glossyp

I do believe that there is a special pan used for baking kasutera which has a lid. I could be wrong but when I lived in Japan I asked at the bakery how they did it and they showed me a cunning little pan with a lid which secured with latches. I know no other details.

I realized that I can't possibly make the Piolane. (no barm) So I am deciding between the Potato Rosemary which has had good reviews here or the Pugliese. I can make a biga without problem and I really like the lean breads best. Has anyone made the Pugliese? If so, any suggestions or tips not in the book? Thanks and I look forward to reading everyone's report and photos of their "weekend" bread.

Elie, Your bread is gorgeous. Everyone here is baking such wonderful bread. I will have time this weekend to bake. I can start tonight...recommendations from anyone on what to try? I'm stopping by the hardware store today to get the unglazed tiles for the oven. I'm thinking of the Piolane (due to Elie's photos!) or the French bread (thanks to Marcia) but am open to other suggestions.

Ok, well now Id like to know what you all prefer? The tahitian or the Mexican? I read that the Mexican is more of a true vanilla, but Tahitian is what Im most familar with. What do you all think? ← Has anyone tried the Hawaiian vanilla grown on the Big Island? Jim Reddekopp and his family are the only commercial growers of vanilla in the US and the product is exceptional - it's also pricey. I find it more like the Mexican than the Tahitian. This is the vanilla all the best caliber chefs (well known and otherwise) here in the islands use. Here is a link to their website <a href="http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/">Hawaiian Vanilla</a>.

Marcia, Your bread is beautiful! So clever of you to improvise your proofing pans; that's recycling at it's best. Don't despair over the crust though I completely understand since I have the same problem. After all, the most important part is the pleasure the creating and eating brings.

Thanks for your answer. I was using almost twice that much water which would account for the excess liquid. And, I cannot take credit for the lovely loaves pictured above as they were crafted by lovebenton0. Maybe soon I'll be brave enough to post photos of my bread too

Aloha jgarner53, I have a question regarding the plastic bag and hot water proofing. I tried that with a batch and when I went to replenish the hot water, the dough was covered with condensation (a lot) and I was worried about introducing too much liquid to the bread so I removed it and placed it in the unheated oven. Is it normal or okay to allow condensation to fall on the bread with this method or should it be avoided? Thanks for your time and thanks to marcia for steering me to the correct poster!

glossyp it was jgarner53 who suggested the bag proofing, I haven't tried that myself yet . I only tried inside the microwave oven, like PR suggests in his book. I warmed up a glass of water until just before it boils. Then I turned it off, placed the dough inside and closed the door. There was barely any condensation inside. I think you're right for being worried about the amount of condensation on your dough, but I really don't know for sure if that's a problem or not. I hope someone else can help you better than me. ← Thanks for pointing out the correct poster on that method - I can get confused running through all of the posts. I'll redirect the question to jgarner53.

Thanks lovebenton0 for the suggestion about the clay tiles. For some unknown reason I thought they were supposed to be placed on the floor of the oven and since that isn't possible due to the heating element, I never tried. I'll put them on the bottom rack and just leave them there. marcia, here's a question regarding the plastic bag and hot water proofing. I tried that with this batch and when I went to replenish the hot water, the dough was covered with condensation (a lot) and I was worried about introducing too much liquid to the bread so I removed it and placed it in the unheated oven. Is it normal or okay to allow condensation to fall on the bread with this method or should it be avoided? Great thread! I'm loving all of the pictures.

I made the pain a l'ancienne and while the results weren't brilliant they weren't horrible. I mixed the dough and placed in the frig around 6pm on Saturday evening. I took it out at 6am but it didn't warm up and double in size until around 2pm Sunday afternoon. The dough was very soft and wet as it was supposed to be but I was able to successfully shape and get it into the oven without problem. (I halved the recipe, weighing all ingredients and it made two good sized baquettes.) My oven is a challenge as the heat is unpredictable (rental house with very old electric oven) and I used the improvised steam method. The problem was I put the steam pan on the top rack (can't use the oven floor as the heating element is there) and the bread on the bottom of a sheet pan with parchment on the lower rack. Preheating to 550F, steaming and then backing off to 475F. At 9 minutes it showed good oven spring and was browning nicely. By 15 minutes the bottoms were starting to burn. I checked the internal temp and it was just hitting 205F so I took them out to avoid serious burning on the bottom. The good news is there were a lot of nice holes in the bread and the flavor was nice. The downside was that the crust wasn't a deep golden brown and it didn't have a nice "crunch" to it. Next time I will reverse the placement of the steam pan and the bread. The best news is that the bread made really tasty Italian-style roast beef sandwiches for lunch today. Thanks again, Marcia, for getting me baking again!

