Zoe Francois

Hi. The crumb of your bread is going to be different because of the high protein content. It has more elasticity and so you can get better hole structure. Try it in comparison and see which you prefer. When you bake with Bread flour make sure you increase the water to keep your dough slack! Let me know what you think! Zoe ← Thanks Zoe! So I would get similar results with the King Arthur Flour also? ← Hi. King Arthur all-purpose is 11.7% protein, which is closer to most bread flours than AP. So yes, it will behave more like bread flour and you should add a bit more water to the dough. Zoe

Hi. The crumb of your bread is going to be different because of the high protein content. It has more elasticity and so you can get better hole structure. Try it in comparison and see which you prefer. When you bake with Bread flour make sure you increase the water to keep your dough slack! Let me know what you think! Zoe

Well, well that is pretty handy! I've got my food safety gloves that I never wear at home. I guess I'll try them out. Sorry about the cuts! Zoe

I visit Minneapolis every summer when I go home to Winnipeg, so if you can wait that long, I'll be happy to bring some down for you! It probably won't be until August (assuming I go to Chicago for the big eGullet culinary extravaganza), though. ← Hey thanks! I'll let you know if I'm still in need by August. Zoe

I believe Robin Hood is a Canadian brand, but I did see it at the Super Wal*Mart in Port Huron, MI( border town). ← Hi, I think you are right. Someone in Vermont said they could find it. I figure we should have it here in MN but I'm not sure yet? I'm sure someone will ship it to me for a small fortune! Zoe

Hi Marc, Yes, the clear flour would work beautifully in the recipe. I haven't tried it in this particular rye dough (we tried to avoid special ingredients for the book), so I can't give you the %, but it should work. If you use it will you let me know what you think. I'll get some and try it as well. It would also be good to use in the whole wheat breads. Thanks! Zoe ← I made the dough tonight using clear flour for all of the AP. I hope to bake on Sunday, I'll be back then to let you know how they turned out. Marc ← Please do! I can't wait to hear about the bread and hopefully you will take some pictures? Thanks, Zoe

Fantastic! We wrote the book for people like you, so I'm so happy to hear you are baking bread! It is great fun isn't it? Thanks for the great feedback and I hope you enjoy all the other recipes in the book! Zoe

Hi Anna, This is great to know! I think the Robin Hood Best for Bread is one of the higher protein counts I've seen people try and it looks great. I've never seen it around here but I'm going to go on a hunt for it! Wow your kitchen is warm. It was -35 degrees F here in MN yesterday and I thought I was being luxurious turning the heat to 70! I'm really going to crank it today! Yes, the salt yeast habit is hard to break, but we really haven't ever seen it make a difference??? Thanks again! Zoe

Anna, this bread looks wonderful! The crust and crumb are gorgeous, how did it taste? How long did you let it rest before baking? What are the measurements you have settled on with the bread flour? Do you know what the protein content is? Sorry, for all the questions but I'm so curious how you got to this point. Thanks! Zoe

BTW - the errata sheet at my website is getting longer, unfortunately!! You may want to check it out and let those that you've given the book to know about it as well. www.zoebakes.com Thanks! Zoe

Many, many thanks for spreading the word and giving the book to so many friends!!! Do let me know how you make out with the soaked grains. Zoe

Hi Marc, Yes, the clear flour would work beautifully in the recipe. I haven't tried it in this particular rye dough (we tried to avoid special ingredients for the book), so I can't give you the %, but it should work. If you use it will you let me know what you think. I'll get some and try it as well. It would also be good to use in the whole wheat breads. Thanks! Zoe

