Luke

I have spent at least 20 years perfecting what I want in a Vindaloo (Lamb). I cannot comment on how it compares to authentic vindaloo, but the recipe was originally derived from VahRehVah chef. https://youtu.be/5E3kulJRzGY What I can say is the quality of the chilli powder is key to this dish - so much so I grow my own chillies and use them in this recipe. Whole Masala (add to oil prior to onions) cinnamon - 1 - stick 10cm Black cardamom x 3 cloves x 6 Green cardamom x 6 Bay Leaves dried x 3 Masala Paste: coconut cream - 1 can cumin powder - 1 tsp Black pepper power - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 2 tsp Mustard powder - 1 tsp Garlic - 6 to 7 - number ginger - 1 piece about 25mm long Long Hot Chilli Powder - 5 Tablespoons (depends on heat) Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric - 1 tsp Garam Marsala - 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar- 3/4 - cup Main ingredients: Lamb Round Chops on Bone - 1kg ghee - 1/2 cup onions - 4 - sliced salt - 0 - as needed Jaggery - 2 - tsp water - 0 - as needed Instructions: Wash lamb, apply salt and tumeric powder in water, cover and keep it a side for 1 hr. Add all items in Masala paste to Blender and blend until fine. Mixture will look curdled, which is OK. After one hour in brine, drain the lamb add all the spice mixture mix well - marinate for 4 hours if possible After 4 hours take a pan add ghee, whole masala, onions and cook until onions soft. Add lamb and masala cook for 5min then add water (about 1 cup) and cook in a low flame. Towards end (1 hour) add jaggary

@Ann_T I tried your recipe as-is for a boule Still need to work on the gluten strength - it was a bit under. My wife is Soy intolerant so loves any bread I can make without bread improver and this one got the thumbs up.

Thanks - I have some Canadian Manitoba flour with protein in the 13's, but I'm using Aussie flour with protein in the 11's Question - Do you think there is any difference if you autolyse with or without the poolish? I'm experimenting with a Vito Lacopelli pizza dough and he autolyses the main flour and water, then adds the poolish - its hard to get the lumps out when adding 100% hydrated poolish to 70% dough, I wonder if it would make it any difference, and noticed your recipe adds it all then rests for the autolyse. Luke

@Ann_T Love the colour on those baguettes. What is the protein % of the flour you use?

Second attempt of my spices fruit block loaf was a fail. For this one, I added 50g of Levain to the Bega. But I still don't think this was the problem. Sat down and reviewed my notes, I don't think I kneaded in the kitchen aid for long enough (compared to the first) - was still wet and sticky during the folds. Tried again, slightly reduced the hydration by 2% to 73.4%, added 2grams Diastatic Malt to help the yeast lift the heavy fruit, and spent a full 20 minutes on the knead. I gave it a 10 minute rest between kneads, and 3 folds during the initial bulk. The dough was really tight after this. Added some water/egg wash to the top to go for some gloss, but I think the oven was still too hot @ 230 deg C Crumb structure was spot on this time. I think I have my baseline reference now - I want to eventually add rye, spelt, increase the fruit and switch in some Levain while lowering the yeast. Will need to make this one more time to make sure it was not just luck - kids are not complaining.

Its just my own mix of dried fruits and spices (weights in grams). I am trying to develop a spiced fruit loaf. Fruit Mix Currents 140.0 Sultanas 140.0 Mixed Peel 140.0 Orange Zest 1 Tab 10.0 Lemon Zest 1 Tab 10.0 Dates 140.0 Green Ginger Wine, Soak Fruits, Drained 50.0 Spices Cinnamon, Ground 2 tsp 7.8 All Spice, Ground 1 tsp 3.9 Apple Cake Spice 1 tsp 3.7 Cocoa, Sifted 1 tsp 3.9

Inspired by Ann_T's Biga based breads, I thought I would try the same recipe in a square tin with a spiced fruit bread mix. I forgot to add the 3g of yeast in the final mix - it took me a while to realise why it was rising so slowly. Considering this stuff up, the end result wasn't too bad (took 8 hours to rise) - I do realise I need to shape properly, hence the hole in the middle, which I didn't as I was in a rush (hence forgetting the yeast). Flavour was spot on. Try again tomorrow.

For those interested, I have attached my Guanciale workbook (Excel). I use the EQ method. 1. Weigh each Jowell and record weight. Measure salt and spices per weight, add to bag and remove air, seal ( I like 2.25% salt, but really you can use 2% to 3.5% depending on your taste and blood pressure) 2. Turn daily in fridge for desired time 3. Remove from bag, wash in white wine, removing spices and brine, then reapply your prefered dry spice mix - i normally use pepper and chilli, sometimes fennel and bay leaf (this is not recorded on my workbook) 4. Hang to cure in cellar or garage in winter, or if temps and humidity not suitable, cure in umai charcuterie bag on bottom shelf of fridge. 5. Aim for 25% moisture loss, about 35 days for me. Guanciale Worksheet 050621.xlsx

I caught a few Rainbow Trout on the weekend from a lake here in Victoria, Australia, and plan to smoke them. There is quite a bit of size difference, so I will probably smoke the smaller one whole, and fillet the larger one. One thing that has confused me in reading this thread and other references on the net is that few recipes actually specify weight, and with salt, that can be dangerous due to size difference of crystals. Just to confirm - roughly 3% salt, 3% sugar, and 3 litres of brine per fish for 8 hours? Thanks Luke

+1 for Roses Chocolate Ice Cream! What tweaks did you make? I have found her other ice creams not so great, too sweet for my tastes. I do understand most Americans like Ice Cream on the sweeter side. I've just made a batch of silky smooth roasted hazelnut paste in the wet grinder and now I'm pulling together a Roasted Hazelnut Ice Cream recipe....

Does Rose mean Pure Malt Powder, as the only Carnation brand malt powder I can find is "Malted milk powder" ? What did you use? Tnx

Recipe for Naan is as follows (sorry for delayed response ) INGREDIENTS 450g (3 cups) bread flour 7g sachet (2 teaspoons) dried yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon caster sugar 185ml (3/4 cup) warm water 90g (1/3 cup) Greek Style Yoghurt 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 30g ghee, melted Sesame seeds, toasted METHOD Step 1 Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix in water, yoghurt and oil. Knead dough for 5 minutes or until smooth. Step 2 Place dough in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

I made the Creme Anglaise recipe from Myhrvold Modernist Cuisine - it did look curdled and lumpy coming out of the zip lock bag as described in the recipe. I used my stick blender to smooth it out as instructed, but I think I blended it for too long, and it went from lumpy to smooth to watery. Did I make a fatal mistake of over blending the custard? The recipe does not say how to blend or when to stop. Hoping one of the gurus can give me guidance before I try this again. Many Thanks Luke

We have been baking bread out of Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast and what we have noticed is: Breads continue to develop flavor 24 to 48 hours after baking, particularly the large 1.5kg boules The recipes with wholemeal/wholegrain remain moist for longer than recipes dominated by white flour The breads do not develop mold - we keep them in a pillow case/bread bag and eventually the scraps become croutons or bread crumbs once they dry out My wife is also intolerant to Soy, and one would be amazed at how many commercial bakeries use Soy Flour in their bread recipes. My next goal is to replicate Ann_T's Baguette's which look very enticing. Cheers Luke

New York style baked cheesecake from Joy of Baking (https://www.joyofbaking.com/Cheesecake.html) with a raspberry jelly topping. I came up with the idea, my wife (bless her) did the execution. In the process, I almost got executed for coming up with the idea (another story, not related to this recipe).