession hits organic farms - article
I read this depressing article in the NYT today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/29dairy.html?_r=1&hp
It is mainly about arganic dairy farms. Are there any Fresh Loafers who have info about how the recession has hit the organic grain farmers? Is it as bad for them?
In the ... | I wouldn't consider buying
I wouldn't consider buying anything less than organic dairy products......I'm mostly vegetarian, and my food bill isn't that much anyway.....would rather eat less food made with the best quality ingredients, than more food with chemical ingredients.....I wish I could buy local "raw" milk, an... |
Handy desktop converter for weights and measures that is a snap to use......
If you go to this site, Josh Madison has a great little converter that is really easy to use ( If I can use it , anyone can) It's a free download that I have on my desktop and use it frequently when cooking and canning to convert from grams to... | Google does it too
Sorry to be a spoiler, but no app is necessary. Just go to goggle and type in, e.g., 16 ounces to grams, and your answer will be displayed immediately. Google calculator works for all kinds of conversions, e.g., temperature, money, etc.
--Pamela |
multicolored bread recipes wanted
I have always liked the looks of two tone breads or multicolored breads. Does anyone have any good recipes for these types of breads? I saw an interesting one that was made with red and white dough. The red had tomato paste or something in it. Sadly, I didn't copy off the recipe and I ... | for flourgirl51
Like you, I love multi-colored breads. My first suggestion is Peter Reinhart's BBA, it's on page 183 - marbled rye bread.
My 2nd suggestion is this one which I found 3 days ago.
http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/recipes-7/Colorful%20Vegetable%20Bread.htm
Let me know if these are helpful. |
Malted Barley Flour?????
I've learned that most our bread and all-purpose flour contains malted barley flour, and that this is food for the yeast? correct me if I'm wrong.......what would we do if our flour didn't contain this malted flour? I live in the U.S.
Does most the flour in the world contain malted barley flo... | Malted Barley in AP Flour
I think most AP flours have a very small amount of malted barley added to them to boost their enzyme activity. Whole Wheat flours do not require such an adjustment because they contain both the germ and the bran.
--Pamela |
Do you use fresh bread to make French toast?
My husband loves breads. Who doesn't? I make sourdough WW sandwich bread, twice a week, so my family can have fresh breads all the time.
Last week I got busy and behind schedule so we were out of my homemade sourdough bread for one day. My husband couldn't wait for one d... | homemade makes the best...
I always use my Challah for French Toast. it makes the best. The stale bread, I don't think, is as good as fresh. I like the recipe on Epicurious for overnight FT. It is Creme Brulee FT. Wonderful and rich. But for every day I think the FT is only as good as the bread and syrup you use for it... |
A question about crumb
I hope I've put this post in the most appropriate section...
After reading posts on this site for over a year, I finally got around to joining so I could ask a question that has flummoxed me for years...What is meant by "crumb?" I've been cooking and baking for 20 years but only started baking b... | Crumb
Crumb: Term referring to the interior texture, gluten network, tenderness, and general feel of a bread. Desirable crumb size and texture varies depending on the product. Kneaded breads are generally fine and even, although when using sourdough starters the product may contain large bubbles. Batter breads gene... |
Room Temp
Hey all,
I have a very basic question...
I keep reading about fermenting at room temp... What is the correct room temp? I live in Phoenix and in the summertime I keep my apartment at around 76 to 78 degrees.
Is that too warm?
Thanks
Craig
BTW... my first formula from this site is the Rosemary Olive Oil Bread,... | Temperature
Ah yes, Phoenix. I was just near there. Toasty. Dry, too. Make sure you take care that your dough doesn't dry out. I was baking near there and we had to go to extraordinary lengths to keep our dough workable.
76-78F is within a perfectly acceptable range for most breads. (There are special techniques ... |
How to give bread a longer shelf life?
..we're going to a festival here in a few days and would love to bring bread, however I'm afraid of the bread turning hard by the time we get there (3+ days). Should I reduce/increase the salt content, add more honey, or...
..really I have no clue, so I'm asking for your tips a... | The only way I know
how to keep freshness longer is to use sourdough. I don't know about where you live but I live in an area where it's cold and dry; my sourdough breads are good for a week . In fact, by day 3, the flavor really heightens and the sourness is just about right between the 3rd and 4th day. Last Saturda... |
Stretch and fold . . .in a bowl?
