dougal

No one has said 'oven' yet! I've made pretty decent bread in what in the UK would be called a 'combi' oven (fan/grill/microwave) using fan only. But I do think that lack of reliable temperature control and excessive temperature drop when opening the door and adding (cold) stuff makes life less fun. Hence the one thing worth spending significant money on is a decent oven. And after your successful IPO, the cost of a real brick oven won't seem like "significant money"... For 'steaming' the oven, a ratty old (even chipped) post-retirement cast iron pan makes more sense to me than a hand-spray water mister. But an oil sprayer is a nice luxury, whether for the bench, the dough, mixing bowls or loaf tins... As are some shakers for different flours (and a means of recognising them!) A mixer is only needed for large batches of dough - and others might disagree even with that or say things like "50lbs isn't large". This is a matter of one's personal opinion. For 'large but not actually commercial' quantities, the Electrolux DLX/"Assistent"/"Magic Mill" seems able to handle more dough than other domestic mixers. And rather well. A 1g digital scale is pretty much essential. And can be cheap yet perfectly good. Use the 'tare' function to make life easy! Some sort of oven 'stone' is also important. I want to upgrade my pizza stone to something thicker and using the oven space better - but one must remember to allow for air circulation around the stone -- don't fill the full width and depth of the oven and expect to avoid compromising the flow of heat (and combustion air in a gas oven). Its a good idea to get a few hemispherical plastic mixing bowls that are *identical* (at least in size and shape, if not colour) and which will stack into each other for neat storage. Having clip-on lids (all the same size!) for them, to prevent the dough drying out while it sits around, does simplify things considerably. This is such a cheap luxury that I'm amazed how long it took me to work it out! Now, about something equally cute for storing (and identifying) several types of flour... And if you are like me, you'll keep on looking forever to find a scraper that actually fits your hand and both feels 'right' and works...

Two points on the movie - Bertinet uses the identical "kneading" technique for sweet and savoury doughs. Elsewhere the technique has been called the 'French Fold'. I don't believe Bertinet has ever claimed to have originated it. - there's a longer (less edited and more extensive) brioche demo on the DVD that accompanies (at least the UK edition of) his second book, "Crust". This seems to be a wetter initial dough (yes), and the softened and cut up butter is incorporated only after a certain amount of bench 'folding'. And you get to see the baked results, too. This 'French Fold' is a great way of dealing with impossibly wet doughs...

I'd suggest you check your sources (and their arithmetic) very carefully -- 6.25% Nitrite Cure Number 1 is what is available in the UK... and I'd be very surprised (EU etc) if the Netherlands had more restrictive laws...

No, its far from right if the bread actually tastes sweet. Though the dough, straight from the fridge well might. The concept is that the long cool pre-fermentation 'hold' allows more sugars to be liberated from the flour -- AND that these are then bonus food for the yeast, and largely consumed by it. It would be important that the dough be allowed enough time to warm up and then ferment properly after it comes out of the fridge.

From that requirement description, you are really down to How To Eat, Feast and Express. Really, it'd be hard to recommend either of the others over How To Eat - it was actually her first book, and is perfectly sensible, being written before she had a telly-image to play up to and self-parody. Indeed, How To Eat has no photos in the text - of the author, or the food. It was written in the days when she was a food writer, not a brand, and, IMHO it is very much the better for it.

Salt does inhibit yeasts/moulds. And some bacteria. That's how it works as a preservative. So its not added to sourdough starters. And it interferes with the gluten formation Calvel is seeking. So its not added to an Autolyse either. So, yes, the OP should be aware that its presence wouldn't be beneficial!

My understanding is that a 'sponge' is a means of amplifying a small amount of yeast to leaven a lot of flour. The length of time of the fermentation (progressively adding flour) also builds more flavour than using lots of yeast for a fast simple fermentation. Leaving flour and water sitting around together for a few days is exactly how you create a sourdough ("wild yeast") starter! And mixing water and flour (while holding back the yeast and salt for an hour or so) is the basis of the "autolyse" technique attributed to Calvel, and IIRC discussed by Reinhart. Incidentally, "instant" dried yeast is remarkably forgiving stuff, and can be added to an otherwise mixed dough... There was also this recent (and surprisingly little commented) thread http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=112978 discussing warm 'cooking' of flour and water, seemingly promoting enzyme activity...

