danlepard

Michael, the editorial production for The Cook's Book was based in London, but as co-editions for the US, Australia, Spain (and others) were planned for the same release date it felt like a joint-published project. And the co-edition publishers occasionally guided the content, and in one case I know of, the specific ingredients and method used in a recipe. A long, complex affair involving many editors, photographers, stylists and chefs in different countries, working to a tight style sheet that DK insisted effect the look of the photography and the manner in which the recipes were expressed. Given the complexity of this jigsaw it looks rather seamless - the photographer's own styles merge behind the house look, and the language smoothed so that clear method becomes the principal thing. It could have ended blandly but instead ended in (my view) a detailed collection of basic and specialized techniques. Dan

Hello Sugarella, A publisher hope to market books to the widest number of readers, and increasingly proposals are looked at not just by a commissioning editor but also by marketing and sales departments who will scrutinise it for potential risks. Yep, those same elements that give a manuscript its magical zest might cause some people involved in the production to lack confidence that it will sell at all. So if the sales department doesn't have confidence it can sell your book, then this could stop it being commissioned. But should you manage to have published a nice little pointless book that ticks all of the boxes yet dies at the bookstores, well, that will be seen as your fault too. As Russ says (and this absolutely nails the current thinking in cook book publishing), and though you identify a market that desperately wants a detailed specific book, unless a publisher can identify that market too you'll have difficulty getting your book accepted. At some point you concede that your manuscript must be a joint project between you and your publisher in order to get into print, especially on an illustrated book where the publisher (at some risk) will pay large production costs. Sometimes smaller publishing houses offset this risk on specialist books by setting a higher cover price and assume that sales will be small. You might get a text-only science book with cover price of $150, very specific yet intended for a small market. But it's my experience that most publishers prefer a lower cover price and aim for higher sales, as this will encourage bulk purchasers (book clubs etc) and foreign editions - areas where the publisher will quickly recoup costs before royalties. Foreign editions are also affected by how difficult it is for a reader to obtain ingredients, and the text length affects translation costs. You might say, "well, I just want my book published locally", but that wouldn't be your call. But...that doesn't mean, "write to order". It means that the publisher sees your manuscript as a potential product that they will print and market, and will need a confident commissioning team to get it into print. regards Dan

Hello Sugarella, Perhaps it's down to whether you are producing an all-purpose recipe, helping the reader to baker better, or more simply, using easily found ingredients; or whether you are helping the reader to replicate a specific result in the home. If it's the latter then I absolutely agree with you. We can't pretend that every great and extraordinary cake or dessert can be reduced to a generic recipe, to everyday supermarket ingredients available all year round, and I think that fraud is terribly wrong. Nor do ingredients always have substitutions. Not long ago I was at an awards dinner where one of the judges, in that moment where they confess to you why your entry couldn't win (now there's a strange moment), pitied that I hadn't really considered substitutions enough. "For example, I made your Waterford soda bread with cornmeal instead of soft wholemeal flour and it made a perfect American-style cornbread. Why didn't you suggest something like that"? Though I utterly disagreed that cornmeal would make a good substitution, or even a passable cornbread (whilst I knocked back a couple of drinks in succession), I tried to gently explain that the soda bread recipe I wrote of was bound to a particular type of grain character, at least, and to change this ingredient would change the recipe entirely. If you are writing to explain how you make what you make, you must be honest. If you are writing a recipe to show how to replicate a traditional recipe or celebrated dish, then you must be true to the original method. But really be prepared for heavy resistance both from publishers and editors. One way around it is to work at getting the very best result with slightly easier to obtain ingredients, and then in the intro or sidebar mention what qualities the rare ingredients would have given the recipe. But if you really, truly feel that a few special ingredients are essential, then go with your heart. A book written with that honesty and dedication will always stand out. regards Dan