I've heard of the stretch and fold method, but never of doing it "in the bowl." Does this mean just kneading using the mixer? I discovered this as part of the process in the recipe for baguettes listed below. I want to give it a whirl, but am unsure what this particular instruction mean... | Watch video
Here's Mark Sinclair's video showing the technique. |
Bread baking in bad oven
Hello there! I'm new to the forum, but not to bread baking. I've been baking bread for a few years now. I started with yeast doughs, but now I have a nice sourdough starter as well. Currently I have a low quality oven with a maximum temperature of 220 °C. However, for most artisanal loafs with ... | kind of oven?
Welcome to TFL.Could you please describe your oven: gas, electric, convection, top heating element, bottom heating element?What baking vessels or surfaces do you have: baking stone, pizza stone, dutch oven, covered casserole, covered roaster, etc?What is your current steaming method? |
Cooling the bread first
In my original post about the onion bread I said how the taste wasn't all that great. Admittedly, I sliced and tasted the piece while the bread was still warm. Unimpressed, I froze the loaf. We were going to a friend's house for dinner, so I decided to take the bread along and see what others th... | i agree with rockfish
I agree with rockfish, and can say that if you are baking sourdough bread, you might find the flavor continuing to change for several days AFTER it's cooled! The "daily bread" I bake has maximum flavor (and sourness) 2 days after baking / cooling.
David |
Weekend Bake - Courtesy of George Greenstein
I went on a baking frenzy today, thanks to George Greenstein's Secrets of a Jewish Baker. I followed one of his "Morning Baking" programs at the end of the book and made muffins, milk bread, whole wheat bread, and Italian bread. | WOW
That is very impressive! May have to check out that book. |
Thank You Mr. DiMuzio
I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but it's the only place I found that comes close to the category I tried to find. That's a WOW!! category. Even better, a Thank You category.
Chef Daniel T. DiMuzio demonstrated a most incredible degree of generosity by his participation on th... | I second that Thank You
Great information, what a nice gift to those of us (all) who love bread and baking. Thank you again Mr. DiMuzio.
I love the understanding side of what is going on in bread and baking -- your book is on my wish list. I'll have it soon.
Dave |
Kneading Mystery
I'm trying an onion bread that was posted by FloydM. It calls for kneading. By hand. Ugh! So I tried. I kept adding flour. And more flour. A little at a time, granted, but it was so frustrating (and messy and sticky) and it made me want to just dump the entire 5 lbs on the dough and be done with the to... | My method.
This makes for much less tired arms. Being 3 months pregnant, that's a good thing.
I knead for about 5 minutes before I put the salt in the dough. After this 5 minutes I let the dough rest for about 10 minutes, then I actually *knead* in the salt for about 7 minutes or until it's incorporated into the dough.... |
Can someone explain what a "soaker" is?
I've read about people using "soakers" - what exactly is that?
How do I incorporate that into making the bread? When do I add it?
and also....
*why* would I use a "soaker" or that method?
If you could tell me all about it - I'd appreciate it!
Thanks | Softening grains and seeds
If a recipe calls for using certain seeds or cracked/whole grains, they are soaked in water overnight or for a specific number of hours to soften them (so you don't break a tooth when you eat the bread). The water is part of the total water used for the dough.
Sometimes the water is boiled, ... |
Rye bread will do you good
Got this from a friend, scanned from a booklet about Irish Toast. Maybe nice to share.
I got a new camera and will be back online with my blog after a week or two.
Cheers,Jw. | cute!
Hopefully my sourdough rye will come out okay this weekend!
Summer |
how to double a recipe
I notice when I double a recipe, the dough doesn't add up exactly twice as much. Is there a way to figure out how to do it without losing the total volume? | Doubling
I'm not quite sure what you're meaning here. Are you measuring by volume (cups) or by weight? if you're doubling something by doubling the weight of each ingredient it should exactly double in weight. When doubling measurement by volume you're also doubling every tiny little inconsistency in measurement. Over,... |
Math. problem
I have just mixed up a batch of dough for the Swedish Tea Ring from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas. This is her no knead dough and gets to spend the night in the refrigerator. I made this once before and had a problem when it came to rolling the dough into a "20" to 24" square". ... | This should work
Square root of (20 x 20)/2 = 14.14"
of (24 x 24)/2 = 16.97"
so, between 14" and 17" square for each piece.
