DianaM

...and the elderberry syrup is ready. Not only does it have this beautiful coral colour, but it tastes amazing too, that particular floral aroma that screams summer. I can't wait to pour it over some chilled prosecco. Yum.

Franci, it is rhubarb season here as well, and I happen to have some on hand. How do you prepare the rhubarb to fill the galette?

What blender are you using, francis8888?

I left Kerry's today with an abundance of elderflowers, and so I had enough to make the lightly fermented, Eastern European version, as well as the syrup based on Kerry's recipe upthread. The former pictured here: This will take about 3-4 days to develop the right flavour and the characteristic fizzy-ness, while the syrup already has a beautiful, floral scent. There were still flowers left, those I am drying and they'll get used for herbal tea in the fall or winter.

The other day I saw a post here on eG about elderflower cordial, and besides giving me a tremendous craving for the stuff, it got me thinking about other fermented beverages and foodstuffs. And since it is summer, and since it is good (they say) to introduce some good bugs to one's digestive flora, I thought I'd ask for some help. What fermented beverages do you make? Elderflower cordial? Tepache? Cultured lemonade? Do you keep a ginger bug or have you tried culturing one? Did you risk food poisoning to make kombucha? Could you share your recipes, tips, tricks? (and yes, I did see the recipes in the elderflower cordial thread)

Ann_T, those mini baguettes look delicious. And these last two photos in your post are gorgeous - I have "prop envy," if such a thing exists. A question: you wrote you use 2 ounces of leftover starter to make 500 g of biga. Is it a 100% hydration? If yes, you would be adding about 225 g each of flour and water, correct? And you mix the final dough when it has doubled.

Oh, I was sure I had missed the season! Thursday works great. I am not up to much these days, just the good ol' babysitting duty. Would you be willing to share some of the blooms?

You remind me of my Dad. He used to laugh at vegetarians until his GP told him he can't have meat anymore. Don't be arrogant or narrow-minded. For people with health issues (they are in growing numbers, from what I understand), that "yeasted-cashew crap" is the only "cheese" they are allowed to eat without getting sick. How's that for fair? Others avoid dairy and eggs (and meat, obviously) for religious reasons, during lent for example. I bumped into this very issue when selling chocolate truffles a week before Easter. Coming back to your question: no, you cannot get the flavour of butter from substitues. But you can make items that are suitable for those on dairy-free or dairy- and egg-free diets, MelissaH and pastrygirl gave some excellent suggestions above. As a non-vegan, I honestly would not be tempted to try a vegan croissant. But there are many chocolatey things you can make, from truffles (with nut milks, wine, beer, fruit purees etc) to meltaways, to praline centres, barks, mendiants, chocolate-dipped fruit, dragees etc. Any of these, I would, without hesitation, be willing to try. Oh, and please post about that vegan brioche if you have a chance. I'd love to give that a try!

I miss elderflower cordial so badly... I used to make it every early summer. This year I was away during elderflower season here in Canada, plus I am not even sure where I could forage for the flowers. Yummm, your cordial looks delicious, mette!

Oh, that looks so delicious, Anna, gorgeous crumb! You had me at "semolina," lol. I have to dig out my Hamelman, and look up the recipe. Did you bake it on a stone, or in a DO? I have Reinhart's pizza course, though I cannot remember whether I liked it or not. I wasn't aware he had a bread course too, thanks for sharing your experience. The red fife: I am very interested! You think Bulk Barn might have it, or only a specialty store?

Thanks, Anna. I got the inspiration and recipe from here (it is in Romanian, but Codruta's blog is worth browsing even for the bread porn alone ): http://blog.codrudepaine.ro/2011/11/paine-cu-faina-de-grau-durum/ She also posted about this bread on TFL, here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25718/what-i039ve-baked-lately-baguettes-semolina-bread-80-rye-rye-soaker-and-rye-chops Her breads are awesome, she is one of my bread heroes, Susan from Wild Yeast is the other. Codruta had such high praise about the flavour of sourdough made with semolina, that as soon as I read her post, I knew I had to find this flour, and try the bread.

Having got my hands on some Italian-made semolina rimacinata, I made sourdough semolina bread. I have also been working to improve my slashes with my makeshift lame (an old-fashioned and dirt-cheap razor blade threaded on a skewer), but still on the upslope of that particular learning curve. The bread has a delicious flavour, not sour at all, although it went through an overnight fridge fermentation. It has a very pleasant golden colour, and a hearty chew.