Hello doronin, "Rounding" is a type of shaping, but it is usually preferable to get the piece of dough into an even round shape before letting it rest and shaping it again into the final form. So with most dough I lightly shape it into a round, then leave it covered on a flour dusted surface for 15 minutes before shaping it again, even if the final shape is a round. There are three main reasons for this: (1) After weighing/dividing the dough you're left with an uneven lump. By smoothing and tightening the surface and turning it into a ball you are more likely to even with a symmetrical final form. Symmetry is preferable so that the loaf stays useful, with the slices at one end the same height and width as those at the opposite end. You can still have a beautiful asymmetric loaf, but it might not be so useful. I must admit to being a bit of a "form follows function" kinda guy. (2) It's usually the intention in all bread dough shaping (even when making a focaccia sheet) to keep the outer surface taut. So when we shape the dough into a round, the round shape is simply the result of pushing the dough down and across the bench evenly. As woods says (and this is ever so important): And in order to do this, as piazzola says (melbournians have a natural affinity with good bread ), don't use too much flour. Flour your hands and only lightly dust the surface. And aim to work very quickly as this will help avoid "the stickies" (3) Artisan bakers tend to work with fragile dough that has been given extensive bulk fermentation, and often using softer flours (lower in gluten, and often higher in natural fermentable sugars like maltose). So the dough is right up in the danger zone - fragile, very gassy, on the road to collapse. So when they start to shape, after about 10 seconds or so, they'll expect to see the dough tearing - this would be a bad thing. If you start with an uneven lump, by the time the dough is smooth and even it will have started to tire. If you then go straight into a complicated shape, the outer surface will lose it's tension and tear. So what they do is stagger the shaping. First into a ball, cover and rest, then into the final shape. I specified "Artisan bakers" at the beginning because it is possible, if you use very young immature dough (achieved with little bulk fermentation), made with flour containing a great deal of both extensible and highly resilient gluten, to bash the dough around aggressively without pause. Artisan baking is all about the baker submitting to the dough. Post war industrial baking techniques, that have influenced most pre-1980s domestic recipes, are about getting the dough to submit to your needs. Assuming you're talking about softer dough, I prefer a two-step first shape: First I quickly pull the outer edge of the dough into the centre about 8 times around the circuference, holding the bits in place with the thumb of my left hand, rotating the dough at the same time. Sort of like making a very rough kaiser roll, and taking barely 10 seconds. Then I flip the dough over so the smooth side is upward. The next step is the tautening. Though with practice you'll turn the next steps into a fluid movement, think of these instructions a bit like a technique drill for a musical instrument: (a) With the worksurface barely flour dusted (perhaps a tsp of flour over an area 20cm square) and the hands flour dusted, push the dough gently at the base (with the heel of your left hand) so that it balloons out towards the right. As soon as it does, stop. It must grip the work surface ever so slightly for this to happen. What you'll see and feel is the outer skin of the dough pulling taut, and the dough ballooning out to the right as a result. You should only move the dough across the bench 10 cm, no more. (b) Lift and rotate the dough an eighth turn clockwise and return it to it's starting spot. Then repeat the push. Stop and repeat eight times until you have a very taught ball of dough.The quicker you do this, never really giving the dough a chance to relax, will help stop the dough from sticking. But it must grip the surface otherwise the dough skin wont be taut. It is worth remembering that the post-war industrial shaping techniques intended to de-gas the dough to create an even, homogenous crumb. These techniques weren't bad - they just aimed to produce a different result to the one I think you're referring to. regards Dan

