dougal
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Posts posted by dougal
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There are some very good books mentioned so far in this thread and I do own most of them. However, for me, Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice was an excellent introduction to bread theory, if you will. After reading and absorbing the excellent information that Mr. Reinhart has in that book, it changed the way I read every subsequent bread book after that. I agree that other books and authors may dwell more deeply on specific points (such as yeast or specific enzymatic actions of bacteria on flour), but BBA serves as an excellent jumping off point.
I'd echo that.
The first third of the book, the theory/explanation stuff, the hows and whys, is excellent.
However, there is much about the recipe section that disappoints
- the primary use of cup measures (with imperial weights in brackets). Reinhart included metric weights in his next book. The association between Bakers Percent and Metric measures HELPS to simplify, and aids the understanding. (Ruhlman almost got a book out of it!) Its an important trick missed by Reinhart.
- bizarrely the recipes are arranged in alphabetical name order. Tidy but unhelpful. MUCH better for the novice would be to group them thematically. Whether by bread style, technique, difficulty... anything. Presenting them in a tidy but unhelpful order actually makes them an exercise in randomness.
An excellent beginners book (that shouldn't give rise to misapprehensions) is Bertinet's 'Dough'. Unfortunately, the metric weights (only) in the original have been replaced with US Imperial measures in the americaniZed edition. I don't know what other changes may have been made.
Hamelman's 'Bread' is excellent, but I don't think its ideal as a first book.
I think Dan Lepard's 'Art of Handmade Bread' (The Handmade Loaf in its original UK incarnation) is where you should be heading. There is a mind-expanding diversity of bread there. But like Hamelman, aspire to it, don't start with it.
I'd suggest -
-- first buy a digital scale. Budget $20. Look for a metric capability being there. Natch it should have a 'tare' or add-and-weigh facility. An 11 lb range (5000 grams) is fine. Going in 1 gram steps is good, 2 gram steps OK, 5 gram steps is so last century.
-- get Reinhart's BBA from the library. Read the first third very carefully.
-- buy Bertinet's Dough, and play for a while.
-- when you want more, get Lepard. Put Hamelman on your gift list.
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... What are the English-language cookbooks that Americans really should know about? They can focus on any cuisine or technique, but shouldn't be published in the US. (For example, that knocks out David Thompson's Thai Food and Fergus Henderson's The Whole Beast, both essential books in my library but both republished in the states.
...
Chris, that's a very open question, inviting a very long answer.
Nevertheless, you've made it more difficult with your "not republished" restriction.
Because -
1/ Generally we neither know nor care whether something has been republished - especially when the US republisher changes the title
and
2/ Republished and 'americaniZed' it becomes a different work, for all I know devalued with cup measures and the like.
and anyway
3/ Just because a book is listed on Amazon dot com, does that mean that its 'known' in the US? Let alone whether its republished or not.
I have no idea the extent of the bowdlerisation suffered by
Dan Lepard's "The Handmade Loaf" aka "The Art of Handmade Bread", or "Rick Stein's Seafood" becoming "Rick Stein's Complete Seafood" as it crossed the pond
Alan Davidson's "North Atlantic Seafood" in its Ten Speed Press incarnation
or how "The Cooks Book" might have fared in translation, let alone in becoming a 'Concise Edition'.
Patience Gray's "Honey from a weed" is listed on dot com, but at $35 for a paperback that sells on Amazon dot co dot uk for £13 (maybe $20) it is probably terribly obscure!
So, sorry, way too hard to answer the question as posed.
Regarding Darienne's comment about the Sainsbury cookbooks, yes they were brilliant.
Sainsbury is one of the UK's four major supermarket chains.
Some years ago, they sought out (mainly) expert authors and tasked them with writing extremely focussed little cookbooks (monographs you might say), yet aimed at the interested home cook.
And then they sold them at a bargain price.
I recently found (in a Charity shop) Jane Grigson's work on the Cooking of Normandy ... and I hadn't even known it existed.
Most titles were only available for a matter of a very few months.
But some have got as far as Utah! (And now Canada?)
The nearest current offering, in quality terms, is Waitrose Food Illustrated, a monthly magazine from the Waitrose supermarket.
Fortunately, much is published on the interweb thingy - http://www.waitrose.com/inspiration/wfi.aspx
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Interesting!
I rather like the term "water oven".
Explains the concept in a very non-threatening way.
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two years ago, I bought a big back of red star (I hope I got the name correct) yeast at Costco. Been using it for a good two years and have worked well. However, last two times the dough did not rise right. It rose a little but really didn't come out right.
