lizztwozee

Greetings, Bread Bakers! I was watching a YouTube video which profiled a baker in Paris last Saturday night (I don't get out much), and he was explaining that the temperature of the water, flour and air should equal 52 degrees Centigrade. Hmmm, I kinda remembered something like that from the 3-day intense bread class I took at the French Pastry School in Chicago (oh, for the budget to take more classes there!), and my notes translated the temperature into approximately 129 degrees Farenheit. Soooo, just for kicks, I measured the temperature of the air and flour I had on hand, and came up with 71 degrees for both, not unexpected, and certainly within range in a commercial baking space. My question is, how does one come up with approximately 129 degrees (which is about 54 degrees Centigrade), since 71+71=142? Your input gratefully acknowledged, thanks! --Lizz

What's your secret for cutting them so straight? I saw a tape measure in there somewhere! Do you follow the blade, or the edge of the pan with your eye when cutting?

Here are photos from my Facebook page, enjoy! Minas, I'll let you post the recipe, as it came from your source. http://www.facebook.com/thetravelingchef

Minas, thanks for the great recipe! Anyway It came out fantastic, although not exactly like the confection I discovered, but absoloutely delicious, and shatter-crisp, with toasted nuggets of seeds, highlighted by a zing of salt every other bite. Incredible! I had to send them off to a friend, in order not to eat them ALL as they cooled. Wonderful, thank you!

Tri2Cook: Sounds like you're on to something! Do you have a good source for a praline recipe? I had a thought that it was not a brittle, as soda is not in the ingredient list. We're getting close, I can feel it!

Thanks, I'll have fun experimenting! And sorry I didn't get a photo before I snarfed the whole bag down, everyone. I'll take a trip to the Farmer's Market on Feb. 4th, to get more, you can bet.

Minas: Yes, please! I'm not sure this is a straight brittle, Lisa. It's so tender, without a hint of sugar-chewiness, and it is opaque without the air bubbles. Looking forward to trying the recipe!

Greetings, all. I've recently been introduced to an incredible confection called "bird seed brittle", made by a local bakery. It's a tender-crisp brittle populated with sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and the ingredients that hold it together are noted as simple syrup, honey, vanilla, cream and oil. The texture is so interesting, because it has no hint of chewiness, but a tenderness somewhere in between a crumbliness and shatter-crispness. Incredible! It speaks of a rigid formula that includes a specific temperature in order to get the right amount of crispness without chewiness or hardness. It's spread very thin, and so is bound to be more tender because of that. The cream makes the binding material opaque, and it has a hint of oil on the bottom, telling me it's spread on parchment, then cut, or cut just after spreading, as the cuts are rectangular, and not random, as if it had been broken. Whew! Did I give a good description? I'd love your thoughts on recreating the recipe.

I like the idea of a Pullman pan; how does one use that -- with the cover on for rising and baking? How do you determine the perfect amount of dough, so it doesn't stress the pan when baking? As you can tell, I know nothing about the subject!

Here's the recipe from the misleading-picture cookbook: Rice flour, 1 lb. Potato starch, 3 oz. Cornstarch, 2 oz. Tapioca flour, 3 oz. sugar, 1 oz. nonfat milk solids or powdered milk, 2.5 oz. xanthan gum, .5 oz. salt, .5 oz. instant yeast, .5 oz. oil or butter melted, 2 oz. water, warm, 1 lb. 12 oz. white vinegar, .33 oz. or 2 tsp. egg whites, lightly beaten, 6 oz. total weight: 4 lb., 1 oz. Sift all dry ingredients, mix on low speed to combine. Dusty! Slowly add fat, water, and vinegar, and mix to combine. Add egg whites, beat at high speed for 3 minutes to form batter. Grease loaf pans and dust with rice flour, fill pans half full. Proof until doubled, bake at 400 degrees for about 50 mins., depending on size of loaves. I'd love to hear about someone else's results. The texture is not crumbly, and the flavor is good, but it's the rise that's missing! Thanks, all.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I'm not tied to white at all, PanaCana, I'd love to see your recipe! It sounds great. And yes, tapioca and corn starch in this recipe, and the texture and flavor were good, Broken English. That part I was impressed with; it was just the final "ET" shape of the bread I was disappointed in! I'm trying it again, without the slash, and maybe not rising quite so much in the pan, so it doesn't spill over. I think the very wet dough is a benefit after all, after having tried it with less water, and getting non-risen GF bricks instead of bread. I'll post the recipe when I grab the big book at home tonight. It's a challenge!