FP |
slashing tool
Can anyone recommend a good online source for a slashing tool for breads? I have tried using a knife but it doesn't seem to work very well. | Here you go
This one is a favorite of many TFL members. It does a very nice job. |
Received my first order
Remember I mentioned some friends from work and school asked for my breads? I received my first order this weekend. Two dozens of muffins and two medium sourdough WW sandwich loafs. The muffins were done this morning and the breads are now in the oven. I won't be making much money off this b... | That is exciting!
I've had that happen to me too, and it is thrilling when you realise that people are willing to pay for your bread. Congratulations! |
Is this flour safe to use?
I bought a 25-lb. bag of all-purpose flour. I didn't realize until I got it home that it had a small box cut in it, that went through the bag, so the bag had a slight opening in it. Is it safe to use, or should I just purchase more flour? | No one here can guarantee it
No one here can guarantee it is safe but I can tell you that, without a doubt, unless I spotted mouse dropped or some other obvious sign of contamination, I would just use it. |
My Favorites
have disappeared. I had trouble signing in today and when I finally did and went to my account all my favorites had one poof! Now when I put something in favorites and go to check, it's not there. Can anyone help? TIA. Hope it was okay to ask here.
Carol | I dont think I'd ever
I dont think I'd ever actually used that feature before. Had to go exploring for a while just to see how to get to the favorites.
I am seeing a bunch listed on your account though:
* Valentine's Day Treats, Part Deux: Brioche * Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid * A Pizza Primer ... |
Bought some Italian flour--Now What?
I wasn't planning on it, but I just happened to come across some important doppio zero flour at the farmer's market. At $1.69 for a 1000g bag, I thought what the heck. I have yet to open the bag, but I know from reading about doppio zero flours that it's very finely milled and not... | It depends
There shoud be a code on the bag indicating the strength of your flour, something like "W200". What is it? |
OK to store egg wash (1 whole egg mixed with 1 tsp of water) in fridge for 2 days
I googled my question but I'm not getting the answer I'm looking for. Must be the way I phrased my question. But here's my question: i love the egg wash effect on breads but I find I'm wasting too many eggs. I know I can freeze egg wh... | I think it is OK
I have some that I made up yesterday and used today. As long as it passes the 'smell' test, I'll use it.
--Pamela |
Recipe for Corned beef and/or Pastrami
I see lots of recipes for awesome looking rye bread. All I can think of when I see these is how bad I want a Katz Deli (NYC) hot pastrami sandwich. I was hoping somene in here might know of a recipe for brining my own corned beef and or pastrami. | Pastrami
How funny! I've got a pastrami brining in the fridge right now as I had much the same thought.
I'm using this recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/beef-pastrami-recipe2/index.html
I haven't used it before, so I can't tell you how it's going to turn out. I admit to being a bit weirded out b... |
Help! my file browser is loaded?
Im trying to post some photos in my blog. It says download failed...my file browser is full...I can't figure out how to empty it..can anyone help?
Iam not to sharp with PC's sorry! I think I need to delete all the old listings of downloaded photos and posts. It says it's full and wo... | I just bumped the per user
I just bumped the per user limit up to 50 MB, so please give it another try. |
How much to charge for a loaf of sourdough bread?
I have shared my sourdough breads with a tight circle of people i.e. school, work, etc. Now some of these people are asking me to bake breads and they will buy from me. I am not going to operate a bakery; just to bake a few extra loaves each weekend to provide for tho... | A couple of questions towards
A couple of questions towards answering your question.
What is the final baked weight of the loaf?
Is the flour organic?