Sourdough honey and whole grain spelt bread. To make this, I adapted for sourdough a commercial yeast recipe from Hamelman's book. I figured since I am feeding the culture daily, might as well make good use of it. The whole grain flour is 80% of the total flour in the recipe. It is quite a hearty bread, and I found that I like it better: a) the next day; b) toasted; c) with a strongly-flavored spread or topping, like home-made kumquat marmalade or one of the balcanic vegetable spreads (zacuska, baba ghanouj, adjvar etc).

A fraisier to enjoy after the Easter meal.

Aawwww, they are adorable! Depending on how many freckles the kids eat, you may or may not have an interesting day ahead of you. )

Spelt and flaxseed levain. I affectionately call it "the armadillo." All stages of fermentation were completed at room temp; it is a moderately sour bread with a very pleasant crunch and toasted-nuttiness provided by the flaxseed garnish. Before the pics, I have a couple of questions for you bread pros out there: -what is the best way to apply a seed garnish to the top of a loaf? (I applied this one with water, and although plenty seeds remain on the crust, many fall off when I handle the bread while slicing etc) -how to get a thicker crust: less steam, more steam, higher/lower temperature, thicker baking stone etc? I start the bread in a 475 F oven, on a crappy pizza stone, with a shallow pan of water on the bottom of the oven. After 15 min remove the water, and reduce temp to 450 F. Oh, and I also remove the pizza stone, because if I don't the bottom of my loaves remains pale. What variable to change to get a "cracklier," thicker crust?

Very glad to hear that! It's a staple in our house too, and we go through this one faster than any other bread.

Thanks, Kerry! I'll have to check it out. The store looks nice and well stocked from the photos on their site.

I made an experiment with durum flour, in this bread it was about 70% of the total flour in the formula, the rest was our (Canadian) strong all-purpose white flour. Despite its low gluten, the bread has a nice crumb, better than expected (I expected a brick ). BUT I had to ferment it for ages, and because of that, the flavour is pretty sour, more so than I usually prefer. The shaped batards split during rising, and were looking so sad that I wanted to bin them, but changed my mind and baked them anyways. I am glad I did. The bread ages gracefully, however, and is quite good toasted. Oh, and if anyone knows of a source for Semola di grano duro rimacinata (durum semolina, re-milled into a fine flour), I would love to try it as well.

You are welcome! I have to add that the yield of the recipe she posted did not fill my 8" pan, at least not to the thickness I wanted. So now when I make it I throw in handfuls of whatever (toasted coconut flakes and chia are my choices lately) and adjust the brown rice syrup to compensate.

Nut bars for snacks, very loosely based on this recipe: http://powerhungry.com/2011/09/homemade-trio-bars-and-homemade-kind-bars/

Welcome! Yes, it's the standard 9x5. I do have a slimmer and longer loaf pan - I dug it out from the basement to measure it, it's 11x4. But it's very flimsy, thin-walled, I never tried baking bread in it. I'm not even sure I ever used it, but brought it with me when we crossed the big pond, and I was reluctant to toss it.

Hi Anna, It did rise nicely, but I think the angle of view helps a bit too. It is my go-to sandwich bread recipe, my card just says Simple bread. It's a straight dough. 490 g all-purpose unbleached flour (~13% protein) 390 g milk 1 t instant yeast 1 t fine sea salt I don't add the yeast to the flour, instead dissolve it in the lukewarm milk, then mix everything together. I start kneading in the mixer, but halfway through I take it out and continue kneading by hand. I love handling dough. Bulk ferment for about 2 hours, then I shape it and it goes in a regular sized, buttered loaf pan. First time I made it I thought the amount of dough would be too much for the pan, but as it turned out, it was just right. I let it proof until it is ready, judging with the finger test. Usually I don't bother, but this time I eggwashed and sprinkled with black sesame (mostly so I could justify having spent 5$ on a tiny jar of seeds). I bake it at 375F. It has a lovely soft, even crumb, and it keeps well for a couple of days.

Yes, please post! Not having your skill, I doubt I'll be able to replicate the look of your cake, but at least I would like to try.

I really like the organic look the boules get when not slashed; each looks different and have their own "personality." I made a few things recently. A good ol' sandwich loaf, water milk yeast salt. A sunflower seed bread with pâte fermentée, very flavourful but not as risen as it could have been. I degassed insufficiently during the bulk rise, and did not preheat the oven sufficiently - these are errors I will fix next time. I want to try this as a levain bread, I think it would be great. And an olive levain, with both white flour and wholegrain spelt. The bread smelled amazing while it baked, and the taste did not disappoint.