artisanbaker

sorry. durum flour looks more like golden all purpose flour. semolina resembles cornmeal texture. regards

they are both milled from durum wheat. semolina is coarser.

keeping in mind that brioche usually has 40 to 60% butter by relation to the qty. of flour. the fact that plugra has a significantly lower % of water in it is more obvious in a dough like this where the butter content is so high. i can tell a big difference between a brioche dough made with plugra and one made with lol. that being said, i wouldn't decribe the plugra dough as being "dry." it does have different rheological properties; slightly shiny and higher viscosity.

from what i know about canadian flour, it has a higher protein level and W, which desirable when making pan breads. but lesley c's credentials and location would lead me to believe that she is correct. different brands of flour have different protein levels. the highest protein All Purpose flour is King Arthur according to Cook's Illustrated magazine tests. the lowest is White Lily. Note: this is normal as White Lily markets it's product to biscuit and pie dough making. King Arthur makes a specific pastry flour for such purposes. gluten percentage is not usually correlated with gluten *quality.* this is important when chosing a flour for a specific application. experience and testing at the National Baking Center in MN has shown that for artisan baking such as baguettes etc, the higher gluten flour lack the tolerance to endure the hours of fermentation necessary. they will deteriorate after a hour or so, yeilding an unattractive result. this problem is not good for the baker's bottom line because he can put more water in the higher gluten flours, thus increasing his dough yield. same flour amount, but more bread. so, it's a little give and take. the hard spring wheat producers in the midwest have given artisan bakers a "hard" time because we have promoted the hard winter wheat flours as being superior *quality* in spite of their lower protein *quantity.* they have traditionally catered to the pan bread industry and grown varieties of wheat according to "market needs." the artisan bread movement has caused, fortunately, certain farmers to reevaluate market needs and grow accordingly. the french use the same flour in cake as they do in bread. Note: high ratio cakes are not made in france, exept at "american" bakeries! it's a winter wheat but not as high in gluten % as ours. i participated in a study a few years ago with a virginian group of farmers and millers who were interested in growing french varieties in the states (VA of course.) it was rather unsuccessful. most wheat grown in VA is soft anyhow if my memory serves me correctly. 1 cup flour= 4 oz= 112g (ish) regards, rob :)

nightscotsman is right. sr. torreblanca told me that the lactose matrix is broken when heated too high and becomes "grainy" when cool. better add the butter (pommade) after the mixture has cooled to 95ish F degrees for the most creamy mouthfeel. same with ganaches. he said at totel they make a chocolate with a "buerre noisette" ganache whose texture is characteristically grainy due to the broken lactose. regarding butter quality: generally the quality of the primary ingredients determine the quality of the finished product. but, will the customer (or your friends) recognise and appreciate the difference enough to justify the expense? regards, rob

good luck. french people in my experience prefer that foreigners come with a project in mind; something to contribute to the community...a good exchange so to speak.

book: www.pasteleria.com balaguer worked for 2 years @ his casa.

some of the products included -olive oil sponge -whipped yolks "cake" (no sugar)!!! -tea sponge and mousse -abricot chiboust w/ saffron -tomato jam -goat cheese ice cream -pumpkin seed oil cake -pumpkin sorbet -macaron facon torreblanca -champagne mousse -fruit jellies as cake components (pectin) -rice pudding with truffle honey no food colorings, excellent technology, simple garnish, unusual flavors.

the invert sugar in honey may help

i took a brief class with senor torreblanca @ the french pastry school and he is simply a master of the craft. a true pro, there's no questioning his precision and knowledge. take a class with him if you've got some time. his book is the finest i've seen in a while. he said it will be translated to english within a few months. you can get it at kitchen arts in spanish. in a word: inspirational. regards

a good one if someone is interested is the one where you make a sirop which you boil a little and add lots of gelatin. nice shine and depending on the quality of cocoa and cream you use it can taste very nice if a little tacky.

christine ferber is very well known in france for her jams and preserves. look for books by her. http://www.frenchpastryschool.com/guest_ferber.cfm i love making jam in the summer!! ps. try also making vin de noix with green walnuts. it's a wonderful aperitif.

it's all about the staymen winesap imo...

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i wouldn't keep them in the fridge and i wouldn't keep them over 3/4 days in an airtight container. when using a parchment sheet, u can let them cool completely. then turn the paper upsidedown and carefully peel it away from the undersides of the macs. i usually let mine sit until they are well crusted. the time neccesary depends on the humidity index, but having the a/c fan blowing on them helps if u're in a hurry. rose water scented pink ones sell like mad on valentines... i might add that using a low oven will insure they will not take color, important for the pastels...

it's high time that you can get that quality of training in America. congrats, your work looks great. now it's time to put it into action. in production, it's a whole different game. http://www.journaldupatissier.com/Cadre/PAnn.asp

tgv to montelimar... http://www.universite-du-vin.com/ visit nyons surronding villages in la drome for breathtaking beauty

"We want to live in a wine region. Cuisine is important. Although honestly, these two criteria don't narrow it down very much. We want a town large enough to have an Internet cafe but not one that is overrun with tourists. We want to live in town, walking distance to markets and restaurants. We want a countryside that is flat enough for easy bicycling. We want interesting things in easy driving distance (although that doesn't narrow it down very much, either)." i would recommend Colmar if you are still open to suggestions. wine, cuisine, biking, patrimony, ease of access to other gastronomy capitols of france, ie beaune/bresse/lyon/alpes. small town size with good markets.

cafe des anges metro bastille recommended for tourist free fare 66, rue de la Roquette 75011 Paris

i've never had good bread in italy, but ironically one of the best bakers i know is italian. email the maestro himself for a suggestion maybe? http://www.giorilli.com/profilo.htm

i don't there has been universal consensus on the definition of frangipane but i usually mix in up to 100% pastry cream. this makes it much more "moelleux," or moist. i think there's some type of pithiviers with lark in it that is now illegal to retail or something like that!

flammekuche

fao margaret pilgrim: the bakery in los gatos was pascal janvier's? if he is still in business i would be he makes a great mac- herme's are awesome. i make rose flavored every valentines season and they sell like crazy...

thanks for the posts everyone. epiphany is a great reason to party in France. i make a brioche with orange flower water here in TN for mardi gras. it competes with the "kings cake" from new orleans which is hideous. apart from that i make pithiviers on occasion, but there is no epiphany celebration like in France stateside. fyi the pineapple coconut seems to be very popular this year according to a french bakery messageboard... >>> tu suprimes 10% de sucre de ta recette de creme d'amande et tu remplaces 75 % de poudre d'amande par de la noix de coco rapée _________________ Patrick Hermenault Vive la réussite par le TRAVAIL et avec le TRAVAIL <<<

fao loufood dry butter is not marketed as such stateside (as of yet) plugra and other low moisture content butters are similar altho imo not quite as dry a little flour can always help but is not a substitute the little cheese shop on the way to poujouran from the metro stop has echire if it is hard to find. androuet maybe?