scott123

Is setting it 'on top of the soil' just to allow the exposed are to dry up? Could you set it anywhere? Or does the exposed area need to be touching soil? Is the window for warmth? What temps does Ginger like? How fast does ginger grow? Is this pot method a way of preserving ginger you buy or does it actually yield enough ginger to provide a supply?

That's smart! It's a root, so bury it in the root cellar. Thanks! ← Technically, it's not a root. It's a rhizome ;) As far as freezing it goes, I puree it, sautee it in oil and then freeze it in ice cube trays. That works well for me. I wouldn't freeze it raw, though. I use frozen galangal because that's all I can get my hands on. If I could get it fresh, I would, as I don't like the effect freezing has on it (spongeyness).

I don't know how it would effect consistency, but different brands contain more salt than others. I made the mistake of buying supermarket brand cream cheese and the jacked up sodium content ruined the flavor of my cheesecake. If the salt content can be that different, I'm sure the cheesemaking process probably varies slightly from brand to brand. Even if the ingredients match, the process can vary. Cheesemaking has many variables.

I've notice that when I used to roll my pizza crust, the roller would force air to the edge and form small bubbles that would pop. When I pull the pizza, this doesn't happen. The overall difference between rolled and pulled dough probably isn't huge, though. My recommendation to pull rather than roll/cut was more focused on the cutting than the rolling. Cutting dough gives you an unsealed edge. With an unsealed edge, you're seriously impairing your oven spring.

Nullo, even though polydextrose will caramelize, it has very little flavor. It's sole purpose is to provide a sticky sugary texture (and act as a preservative). If you're looking for a caramelized taste in your glaze, definitely hit the high intensity sweeteners hard (splenda/stevia/ace K), as well as use a small amount of blackstrap molasses. A little butter should help your glaze as well. P.S. It won't travel all that well, but I would try adding some polydextrose to your cream cheese/butter glaze. You also might try a polydextrose/heavy cream version as well.

I'd go with the egg. Just remember, by adding egg, you're adding water, so you might need to decrease your water a bit or the dough might be too sticky to work with. You could also try just the yolk since the color/flavor/richness comes from that. How long does it take to ship something to Japan? I'd perfect the cinnamon buns with a polydextrose glaze and then let them sit out at room temp for however long shipping would take. Then eat them. If you survive without incident, make another batch the same way and ship it.

Daniel, I highly recommend taking a stab at pulling your pizza dough into shape rather than rolling it/cutting the edges. A rolled pizza just doesn't compare to a pulled one. No need to toss it in the air - unless you've got people around you want to impress :)

It all depends on what you define as great pizza. Great pizza comes in a myriad number of forms and everyone has their favorite. I could write a book on New York Style Vulcan oven pizza, but if that doesn't float your boat, I'd be wasting my time. Describe your favorite pizza and we'll go from there.

Nullo, how is your bread 2-3 days after it's been made? Most of the fresh bread I've seen is fairly compromised after a day or so. Polydextrose will melt/caramelize like sugar and makes an excellent glaze. It also ties up water (like sugar) so it will help the glaze from going bad. Even with a polydextrose based glaze, I really don't see how this will make it overseas in a decent condition. Day old bread is just not that great and I'm sure low carb bread is no exception.

Nullo, traditionally cinnamon rolls are a sweet rich dough - additional sugar and additional fat (usually butter) in addition to the butter/sugar used to roll them. The additional fat will weaken the gluten structure, so the rolls may not rise as much.

Are you absolutely sure yeast won't digest polydextrose? I originally recommended polydextrose to Nullo as a potential yeast nutrient since inulin was in the original recipe used for the commercial bread he was replicating. So far my research has confirmed inulin to be a yeast nutrient. Since polydextrose has some similar attributes, I thought it too might be a potential yeast nutrient. Since I still have a lot to learn about both inulin and polydextrose, this was just a shot in the dark, though. When Peter Reinhart was here recently, I asked him about the need for table sugar to sustain yeast in low carb breads. He didn't feel that table sugar was all that necessary and that the yeast could thrive on the small amount of glucose contained in other commonly used low carb ingredients such as legume or nut flours.

Flour is milled differently today than it was in the past but the established categories all stem from two types of wheat - hard and soft. From hard you get bread flour, from soft you get pastry/cake flour. Combining the two gives you all purpose. Pastry and cake flour, being both milled from the same soft wheat, do not vary greatly in their protein content. One is bleached, the other is unbleached. They can be substituted for each other successfully 1:1. That being said, cake flour is vile. It's wheatiness, it's soul, it's essence has been entirely eradicated. Smell it/taste it next to an unbleached flour and the difference will be immediately distinguishable. Cake flour is disgusting. The only time cake flour should be used is in an application where it's whiteness is required (such as wedding cake). Otherwise, my recommendation is to avoid it at all costs. Go the extra mile and get unbleached pastry flour (not whole wheat). Your baked goods will thank you for it. Call around to your local bakeries, there has to be one that will sell you a pound or two.

