bethesdabakers

For seeds I just scatter them in the bottom of the proving basket. For a decent coating of oats have a tray with a wet tea towel in the bottom and a tray with plenty of oats. Roll the dough after shaping on the wet tea towel and then in the oats until completely coated. Mick

Thanks. The problem isn't finding them - the wholesaler who supplies my flour and other ingredients stocks cranberries and pecans but they have become seriously expensive, like other nuts and grains. I'm sure that's not confined to the UK. As for the bourbon I follow my nose and hang the expense.

Bit late with the reply and I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for. Roast Goose with Confit Legs - in this recipe the legs are removed and the crown is cut away from the carcass. The carcass, wings, etc. are chopped up and roast with vegetables, legs on top, and the crown added later in the cooking. I used this recipe last Christmas - the first time I had roast a goose - and was pretty impressed. The mystery is, I found it on the net, I could have sworn it was Raymond Blanc and on the BBC Food site. When I came to look for it again it was nowhere to be found until I found it, unattributed, on this guy's site: http://southsea.uk.com/tst/index.php/recipes/28-meat/fowl/132-roast-goose-with-confit-legs

Thanksgiving Bread - rye and wheat flours, rye starter, pecans, cranberries, bourbon and orange juice. I'm in trouble with my American customers if the goods are not produced.

Well, thank you. Just when I thought I'd cured my cook book habit - I waited and followed the thread, eventually succumbed to the Kindle edition, then decided it had to be the book. A lot of people are getting pickled grapes this Christmas - just going to start on the apples before they are completely past it.

Fabulous description! Mick

If you haven’t been to Bordeaux for a while you might be pleasantly surprised by the way the city has improved. A few years back it was total chaos while they were building the tramway and developing the waterfront but now that is completed it’s a pleasure to stroll around. We usually spend time in Arcachon each year so Bordeaux experiences are normally day trips. Being creatures of habit (and wanting to get down to lunch) our routine is to take the tram into the centre, start at that wonderful independent bookshop, Mollat, on Rue Vital Carles, study the food section, and to start working our way back towards the station, maybe taking in the food books in FNAC on St Catherine (always hoping for a new bread book), cutting down towards St Michel, stopping to have a beer outside Utopia Cinema in the lovely sunny square, then drifting down through the streets of North African shops (trying not to buy another tagine) to the top of rue Porte de la Monnaie and inevitably into La Tupina for lunch. It has been a little fashionable of late to knock Tupina as an over-priced tourist restaurant but only by people who don’t know how to enjoy life. Jean-Pierre Xiradakis seems to own most of the street with Café Tupina on the bottom corner, La Tupina itself a few yards up, Le Comestible, the epicerie, and the hotel, Le Maison Fredon, opposite, Kuzina, the fish restaurant, further up the street, and Bar-Cave de la Monnaie on the next corner. An unusual source of information, so long as you have a Kindle, is to download for free, Bruno et le pere Noel by Martin Walker. At the end of the book he gives quite a detailed list of his favourite food places in the Bordeaux area. This includes Boeuf sur la Place in Pessac at the end of the tram line where we had an excellent lunch in May with the added bonus (for us) of discovering the Tuesday organic market both in the town square. The museum of contemporary art is worth going to see just for the building, never mind the exhibitions, and has a beautiful dining room up on the roof. Haven’t eaten there for a few years but it was pretty good – might only be lunch. Also on the tram is La Cape in Cenon if you want a gastronomic tasting menu. Being at the hub of the regional transport, it’s easy to use public transport to get out of the city to nearby towns and villages. Arcachon is only 50 minutes on the train – current favourite local restaurant Restaurant du Port in La Teste-de-Buche, the stop before Arcachon, within view of the station. Unpretentious, with a large covered terrace overlooking the port. Wish I had six months in Bordeaux.