That is where the peel comes in !! Absent a 'proper' peel, an upturned (or lip-less) tray or similar can be used as an improvisation... I commented above about using parchment on the peel, rather than just flour. (Semolina is the commonly advised peel lubricant.) As tino27 says, adding to my comments above regarding 'seam' and 'top' sides of the dough, the dough is proofed in bannetons seam-side up, so it is simply tipped out onto the peel. I've heard Rye flour mentioned as being the standard for making the linen cloth non-stick...

Odd points I think worth noting -- both Korin and JCK offer extremely reasonable knife shipping (just $7) to those of us in the UK (and others outside the USA) -- for restaurant use, I think it'd be more usual to get yourself a bit of decent knife transport kit (whether a roll or a case) rather than a knife block. And I do think its reasoned advice to suggest (at least until you know that kitchen well) that you keep the really good kit at home, and take in more workmanlike kit (such as the fibrox Victorinoxes and maybe the odd Tojiro) rather than flashy Globals.

I know nothing about where you might be working. But if anything is ever likely to "go missing", then its likely to be flashy branded knives. It seems a pretty common reality, sadly. And Globals are very 'obvious'. My prudent, defensive suggestions would be to go with Victorinox with plastic ("Fibrox") handles for whatever odd-shaped, special-purpose knives you find you need, plus a decent quality (but non-obvious) "chef's knife" as your standard super-sharp slicer. And work on the sharpening technique - have you seen Chad's eGullet tutorial? Its, how can I say, um, pretty... comprehensive? http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036

I've only come across small domestic units with a removable reservoir and no drain - I'd expect any condensate to be reboiled! But I did happen across an eBayUK sale of a "bake off oven with direct steam injection" -- which mentioned a "standard dishwasher connection" for the water supply (and no mention of drainage). That would seem to be a sensible sort of thing to expect... And, as with a dishwasher, it'd be crazy plumbing not to have a shut-off tap fitted!

Diwana Bhel Poori House. Real south indian veggie. And cheap. No better value in London?

I'd be very interesting to hear more about did the sharpening. I currently have a few knifes that I would love to put a convex edge on along with a mirror-polish on along the blade edge. Did you simply dragged the blade through the mousepad, letting the foam doing the work, or did you have to use a rolling motion to coax the convex edge? What exactly is this pink 3M sandpaper? Did you have to use any compound? ← Hi eVITAERC, and welcome! Oddly, the thread doesn't seem to have a link to what its discussing... Its a short section in a LONG (and excellent IMHO) contribution on sharpening. Here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036 But wait until the whole page has loaded... wait for it! Then use your browser to search for "mousepad" (all one word) within that page. The first hit is associated with a link to an FAQ about convex grinding, the second hit is the start of the section in question!

Generally the cooking of the Indian sub-continent IS about big flavours - but also about harmonising and tempering them. Again, generalising widely, meat is a luxury in India, and not used in the same spirit as it is in the USA. Even among the wealthiest. There is quite a difference between the different regions, and I'd advise seeking out restaurants and books that offer a regional, rather than a continental, outlook. Ever been to a restaurant that specialised in "European" cooking, rather than specifying French, Italian, Greek, Swedish or whatever? Would it likely be the pinnacle of achievement for anything? There's a similarly big difference between the cooking of, for example, Kashmir, Bengal and Kerala - there is a lot of diversity in a big, crowded continent - before one begins super-imposing different religious cultures. Let alone seeking artistic refinement of those cuisines. I wonder if you might be interested in the luxurious (and approachable - its for real, not some artificial "fusion") cooking style found in the tiny former French possessions in India? If so, this might be the book for you... http://www.blueelephant.com/pi/london/cook_book.html its the book of the fairly 'fancy' Franco-Indian (London) restaurant called "La Porte des Indes"... There are links at top left of that page to various menus, showing the 'house style' of dishes. That book is on Amazon (US & others) http://www.amazon.com/Porte-Indes-Cookbook.../dp/1862056439/

Shaping. 1/ Its not just about producing the shape, its about producing a surface that is in tension, *and* (recent revelation) controlling the thickness and qualities of that stretched surface layer... ... and that the thickness of the stretched layer is related to the depth that the slashes must be cut for ideal results. Where it gets seriously non-verbal is that the state of proof (firm to floppy) affects the thickness of the surface stretched layer, as well as how much the cuts immediately open... so the ideal depth of the slash. 2/ The top (stretched smooth) surface of the loaf is being produced, upside down, against the floured tabletop. Which is why, at this stage, you don't want it to stick. Which is why its lightly floured. Transferring. 1/ Baguettes and peels. The baguette must go parallel to the peel handle, so if it snags, it might stretch, but it shouldn't kink or roll over. 2/ I'd rather have a nice looking loaf than mess up with a sticky peel, so I cheat. With baking parchment. Parchment on the peel, dust with flour, loaf on top. Parchment plus loaf onto the stone. At about 1/3 through the bake, when I want to drop the humidity, I open the oven, remove my boiling water pan (whether or not its dry), and also remove the parchment. The loaf is plenty strong enough to slide, undamaged, from parchment to stone. Having (still) a rather thin stone, I usually reposition the loaf on an unchilled bit of stone to maximise the base heat. This bit, at least, works well for me!