Thanks for the recommendations, all. Yes, I'm planning to use separate utensils, and certainly won't bake both types of breads at the same time. I won't have access to a separate baking area, however, and plan to warn my future customers that if they're extremely sensitive, they shouldn't buy my bread. But for those with a modicum of sensitivity, I believe my product will work. I cooked for a woman with extreme celiac disease for years, and developed a successful pie crust and pizza dough, but bread has eluded me, being that the rise is difficult to obtain. I plan to try the wet dough recipe again, but will maybe accept the fact that it won't rise as well as wheat dough, and certainly not look like the photo in the cookbook! What's your opinion of the photo, master-class graduate? Is it possible? I'd love to have a recipe, if you are willing. Thanks for your input!

Greetings, all. I'm desirous of baking gluten-free breads for sale at Farmer's Markets, as about 40% of the people who won't take a sample of my bread for sale ask if I have any gluten-free samples. I give! I found what seemed like a fabulous recipe in Wayne Gisslen's Professional Baking, 5th Ed., with a gorgeous photo of a fully risen and "oven burst" loaf, baked in a standard sized baking pan, sliced to show the lovely, bright-white interior of rice and other gluten-free flours, and golden crust. Yeah, right. I baked the recipe as written, and came out with a flabby, wet dough that was so unstructured that it rose and spilled over the top of the bread pan, and sunk miserably upon cooling. Here's a photo to laugh at! I tried making a "slash" by running a skewer along the length of the pudding . . . hmmmm. So, does anyone have any recipes to share? I haven't found a gluten-free posting on Egullet, although I have to think someone has introduced the subject. Thanks!

Greetings, bread experts! I recently visited a friend in Cincinnati, and was lucky enough to visit the Farmer's Market in Hyde Park, outside the city, on a Sunday, where I experienced the best bread I've ever eaten, baked by the talented folks at Blue Oven Bakery. Here's their site: http://blueovenbakery.com/homePage.php So I managed to hold up the substatial line that had formed, by peppering the people behind the counter with the question: how is the bread so moist? It was a sourdough whole wheat (I think all their breads are sourdough), that was so moist, it was almost as if it had butter on it. I'm an amateur baker myself, and bake for the Farmer's Market as well, but I had never been able to get a moist loaf of that caliber, as my hydration needed to be at 61% to rise well. They informed me that their breads are hydrated at not less than 75%, and up to 80%! How is this possible? I noticed that the breads were not terribly tall, and had lovely open work bubbles, characteristic of a well-hydrated loaf. I tried experimenting, adding more liquid to my formula, and . . . the bread exploded sideways, even though it was well slashed. Hmmmmm. Any thoughts? Here's my recipe: 112 oz. mixed whole wheat, strong white and AP flours; 2.5 oz. ground flax; 1 oz. flax seed; 63 oz. water; 1 t. instant yeast; 24 oz. 100% hydration overnight biga; 1/4 t. ascorbic acid; 3T salt. Would the sourdough batter hold more moisture? Your help gratefully acknowledged, thanks.

I'm giggling!