Terrific!! Can't wait to see the comparative bread photos. Mick

Syzygies - Oh no, this is your game, I'm not playing. You want to vapourise 350g in your oven carry on, I'm very relaxed about the standard of my bread although, having put up my eveidence, JoNorvelleWalker thinks I could do better. I think that chains, rocks and stacked skillets are just a new distraction in a line of gimicks that confuse learning bakers. Baking good bread is a comparatively simple affair if people are able to pick their way through a minefield of misinformation. By the way, I'm not saying steam doesn't have a part to play in baking. I'm just saying that that the effects in domestic ovens is negligble (apart from lowering the temperature). Mick

Professor Calvel was writing for commercial bakers using deck ovens. I don't think I went wrong anywhere. If you are talking about the likes of baguettes .... The steamless baguette:

The ones baked with steam are the top four. I only bake sourdough and these are 5 Seed with Spelt so you're not talking about a light dough. Below are Multigrain - 50% Strong White Bread Flour/50% Wholemeal + a soaker of millet, jumbo oats, bulgar & polenta - so, again, not a light dough. Baked without any steam. So, from the photos can you tell me why I would want to use steam? You'll find dozens of bread photos on the blog all baked without steam. Am I going wrong somewhere?

As you say "on topic". I've been waiting to see all these examples of how steam (generated by rocks, chains, whatever) improves bread. Nothing forthcoming. So here's a question. Which four of these loaves was baked with steam? (The steam in this case generated by a plant mister - 3 squirts each top left and right against the walls of the oven, same middle and bottom.)

Hi Linda The marinade had an unusual and beguiling flavour but because it was very spare it was quite patchy. I thought that next time I made it I would increase the lemon juice a little and maybe soak the saffron in it for a while prior to marinating the fish. The flavour of the saffron came and went in a teasing sort of way. Will definitely be making it again. Mick

I'Ve really been enjoying this thread and finally have something to bring to the feast. By and large, buying salt cod means an 80 mile trip to Liverpool so it remains something of a treat. By and large, I like accra de morue so much that that's what I cook. And like pizza, photographs are difficult to take because the food doesn't get time to stand around posing. Was doing a tapas meal for friends, had salt cod in the fridge (the fresh salted rather than the dried board variety) found a recipe, Soldatitos de Pavia, in Pennelope Casas book "Tapas". After soaking, the fillets are skinned, dried and placed in an interesting little marinade - juice of half a lemon, couple of thin slices of onion, a clove of garlic crushed, chopped parsley and a few strands of saffron. Make a batter - 3 quarters of a cup of flour, teaspoon & a half of baking powder, bit of salt, quarter cup of milk + the same of water + 3 tablespoons veg oil. I found this a bit too thick and dilluted it a little. Scrape off the marinade, cut the fillets into fingers, flour, dip in the batter and deep fry until golden. Very interesting flavour and just fabuloso. Mick

So you're a mathematician. Of two earlier mathematician/bakers one created a dozen made up of thirteen and the other a system of percentages totalling more than one hundred. Third time lucky .... I hope that by the end of this thread you have developed a formula for rating ovens by the number of links of chain required to produce the optimum amount of steam. Have to have a standard metal, bar thickness, link diameter, etc - a factoring for altitude? Links by oven litre? Maybe the units could be called bagels ... You can do it! The reason you can't come up with anything on steam linked to thepartisanbaker is I don't use steam (apart from naturally occuring)so I don't write about it. By the way, the use of the word partisan is to do with the total debasement of the word artisan in relation to bread and bakers not to taking a narrow and fixed position. Don't worry I shall be posting Mick's No Nonsense Method soon so you can have a pop back at me. Best wishes Mick

On the other hand ... My blog, The PArtisan Baker, is subtitled "Taking The Bollocks Our Of Baking". I'm thinking of changing this to "Bakers of the World Unite; You Have Nothing To Lose But Your Chains" Mick

Well, the story did end up north of Gare du Nord - in Liverpool. See here Had a great weekend in Paris but it rained as bad as North Wales. We walked for miles but among the ethnic shops we never came across anything North African. But thanks again for the suggestions - we made plent of new discoveries. Mick