This bread looks great! Bring on the marmalade!!! Zoe

Hi. What kind of rye flour are you using? It looks pretty light? This may make a difference in the flavor and texture of your bread. Play around with the light vs. dark ryes and how coursely they are ground. It sounds like you may prefer the high rye bran (dark), course-ground flour, which makes for a denser bread. How long did you let this loaf rise before you baked it? Zoe ← I used the Hodgson Mills Rye(the box doesnt specify if its light or dark). I let it rise about 1hr( while I preheated the oven). I baked it at 425( convection). ← I just looked at the bread you are comparing it to at: http://www.dimpflmeierbakery.com/ I think you might be looking for a bread made with more rye? They bake their breads in a loaf pan so they can get away with more rye, less gluten. You might try that and see what you think. Once you add more rye you will have a very loose dough and will need to use a pan to bake it. I'm still amazed at how fluffy your bread turned out! If anything I have been having conversations with people on how to get their breads to be fluffier! Was your kitchen particularly warm while the dough was resting? Did it seem to be rising faster? One hour seems just about perfect for this bread and I've never described this loaf as fluffy. The flours and the rest time are all spot on! You may want to reduce the rise time next time so it doesn't develop as much loft. Wow, I never thought I'd sy that!!! Thanks this is very interesting. Zoe

Hi. What kind of rye flour are you using? It looks pretty light? This may make a difference in the flavor and texture of your bread. Play around with the light vs. dark ryes and how coursely they are ground. It sounds like you may prefer the high rye bran (dark), course-ground flour, which makes for a denser bread. How long did you let this loaf rise before you baked it? Zoe

Hi. Yes, with these slack doughs you will definitely have spreading. Did you get good oven spring? It is hard to tell from the angle in the picture. The loaf looks wonderful and I hope you like the flavor! It is a delicate balance between a dough that is wet enough to produce a nice crumb and not too wet so it will hold its shape. This is even more profound with the rye dough because rye has very little gluten to speak of and the dough can get even more slack. Zoe

Hi Kerry, I can't wait to hear about your dad's experience with the bread! Thank you for sharing it with him. Your pizza looks great and I'll have to try the bowl trick. Do you load it up with flour to keep it from sticking? I'm glad you tried adding more water to the batch, instead of baking it and not caring for the result! This dough is very forgiving so feel free to play with it, just let it rise when you are done! Zoe

Hi Sentiamo, We are in our 4th printing of the book and I hope they print more because it would seem that Amazon has run out again!!! Sigh. I hope you don't have to wait too long. I can't wait to hear about your experience with the recipe. What kind of flour are you using? Do you know the protein content? I've been asked about the differences in flour around the world and I have no idea what flours are available in New Zealand??? Thanks, Zoe

Hi Jeff, We have done the breat with great success using a natural levain. We were using a cup of starter per batch of the master in place of the yeast. It works really well, but you have to let it rise for hours both for the intitial rise and when it is resting on the peel. We suggested 6-12 hours for the initial rise and about 2 hours rest before going in the oven! Let me know how it goes. Zoe

Talk about a pin-up photo! That looks incredible. OK, this is embarrassing to admit, especially since I am a card carrying chocoholic, but I don't think I had ever heard of chocolate bread until this thread. Do you slice it and eat it like pound cake? I didn't think I was interested until the siren song of that photo. pat ← More like regular bread. I just put a bit of butter on it. ← Hi Pat, This bread has a very intense chocolate flavor without being all that sweet. In fact you can make it with really bitter chocolate and it isn't sweet at all. If you want it to be more dessert like, than use a semisweet chocolate. I like it bitter myself, but that is up to you! Zoe

Kerry, That looks great! Thanks for the picture. Zoe

Hi. Great idea. I have to say that we made the mistake of testing the calzone once with low fat ricotta and the texture was dismal. The flavor was fine but it was rubbery. I will try it with goat's milk and heavy cream. This sounds like something really worth while! Thanks, Zoë

Hey thanks! I'll try this out. It really does seem too simple. Why haven't I been making this for years??? Zoe F

Hi. This bread looks fantastic!!! I'm really happy to see that the overnight rise in the refrigerator works as well with loaf breads. In fact, it seems like you probably get an even better rise. This is fascinating!!!! How full was the pan when you first put the dough in? Thanks, Zoe F

Hi. We found no difference when we used instant yeast vs. regular in the recipe. Once you ae storing the dough for this long it just doesn't seem to matter! So use the same amount for either. Let me know how it comes out, I love this bread! Zoe