Hello Doronin, A tip I use from Nancy Silverton's book is to rub the cloth or basket well with rye flour, even if it's a white dough. It really does help reduce the sticking. I quickly dust the outer surface of the dough just before placing it in the basket too. Also, make sure that the basket doesn't get too warm - if you keep the temperature below 23C- 25C it tends to stick less. The condition of the dough before the final shaping is important too - if the dough is too close to exhaustion before shaping it will stick more. Shape the dough as soon as you see the first clear evidence of aeration. That means, when you cut into it you can see a network of smallish bubbles. Check that the dough still feels cool - for me I like to keep it around 20C - 24C, and that the dough still has stretch to it when you pull it. You are also aiming, during the shaping, to create a slight skin on the outside of the dough piece at the end, though you want to avoid using too much flour during the shaping. OK, I know that sounds contradictory, but though you don't want to trap a handful of flour in the dough during shaping, you also want to use sufficient flour so that the final outer surface is taught and unbroken without sticking and tearing. The creation of a smooth taught surface before putting the dough in the bowl will help when it's time to get it out. If you're using a bowl, firstly try and use one you can comfortably hold with one hand - perhaps a stainless steel bowl or small wicker fruit basket lined with a well rye floured cloth. Get the tray or peel ready, spray bottle, blade, absolutely everything you need. Make sure the oven is hot enough, and then shut down your ears. Just focus on quickly and gently doing the next steps and don't let anyone disturb you. Make sure that the dough has risen slightly less that double. Flour both the upper surface of the dough in the banneton, and also flour (or use semolina) on the peel, tray and your hands. Then hold the basket upright in one hand, no more than a few inches above the tray and gently upturn and roll the dough out onto your other outstretched hand. Then immediately ease the dough onto the tray. Spray the outer surface lightly, cut the surface and get it into the oven. And these steps should take no more that 10 seconds. As jackal10 says, the dough must not fall far, and it does sound like your dough is over proved when it gets to this point. It should somewhat resilient and gassy, though certainly fragile. Try shaping as soon as you first see evidence of bubbles when you cut into the dough, and let the dough rise slightly less than double before baking. Your dough is overproved. The key idea here is to keep the dough fresh and young at each stage. Check for the very first clear signs of bubbles in the dough, and do fold the dough gently every hour until this occurs. But stop as soon as it does. A dough with a higher water content will allow fermentation to occur much faster than a dough with a lower water content. Keep this in mind, and reduce the bulk and final rising times if the dough seems to be rising too swiftly. When you get to shaping, think "I'm gently easing the dough into it's shape" rather than bashing it into submission. A common story among commercial artisan bakers is how they watched in horror as an old-school new recruit manages to ruin a batch of dough through heavy handedness. It's not the new recruits fault, that's how they've been handling dough for the last X-many years. That's why so many artisan bakers would rather train an enthusiastic home baker rather than someone who has come through the old-school, "bash the dough", tradition. Keep it tight, swift and gentle. Do you mean the dough immediately after shaping, or after the final rise from a cloth on a bench? Before shaping, as soon as the dough is shaped it goes straight into the cloth or basket. Don't stop to flour it - that should have been done before you started shaping. Get the baskets, cloths etc set up and floured before you begin - then shape and straight into the basket. And keep a scraper close by, use this to ease the dough off the bench if you need to. regards, Dan

I don't really have one, not a favourite one. I think the recipe you're using, plus an egg yolk in the dough, maybe a touch of sugar, perhaps lemon juice rather than vinegar. I'm really curious about the types of flour board users around the world prefer for their puff pastry - given that you want a certain amount of elasticity yet finish with a crisp texture. I remember when I lived in New York years ago that their were beautiful creamy white pastry flours available from Millers somewhere in the south. Just wondered if there has been any experimenting... regards Dan

So we've talked about butter, but what about flour? What sort of flour do you prefer for crisp pastry? All-purpose, or a mixture of bread flour and all-purpose, or even a dash of some other flour (cornflour, rice flour)? Occasionally I've read about the inclusion of a dash of cream of tartar in the dough. Has anyone tried this? Dan

Wendy, 12 pages Ferran Adria on foams at the beginning, then 150 pages on desserts/cake/bread/patisserie bits (say 150 pages out of 633 pages), and that includes 72 pages on pastry, sweet dough, and desserts by Pierre Herme, and 30 pages on cakes by Stefan Franz - Shaun Hill and I make up the rest of the section. There are also the odd recipe from other chefs (Rick Bayless has a dessert in the Mexican section) who contributed the bulk of the book. It's very much a how-to volume rather than an inspired collection of recipes, and aimed at enthusiastic beginners, or cooks that want to learn about things other than what they already do well. As every page is filled with colour photography, and every recipe broken down into little steps, it looks like would make a good present for someone starting out. Weighs a ton. But you learn more about specific pastry, baking and dessert techniques from this forum, and in more detail. Very happy to help. regards Dan

A copy of a book I wrote a chapter for arrived today, called The Cook's Book (an outrageously big, fully colour illustrated, book) and, lo and behold, in Pierre Herme's chapter there are detailed recipes and step-by-step pictures of pâte feuilletée, inverted pâte feuilletée, and pâte â brioche feuilletée. Do have a look, it's rather good Dan

No, the 50g butter incorporated into the dough is 6.25% of the dough weight 800g (500g flour + 50g butter + 210g water + 40g vinegar), not the butter (450g) rolled into it. I'm comparing the water content of the dough vs the water content of the butter, when rolled together form the puff pastry.