Ed, this is only a theory, but I think that the porosity of the stone wicks away moisture faster than iron would.

Well, sesame seeds have zero binding abilities and flax, when hydrated, has a gelatinous egglike quality that forms a very loose framework for leavening, which is then augmented by the wheat protein. Not to mention the difference in fat content. Sesame seeds have a lot more fat than flax. Fat gets in the way of gluten and prevents it from doing it's job.

Lunch buffet - in my price range. Dinner - not.

Sesame seeds, huh? Yes, there is a resemblence. Sesame seeds would definitely change the leavening situation pretty dramatically.

Nullo, congratulations. Those look phenomenal. I think the jarred yeast is probably superior to the packets. I'm also guessing that the fresh flax seeds made a big difference in taste. I'm curious about something. Was the crumb opaque or more on the translucent side? Are they at all rubbery/spongey? I'm trying ascertain if the extra protein from the WPI affected them adversely at all. Salt, btw, is a yeast inhibitor, so they may not rise quite as much when you add salt to the next batch. Overall, though, they're looking great. When are you going to open up a bakery?

Year old flax seeds, sealed packaged or not, most probably rancid. If they did turn on you, they'd lend a very strong flaxy (and not pleasant) flavor to anything you use them in. The jar yeast is for buying yeast in bulk. Packet yeast is fine. Red star is a good brand, but I just find rapid rise yeast a little too gimmicky. It feels like a something for nothing kind of product, and I just don't buy into it. Any brand of regular yeast is good, just make sure it's got a good date on the package. Also, I'm not 100% sure about this, but I've always found unrefrigerated yeast to be fresher than refrigerated packet yeast. I could be wrong though. When I made bread, I used to buy a 1 lb. block of fresh compressed yeast for $2 from a local baker. It had phenemonal leavening properties. I don't think that the osolo rolls are very similar to the output from the lc pizza crust kits. Some gluten is needed for a bubble framework for the bread to rise, but too much and you've got rubber. The recipe I listed should provide sufficient elasticity when kneaded for the right amount of time. If, after needing this the full 5 minutes, the dough isn't springy, than I'll take another look at my calculations and see if a greater proportion of gluten will work numerically. I was looking for a video on kneading and all I could come up with is this real audio file: http://pmedia.meredith.com/bhg/food/cookschool/kneading.ram This is a good link on kneading: http://www.baking911.com/bread101_knead.htm And, while looking for that, I came across this: http://www.baking911.com/bread_problems.htm Yeast is a living item. It isn't like you add water, start the clock and off they go for a set amount of gas/time. They feed, they grow, they multiply, they excrete alcohol/carbon dioxide, and, once they hit a certain temperature, they die. As long as you provide the yeast with some nutrients and a suitable environment, they're happy as clams. Yeast propagate a lot faster in an aerobic environment (oxygen rich) than an anaerobic one. Hence the vigorous wisking when the yeast is combined with water, as well as the punch down later on. The initial proofing with a tiny amount of sugar is an excellent way of determining the potency of your critters.

Nullo, if there was a perseverence award, I would definitely nominate you for it. My life revolves around food and I can get pretty tunnel minded, but I don't think I ever went after anything with the ferocity you're going after this. Bravo. Baking Powder Leavening problems aren't always about insufficient leavener. If the protein framework isn't strong/elastic enough, the leavening won't give it rise. With single action baking powder, the powder has lost it's leavening abilities long before the yeast has risen. With double action, you get half of it's leavening potential. If you do need additional leavener, add more yeast. Change the recipe After giving it some thought, the amount of fiber in this could be preventing the gluten from doing it's job. If you remember, my calculations worked with a higher vital wheat gluten lower flax ratio. I'd give that a shot: gluten 6 T + 1 t. flax 4 T. oil 1 T. + oil for bowl fiber 3 T. 2t. polydextrose 2 t salt 1/4 t. Flax seed vs. meal I took a look at my calculations and noticed a miscommunication. My numbers are for flax seed not flax meal. I'm pretty sure seed, once ground, doubles in volume, so if you've been using my numbers, you've been using half the require flax. For the recipe above, 4 T. flax seed should be 8 T. meal. As far as your bread tasting too 'flaxy' have you tasted the meal by itself? It may have turned rancid. I've had that happen to both the seeds and the meal a bunch of times. Kneading the dough 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes with a machine (food processor or mixer w/ dough hook) Not a minute less Regular yeast/Proof the yeast Your yeast may be old. I'm also not a big fan of instant yeast. Get your hands on regular yeast. And proof the yeast. Add 105-110 degree water to the yeast with 1/4 t. of sugar, whisk it briefly to promote aerobic respiration, set it aside for 5 minutes. When you come back, the yeast should be bubbly. Adjust vitamin C Yeast doesn't like too acidic of an environment. If memory serves me correctly, the ascorbic acid should be around 5 milligrams, 10 times that might be killing your yeast off. Vital Wheat Gluten Are you out of VWG? Get some more. You're making your life a lot more difficult by using WPI for these rolls. I think the flax seed/meal issue should make a huge difference. Using half the flax meal might be the reason your rolls didn't come out right. Flax provides a certain amount of fluffiness, without it, the gluten will have a tendency to be rubbery.