Jeff |
mixing dough for the physically challenged
Hi all,
I recently discovered the joy of bread making from this site while I was out of work on medical leave. I was using my KitchenAid to mix the dough, but it is getting stressed with this chore and I'm afraid it will burn up if I continue to use it for this. In fact, I'm... | Well, if you're willing to
Well, if you're willing to forgo typical sandwich breads and go for more artisan-type results, you could switch to a much higher hydration bread recipe. If you shoot for something in the 70-80% range, your mixer should have a much easier time hydrating the flour. And once the flour is hydra... |
A normal amount of obsession, knitting vs. bread making
I've been reading wonderful books about knitting by a certain author, S. Pearl-McPhee. She is a yarn fanatic, has her own blog, and is entranced with knitting. It all sounds similar to bread making -- such as -- starting a stash of the various wool yarns or . . . ... | I couldn't agree more. I
I couldn't agree more. I happen to be passionate about both, as well (although I've been on a bit of a baking hiatus as of late while I've been working to complete my current knitting project). I'm not sure what it is about the two crafts, but there's just something about them that encourage... |
Buying flour from a bakery
This is question for the professional bakers out there or from others who have experiences.
I have, from time to time, been successful in buying hard to get flours from local bakeries. But I am wondering what the general feeling is regarding the right way to approach a bakery if you have not ... | Flour
Since we are both from Ohio (I'm from Mentor) we share a wonderful resource in the Amish Community. I buy specialty flours from B&R Bulk Foods in Middlefield, Ohio, and their prices are below what I can buy in the grocery stores. An example is 25# of Montana Sapphire for $.49 per pound, which is $2.50 less than a... |
Planning out my easter baking scheduel...
Hey everyone!! My family, on discoving my bread baking abilites, has requested I do some baking for easter :) I just wanted to see if I could get some advice on how I should plan out when to do everything. I want to make some dinner rolls, an italian bread, an egg bread and som... | consider no knead recipes
I'd look to some no knead style recipes, or at least things that are happy to sit in the fridge for a while, which will give you some flexibility as to when you bake. |
Doughnut disaster - please help!
Hi Everyone, I'm desperately in need of some help with my doughnut dough. I'm using a brioche type dough to make these doughnuts, and it was working fine previously, but the last few times the dough is just not frying right. It's almost like it is melting in the oil, please see pictures... | Something has changed. What?
Different flour? Different ambient temps (such as warmer driving faster fermentation)? Different ingredient temps? Something else?Think about what things were like when the results were good. Now think about what is different. Look at everything. Materials, equipment, process, peopl... |
cheese, anyone?
I know this is pretty far off topic, but I was wondering if anyone knows anything about making cheese? In a way, it seems similar to making sourdough bread: mix a bunch of raw ingredients together, put it in a warm place for a given amount of time, and let the bacteria work their magic.
Friends of ours ... | Start with an entry level kit
Eric,
I just got my first cheese making kit from New England Cheese Making. It is a simple process but from what I can see is even less tolerant of missteps and sloppy practices. Depending on where you live, finding milk suitable for making cheese (not ultra pasteurized) may take a little ... |
Food Additives
In another thread potassium bromate was mentioned as an additive found in some flours and most definitely bad for the human body. The fact that much of the world has banned potassium bromate is a good clue as to its inherent qualities.
This brings me to the subject of this post; and that is the number... | Glutamic acid is not so much
Glutamic acid is not so much a neurotoxin as an aminoacid crucial to human metabolism as well one of the fundamental building blocks of pretty much all living things. As far as calcium caseinate is concerned it is a milk protein, calcium being the part that is good for the bones, or so the... |
traveling to Italy
my husband and I will be in Italy for a week at the end of the month. We'll be in Rome and Assis. Does anyone have any suggestions for bread or pizza shops?
thanks,
Judy | pizza
Lucky you!
I think you're going to be surprised at the number of fine bakeries and pizza you will find everywhere, in every neighborhood. We sought out certain places we had heard about, but on our own street (we were house exchangers near the Coliseum) there was a world-class bakery, a fine pizza place, and a be... |
A Baker's Reading
I have found at least three references to Peter Mayle's book "Confessions of a French Baker" on this forum, but I hope new members of the forum will find the book interesting.
I have read it in about an hour, it's that short, but laughed a lot and found a few neat tricks there.
Here is a quote in rega... | for gosiam
nice suggestion. will look for it in my local library! |
Bakery Puns by Abbott And Costello
Silliness with which to wrap up the weekend. | ROTFLMAO!!
tHAT wAs tHe bEST!
sYLvIa |
One-Day Bread/Cast Iron suggestions?