Wendy, I think the misunderstanding comes from observation - because puff pastry lifts upwards, we assume that all the action is in an upward direction. But a downward force can lift something too (the air from a hovercraft is an example). The steam is lifting the dough because it's trapped between layers of butter, so rather than gently wafting upward like it does through the top of an open saucepan, the steam is pushing outward in every direction because it's trapped - yet the effect of this is an upward lift. There will be moisture from the butter that turns to steam, and this will push outward too, but we know that most of the moisture in the puff pastry is in the dough. Though we aim to get both the butter and the dough to a similar flexibility and firmness (f&f), the f&f of the butter is due to a combination of fat (in plugra it's 82%), water (10% - 12%), and solids (whatever's left), whereas we know that in Moby's recipe above the composition is (excluding salt) 31.25% water (inc vinegar, though excluding water in the small amount of butter), 62.5% flour and 6.25% butter. There's somewhere around 3x as much moisture in the dough, and when the puff pastry is heated above 100C that moisture will be turned to steam and that must expand. The layers of butter are acting as hot bands though the dough, (the fat will conduct heat better than the dough) and that will ensure that any moisture above or below it will be heated and turned to vapour. The fat also makes it difficult for the steam to travel though the layers, so this will have the effect of compressing the layers of dough. Kit, actually it's not in the UK. But I didn't want to say because it's possible that every baker in this city was shoddy and simply blaming the ingredients. But I didn't think that was likely. regards Dan

Most of the steam created between the layers of dough is not caused by steam released from the butter, but steam released from the dough. The butter stops this steam from travelling between the layers, and the heating of the fat in the butter above boiling point dries the layers of pastry. Butter varies in its water content not simply because of the characteristics processing or local tastes require, but also sometimes as a way of producing more butter. Some commercial bakers in one city (I wont say where) all complained to me about the varying hydration of the local butter according to the quantity of milk produced throughout the year. Adding a small proportion of flour to butter, if there is a problem, will correct this. And this can be helpful to bakers living in towns where they don't have a choice of butter, or where the local market is dominated by butter producers that want butter spreadable, rather than firm and rollable.

And one more kick .... No I didn't. I was very lucky to work there with some great patissier, bakers and shop staff, and credit to them for their expertise. My influence on the recipes was small, and my authorship on the book simply tried to capture what we were doing at that time (right or, as we now know in some cases, wrong). I couldn't say how much butter B&S used. Rolling the dough inside the butter - thought it was a skill-flexing trick rather than a useful technique? You could beat a small amount of additional flour (10%) in with the rolling butter to sop up moisture, then reform and chill the butter for rolling. Patrick was very keen on this. E. J. Kollist, in the The Complete Patissier (circa 1950s), recommends equal quantities of flour (60% plain to 40% manitoba or strong bakers) and butter to begin, then takes 15% of the flour and beats that with 75% of the butter, then rubs the remaining butter (25%) in with the remaining flour (85%). So what starts as equal quantities then gets shifted around. Doesn't Julia Child do something similar in "Mastering the Art..." (I don't have a copy and can only vaguely remember)? You could add egg yolk to the dough. regards Dan

Hello Moby, Though it's been a long time since I worked at Baker & Spice, in "Baking with Passion" (1999) I mentioned in the introduction that the bakery used Lescure butter for all the viennoiserie, which they might still do. Lescure is a cultured butter, so I don't think the type of process used to make the butter is the difference. My guess would be that (a) you're using much more butter, and (b) the vinegar which would afffect the flavour of the dough and not simply the texture and colour, much like a sour natural leaven would. But you're right, it's all about care and attention. Do go and try the puff pastry made by Patrick Lozac, the original B&S viennoiserie chef and the originator of the recipes, at a place called Feit Maison, at 3 Stratford Road, Earls Court. regards Dan