Do yeast go bad/dead (not even sure what the technical term is)?
How can you tell if they are dead and that it is not something I'm doing wrong (note: I am not exactly an expert baker)?
If they are "dead", what is the best strategy for making my next batch of yeast last long. I going to go out and buy the same block from costco.
Soup
Woooaaaaa.
"Red Star" seems to be a manufacturer rather than a specific product.
There is Red Star Active Dried http://www.redstaryeast.com/products/product.php?cid=1&pid=1
Red Star 'Quick Rise' http://www.redstaryeast.com/products/product.php?cid=1&pid=2
Red Star Bread Machine http://www.redstaryeast.com/products/product.php?cid=1&pid=5
and Red Star 'Cake' (or compressed or 'fresh') http://www.redstaryeast.com/products/product.php?cid=1&pid=9
These different preparations of yeast have different storage requirements and shelf lives.
"Cake" is the only one likely to be sold in "block" form.
And it has the shortest shelf life -- only about 10 days. Red Star say "Cake yeast is very perishable, requiring constant refrigeration to retain its freshness and activity. We recommend using it within 10 days of purchase."
Its a commercial product, invented (about a hundred years ago) for commercial bakers, who turn over their stock in a few days and who aren't bothered about long-term storage.
Its not designed for freezing. Its not sold as a frozen product. Freezing does not show the product at its best (it kills more yeast cells).
Active(ly) Dried yeast was invented primarily as a bulletproof long-term storage product (for the military). Say no more.
Bread Machine cocktails tend to be loaded with the food technologists best tricks, so avoid them if you want to avoid additives.
"Quick Rise" is what you probably should be using/buying as an occasional home baker.
It stores brilliantly and works brilliantly - and guess what - it was invented for home bakers!
However, its best to use less than the packet suggests, try using 3/4 of the advised amount... (its only 'quick' because they advise using excess yeast!) And VERY IMPORTANTLY, do mix it as the packet says, with the dry flour. That's how it works.
Sealed packs can be stored in an ordinary cupboard, probably for years. Open packs are best put in a closed glass jar in the fridge. (Humidity is the principal enemy of open packets.) Open packs remain usable for many months, tightly sealed in the fridge. Yes, if you have a vacuum packer ...
However, there's no point in freezing it - it shouldn't have any water to be frozen! For home baking, yeast is a trivial cost.
Use good stuff, not something bought in bulk and stored in hope.
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I read somewhere (I think in one of Robert Wolke's books) about the following technique: slice the beef, then place in a ziplock bag with any juices you may have and seal. Submerge the bag in hot water and heat it that way. It works very well -- it's great for leftover steak, too.
Now that's an interesting idea. Will try it tonight!
Next stop the Sous Vide topic !
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Just to point out the obvious here: there's a bunch of Yanks around these parts who believe that the UK is filled with cookbooks using a superior measurement system. The moment is ripe for the return of the Empire (at least on our cookbook shelves)!
Pray, what exact books can be had on your bonny shores that we 'Mercans can try to hunt down? Same goes for y'all in the other, better colonies.
As I've said, pretty much ALL our books are now metric (and of course weight) based. (Except for small quantities being in teaspoons and sometimes tablespoons - "Nobody's perfect!")
So, ...
Another thing I could have directed the colonial gaze towards might have been the recipes given in UK supermarket (house) magazines - for example Waitrose's - which are helpfully available online: http://www.waitrose.com/inspiration/wfi.aspx Metric only I think.
Whereas the recipes published on the interweb by the Beeb, though primarily metric, also tend to have the (UK) Imperial equivalents listed as a secondary fall-back. But still you'll notice that loose solids are always weighed ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/
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Just to point out the obvious here: there's a bunch of Yanks around these parts who believe that the UK is filled with cookbooks using a superior measurement system. The moment is ripe for the return of the Empire (at least on our cookbook shelves)!
Pray, what exact books can be had on your bonny shores that we 'Mercans can try to hunt down? Same goes for y'all in the other, better colonies.
As I've said, pretty much ALL our books are now metric (and of course weight) based. (Except for small quantities being in teaspoons and sometimes tablespoons - "Nobody's perfect!")
So, here are a handful of interesting books you might not have seen (yet) -
And all of these use metric measures ONLY - no pounds, and no cups.
Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarah-Ravens-Garden-Cookbook-Raven/dp/0747588708/
Ottolenghi http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ottolenghi-Cookbook-Yotam/dp/0091922348/
Classic Bull http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Bull-Accidental-Restaurateurs-Cookbook/dp/0333766504/
Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Velvet-Chocolate-Heartache-feel-good/dp/0593062361/ (totally, wonderfully, off the wall, BTW)
River Cottage Handbook No 2 : Preserves http://www.amazon.co.uk/Preserves-River-Cottage-Handbook-No-2/dp/0747595321/
No Place Like Home (Leigh) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Place-Like-Home-Rowley-Leigh/dp/0007232411/
Family Food (Blumenthal) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Food-Approach-Cooking-Penguin/dp/0140295399/ Heston's pretty relaxed about quantities generally
Tagine (Basan) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tagine-Ghillie-Basan/dp/1845974786/
Those are probably considered slightly 'foodie' but no way 'pro'.
Some ('home recipe' books principally, I'd opine) are still published with imperial measures in brackets (pounds for solids, UK pints {not US pints!} for liquids) after the principal metric quantities.
Two I can lay my hands on now are
Recipes to know by heart http://www.amazon.co.uk/Recipes-Know-Heart-Xanthe-Clay/dp/1845333586/
The Ultimate Recipe Book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Recipe-Book-Good-Food/dp/0563522976/
These are actually pretty good books, despite the titles.
My 1984 paperback of Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book uses metric with imperial in brackets. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jane-Grigsons-Vegetable-Penguin-Handbooks/dp/0140463526/
However the 1990 Feast Days by the iconoclastic Jennifer Patterson is of course exclusively Imperial! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feast-Days-Spectator-Jennifer-Paterson/dp/0719548489/
I'll leave it to a publishing pro to discuss how and when the changeover happened!
Incidentally, all the above have my recommendation!
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Honestly, if someone doesn't have a digital kitchen scale, I'd say buy the cheapest you can find -- and it should be very cheap.
If there's something about it that falls short of your expectations, you'll know what YOU want to look for in the feature set next time.
There's no substitute for experience, and mistakes needn't be expensive.
However buying a 'design statement' can still be an expensive mistake.
While a useful, functional tool can be very cheap indeed.
In the UK, this is £10 including delivery - that's about US $15. http://www.idealhomestore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Digital%20Kitchen%20Scales-Roma&click=2
Its cordless (thats good in my book, using 2 coin cell batteries) and weighs to 5kg (or 11lb) in divisions of 1g (or 1/8 oz).
Price is no longer a barrier. (Even to me.)
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Those against scales have some valid issues, two being:
1. Most people dislike math, even basic math like "1 lb = 16 oz".
2. There's no publication standard or scale readout standard.
If the cookbook is kind enough to give me weight (43 oz bread flour), but my scale readout at after (16 oz), let's say (17 oz), changes to (1 lb 1 oz), suddenly, there's math!
Easy enough, right? Divide 43 by 16 ....
There's also the problem with affordable scales being unreliable for very small measures (1 gram yeast, anyone try that one on their Salter 5065?)
Really big applause to the cookbook authors that print several variations.
Use grams for cooking.
Don't worry about what they are.
Call them 'clicks'.
225 here, 3000 there and 5 of that stuff.
Easy.
Even when doubling/tripling/halving quantities.
Do it and you will see the light VERY quickly.
Special units just for cooking. Just like diamond-dealing. It does make sense.
You can now get cheap scales of unbelievable precision and accuracy. Check eBay for "pocket scales". (200g by 0.01g for under $8 delivered)
BTW for breadmaking, salt accuracy is much more important than yeast accuracy - until you have your fermentation and proofing temperatures consistent and are concerned about production time planning.
The Manifesto misses out on an important consideration.
Weighing liquids is equally easy.
And 'weigh' more accurate than going by lines on the side of a jug standing on a surface that isn't quite level ...
Try it for yourself. Check the accuracy of your liquid measurements with a scale. An error of 10% isn't unusual. (1 ml of water weighs (for cooking) exactly 1g - nice that.)
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In the UK, the ONLY books using wretched volume measures these days are imports from the US.
That is except for small quantities - teaspoon and below - where the assumption presumably is that quantities of less than 5g are below the accuracy and precision of most home scales.
However today you can buy a 1g precision scale in supermarkets for under £10 (roughly $15 US).
The insidious problem is those books US books 'republished with weight measures' where the conversion has been conscientiously done by a drone looking up figures in some table or database.
The problem there is that neither the drone nor the publisher have the wit to realise that the whole reason for using weight measurements is the same reason that every such table and database is inaccurate -- how much a volume measure contains depends on how hard you pack the stuff in.