I remember some time ago seeing a picture of bread that had been baked inside a round dutch oven. I'm a bit short on baking supplies (One loaf pan, one pizza stone) and, quite frankly, very new to baking bread. I have two seed cultures going - one rye, one spelt, but how healthy the... | One Day and You're on Your Way
What you have will work nicely for this bread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU |
"I pita the fool," or, a report on camp baking and a gyro filling recipe
Hello, everybody!
I'll begin with another thank-you to all those who responded to my previous/first post, my questions about baking while camping. Using all the help, I'm planning upon trying bread-steamed-in-a-can, or crumpets, or English muff... | Don't forget to add the Irish
Don't forget to add the Irish soda Farls/Bread to your frying pan! We would go fishing/camping a lot and make it in an skillet on the coleman! Makes a great bread for camping! Pack powdered buttermilk/salt/baking soda/cream of tartar and APflour. Recipe on my blog.
Sylvia |
Bread Storage?
Recently I was laid-off from my job as a software engineer, so, since I'm home all day writing software, I've taken up breadmaking as a hobby since it gives me an excuse to get up from my desk every so often to knead or punch down the bread or put it in the oven, take it out, etc. It also saves money si... | Bread storage
Lean, crusty breads are best stored in paper at room temperature. If the moisture is trapped in plastic with them, they'll quickly lose their crispness.
Sourdoughs keep longer than yeasted breads, though breads with a preferment tend to keep longer than quickly risen breads. In my experience, a quick Fr... |
How long do you bake a sandwhich loaf?
I forgot a 100% whole wheat sandwhich loaf in the oven (my timer isnt that loud) and much to my surprise is was not burnt. In fact it came out fantastic. It bake was just over an hour in total, 12 minutes @ 450 F and then another 53 minutes at 400 F. The loaf had a great hollow... | 1 1/2 pound whole wheat loaves
My 1 1/2 pound whole wheat loaves baked in pyrex at 350 degrees take about 50 minutes to bake.
But I always check for 'doneness' with a thermometer; I like my breads cooked to about 205 degrees measured in the center of the loaf.
--Pamela |
anyone from Montreal?
Hi,
I signed up last week and enjoying the fresh loaf forums and blogs. Floydm has created a wonderful community. Any fresh loafers from Montreal or Ontario or anywhere from Canada? | Montreal here.
And Floyd was born here, he who runs thefreshloaf.com. I live in Montreal West, and have been baking most of my life, everything from bread to pastry. Last year I got two different sourdough starters going, mostly because of what I'd read on this site, but I also make other breads. Welcome to the Fres... |
Lockdown neighbourly baking - great therapy for me
I find baking bread is great therapy for me, and in lockdown wanted to bake every day! This would be way more than two people could eat. So I put an offer to the neighbourhood:"You bring the bread flour, and I'll turn it into bread"Since we have our Aga range cooker o... | Pictures
Take some pictures of your neighbourly bread and post them in your blog space for us all to see! |
The Fresh Loaf site changes
I've been around here for some time now, and it has been an exceptional experience. But just recently I have found that although I have quite fast fiber optic internet connection speed, the experience is now pretty much impossible to bear. Between the google-analytics and the ads.foodfuzz lo... | Not a problem here.
I have a mere 1 MB/sec satellite connection, and that's on a good day, being too remote for anything else but dialup.
I can't say that the loading times generally have been oppressively slow, which is what I take to be your main dissatisfaction. Sometimes slower than others certainly, as can be the... |
Busted
The Ciabatta bread recipe said spritz the top of the loaf with water when depositing it in the oven, then again within the next five minutes. So I did. What it didn't say is the your pizza/baking stone won't like the introduction of water. Maybe my spritzer seeting was too dense. All I know is my beautiful s... | You can still use it!
Mine is broken into three pieces! No problem--just push them together. I've owned a lot of stones and sooner or later they break. But broken does not by any means mean it is unusable.
--Pamela |
Peter Reinhart in Odyssey magazine!
Hi everyone! As some of you may know, I work in a middle/high school library. One of the magazines we subscribe to is Odyssey (Adventures in Science). This month's issue is dedicated to BREAD: Feeding the World and has an interview with Peter Reinhart. I haven't even read it yet, (... | March 2009
I googled it and it looks like it set for the March 2009 issue. Cool! --Pamela |
Arrowhead Mills Flour Recall
There is voluntary recall of Arrowhead Mills Organic Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour Because Of The Possible Presence Of An Undeclared Allergen.
