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Anna N

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  1. Anna N
    I am not quite sure what to say about these Bahn Mi rolls. First I found them to be large for something that is supposed to be for one sandwich. I was not fussy about the crumb. Cotton wool came to mind. I think the American term is cotton batting? I also think I detected that horrible coating that you get inside your mouth after eating certain pastries that got rid of trans fats in favor of something even more disgusting flavourwise. There is an option to use shortening or lard and I think next time I would try with lard. Pretty sure I know a source for fresh lard. I hope someone else makes these and tells me that I don’t know what I’m talking about. I have had perhaps two Bahn Mi Sandwiches in my life. The only one worth remembering was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania believe it or not. Here is another shot of the first two as they came out of the oven.
  2. Anna N
    Yes. I did answer this upthread somewhat. 3-401.
  3. Anna N
    2.1 grams. (thank heavens for notebooks). But because I wanted to do them in less time than the 12 hours, I used .75 g of yeast in the poolish. I never noticed any discrepancy until you pointed it out.
  4. Anna N
    It has always seemed to me that this is where the Cuisinart Steam Oven (CSO) shines.
  5. Anna N
    One of the things the team allows is that despite its disadvantages few can resist a warm-from-the-oven slice of bread.
  6. Anna N
    Yes it is. Volume 3 - 401. “Vacuum cooling saves a lot of time. We monitored the temperature inside 500 g/18 oz bâtards and found that they took up to 3 hours to cool to room temperature when left on a rack. Loaves of that size put in a vacuum chamber are cool and ready to slice in just 3 minutes.” They discuss this further and note some disadvantages of this method of cooling. Decreased water content. It removes some of the volatile aromatic compounds from the crust thus affecting flavour. They go into details of how to use the chamber vacuum sealer without using a bag. They make use of a desiccant Sprinkled onto a sheet pan, covered with several layers of cheese cloth and the bread is then put on a rack above the cheesecloth. For a 500 g loaf they pulled a vacuum at maximum for two minutes to cool the loaf to room temperature.
  7. Anna N

    Dinner 2017 (Part 6)

    Anna N replied to a topic in Cooking

    Sautéed zucchini, duck breast and homemade ciabatta. Zucchini would not have been my vegetable of choice but when I opened my crisper drawer it was apparent that it was now or never.
  8. Anna N
    Just awe inspiring.
  9. Anna N
    @FauxPas Thanks so very much for posting this. What a fascinating story about one of our members.
  10. Anna N
    I bet it wasn’t. And I bet the answers you got you cannot share with a family-friendly food forum! But thanks for the translation.
  11. Anna N
    I was assuming Chris was talking to me but now I wonder if he was talking to Kerry. Not much. One pair stayed in the oven a bit longer than the other. One obviously proofed a little longer than the other. The ones on the cooling rack over the brownish background were baked first.
  12. Anna N
    Four tiny (125 g) ciabattas. This is a direct dough using only commercial yeast. It is 76% hydration. Apparently my geometry is not one iota better than my math. These were supposed to be either square or rectangular. But round is such a lovely shape even if it’s a little wonky here and there.
  13. Anna N
    The team do not apparently consider it cheating but the amount that they use and the reasons make it fairly clear that it is just another way to reach a similar result. For instance they suggest that if you have some doubts about the strength and maturity of your levain then adding a minute amount of commercial yeast will get you to a decent loaf of bread. I guess if you were a purist then you would not do this. Their levains, for the most part, are made without any commercial yeast. I am sure they will be taken to task by some people for their attitude. I won’t be one of those people.
  14. Anna N
    I have a question for you people who have read the books from cover to cover. You have right? Have you come across an explanation of what constitutes “medium gluten development”? For my own purposes I have determined that it is when the dough has attained some extensibility but will not pass the window pane test. Anyone?
  15. Anna N
    I think I’d ask the question that married people must sometimes ask themselves: Am I better off with my partner or without my partner? Do my knives mean more to me than my soup maker? There is no doubt in my mind that he should not have done this but moving forward you have to ask what matters most? Only you can answer that question. And I suspect there is a very good reason why you have not raised the issue directly with your soup maker. You already suspect the conversation will not likely end well.
  16. Anna N
    Deconstructed bacon and tomato sandwich.
  17. Anna N
    Nothing really remarkable about the bottom. It was in a well floured couche.
  18. Anna N
    We still bake and roast In Fahrenheit here in the frozen north where the temperature right now is minus 2°C.
  19. Anna N
    The sourdough crumb from the loaf that was baked in the Cuisinart steam oven (CSO). I am eating the heel now and I do believe woman can live on bread alone! It has yet to develop any real sourness but the crust is the texture that I dream of and the crumb is nothing to sneeze at. Must package the rest of it up else I will eat the whole loaf.
  20. Anna N
    Wow! I am otherwise speechless. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
  21. Anna N
    So. On page 77 of the kitchen manual: “If your pan is non-stick, we recommend using a light layer of cooking spray but no flour coating or parchment paper”. Makes more sense!
  22. Anna N
    500 g sourdough with a long cold proof. Baked in the Cuisinart steam oven, CSO, on a kiln shelf. Oven was initially preheated on the convection bake function at 450° for a little over 30 minutes. Infrared reading of kiln shelf was 464°F. Bread was baked on bread cycle for 30 minutes with the last five minutes done with the door cracked just a little. The crust right now is wonderfully crunchy. However the loaf seems to me to be puny and heavy. I am anxious to see the crust. There is another 500 g of dough still in the refrigerator and I’m debating whether I will cook it in the CSO or in the big oven. The second loaf is now out of the oven (GE Profile). Apparently my brain had gone back to bed. Forgot to throw any ice into the oven so no steam. Sooner or later I will get all the steps right. Still all things considered the one from the big oven still seems to have more volume than the one from the CSO despite the lack of any steam.
  23. Anna N

    Sausage Roll Question

    Anna N replied to a topic in Cooking

    Can’t see that it’s critical if you’re satisfied with the texture of your own sausage meat. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Next time you’ll do it my way.
  24. Anna N
    And I was lucky enough to be gifted a 10“ x 10“ kiln shelf! Thank you @Kerry Beal!
  25. Anna N
    Grand child just hauled one home. I explained about the crust, “That’s OK Nana. I love soft bread “. Child would sell her soul for a crust of bread - soft or otherwise.
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