Woods

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like you are a professional. I just got rid of an old refridgerator I had use for beer making. I even had a thermostat. Ah well, being a friend of Bill precludes some things. I'll try cheddar curds, they sound good! Woods

I've only made kefir, quark and just ordered the indgredients for feta. I am looking for a bread baker or pastry cook job without much luck so far. What do you suggest as a hard cheese to start with? I bought some local (MD) goat camembert that was quite good the other day. Thus far I only have only found store bought milk and only cow at that. What did they use in you appreticeshop? It would be a good idea to document projects. I'm up for it. Woods

Hi Woods, I live in Takoma Park as well and I like to make my own cheese. I have looked locally for cheesemaking products and finally gave up. I tried our own co-op for vegetarian "rennet" as well as Trader Joe's and Rodman's. Apparently, Trader Joe's sells it on the West coast, but not over here. I ended up buying soursalt/citric acid at a kosher spice store in Flushing (my s.o. is from Queens so I am up there about once a month). I started mail ordering from cheesemaking.com for everything else. I do buy my milk from the TPSS co-op. They don't have non-pasteurized, but they do have organic milk that is not ultra-pasteurized that they sell by the gallon. I spoke to a dairy vendor at the Farmer's market on Sunday about getting non-pasteurized milk. He told me that it is illegal to sell in Maryland, but not in Pennsylvania if you can make "arrangements" with local dairies. Maybe someone else knows something that I don't... ← Thanks, Takoma. I thought that might be the case. I'll order from that site as well. I think the next one will be feta as my wife loves it. I did get some goat camembert at the SS farmers market last week. Its good. They also had a goat bleu that is excellent. We go to Philly at least once a month so I'll do some checking and let you know. Woods

Hello, I live in Takoma Park and have started exploring cheese making (I'm an unemployed baker). Is anyone familiar with a place in metro DC where I could find cheese making supplies? There must be a way to support a local buisness without resorting to the web. Thanks to all, Woods

I'm having vanilla ice cream topped with chestnuts in rum flavored syrup.

Hello all, Is anyone aware of a thread that discusses home cheese making? I am not sure how to search on this site for one. Thanks, Woods

You can also substitue non hydrogenated vegetable margerine (Earth Balance) and egg beaters in recipes. This works well if the predominant flavor you want is not butter. I have even made brioche this way and while its a different product, its fine in its own way.

I would advise to just keep making them over and over. They freeze well and squirrels love them (as do people at church coffee hours). I have found the most important factors are letting it rest between turns. Thant is, not a rest acording to time but until the gluten is relaxed-poke it. You have to let it sit out for a short while before you turn it or the beurrage will shatter, although you can still make fine croissants if it does. If you keep making them you will begin to get a sense of when the beurrage is plastic and how much pressure to use etc. Only Martha acheives perfection but repetition is how you get there. I have a recipe that works well if you are interested, however, its not so much the recipe as technique. Good luck. Woods

Hello, All, I'm leaving for Amsterdam this evening and am wondering if anyone has dining and other cultural recommedations. I am looking forward to cheese and Indonesian food for sure. Thanks. Woods

You can get the Sicilian pistachios from Albert Uster Imports (auiswiss.com) but they are pohibitively expensive for home use. Woods

Etymology aside, have you ever made it using sour cherries? Wonderful! Woods

Do you grow redcurrents in the US? Maybe I've always lived to far south but I rarely see them and then they are prohibatively expensive.

You can also use kirschwasser as the French do with griottes. They are very good and last a long, long time.

kcd, I've used all kinds of baskets that we have around the house and well as ones I bought at Pier 1 (the smell of the store didn't stay in them, thank goodness) At one time they had round and oval linen lined ones for $3.99! If you have a very wet dough line it with a cloth well rubbed with flour. I have some bannetons which were gifts (they are expensive) and they do work fine. We used plastic ones at work and the bakers didn't like the way the dough rose in them but that may be an individual biases. Good luck.

I've tried the artisan.net link, but end up getting forwarded to a page called turbide.net. Any better info for the actual site? ← devlin, its actually theartisan.net

Brownsugar, are you familiar with baker's percentage? This makes it easy to scale up or down in certain recipes like breads, some cakes, brownies etc. If you look on artisan.net they have and interactive page where you can plug in desired amount or servings but you do need the weight of the ingredients. The CIA baking and pastry book also is helpful. Woods

Bridge Kitchenware has them. You can also put a sheet pan over a loaf pan and weight it heavily. Just fill the pan half full though with unproofed dough.

Could it have to do with your expectations? Challah is not a "very rich sweet egg bread". It is on the light end of the brioche scale of richness. If you want that try brioche with the butter at 75-100% of the flour weight-its wonderful if you don't remember what you are eating! If you want a recipe for gateau mollet which is like this I'll post it. Keep trying! Woods Why it didn't have taste I don't know. It sounds like you used Gold Medal flour which is fine.

Linda Dannenberg also has a book, Paris Bistro, that is beautiful to look at and has good recipes as well. I recommend it as well as the other.

That pain de mie recipe has been my favorite as well for years. Don't worry about a pan. Put a sheet pan on top of the loaf pan and put a heavy pan on top the that. It works just as well. Woods

I've had this book for about 10 years and it is one of my favorites. I have made many of the recipes and all have been good. If you like chocolate try Le Pleyel. Woods

Brownsuga, Have you tried Italian Meringue Buttercream? Its easy and won't slump or melt in the summer and it is ethereal when made correctly. It also has the added bonus of using fully cooked whites so you can confidently serve it to little kids and old ladies. Woods

Do you like light, airy brioche or denser and cake like? I prefer the latter and usually make the recipe I learned in school at home. I do agree, I would like to explore brioche and would be a happy participant! Woods

Amazon lists it as a hardback book that is out of print and unavailable.

I do have Le Gout du Pain but most of his other works are out of print. Thanks. By the way, if you can read any French the French edition is 25 euros unlike the rather overpriced English translation.