While there does not seem to be immediate *Danger*, with all of the allergies out there, it's good for bakers to take note of this.
Here is a link... | Thanks for the recall info
I had just purchased the Arrowhead Mills organic stone ground whole wheat flour from the local natural foods store. Checked the info against the FDA release and the lot numbers match, so it's back to the store tomorrow.
Oddly, Arrowhead says nothing about it on their website. |
I just wrote myself into a corner
I'm writing a novel about a baker and I think I just blew it. Near the end of the book, she has about four hours to bake a loaf of bread from "start" (in this case, kneading final dough) to "finish" (in this case, pulling it out of the oven). She knows nothing about baking at the beg... | Happy Ending?
A 40% Rye should do the trick (but it uses a LOT of starter) All the rye is in the starter, with a proportionally high amount of starter.
For example: (ok technically it's 39% rye)
500g Bread Flour (high gluten)
650g 100% Hydration Rye Starter
210g Water
2 Tbsp (about 40g) Malt Syrup
17g Salt
2 tsp ca... |
Bread flour vs. wheat gluten
I was wondering if anyone has experience using powdered wheat gluten to strengthen flour/dough as opposed to using high-gluten flour. It seems attractive not to have to stock two kinds of flour (AP + bread), but does it work as well? How much of the gluten does one need to add to strength... | Vital Wheat Gluten...
I experimented with it for for whole wheat and ryes. Bob's Red Mill suggests a T per cup of flour.
Betty |
Any Fresh Loafers Here in NYC?
Hey All,
Just wanted to see if there are any fresh loafers here in NYC. Please let me know... Pondering get together... Thanks.
Tim | Fresh Loafer in area
I'm in northern NJ, just a hop, skip or a 20-30 minute ride into the city. I go into the city all the time. |
morning bread baking for perfect timing...
Ok - After being at this since the holidays - I have had several succeesful attempts at pain de campaign, and basic sourdough from BBA. The direction I am trying to pursue is using sourdough starters with more of a healthy grain combo - whole wheat or rye.
Is it possible to... | Sacrificing taste and character
Sure you could bake and eat fresh sourdough bread in the morning, but I think you would be doing a disservice to the bread.
Bread, and sourdough especially, needs to be fully cooled before eating to allow the flavors to blend and the crumb to mature. That takes several hours. Breads w... |
Video: Le Boulanger
I just happened to stumble across this video of a French baker discussing, well, I have no idea. I know little more than a few words of French and what French pronounciation I know I've picked up from learning the names of French-Canadian hockey players. Nonetheless, I found this video of a Fren... | Very cool
I don't speak French, but would title it "The Apprentice."
Very interesting video - especially the picture frame. The leaf detail was incredible.
Thanks for sharing it. |
Video: Baguette shaping
Here's a pretty neat video of baguette shaping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idx4QJwcPHA
Why do they always make it look so simple? | Thanks so much, Hans
Great baguette shaping video. I watched it twice. The baker in the video knows what he's doing, for sure. I've bookmarked it for my next baguette baking session.
Thanks again,
Howard |
enzyme-free releasing agent
Good Afternoon,I would like to ask if anyone could recommend enzyme-free releasing agent, for spraying the Bannatons, before using.Best wishes Michele | Rice flour
It’s like Teflon, cheap, and no messy spray to gum up your banneton. Paul |
Kneading evil?
Hiya,
Let's hear your thoughts...Why all the Internet chatter about no-Knead bread?
My personal thoughts are that it is related to everything else we sacrifice for convenience.
For example, look at this thread on LifeHacker:(Read the comments)http://lifehacker.com/5060851/make-no+knead-bread-faster-and-h... | It's not about anti-knead
Use the right tool for the job. "No-knead" results in different bread than "stretch-and-fold". "Stretch-and-fold" results in different bread than kneaded bread.
It all depends on what you want to accomplish. I don't like "no knead" bread - it doesn't hold a shape. I prefer stretch-and-fo... |
I bring the sad news of the passing of Alan Scott
We have all lost a great deal whether we are aware or not. Alan Scott, one of the world's foremost experts on baking and the father of modern brick ovens has died. Alan will be missed by all who knew him and many more who have built his ovens and still vast others who ... | .
