sanrensho

Then there are potato croquette sandwiches, usually topped with tonkatsu or chuunou sauce. Not bad really, although I'm generally not a fan of cold deep-fried food. The same sandwich with a hot, just-fried croquette would be nice. (But I usually stay away from fried food.) There is at least a nice texture contrast between the crispy panko shell and soft white bun, combined with the tang of the tonkatsu sauce. Here's an image: http://image.space.rakuten.co.jp/lg01/97/0...2c5emkm34c.jpeg Potato salad sandwiches are good, although it must be made with Japanese-style potato salad.

I'd do the same process. Fill mold with cake layer, pour in bavarois, top with cake. Freeze (or refrigerate) to set. Anyway, I'll let others chime in, but I think you'll be fine with the above.

It's usually the other way, pour bavarois into mold, top with cake and set. Repeat as necessary. I still don't think that sogginess is a major issue, unless you have an unusual genoise recipe.

Looking at my notes this year (Canadian Thanksgiving), I pre-salted a 12 lb natural turkey with 7 tsp of fine sea salt plus 1/4 tsp of pepper. Turkey was washed, dried, rubbed with S&P (concentrating on thicker areas of meat), and left uncovered in the fridge overnight. I don't roast a lot of turkeys, but I thought it was the best turkey I've ever had, and my guests were impressed as well. I thought the amount of salt was just right, and the meat was still moist even though I overcooked the bird because of starting too early. I would use this method again in a heartbeat.

Often, yes, but not always necessary depending on the recipe you use. All the instructions I've seen for bavarois are to pour into the mold while fluid, and immediately top with or sink in the genoise layer. Genoise is actually quite durable so I don't see this as an issue, nor have I experienced soggy tops, at least to the extent that it bothered me. I'll let the experts confirm.

Thanks for the review. Fraiche isn't the type of place that I would usually go to, but I still enjoyed your comments. Not to sidetrack your review, but would you mind rattling off a few other restaurants in West Van that you feel serve good food. Particularly in the "affordable/value" and "ethnic" categories. Thanks in advance.

I've actually started taking the internal temperature of some cakes (including quick breads and muffins), chiefly for dense batters. And especially if a particular recipe has given me problems before. I bake more bread than cakes, so this is a natural extension of taking internal temperatures for loaves. I agree that you might have problems judging the temperature if the probe hits a dense area of fruit (or chocolate), but I've never tested this hypotheses. Except to say that I've never had an underdone cake when I've used the probe. I haven't used the probe with a fruitcake yet, but will eventually get around to trying it. For me, using the probe is just one tool for checking doneness in addition to the usual signs: "bubbling" sound to indicate that the batter is still wet/cooking, shrinking, spring, knife/toothpick test, etc. (The probe can also be used in lieu of the knife/toothpick test if you pull it out immediately.) I generally shoot for around 185 degrees internal temperature, I say try it and see if you are happy with that level of doneness and adjust accordingly.

I suppose it could work, but it seems like an unnecessary step, don't you think?

Without question, unsalted for baking, unless specified otherwise.

Mizducky, Japanese curry is alway eaten with a spoon. You spoon a bit of rice and curry at the same time, and eat it together. You do this at the "border" where the curry and rice meet. Or you spoon a bit of curry onto a patch of rice and spoon it up and eat it together I'm not a big fan of mixing, because I like to preserve the texture/taste contrast between rice and curry. If you have a really thick curry, you can pour it directly on the rice without having it soak the rice underneath.

Well, it would add flavor, but isn't a must unless you are having problems with loose crumbs. Again, not a must unless it is more convenient for you, or if you are having problems with loose crumbs.

You don't need anything between genoise and ganache, unless you specifically want to smooth the surface with a crumb coat of, say, buttercream. There's also syrup for your genoise (depending on the recipe), but I assume you're not referring to that. You also don't need to freeze the genoise, unless you want to for ease of handling or application.

That's my experience as well. Mixing isn't verboten as much as it is a thing that kids do. My younger one (7) still does, the older one (10) not so much I think. I'll have to watch her more closely next time. What drives me nuts is when my wife pours the curry over part of the rice. I know I'm picking about this, but it should be poured off to the side of the rice when plating, to maximize the separation between the rice and curry, at least until eating. Drenching the rice is a firm no-no, and not helped by soupy curry.