Thank you so much merrybaker! I am going directly to the link and give it a try. If that doesn't work I'll send for the Oregon Trail. I'll let you know what happens. An experienced pastry chef here in Hawaii told me it is extremely difficult to start one here but didn't say anything about an keeping an imported one alive. Thanks again!

Thanks Marcia for starting this thread! I got the BBA after following the Q&A with Peter R. here last autumn and have been slowly (with plenty of breaks) baking various recipes. You inspired me to get back in the kitchen after a New Year hiatus and try the pain a l'ancienne. I just popped it into the frig and will report back tomorrow on the results. I apologize if this if OT but I continue to have extreme difficulty creating a seed culture. After five failed attempts I have given up (prevented me from making the pannetone I wanted to for Christmas). I have read jackal10's Sourdough Bread thread as well and incorporated suggestions but have yet to succeed. Has anyone out there done successful sourdough in a hot and humid climate? Our average ambient temp is 85F and humidity is 80% plus. If so, please divulge your secrets...please... Anyway, congrats Marcia on gorgeous bread and all the inspiration from everyone here in the Pastry/Baking forum!

ohhh, almost the same thing...Wendy's fries dipped into a Wendy's frosty...salty, sweet, hot and cold all at once...yummm

That is a shocker, SK. I was in there not even a month or so ago and there was no hint something was up. Business seemed good so maybe it was a personal family thing. I'm going to miss that place - it was one of my two favs in Kaimuki.

I've had this using daikon instead of red radish at Chinese restaurants in Asia though I don't recall the name for it. The shape was exactly like the Ore-Ida hash brown rectangles you can buy at the market. Testament to the shred and fry!

This is quite similiar to the Thorne recipe just mentioned. A college roomie from Blackfoot, Idaho (her family grows potatoes on a massive scale) taught me this method. Boil potatoes the night before (if you don't have the presence of mind to do that - who normally does? - boil, ice bath and cool), grate by hand, toss in minced onion if desired, salt & pepper, heat cast iron skillet and add plenty of oil, put the potatoes in the pan, flatten and cook until very brown, loosen and slide out on plate, add more oil and return the potatoes to the pan with the brown side up. These always turn out perfect and it's one thing friends and family demand at gatherings which include breakfast.

Fresh Fish n' Shoe Repair

Too late for some but the best way is to prevent it by drinking at least a quart of water (more if you can handle it) and taking two aspirins BEFORE going to bed. The water is the key as it prevents dehydration. Before I learned this I would eat a bowl of Yook Gae Jang (very spicy Korean beef soup) to take the edge off.

Yukon Jack and Dr. Pepper with a lime twist...ah, the bliss of youth!

Thanks for the link and more info on pineapple vodka - something new to try! BTW, nice cat

Hummm, this is a new one for me. I make citrus vodka for Christmas presents and have been known to infuse watermelons with vodka for a summer treat but I haven't heard of this. I do think that if you were to do this it might be best to let it "develop" in the frig but I don't know how cold it is where you are and it's too warm here to not refrigerate. I'd suggest using fresh pineapple if you can get it and be aware that this could all turn out badly in terms of taste. I certainly be sure to consume it rather quickly as it could go off. I wouldn't break out the Chopin to make this (that would be considered criminal in our house!) but I wouldn't get the really cheap stuff either. Maybe compromise with Finlandia which is actually quite good and affordable.

sorry for the double post - browser is acting funky today!

Thanks for the info & link. Sounds like a really good plate lunch place. I have a friend in the area and I'll let them know.

I love this as well...it is incredibly difficult to find here in Hawaii. I rang every wine shop in town and most responses were huffy "we carry no wines from New Mexico!" but finally tracked down a place willing to get it for me. Just read the second part of your article and was delighted to see you mention the Lindauer Brut - it's a wonderful wine.

It was a wonderful meal - worth every penny. I'm going to save up and go back again. He is indeed a lovely person as well as enormously talented. Lucky them - they got a bunch of desserts from you! I'm hoping to get by NM this week; I'll stick my head in and see if you're there and introduce myself.