That sucks. For those of you who don't know who he is, he was featured in the book The Bread Builders and built many of the wood-fired brick oven at bakeries and restaurant around the Bay Area and elsewhere.
I'm very sorry to hear it. |
Reading and Baking...
There's nothing I enjoy more than lazing around all day, dringing coffee, baking bread and reading. Assuming i'm not the only one out there, what is everyone else reading right now between mixes and folds? I'm about 2/3 of the way through Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and I wholeheartedly reccom... | History
1776 by David McCullough. Likewise, I'm also 2/3 of the way through. I could easily polish it off in a day if I weren't so darn busy.
-brian |
Facebook Group Bake - French Baguettes - 2/2 to 2/8/2009
Hey Eveybody,
Just starting a thread for the Facebook Group Bake - French Baguettes
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=46925141177
Please post pics, recipes, successes, and or failures...
Tim | Mini Baguettes - 2/2/09
Here's my version of Anis Bouabsa's baguettes. My version does not use any refrigeration or retardation of the fermentation process... I reduced the amount of yeast, and increased the time... Here's the link to the original recipe.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8242/anis-boabsa039s-baguett... |
Excellent Bagels blog from KAF
Hi, Quick! Head over to the King Arthur Flour blog...They just posted an excellent Bagels article with some very helpful photos.http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2009/01/27/bagels-for-babies/
All the best, Mark WisecarverNote: Remember you DO NOT need the Malt, Honey works great an... | Poking = Cheating, no?Why do
Poking = Cheating, no? NY style ;-)
Nice photos! But why do they bake 20 mins. before adding seeds?
Also interesting observation re: steaming baked products that are made with high-protein flour, and in complete agreement with some research results from the "Steaming madness" blog... It app... |
ok here goes.....
ok, I have what I feel is a really dumb question that I should know but I am struggling with.
Please help me understand percentages. What is 100% hydration starter? How do you figure all of the percent I see being thrown around. How do I know what % my starter is. I feed it with 1 c flour 1 c wate... | Bakers' percentages
Hi, Newgirl,
I had exactly the same confusion, until someone here set me straight. They are using what they call bakers' percentages. That means ingredients other than flour are expressed as a percentage of the total weight of flour in the recipe. So, if your starter contains one cup of flour, an... |
The best kitchen scale.....I really think so!
"Soehnle" scale I bought from "Sur La Table" about 3 years ago. They don't carry this particular scale anymore, but have a similar scale that works the same, maybe even better. They make digital scales and such, but this is the model that comes with a big bowl and works l... | General
You are 100% correct.When you use the cups that flour will vary:someone use the of flour and that cup should weight 4.5 once and ather person use the same the cup and that cup weight 6+ onces.When you weight your flour that come always 4.5 once.Do you have name or model that scale you talk about??? I'm looking ... |
Question?
I've been reading a few posts, and since I'm not totally comfortable with the jargon-which will probably be cleared up once I receive my new bread books-I have a question about refrigerated dough. Am I to understand that it's possible to whip a big batch of dough, portion it, put it in the refrigerator, and ... | Jargon and Artisan in Five
Welcome, Rainwater. There are tabs at the top of the TFL home page which will take you to the FAQ and Handbook sections, which should help with the jargon...and more.
The dough you write about sounds like the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method. Here's a direct link to their site whe... |
Well.....I'm jumping in deep!
I just finished my lesson two loaves. I doubled the recipe and added half the flour volumn with whole wheat flour. I work at Whole Foods which has pretty good fresh baked breads, but realize that my mediocre attempts at home taste and digest better than any store bought bread. Even when... | Welcome!
Hi, rainwater.
Welcome to TFL!
I buy most of my flour at Whole Foods. My local store carries a pretty good assortment of Giusto's organic grain products, but you got it right regarding the superiority of what you can bake at home compared to what's in the stores, even WFM!
Good luck! (since you asked). It won'... |
Navigating TFL
I have been following this site for several months, now, and posting occasionally, but I still feel frustrated in trying to find specific threads. I get notified of new topics by email, but I haven't found any way to follow an ongoing thread. The "Suscribe" button doesn't seem to have a function on thi... | There is a big FAQ in the
There is a big FAQ in the navigation. The FAQ isn't terribly useful, but the link is very much at the top of every page.
Subscribe does work to follow a thread, most of the time in most browsers. I'm sure there are certain combinations it doesn't work in.