Personally, I would freeze the 2nd loaf whole. I also bake two loaves at a time and usually freeze the second loaf, making sure that the loaves are completely cool when going into the freezer. (I bake at night and set out to cool until morning.) I've also done half-loaves a few times without issue, but I think that a full loaf is the way to go. I've noticed very little loss in quality this way, especially if the loaf is taken out of the freezer within a few days. If there is moisture in the ziplocs, I will take care to remove the loaf from the ziplocs to defrost. I defrost overnight on the counter. It's also nice to always have a back-up supply of sourdough/rye/sandwich/challah bread in the freezer. (Not quite there yet, but currently have sourdough and pain complet in the freezer.)

Stevia is used quite commonly as an artificial sweetener in Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

I've already sent Kerry a PM, but I'm curious too. I would only be using it for baking, as a sub for my usual Callebaut.

Just to be clear, bonito in Japan refers to skipjack tuna. Skipjack tuna is delicious prepared as sashimi or tataki (grilled on outside, raw inside). Skipjack tuna = bonito = katsuo

What kind of breads are you specifically aiming for? For breads that use commercial yeast (no sponge, straight method), you can mix and knead in the evening then proof overnight. Take out of the fridge when you get home from work and leave out for 1-2 hours (depends on your ambient temp). When the dough has warmed up somewhat, deflate and shape. Final proof for say another hour, then bake. For sponges, you could do an overnight sponge, then mix in the morning and proof in the fridge. Do as for above when you get back from work. (Leave out to warm up, deflate, shape and final proof. For sourdough, assuming you have an active starter and depending on your ambient temps, you can refresh your starter first thing in the morning before work. When you get home, mix and shape, then proof (in my case about 4 hours) and bake.

I think the idea is to get people away from buying mediocre bread and baking again. And perhaps act as a gateway to making other breads such as using sponges/bigas, sourdough, etc. If not, it's good to simply get people baking bread again. I've never actually made the no-knead recipe (I don't have a suitable vessel), but it inspired me to start baking bread, chiefly from the "No Need to Knead" book. And that was a gateway toward exploring the whole gamut of breads from sourdough and sponge-based breads to enriched breads. All of which I now bake on a regular basis.

Sounds like an "an donatsu" or "an donut."

Tofu. Not that I have a recipe for you.

My bad. I was under the impression that Del Monte ketchup was for Japan and other markets outside of NA, but I see that that isn't true. It's been awhile since I checked out the ketchup shelf at the supermarket. I guess the major brand of Japanese ketchup is Kagome. Has anybody compared it against Heinz?

Would anybody like to comment on the flavor differences between Japanese ketchup (Del Monte, Nagano, etc.) versus Heinz? Is it less sweet? I actually don't eat that much ketchup, and I never did a side-by-side comparison during the entire time I was in Japan.

Hmm, I guess it could be made with both. I use the recipe from Ortiz's Village Baker, based on his pain au lait. (The recipe for both can be "previewed" using Google Books.) It sounds like Pastrygirl would prefer a brioche from a production standpoint.

Pain au raisins would be made from a brioche-like dough (less butter). How about mini-kugelhofs (raised yeast dough)? Pre-made Liege waffles (like the street vendors sell)? I have to agree with Rona, sable-type cookies or cookies with a crispy/sandy texture are more European (and Asian) to me. You could search for inspiration all over Europe, from florentines and langues de chat to speculaas and rugelach, off the top of my head. By European and Asian, maybe the key is "less sweet AND lighter." Not sure what you are making now, but maybe more cup desserts featuring layers of mousse and cake, or combinations of mousse/gelee/fruit. Perhaps something as simple as a coffee jelly (Japanese dessert) or a cappucino/mocha version with layers of coffee gelee, choc. mousse and whipped cream. Sorry, I didn't clue in to your location when I posted late last night. Also, I should have assumed that you are already working with a diverse palette of flavors. Instead of going for pure Indian desserts, how about doing (less sweet) adaptations or Indian-inspired desserts using just elements of kulfi, etc. For example, a plated dessert with kulfi as just one of the elements. Although I'm sure you've thought of this stuff already.