Irwin, does the use of maltose have much of a history? Do you think that maltose was being used 20 years ago? My biggest problem with the ginger has been finding a way to prep it. I grated it on the finest side of my box grater and it still gave me pretty large pieces that didn't cook right. Would you happen to know how Chinese restaurants prep their ginger? Also, I've been contemplating the little bits of char siu in fried rice. If memory serves me correctly, sometimes they are part red/part brown but occasionally they are entirely red colored. Experience has shown me that the color from the marinade rarely penetrates more than about 1/4". Do they slice the pork into pieces and then coat it with the marinade? They don't roast those little pieces, correct? Do they stir fry them? Dave, welcome to the discussion :) My first attempt was an overnight marinade. Between what Irwin previously stated (high turnover=superficial marination), the loss of flavor from long roasting and my cost for apricot jam, I have mixed feelings about marination. I'm finding I get much more bang for buck if I allocate my apricot resources to my final glaze. Does this mean I don't marinate? No, but I use very little marinade and don't do it for that long. Definitely slow and low, then a final glaze/high burst of heat at the end. As far as the difficulty reproducing Chinese Restaurant food at home, well... I think many people here will tell you the heat from the burners makes a huge difference. I think it's more than that. I think it's a bit of a class issue. Old school NY Chinese restaurant food has historically been prepared by poor immigrants. These short order cooks aren't writing cookbooks. The people that are writing cookbooks are fairly removed from the process. Westerners usually just guess at what could be in the dishes and usually the guesses are way off. That's why you find so many crummy recipes online - they're just stabs in the dark. I think, to an extent, the same situation applies to Indian restaurant food as well. The cookbooks aren't being written by the right people.

I'm liking "Ooey, Gooey, Oh Yeah" That's got my vote.

Nullo, getting the right amount of water in the dough is crucial. It's very possible that this recipe needs more wheat protein, but I'd give one more shot at adjusting the water. The first time was too little water, this time too much, maybe next time it'll be just right. A final rise (called a proof) on the cookie sheet is essential. Make sure you handle it gingerly as you put it in the oven as it can be easy to deflate once fully proofed.

From solid to liquid in 4.5 seconds Tomorrow, yesterday, cheese Tomorrow... yesterday... the best elements of both Nouveau Sentimental New Vintage Vintage Future Future meeting past between two slices of bread Not yer mom, but da bomb The best thing since sliced bread

If hickory smoke can be distilled, I'm sure ghee smoke can be distilled as well. I'm surprised no one has come along and bottled liquid ghee smoke. I think 'tandoori' in a bottle would have quite the following.

Nullo, the "ton more" rise is a good sign. However, the fact that it deflated when you took the plastic off is not so good. Did you let it rise past double? As dough goes past the doubling phase, it has a tendency to get weak and collapse. If it was only doubled and it fell, I'd say it could be a little too much water. Oatmeal is definitely not what you're looking for, just sticky wet dough. It definitely shouldn't be stirrable beyond those few seconds when the ingredients are combined with the water. As far as 'working' the dough after the first rise, I think you'll want to avoid that. After the first rise, it's very easy to overwork the gluten and tear it. Just a punch down/seond rise is sufficient. A punch down is what it sounds like. You punch down the dough in the middle and then fold the edges inward. This redistributes the yeast on the inside of the dough to the outside, giving it fresh nutrients. If it truly is 'oatmealy' I think forming this into buns could get tricky. You might want to dump the whole thing onto a greased cookie sheet, let it rise a bit and bake it. It absolutely essential that the flax seed be ground as finely as possible, as any course edges will have a tendency to slice the gluten and deflate the loaf.