Sorry to hear you are frustrated, bu... |
Wanting to pay someone $100 to bake some bread and video it
Hey guys,Looking to pay someone who is competent at bread-baking (think I'm in the right place!) to bake some sourdough bread and video how to do it, and take some snapshots at each stage.You don't have to be in the video, and just shoot it on your phone, no b... | Save your money, there are
Save your money, there are enough amazing guides and recipes online, some of them here:Joshua Weissman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJpIzr2sCDESourdough Masterclass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVfJTGpXnUBon Appetit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidnwPIeqsIThe Perfect Loaf: https:... |
Yeast and Ambient Temp During the Rise
First post here.
I use a bread machine for dough and baking. The ambient temperature in my kitchen varies here in Michigan. My bread rise in winter is a fraction of what I get in the summer when the kitchen is 10 degrees warmer. My Hitachi HB-D102 is supposed to keep the dough ... | More Yeast
More yeast = more (faster) rise. I wouldn't go too crazy, though. Try increasing it by about 25% at first. |
The pace of baking
In a recent thread, someone mentioned that the act of kneading is therapeutic.
This got me thinking... I've heard a lot of people say that baking is relaxing, that it helps relieve stress, that it can be a meditative experience, etc.
As I was envisioning these positive experiences that so many of you... | Tasmani-zen Devil
Eric, I can let myself get like that, especially when I'm baking multiple recipes at once, which is usually the case lately (sorry, I guess I shouldn't put any ideas in your head). To control the situation, I keep a piece of paper handy and write down when I need to do what to each dough. That helps... |
Daniel's Rustic Bread testimonials?
Hello,
I couldn't really find an appropriate area to post this, so I'm hoping it will be ok here.
I'm wondering if anyone here has ever purchased anything from danielsrusticbread.com
What was your experience? Were you happy with your purchase?
They have a good price on a baguette cou... | baguette couche
I use light duck canvas from a material shop for mine. Couple of bucks a yard.
Bob |
Posting recipes from books
I am not sure how to go about this, but what is the rule or concensus on posting recipes from books, whather we modify them or not? | posting recipes
It seems that you can reprint individual recipes but not a collection. This has some info, as well as a link to more info: http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2002/05/15/posting-recipes/ Kate |
Going Dutch
Salutations, Take a look at "Good Eats - Going Dutch" by Alton Brown from the Food network.The link below is part 2, watch both parts but especially part 2, excellent.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld20FX3q_Mk All the best, Mark | That was a great episode
That was a great episode |
Twitter for bakers
If anyone on The Fresh Loaf is on Twitter, I just started a group for bakers: http://twittgroups.com/group/breadandbaking
I know The Fresh Loaf tweets so maybe others do too? I like Twitter as it's short and sweet only.,, no long posts. It could be a great way of expanding the reach of The Fresh Loaf... | How does one use the baking group on twitter?
Janet,
Good idea, but I don't see anything about groups when I go to twitter.
Dave |
Peter Reinhart is Accepting New Testers
The day I've been waiting for is finally here! I've read a number of posts where people refer to testing recipes for Peter Reinhart's books, so I sought out his website a few months ago. He kept saying he was going to open up his blog to new testers, and the day has come.
For ... | Thanks phyl , you will really
Thanks phyl , you will really enjoy it... wish you and all the new testers good luck.
You will be from now on toooo busy.
I will die from yeast!!! hahaha |
rye or kiaser
sorry to all in advance found this quite by accdent
http://www.youtube.com/v/bxZktTSJ3bk&hl
i realy wanted to embed this but no luck | Weird Al!
Ha! I never knew he sang about two of my favorite things. Thanks Norm. |
challah that looks like a soccer ball
I am preparing to give challah as Holiday house gifts in Spain, the three attemps have lacked the bulbous protuberances that I remember from Clevelands finest jewish bakeries.
What can I do to make the big bumps come out? They are theere when the bread is braided, they disappear up... | Try a few things:
1. Use a stiffer dough.
2. Don't use bread flour, use all-purpose flour. (I Use Canadian all-purpose flour which is different than american AP flour, apparently)
3. After rolling out your ropes, dredge them in flour so that they don't run together as easily.
See this video:
http://ca.youtube.c... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.