Excellent baguette, Jack, especially the last attempt (post 3). I keep saying to myself, "this is made with supermarket plain flour, mixed in a f***in food processor, baked at home in an AGA". The bread has a great texture, what looks like a fluffy crumb with big holes and a thin crust that has torn beautifully, baked with great contrast and not bleakly beige and better than most (perhaps all) baguettes that we can buy in the UK. Great stuff. Can't imagine how to make it better, except by asking, "How does it taste"? Dan

a big Wow, utterly facinating. They look just like those little japanese snack puffs (with nori or chilli). Must try your recipe. Dan

ahhhhh...40g mixed spice a misprint in "baking with passion". reduce it to 2 tsp. The changes sound good Jack. Tasted a very good sourdough fruit bun last Easter in Melbourne at Baker Chirico (Fitzroy Street). It's something that bakers in the UK should try and do. regards Dan (later) Bakers in England used to stamp the buns with a metal or wooden cross, so that the buns were almost segmented like a four-leaf clover. The piping was introduced much later. You could press a butter knife into the dough twice just before baking to get the same effect.

Hello Kelly, Great loaf (is that your oven in your avatar?). Looks like a good crust and an a big open texture. Perhaps you could extend the first rise before shaping with another stretch and turn (that will opent he texture of the crumb around the big holes), together a longer final rise. You've got a very even crust, with the thickness of the crust at the base the same as the top of the loaf. And as for the blue sky, well.... I'm jealous. regards, Dan (chilling in London town)

Hello asilverfish, I live in London, and for special flours I use Flour Direct (from Shipton Mill, listed at the back of The Handmade Loaf, under stockists). Contact Jo King at Shipton Mills on + 44 (0)1666 505050 (or email enquiries@shipton-mill.com) and she will be able to sort out a price list for you. I do like the range of white wheat and wholemeal flour available at Waitrose. Try the Marlebone High Street branch - I used to go there frequently when setting up Levant and Locanda Locatelli for the odd bit of flour. regards Dan

Hello asilverfish, If your refreshment of your leaven is around 1:4 or 1:5 old leaven to fresh flour and water, and the mixture is kept on the firm side at 100g - 125g flour to 100g water, then it should be fine. My leaven at room temperature between refreshments, and I recommend that you do that. If the leaven smells cleanly acidic, its healthy. If it smells in the least bit unpleasant, start again. It's more likely that you might need to tinker with is the recipe itself, to adapt it towards the result you want. For a recipe that combines yeast and leaven over a 1 1/2 hour initial (bulk) fermentation, I find that between 30% - 45% leaven to flour gives a range from very little acidity (30%, a slight tang to the crust) to 45% (quite a dominant sourness for a commercially yeasted bread). The oat and apple recipe was intended to be quite sour - a bread to eat with herrings in cream with raw onion and dill, or shavings of salt cured meat together with unsalted butter and mustard. So the recipe uses 100g leaven to 250g flour to keep the acidity quite high. If you reduce the leave to 75g (30%), that should bring the acidity down. Regards Dan

Hello Wendy, Completely agree with mktye, once dry yeast is opened it does keep very well in an airtight container in the freezer (very good for nuts, too). One new trick I have been taught, by the folks at DCL yeast in the UK - when using osmotolent yeast, they recommend that you stir the dry yeast into 100g very warm water, at an amazingly high 38C, with a tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of sugar stirred in. Leave this for 10 - 20 minutes, then use the bubbling mix in the dough. I would have thought the temperature was too high, but apparently not. I've tried the trick with ordinary dry yeast if it is a bit sluggish, and it works well. But I must confess to being a fresh yeast fan. regards Dan

