Desiderio
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I am sure there is a thres of this around , however I will ask anyway
.To make your own transfer sheets can I use normal acetate sheets out of a craft store ( if they have any), and then just proceed with colored cocoa butter?
If is the case the rubber chef premade colored cocoa butter will work ok, or I should buy just the color and do my mix with the cocoa butter?
Thank you for your help
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I personally dont think coating with flour helps , it actually makes the raisins heavyer. Personally when i make cakes like fruit cake or plum cake with raisins and stuff i follow the recepie and i cooked for the first 10 minut on higher temperature then lower the temperature for the rest of the time ( depends how long needs to bake and stuff ).And I do think the thickness of the batter influence on the sinking .
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I add my congratulations to you Gerhard, this thred is been very very instructional , very inspiring and helpful.
Thank you for sharing all you progress ( and frustrations I know ) with us .
Now I gotta go and find myself a piece of fresh baked baguette ( impossible !!!)Yummie
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I just started my rye sourdough and its looking good ( i got it form Hamelmann book ),now I am reading it and reading it , and one thing isnt too clear ( I need to read more ), after my starter is ready,and I get a piece for my bread what do I do with the rest to propagate it ? Put in the fridge and refresh it every 12 hours as usuall? Not too sure about that step.
Jack's already responded pretty thoroughly to you above, but I did want to stress again that Wood's Classic Sourdoughs was probably the best resource for me in figuring out, pretty simply, how to cultivate and maintain and refresh a sourdough culture. I like Hamelman very much (I mean, what's not to like? he's a fabulous resource), but for me, Wood was simpler to follow for a truly novice baker.
Thank you for the tip Dev ,Im getting ready to do a try tonight , probably a simpler starter will be a better idea for a newbie. Thank you )))
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Thank you Jackal , I am glad that isnt me
,well maybe is a little bit me , but anyway I will follow your suggestions and experience this will be my first time making bread out of sourdough starter and I am kinda concerned about the process, I guess the only way to do it its to try and try like Gerhard is doing.Does the fact that my starter its made entirely out of whole rye flour, I will make only rye or wheat breads?? I wanted to do rustic type of bread with a nice crust and lots of hole inside ( like the italian pagnotta ) I know that the oven unfortunally will play a big role in that and I am afraid mine wont help me to achieve what I want. Will a baking stone help diffusing the heat more evenly?
Thank you for your precius advice )
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I'm wondering whether your starter was fully active before you started your preferment. It's difficult to tell from the pic, but I'd say it looks a little weak.
Maybe you might want to reactive your starter before you proceed to a preferment. I use a little more flour to water as well and proof in a box (a plastic cooler) with a 40 watt bulb for a few hours at a temp of 85 degrees.
I think I mentioned this before and Jackal wondered whether my culture survived that process. Or maybe I misunderstood. But I started it four years ago and it's a gorgeous thing.
I agree, though, that sourdough is, as Jackal noted, way more forgiving than commercial yeast which surprised me once I got used to using it. Apart from producing the best breads I've ever had, it's actually easier in many ways, once you get used to the process. And once past the hurdle of figuring out how to activate and feed and use, a sourdough is, ironically, turning out to be simpler in pretty significant ways. At least that's so for me. You wouldn't have been able to convince me of that even a couple of years ago.
I still consider myself a novice. And I wish I'd had this forum to consult when I started!
I just started my rye sourdough and its looking good ( i got it form Hamelmann book ),now I am reading it and reading it , and one thing isnt too clear ( I need to read more ), after my starter is ready,and I get a piece for my bread what do I do with the rest to propagate it ? Put in the fridge and refresh it every 12 hours as usuall? Not too sure about that step.
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I will give a look at these other sites too .
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Does this mean that you think that the food processor is the problem? I will do the folding bit if you are sure that this is the only way of eliminating the most likely problem. I am not too keen on the amount of interaction required, at least not as a permanent solution. There is no way that I can set aside 2.5 hrs every day to be available for the folding. Also, the timing is out for baking for breakfast, unless I can still retard in the fridge.
How about simply doing the food processor whizzing and then taking the temp of the dough. If it is ok, it cannot be the food processor doing the damage. I am really keen to retain the food processor part, because it is so quick and easy. Please rethink - the more I think about Dan's method, efficacious as it may be, the more I realise that the exigencies of my life would not allow it as a daily routine.
If the food processor is not the culprit, I am at a loss where to go from there. That is, assuming the the dough temp is fine. Is there any way to determine whether the dough, after proving, has had yeast activity? Drop a ball into hot oil?