Its not the measure that is inaccurate, its the variability of fitting stuff into it.
Volume measures in books should be outlawed for the same reason that they are outlawed for sales.
They are not accurate measures for particulate solids.
That is why you buy flour by weight, and not in "20 cup" bags.
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...
In an earlier post, I suggested 2/3 chuck and 1/3 brisket. I tried replacing the brisket with hanger steak.
Holy god. These were great burgers. Makes sense ... I can't think of a beef cut more flavorful than hanger.
...
Interestingly -
2. Hanger steak (same as onglet); £14.95 per kg What is it: 'It's a marvellous loin cut, but in Britain it's one of the first things into the stainless steel bucket (for mince).' It hangs from the diaphragm and doesn't do anything, thus it's tender with massive flavour. Aesthetically it looks unattractive, but a good knife and butcher will transform it into a beauty. -
The main time commitment is keeping the device clean, which seems to be nearly impossible.
Steven, try grinding some rice or better yet instant rice. It won't clean the lid of the blade grinder as well as you would like but it will clean the grinding bowl. Soap and water to the lid will help keep that part clean. If you clean on a regular basis it is not so daunting of a task. I grind a lot of cumin in mine and the lid is permanently etched in cumin.
A small piece of old bread works well too.
Beat me to it!
Its not at all hard to keep a spice grinder adequately clean.
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We're working on gluten free breads to satisfy growing requests for GF products. ... We add about 1TBS veg oil for each loaf, but that doesn't seem to help. All the recipes have either whole eggs or egg whites, and butter. Our dough base is sorghum flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour, with a small proportion of Expandex.
Any thoughts on how we might be able to add and retain moisture in the crumb for a better mouth feel?
Moisture retention is supposed to be one of the benefits of using Expandex - the proprietary ingredient you mention.
However, its manufacturers seem to expect it to be used as near 50% of the flour in white GF bread.
http://expandexglutenfree.com/consumers/recipes.php
And they suggest using it to reduce (not eliminate) the usual GF gums (not mentioned by the OP).
Using previously-scalded (and cooled) milk as some of the liquid might help, as would some Lecithin (without the other egg-ey components).
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I think one of my surprise birthday presents is a Thermapen and I just read the post about the Taylor. Anybody else want to weigh in on whether I should return the Thermapen or keep it (when I'm surprised and I get it, that is)???
Ummm.
Is waterproof very important?
Is an IR facility (however inaccurate and limited in range) very important?
How important is speed to a stable reading? Accuracy? Calibration? ...
Its kinda important that folks get their heads around the fact that "Thermapen" is a brand not a specific model.
There are quite a few different Thermapen models with different capabilities.
And some of those models come in a choice of colours.
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Most useful thing I've bought this year is an Apex sharpening kit from EdgePro. It's absolutely fantastic.
And mine is the most useful (and satisfying-to-use) thing I've acquired this year for the kitchen.
Sharpen all your old knives properly before even thinking of buying yet another new knife!
The Apex is an utterly brilliant tool that gives great results with a minimal learning curve.
I'm just not sure about demeaning it as a mere "gadget" ...
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. . . . One difficult (impossible) ingredient for a home-made veggie sausage is the casing.
I don't think veggie sausage skins can be obtained as such.
Commercially, a "casing" can be formed round the sausage using alginate. I'm pretty sure that's what the Sainsbury Hot Dogs have.
I've seen but not tasted digestible cellulose casing somewhere.
Ummm. Can humans digest cellulose?
ADDED EDIT: I think there may be super-thin, "edible", cellulose skins - principally for 'skinless' products!
However, these are industrial products, film-thin, and beyond the possible technology of the home sausage-maker.
And I still think you'd need to be a herbivore to digest them!
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There are plenty commercial veggie sausages.
I think this is an area where "food technologists" might be entitled to show off.
One standout is Sainsbury's own-brand frozen "Meat-Free" Hot Dog sausages. Made in Israel, IIRC.
Most folk wouldn't think they were veggie. (Which isn't always a recommendation in veggie circles.)
ADDED: They might be from Tivall (?), ... http://www.veggie-uk.com/html/sainsburys_reviews.html (and scroll down)
2nd addition : http://www.tivall.co.uk/content.asp?id=14 and http://www.tivall.co.uk/content.asp?id=28
One difficult (impossible) ingredient for a home-made veggie sausage is the casing.
I don't think veggie sausage skins can be obtained as such.