Hello, But the problem you face is that there is no uniformity between mills (though the French/European T specification gets closer than any other region), and the millers chosen grist simply reflects the demands of their dominant customers. I was in a bakery in Milan, and noticed that the baker had two flours, from different suppliers, both labled '00'. Why? Because one was a strong '00' and one was a soft '00'. The reason we can't produce a table is that there is variation between mills producing what seem like identical flours. Remember, all flour is complex, usually produced by blending different grain varieties into a mix that produces that mills preferred flour, and the mix will change from year to year. Think of your task, in gaining an understanding of the qualities of grain and flour like the wine-maker and the grape, or the cabinet-maker and the wood. You're dealing with organic natural ingredients, and enhancing inherent characteristics is probably the best route. I think its important that mills preserve these variable characteristics, it allows bakers simply by their choice of mill to create a special loaf that sets them apart from their competitors. I'm not for uniformity in food production, but the preservation of local characteristics. So, back to your problem. You can compare the technical leaflets on your preferred US flour and ask a miller (perhaps a big one) to suggest a suitable alternative. Have a read through this piece here, from foodproductdesign.com, which talks a little modifying recipes to enhance different characteristics. I've got a bit on my website here, which is about trying to find a flour in the UK similar to US clear and patent (another difficult one). I have a feeling that your cakes are quite wonderful Dan x

Hello John, For croissants, cakes, brownies and good Illy coffee, go to Breadz (at Souq-Sharq, Waterfront). There is a Ivy-Caprice inspired restaurant at Villa Moda (London chef Mark Hix was the original consultant, but the food has changed quite a bit). Sakura, at the Crown Plaza, is a very good Japanese restaurant, cool and comfortable inside. Johnny Rockets is good for american diner-style. Kuwait is the francise city, so expect all of the main food brands (minus the pork). Lenotre on the waterfront is great for views, but I found the food dire. Arabic food a safe bet, and quite good (didn't find anywhere remarkable). There's a bizzare "world of ice" exhibition, slightly off the main drag driving out of town. Strange place, a bit like a large shopping mall. regards Dan

Hello, Think of each flour as perfect and different, despite what the manufacturers may claim, and accept the characteristics of each flour as a positive attribute, though perhaps one that you may not want or care for in each particular recipe. Though some might suggest that a baguette or an angel food cake can be made equally well using generic supermarket ingredients throughout the world, the truth is they can't. The characteristics and levels of gliadin, a sticky substance that helps to bind the gluten into a cohesive compound; and glutenin, which gives the gluten strength and elasticity, will vary widely in different flours, both in quality and quantity, and often knowing the protein content is more misleading than helpful. Mixing flour doesn't really solve the problem, as the intention of the miller is different (according to the needs of their customers). Your problem may be caused by gluten, but quantity is only part of the story. Really, if you must replicate the results you were pleased with in the US, then import the flour. But, the hybrid that you will create using local flour has its own qualities that simply need appreciating. Throughout culinary history, this is how new recipes develop as immigrants tried to replicate remembered foods using local ingredients. Simply, you're not doing anything wrong. Nor is it a matter of simply adjusting the recipes. You either change your flour, or learn to love the changes the local flour is making. In France, there is a type of flour known as Grau-vert (available both from Grand Moulin de Paris and Viron) which is a little stronger and more resilient than the softer T55 type flours. Otherwise, hop across to Germany, where it is easier to get flours similar to what you and I are used to (I'm in the UK, I guess you're from the US). For an American-style bakery I work for in Kuwait, I found that German mills were able to match the milling styles I needed to make cupcakes, brownies, English tin loaves, and baguettes. But, you know, when I go to Eric Kayser and taste some of his American-style patisserie, it may not be authentic, but to me it tastes good too. Just different. Regards Dan Lepard

love the video, the music, the Tom Selleck loaf As jackal10 says, that loaf seems to have exploded when it went into the oven - it needed a longer rise. If you use the same recipe, but turn* the dough every hour for its initial rise before shaping, until you start to see signs of fermentation (if you cut into the dough with a sharp blade, you should see little bubbles forming, caused by the yeast as they ferment the natural sugars in the dough), and then shape the dough, you will get a better rise and a better loaf. You can even mix the dough at night, leave it in the refrigerator (4degC) until the following morning (8am), then shape it and leave until 2pm or 3pm before baking (or until it has almost doubled in height). Very lightly spray (with a mist-type pump bottle) the top of the loaf, rather than directly onto the baking stone. And get a oven themometer from the hardware store (the sort that you hang inside the oven). Keep the oven initially no higher than 220C. It looks bold and proud. Did it taste good? regards Dan *to turn the dough, pat it out flat on a floured surface, and fold it in by thirds, as if you're making puff pastry. Replace it seam-side down on a tray (or bowl), cover with a cloth and leave