My experience (I've been learning in a very concentrated, self-taught way, talking to people who know what they're doing, reading as much as I can get my hands on and baking and experimenting all the while for going on 5 years now) has indicated to me that the less you actually work a dough, the more beautiful the crumb, and the better it will behave for you.... That, of course, comes with dozens of caveats that you figure out as you learn. I don't use any mixers or processors for my breads. I use the turn and fold method, and I work with big bins of the stuff at a time, making 20 loaves of one formula at a time. And I work with very wet doughs. And a sourdough culture that is like manna. I'm in love with my sourdough culture and my breads just keep getting better.
Yeah, it is sort of labor-intensive, but only every couple of hours in short spaces of time. And I really don't know right now that to do it the quick and easy way will get you exactly what you're looking for. Maybe I'm wrong about that. In my gut, I don't think so. One of the reasons we've all been eating such degraded breads for so many years was that desire for the quick and easy process. Hence commercial yeast. Hence quick, warm rises. Hence tight crumb and weak crust and an inferior, flavorless product once you factor out the butter or jam.
Personally, I'm watching you work through a process here very quickly and actually getting very good results in a short period of time. Nope, it's not perfect. But to expect perfection right off the bat isn't reasonable.
Beautiful, gorgeous, flavorful bread is as much art as science. It takes a lot of time to get there. It takes a lot of failed bread. It takes a lot of desire to keep trying after every failure.
Frankly? Your first failures look way better than my first failures did.
Great reply!!!!!!Thank you
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I've seen the mycryo at my supplier, but never tried it. They didn't seem to be selling it with the idea of using it to temper, rather as a replacement for gelatin - however that is supposed to work.
Mycryo can be used as a gelatin substitute??? AFAIK Mycryo is an emulsifying and stabilizing agent (with a few other pleasant side-effects). It can set product as well?
Sure it can , on the package there is the description on how to substitute gelatine with the mycryo and of course how to temper chocolate with it
Its only micronizied cocoa butter , and its a stabilazer thats why it works on tempering chocolate , just micro parts of cocoa butter to go and stabilize the chocolate structure.
I used it for a mousse and it worked fine.
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No one here uses Mycryo to temper ??
I am currently using it and its great , it allows me to temper couple of chocolates at the same time ,and the results are always good , only one time I had an overcrystallized chocolate because I have a lousy scale and I add too much of the mycryo .I still make a mess ( and yes the cabinets still get drips of chocolates wich make my little munchkin happy )but thats beacuse Iam like that
.The ratio is 10gr per kilo of chocolate
Great post by the way ,I never tryed that method and I will probably give it a try
thank you Kerry
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Still here to encourage you Gerhard, It s like following the olimpic games , next try will be the one , and you know what even if isnt who cares are you in a hurry??
No You have all the time you want , its a learning process it takes time and patience,and one important thing , dont forget to have fun meanwhile , if there isnt fun there is no point on doing it .
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My goodness... is this a California thing?
I get pink boxes at all my local donut shops and bakeries (except Bouchon, of course, which has its own signature boxes with weird green ribbons). Only occasionally do I get white ones, but they always seem to be pink...
No in Colorado too we have pink, I had the misfortune to work in a chain store bakery and they have them pink ( for doughnuts too)
I dont recall ever seen a pink box in Italy , they usually put pasties in trays and wrap them with paper ( usually each bakery has their company name on it ) and close it with ribbons ,for cakes and pies the most common ia a box made of one piece that usually goes together on the top umm. not really clear , like these ones;
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Hello I just joined the forum and I am really glad to have found you guys .
I am form Italy ( Rome ), but I live in Colorado , I have been here for almost 3 years.
In my family we make Pastiera every year , even we arent form Naples , my mother is from that area , and we used to have a restaurant and that was one of our speciality. I havent attempt to make it this year , I have hard time to find a quality ricotta here where i live, and I have to say that I think my oven isnt working porperly , last time I tryed to make torta Delizia ( wich is another italian speciality cake with almond paste), it didnt came the way its supposed to be, but I cant afford another oven now so I might just keep on chocolate making
Anyway the important thing for the Pastiera its the aromas you put in it and the ricotta of course.We use ricotta form sheep milk , has more a savory taste and its much better for cakes .Another thing you gotta to have the orange flower water , it isnt a Pastiera without that!We use cinnamom oil instead the powder because it leaves the mix nice and clear , while the powder makes it "dirty".
Well I hope I can manage to make one and win over my oven and maybe post a pic.
Nice to be here and I hope to be usefull as much as your posts have been for me in the past 2 weeks
Welcome to eGullet Desiderio. Do you have a recipe for Torta Delizia?