Great info, all! Here's my recipe, for kicks and giggles: 1000gr water 1000gr hi gluten white flour 500gr rye flour 35gr salt 35gr fresh yeast 1250gr "fermented dough" -- made from 650gr water, 1000gr hi gluten flour, 22gr salt, 15gr fresh yeast, risen in cooler overnight 110gr potato flakes, mixed with 390gr water As you can see, this recipe has some of the potato elements the KAF mix talked about . . . I wonder if that counteracts the lack of elasticity in the rye. I don't consider adding wheat gluten, or citric acid, which is lemon juice, as unnatural products, BTW.

Well, all-righty then! I'll get some sour salt, and gluten, and go to town. Where I WISH I could buy a #50 bag of rye flour . . . since I bake for Farmer's Markets, and peeps have been crying for rye, I need to find a good source of it in large amounts. I use SAF instant yeast with great success, so I know that's not the problem. I'll try the "Year in Bread" recipe, sounds delish. Thanks, all!

Greetings, baking experts! Here's a mix which King Arthur Flour sells to "improve" rye breads: A blend of rye flavors and sours, diastatic malt, vital wheat gluten (for a good, strong rise) and potato flour (to help combat the "dry crumblies" Does this mean one can add some of these things to a rye bread recipe to lighten it up? I have a tasty recipe from a class I took years ago at The French Pastry School in Chicago -- great place, BTW. Anyhooo, when I make this bread at home, it rises a fraction of an inch in several hours' time, and bakes up like a brick! Waaa? It has great flavor, but you need the jaws of life to get a bite. Any suggestions?

Great! I'll have to google "Chorleywood bread" to find out more. Fascinating! Now I'm guessing the 30% refers to your starter as a portion of the flour weight? What was the hydration percentage? Thanks, Jackal10!

Greetings! This demo was awesome . . . but I have a question. The first set of pictures show the boules of bread, and the glass jug with the dough inside. Is this done right after mixing, or after a bulk rise, and with or without a "rest"? I'm wondering why, if it's after bulk rise and rest, it needs a full 4 hours to prove -- is it in a cooler condition? And is there a need for a "rest", if you're baking round breads? I'm doing so in mass quantity, and wonder if I can skip this step, going right from bulk rise to shaped loaves. I wanted to send this as a PM, but Jackal10 seems to have a full mailbox! Can someone answer . . . Jackal10, are you out there? Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

Here's a photo of the "better" risen breads. They're gettin' there!

Good observation, brokenscale! Yes, I've checked and the oven is dead on. TheTinCook, I'm trying your suggestion, it's a good one. I have to open the big "suicide" doors for at least 1-2 minutes, in order to load the oven with the multiple small loaves that go 'way in the back, with a peel. Having the stone on the rack really helps with the spring and temperature consistency, I'm convinced.

glennbech, do you bake in electric or gas? Your loaves are just beautiful! You must also rise in a vehicle that creates the lovely flour veil with "stripes" -- I'd love to see a shot of that.

TheTinCook: Great suggestion. I have a beat-up small sheet pan with some broken pieces of the same stone that lines the oven racks, which I can put hot water in, and not worry about it warping; I've always felt I need more steam. Good point. Mjx: My breads take only 15-20 mins. to bake at 400 degrees convection, so I'm thinking of letting them rise without convection for the first 10 minutes. I have to think the rise would be complete by then. I'm also thinking of carrying in water, instead of using the city water at the kitchen; I've noticed when I first turn it on, it's red with iron (probably because no one has used the faucet for a week!), but maybe that indicates that the water is very hard; we have a well that must be less mineral-infused than that. I measured the height of a 26 oz. (weight before baking) loaf I baked at home in a 1-lb tin -- 6 inches. That's my goal! Can't wait to try everything this Friday, will post! Thanks, all.

Interesting observation, HungryC -- I'm baking in a kitchen that's connected to a meat processing plant, so the temperature is around 62-65 degrees. That's why I need to use the warming ovens for the bulk fermentation; perhaps since the rest and second rise are out of the ovens, at that temperature, it's too cold? I always assume a slow rise is better, and I do get a decent rise the second time, before placing in the oven.