Commercially, a "casing" can be formed round the sausage using alginate. I'm pretty sure that's what the Sainsbury Hot Dogs have.
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You actually need quite a high fat content, so shoulder + belly (maybe 67/33) is a good start.
If you are talking about sausages for cooking, in English, I'd call them "fresh" sausages.
I'd reserve the word 'raw' for those that are not going to cooked - the dried/fermented types
An excellent tutorial book on technique is 'Charcuterie' by Ruhlman & Polcyn. The recipes (FOR sausage, not WITH sausage like 'Pork & Son') are a bit American, and 'authenticity' isn't high on the priority list! But its very good on technique, like cold mixing.
There's a big thread on eGullet about the book - here's the index http://egullet.org/charcuterieindex
Jane Grigson's 'Charcuterie & French Pork Cookery' is slightly dated (and accordingly heavy on the saltpetre) but high on the authenticity scale. However, I'd suggest that you see Ruhlman first; it'll help you appreciate the depth in Mrs G's writing.
There are many sausagemaking resources on the web, with lots of recipes, of variable provenance.
I'd suggest taking a look at the UK-based http://forum.sausagemaking.org/
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Congratulations to Steven Harris on being selected as the Good Food Guide's "Chef of the Year".
Just happened past at lunchtime yesterday to discover a BBC South East News crew doing the story ...
Just a couple of reflective comments about a couple of things mentioned previously.
- seemed half-empty yet "fully booked". They don't cram the place. And they take some pressure off the kitchen by scheduling tables to arrive one at a time. So, at the start of service, the place can be pretty empty, yet 'fully booked'. Yesterday, they had a party of a dozen or more, and seemingly just a handful of other tables taken - yet a lady came in (to make a booking for later in the week) having failed to get a table for that day, and seemed surprised that the place looked 'quiet'. However without a booking, you could well be lucky enough to nevertheless get starters and puds. Seemingly other tables were expected inside, since my (excellent) early-ish snack of crab risotto was served in the conservatory. BTW, the same scheduling/booking policy applies at The Granville.
If it maintains the excellent standards (and they make an adequate living) then I'm all in favour.
Be prepared to book!
- I've had the dense (flourless) "chocolate cake" at The Granville, and the only likely disappointment would come from expecting anything remotely like a sponge cake. Think more of dense, very chocolatey moussey tart without the pastry. And one should appreciate that there is some whimsy among the desserts - as with the 'sorbets'.
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While agreeing with what Fooey said ... my guess is that the recipe probably uses volume measurement of the flour ("cups") and therefore the actual (in the bowl) hydration percentage is unknown (because it refers to weights).
You can get a distinctly variable quantity of flour into a cup.
And that difference/inaccuracy shows up MUCH more clearly as you approach the extremes of hydration.
Weigh the flour.
Weigh the water. Its more accurate than a measuring jug.
And a digital scale need only cost £7 (well under $15 hopefully), which is a fraction of the cost of your mixer.
And even if you don't have a clue what they are about, if you weigh everything in grams, it makes the maths (for hydration, recipe scaling up or down, etc) so very much easier.
Honestly!
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Aaah, but what you said was
which prompted several here to point out that a commercial mixer wasn't actually needed for that specification. (Although it is well out of KitchenAid territory.)I want a mixer I don't have to worry about, one that can crank through 10 lbs. of dough for 10 minutes and not "break a sweat".Fooey, can you find any "manufacturer's specification" online for the DLX?
In the Electrolux DLX User Manual, at the top of page 6, it says that you can make dough with "up to 23 cups of flour" - using the roller! The dough hook is easier IMHO for more than about 800g of flour (it doesn't like much less than 800g).
I can't now find the download on Electrolux's own site, (my original printed manual was in Swedish so I found the download there), but the same manual now appears to be here
http://safemanuals.com/user-guide-instruct...OLUX/DLX2000-_E
Its an 8mb download (my v1.4 is "8135269 bytes").
Let me state (yet again) that I hate cup measurement of flour, nevertheless ...
Pleasant Hill Grain (who sell the thing) claim "the Magic Mill holds up to 28 cups of flour (7 lbs.), to make approximately 15 lbs. of bread dough"
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/magic_mill_dlx_mixer.aspx
I don't believe the 100%+ hydration, so I question the conversion to 7lb.
However, 9lb flour (15 lb dough at a plausible 66%) as 28 cups means something like 146g per cup -- which is entirely within reason (150g per cup is often quoted).