Sorry took me long to answer buisy buisy in chocolate season
.Sure I have the recipe and I will try to translate it and convert the doses ( are for bakeries doses so for a huge amout of cakes ).Probably after Easter I will have 5 minuts to relaz and go back to my baking , and post the recipe and maybe a pic . -
Ohhh I cant wait to see the result
.I just got hold of a copy of Hammelman bread book and I am trying to read it at work and between chocolates ( bread and chocolates UMMMM.. the best combo).
I have a question I am trying out the rye sourdough starter , and it is a very different process form the mother I am use to do ( usually I do the italian type and its a very long and time cosuming porcess , but it works very good ) , I am not sure about the rye starter there it is kinda stinky
, haha well I hope it works.You got us all exited here I cant wait till tomorrow .Go go go Gerhard
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Great thred thank you Melange
Thank you Trishiad, for the great suggestion on how to work with mint .
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Ummm I have done some mint chocolates in the past and I have used the peppermint extract, but I feel that the taste isnt that soddisfacent,so I did another batch with fresh mint instead ( I saw many chocolatiers make it with fresh mint ),so i did it , and finish up the chocolates.
Unfortunally I tryed one yesterday and the taste its very very weird , too weird to be selled , the only positive thing is that it leaves a great fresh back taste in your mouth , but the firts taste I dont know how to explained but it is weird like you can actually taste the plante inside , I would say not too appealing.
Now I am going to try a different appoach just to experiment something, I made some fondant and Im going to mix it with som epeppermint extract ( I need to find some mint syrup ) and the fill the chocolates with that.
What are your experience with mint? And did this weird taste ever accour to any of you guys?
Thank you
Did you press on the mint leaves when you were straining? According to some, this is where the slightly bitter, vegetal taste comes from.
No no pressing I read is bad and get the bitter flavor into it.
, I had the idea to use the dry mint and someone told me thet wasnt a good idea , I might go ahead and try that way then
.I will try to purchase the peppermint oil then oinstead of the extract .
Thank you guys for your always precius suggestions and help
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Ummm I have done some mint chocolates in the past and I have used the peppermint extract, but I feel that the taste isnt that soddisfacent,so I did another batch with fresh mint instead ( I saw many chocolatiers make it with fresh mint ),so i did it , and finish up the chocolates.
Unfortunally I tryed one yesterday and the taste its very very weird , too weird to be selled , the only positive thing is that it leaves a great fresh back taste in your mouth , but the firts taste I dont know how to explained but it is weird like you can actually taste the plante inside , I would say not too appealing.
Now I am going to try a different appoach just to experiment something, I made some fondant and Im going to mix it with som epeppermint extract ( I need to find some mint syrup ) and the fill the chocolates with that.
What are your experience with mint? And did this weird taste ever accour to any of you guys?
Thank you
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Does one consider Trimoline to be a preservative? It's just sugar after all, and sugar is a preservative. I suppose when someone asks if there are 'preservatives' in chocolates, they are really asking about unpronouncable chemicals?
Good question about trimoline. I use it in my ganache.
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I too suffer from the "molto pieno" (very full) problem. I usually end up with ganache poking up in one or two cavities and many of my closing attempts have been pretty messy. Thanks for the tips on how to push them back down. I've tried the vibrator table on high, but the stiffer fillings don't respond to that.
I found that for sealing the thinner the chocolate the better. I have much better luck with white chocolate, and I'm thinking I might benifit from adding cocoa butter to my bittersweet to thin it out for closing. Waiting for a crust is also key. I have lost a couple trays to impatience.
I have learned to stop at one scrape, then if it requires it I use a top quality 12" drywall knife I have to scrap off any extra after setting and prior to demolding. If you look, you can tell the bottoms were scraped because they don't have the shine, but its not a big deal. At least not as bad as messing up and loosing a whole tray.
Vanessa, you mentioned a chocolate class in November. Are you signed up for the advanced chocolate class Nov 7-9th at the French Pastry School in Chicago? If so, I'll see you there. I'm trying to get all the basics down before then so I can get the most out of the class. I just started the begining of this year and I figure that I've got quite a few "learning experiences" ahead of me.
Hello David, I havent sing up yet , I printed the paper and I am waiting probably after easter I will sign up , I really want to do it, I was acutally thinking to go back in Italy and do a similar class but since Wybauw is here why not?
I dont live close to Chicago , so not many chance to do classes here , so the one in november will be my first one here in the USA . I am looking foward to be there )
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Thank you John very much .I have tryed working on closing my molds and I actually had better results , but I have noticed that if I dont warm the mold surface before closing them its a disaster , because the chocolate solidify pretty fast very fast,the temperature in my hose its around 65 at the moment I am trying to keep it cooler , because it tends to get pretty warm here even in the winter, so I suppose that while you work with chocolate cooler its better only for the conservation right?