Why ever not? Its great! Rolls made with stout, rolled (ie porridge) oats, and wholegrain wheat or spelt flour... Recipe and video: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/2007/11/b..._oat_and_h.html Fabulous adult taste, lovely moist chewy texture... Great! Dan Lepard also uses a variety of grains (and beers) in his "Handmade Loaf". While discussing the making of homemade malt, he suggests the use of homebrew malts - ground for example in a mini electric spice mill, before incorporation into the flour. On using Crystal Malt, see for example http://www.danlepard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=427

Some recipes get written as "bakers' percentages". Now *IF* other recipes were given in such proportional terms, then a scale that would do the calculations to vary the total quantity might be useful. But personally, I doubt it would be a big seller. AND since it seems too difficult to get recipes published in simple weight terms, I think that hoping for weight proportions is a pastime for an optimist. Regarding bakers' percentages. Since they relate to the total flour, they can get kinda tricksy when there are mixtures of flours used, and especially when some of the flour goes into a pre-ferment, long before many of the other ingredients would be measured out. Use a mixture of flours with a pre-ferment and a spreadsheet would likely be simpler than wrestling with the logic inbuilt into a scale.

Have you tried making your own? Its ridiculously easy, and you can choose the salting and culturing to suit your own taste...

Yes indeed. When Pyrex does break, it tends to go quite dramatically. It isn't bulletproof. Scratches act as "stress concentrators" potentially multiplying many-fold any stresses on (and in) the piece. If you can see scratches - bin it. You don't want to see what can happen. Don't put cold stuff into a hot Pyrex dish. And the other way round, don't set a hot dish on a cold or wet surface! (My guess as to the cause of many of these problems.) Set it on a wooden board, or somesuch. But, hey, it should be absolutely ideal for using a flame to finish a creme brulée... really.

You see this is what doesn't make sense to me. In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", Julia Childs et al speak of a final core temperature for lamb/mutton (incidentally, no difference between them in cooking times and temps they say) after traditional cooking, of 170F as being distinctly "well done", and 160/165F (~72C) as being preferable. And for "medium rare" Childs et al suggest a final core of just 145 to 150F (~64C). I'd have thought that equilibrating the whole lump at an even higher temperature than that suggested traditional final core (for "well done" meat), and holding it there for, say, another 8 hours was going to result in "overcooked" meat. I've been thinking that one picked the equilibration temperature as matching, or rather determining, the desired "degree of doneness" (and that holding it at that temperature shouldn't/couldn't overcook it in any reasonable timescale). But yes the length of time held at that temperature should be long enough to complete any desired processes that will happen at that temperature, whether for hygiene or tenderness sake. I appreciate that you want to hurry along collagen breakdown, but it seems to me as though 76C is rather higher than I'd expect. Are you planning any additional higher temperature Maillard browning and flavouring, as with the recipe you linked? It strikes me that if you are tight for time, then (from nathanm's tables) reducing the meat to thick slices before cooking, would give you at least an extra 3 hours or so of "time at temperature", which, in the context of a 12 hour total timeframe, looks as though it might be significant. However, personally, I'm just trying to get my head around this stuff, before I go and add a PID and vac-packer to my cluttered life! So, I look forward to hearing what course might be chosen, and what then resulted, not least to develop my own understanding of this mysterious niche. Bon appetit!

The thinking behind my portioning question was that individual 'tranches' would surely cook much, much faster...

As an s-v spectator (for now), may I ask whether it'd be usual to cook this whole (as seems to be implied) or to portion it before 'bagging' -- which I had understood to be the restaurant practice ???

Ummmmm. Using a meat thermometer should show exactly how well this doesn't work.

Having a thermometer/hygrometer that records maximum and minimum (for both temperature and humidity) is well worth paying just a fraction more for. Should still be cheap though. Your call whether to pay more for a wireless one (so you can see readings without even visiting the basement). Beware though that having a humidity sensor remote from the display is actually much rarer than speed-reading of spec-sheets might suggest!

That would involve buying it in the first place! ← Or getting banned from Waterstones...