Really, "approximately 15 lb of dough" is NOT a wild overestimate of the Electrolux's capacity.
And it could do your 10 lb "without breaking sweat". (And it could be put away, without lifting equipment, in an ordinary kitchen cupboard!)
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Now that we all properly understand the size issue, let me reiterate that the Electrolux DLX, while it does look strange, WILL handle up to 15 lb of dough, doesn't 'dance around while mixing', seems to be (domestically) bullet-proof, and is easily hand portable for cupboard storage. (And that's quite apart from being much cheaper.)
I believe the same goes for the Bosch.
As I said ...
It might well be that the advantage of the "Hobart" would be in remaining on view ... -
Its not exactly a glove, but it is about holding the oyster safely ...
Its a rubbery block with a cunningly shaped indentation to stabilise the oyster on your work surface.
And the front hooks down over the edge of your counter/table to restrain the block.
From France, and called "Le Clic Huitre", I wish it was sold on its own rather than bundled with a rather iffy-looking knife...
http://shop.lochfyne.com/Products/Oyster_Knife
1998 'design' article http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...se-1189053.html... There is one simple reason why all of the above are superfluous. The irksome business of cleaving oysters - splintered shells, bloody fingers and all - has been licked once and for all by a simple French device known as Le Clic Huitre ... It consists of a basic, long-bladed knife and a plastic oyster-holder which resembles a soapdish. Put the oyster in the holder and hold down, insert the knife at the hinge end of the shellfish and Robert est votre oncle.ADDED: Its under €10 in France http://www.valsedesprix.com/clic-huitres.htm (with video)
And as an incidental, I discovered that Wusthof offer an oyster knife of the style I believe safest
http://www.mulberryhall.co.uk/Item/View/Wu...ysterKnife.html
but at that price, I'll stick with my old faithful, thanks.
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... a heart condition that thankfully is not life threatening, but requires some additional lifestyle changes including lowering carbs. She is already fairly frugal on carbs, but this reinforces that.
So, she wants ravioli. ...
I'd seek specific, qualified medical advice.
Specific to the condition, the medication and this particular patient.
General advice to "reduce" is rarely meant to be applied to patients who are already light on those food groups.
Get specific quantified recommendations.
Without quantification, there is too much scope for misunderstanding.
Fats, oils and sugars are much more likely to be met with a professionally raised eyebrow than a little bit of pasta.
Its most unlikely that pasta would be harmful - unless consumed to excess.
And it would sound as though this patient is further from any definition of 'excess' than most.
I'd beware of substituting things like ground nuts - because they generally have a high oil/fat content.
My supposition would be that a little pasta (especially if wholemeal and not swimming in oil or butter) wouldn't be a very bad thing.
And if it cheers up the patient, any slight harm would be easily outweighed by the positive good it was thereby doing ...
Which ONE Bread Cookbook to have
in Cookbooks & References
Posted
The important thing to understand about Reinhart's books is that, as a series, they document his growing understanding of bread. With commendable honesty, he documents this at the start of Whole Grain Breads.
Thus BBA incorporates things that he had learned from others since his writing of previous works, including Crust & Crumb.
The videos indicate that he has now learned of doing stretch & fold on an oiled, rather than (as in BBA) a floured, surface. (See for example page 19 of Lepard's Handmade Loaf).
There is little point in weighing out accurate quantities of flour and water (yes, do weigh the water for accuracy), only to have the proportions upset by a variable amount of flour pickup during kneading (or stretching & folding). Maybe he now needs to consider water pickup! I prefer to use a bowl with a couple of spoonfuls of oil to grease my hands and tools.
The matter of required, but quantitatively undefined, pickup of extra flour during kneading is something I find particularly frustrating about his recipes/formulas in his Whole Grain Breads book - which does introduce a genuinely novel technique (his own 'epoxy' method).
Two further points regarding the videos. It would be better to minimise the time that the oven door is open, cooling the oven. (It also affects how much steamy humidity immediately escapes.) This matters much, much more with a home oven than a commercial-sized one. And BTW, a touch of flour (or better, semolina) under the parchment helps it slide more easily! I'd also suggest removing the water tray after about 1/3 of the bake time. Even if the tray has boiled dry, briefly opening the oven helps to reduce the humidity for the last part of the bake. (On a commercial oven, Hamelman wants the vents to be opened at that point.)
Reinhart usefully gathers together, and makes accessible, many scattered pieces of wisdom. However, exactly like the rest of us, he's still learning!
I'll certainly be taking a look at his new book when it appears over here.