So at this point I cant forget to warm the mold before I poure the chocolate for the closing I have notice huge different between two mold I did at the same time but I forgot to warm the second .
By the way John your chocolates are AWesome not only for the colors but for the flavor combinations , I havent try them but I figure that soon I will
I probably will start some coloring only when I get my basic techinics straight.
I was thinking to order from chef rubber the colored cocoa butter seems the better choice for a beginners. Is that correct?
Thank you again to all of you I keep working it till they come out perfectttttt~!!!
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Thank you
Definally one scrape have to do it , because everytime i went on to fix the look isnt appealing .I am definatly looking foward to read Wybauw book.
Thank you again for your time and precius suggestions
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Thank you so much , I actually tried yesterday , I filled my mold and left them all day while I was at work , when i came back I proceeded to covering and its seems they came out better and I didnt over filled the mold
.Working fast its the secret I see , well then the only thing I can do its just practice practice practice , maybe buy a better larger scrape/spatula .
I followed the suggestion I found on the forum about letting the truffles get the crus first and I really like the result, I left them all night then covered them ,in Italy I would have hard time doing or just saying that I am doing this , because everybody is soo concerned of spoiling food , wich bring me to another question, how long the chocolates that are made with no preservatives will last?I will suppose if they are well covered around a month?Maybe 2 or 3 weeks ,here where I live is very very dry and even if isnt too good on human its good on chocolates
,.Thank you so much for all your helpfull answers glad to be here
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Hello still me,I think I need the suggestion of an expert chocolatier here ( so this is the place )
I have been doing chocolates for a bit now , and Iam actually selling some of them in small batches,I dont have problems with filling and other things , my only ( well only
, but for now lets stick to this one)problem is when its time to close nice and smooth my molds .Now I know I have to leave some room and avoid to fill all the way up to the top with the filling , and I have to say I have such hard time doing it , I can refrain myself from over filling ( I am italian everything gotta to be nice and full "mangia mangia! 
"), anyway even when i manage to fill them below the line , I still have hard time to have a nice smooth closing on the bottom, its frustrating and actually now everytime I have to use molds I am concerned 
.There is any method in particulare I have to follow , the only one I have found of some help is the one on the Callebaut site .I am going to buy Jean Pierre Wybauw book for my birthday and I cant wait to put my little greedy hands on it
, I am also looking foward to attempt one of his classes in november in Chicago , I really need to make this chocolate making a profession because this is what I enjoy and I have put it away for too long now. Any feed back on the matter?Also I dont own a temper machine , so I was doing the old way , till I discovered 'MYCRYO" , and it saved my life, any of you ever used it and what do you think about it? For who doesnt know what Mycryo is , is a 100% cocoa butter micronized ( I think not sure on the english term ), it a stabilizer and its used mainly in the place of the gelatine , it can be used for frying ,and ofcourse to temper chocolate without making a mess on the counter (
), I ahve been using it for a couple of months now and I think its very very handy expecially for someone that doesnt have a temper machine and use small amounts of chocolate.Mycryo is a Cacao Barry product and it can be found in few web site ( in Italy it can only be purchased by professionals it is not selled in stores).I found mine here and at good price ;
http://www.gourmetinternational.com/produc...67fb716abc17fa1
You only need like 10 gr per kilo of chocolate.
Well after this very long post i go and finish my chocolates for the next sunday orders.
Thank you for your help
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Hello I just joined the forum and I am really glad to have found you guys
.I am form Italy ( Rome ), but I live in Colorado , I have been here for almost 3 years.
In my family we make Pastiera every year , even we arent form Naples , my mother is from that area , and we used to have a restaurant and that was one of our speciality. I havent attempt to make it this year , I have hard time to find a quality ricotta here where i live, and I have to say that I think my oven isnt working porperly , last time I tryed to make torta Delizia ( wich is another italian speciality cake with almond paste), it didnt came the way its supposed to be, but I cant afford another oven now so I might just keep on chocolate making
Anyway the important thing for the Pastiera its the aromas you put in it and the ricotta of course.We use ricotta form sheep milk , has more a savory taste and its much better for cakes .Another thing you gotta to have the orange flower water , it isnt a Pastiera without that!We use cinnamom oil instead the powder because it leaves the mix nice and clear , while the powder makes it "dirty".
Well I hope I can manage to make one and win over my oven and maybe post a pic.
Nice to be here and I hope to be usefull as much as your posts have been for me in the past 2 weeks
How To Make Transfer Sheets
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Hello , cocoa butter does not need to be tempered prior use.