Bethesdabakers Works Outing (me and herself) to Lunya in Liverpool last week. Cold and damp, stepping between the stalls of a rarther sparse Christmas market, came upon a large embroidered tent in the gloom of Church Alley leading down to the Bluecoat. Nearly walked past thinking it to be another load of old tinsel when I noticed it was full of heaps of hundreds of tagines - different shapes, colours and designs. Real, serious tagines for cooking in. My current No.1 pot has a crack - it might last for years but it might not so this is like landing in heaven. Bought the big unglazed one straightaway - £10 reduction for being the first customer of the day. Of course, after a great two-bottle lunch at Lunya, walked back and found excuses for buying the two semi glazed pots. The midget is in lieu of a pound coin the vendor was short of in change. He's back to Morocco in several days time so if you are interested in these cooking machines Church Alley should be your destination. Mick

Thanks, I should have thought of that but normally would be heading into the centre from Gare du Nord, probably directly onto the metro without leaving the station. Mick

Off to Paris next weekend for the first time in a couple of years. Apart from having a good time, celebrating aniversaries, etc. my chief interests are bread and food related. I know the main kitchen shops and Librairie Gourmande, and I've done the famous boulangeries but does anyone have any suggestions or personal favourites or new arrivals in these fields? Plus, this time we're not flying, so can stagger back on Eurostar with a decent tagine in addition to the Martinique rum. Where's the best place reasonably near the centre to find North African cookware? Thanks Mick

I wasn't going to buy a new cook book but then along came Claudia Roden The Food of Spain and the page opened at Coca. This is a combination Coca de Recapte with a base of precooked onion and tomato, topped with red pepper and aubergine - again pre-roasted - and Coca de Trempo from Majorca using chopped raw green pepper, onion and tomato. I used a white sourdough base at 78% hydration that had been fermenting for a couple of days in the fridge. Baked at 180C for 40 minutes. Mick

If you're quick you can have grouse in Caernarfon this weekend at Oren, 26 Hole in The Wall Street, 01286 674343 - just over the road from the castle. I've been meaning to post information about Oren for months - what other restaurant changes its menu every week, charges £15 for three courses, £12 for a bottle of wine and has a reading group? I declare an interest; I supply them with bread - only six loaves a week so this post is unlikey to benefit me greatly. The menu taken from the restaurant's email to customers: "This week sees another diversion from Oren basics, as the price for the set menu will be £18.50!. Dont worry, it is for one week only and it is to do with the price of the grouse. It is the end of the short grouse-season, and I have ordered some straight from Scotland. Hence a menu otherwise heavily influenced by honey and whisky. 27/28/29 September: The Famous Grouse Menu Duck & Celery Soup Lentil & Whiskey Pate Honeyed Grouse on Toast Curried Mussels with Cauliflower Honey Roasted Squash with Wild Mushroom & Whiskey Sauce served with Red Cabbage & Potato Gratin The Famous Grouse Chocolate & Raspberry Ball" Mick

Hope you aren't thinking about making bread with that stuff - there are other solutions! Mick

Thanks Sylvia. Having googled it I can now add bupkis to my vocabulary. Mick

TBOB (Taking the Bollocks Out of Baking) is much needed. It wasn’t me who called your low-carb diet stupid. I would sue the estate of Robert Atkins for obstructing trade (or whatever the correct term is) but I don’t sell enough books to be able to afford to sue because everyone is on a low-carb diet. (I see he once thought of becoming a comedian.) Also, I won’t take part in the dumbing down race (Sourdough Made Simple in Only 3.5 Minutes a Day?) I see we now have a Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Does that mean the bread in the first book was unhealthy? Another reason my book is self-published and approaching 250 sales while these books have bona fide publishers and sell by the thousand. Revolutionary thought but every consider coming off the low-carb diet, buying the book and baking the bread? Your husband doesn’t have to eat it. Best wishes Mick