JoNorvelleWalker

Ribeye from the Zojirushi grill... Broccolini, rosemary roast potatoes, Béarnaise. No bread. Bottle of French Malbec. I licked the platter clean...or at least the bowl of Béarnaise.

Agresto seems to contain honey and other stuff. It's used in Bugialli's recipes. Perhaps another possibility for @Pan

How about a retail source of agresto?

Salt -- how do we feel about the amounts of salt in French lean recipes? MB calls for 2.02% (to be clear, that's baker's percentage). Hamelman specifies 2%. Calvel reports at the time of his writing the usual amount of salt added was 2.2% "and sometimes even higher." Though Calvel argues for a return to 1.8%. Through a tragic accident when I once forgot the salt, I know I could never live in Tuscany. But 2% or more tastes to me like too much salt. My last loaves were as close as I could measure to 2.02%. In contrast when I brought a kg boule to our library party the salt was only about 1%. I even received an unsolicited compliment that someone liked my bread because it was not too salty.

By that do you mean the best bread or the best bread for the least effort? How would you say Pain Rustique compares to the French lean bread result?

Here is my new marble mortar, 24 hours from Carrara... Nominal size 20 cm, inside diameter 14.3 cm, capacity 1 liter, shipping charge 77 Euro. Olive wood pestle pictured. In addition I purchased a marble one. For comparison shown with my trusty little 30 year old model, inside diameter 8.8 cm. And if it counts as a mortar I also have a suribachi somewhere.

While I was worried about the scale, I checked it with a weight. The scale seems OK and the weight and volume measures of salt seem to match, but let's not burden the butter topic. I'll leave it that I prefer my butter unsalted.

I'm thinking about Making Dough by Russell van Kraayenburg. Currently $2.99. I am a US Prime member and all of that.

Modernist Bread does not fit on my iPad either.

Is that a wooden bench in the shower?

Don't expect me to like kale...beer maybe, yes.

Lovely @liuzhou -- wish I could be eating this right now!

Wow. I find the MB French lean bread recipe as written a bit too salty for my taste even by itself.* Thirteen grams per kg. And I happily ingest salt out of hand, as I'm doing at the moment. With their French lean bread I go for unsalted butter and finishing salt as needed. *That or my scale is broken.

While it's yet 2017... As I'd mentioned I've been much enjoying* Tasting Georgia, which led me look for other Georgian cookbooks. Tonight I ordered Supra -- A feast of Georgian cooking by Tiko Tuskadze, though sadly it shan't arrive till after the new year. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1911216163/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 *enjoying, not yet cooking from, though I am assembling ingredients and tools.

The iPad works better in the kitchen. https://vimeo.com/37942209

A thought comes to mind...what if you cooked the duck sous vide for those five hours, then crisped the skin?

I did a duck a couple weeks ago and for the orange sauce went with Raymond Sokolov's sauce bigarade from The Saucier's Apprentice (p44). It is based on a brown sauce which he claims is the classic method. I enjoyed some of the leftover sauce bigarade two nights ago with half a chicken.

Tonight two loaves, a 500 gm boule and a baguette. First time I've tried to bake two different breads at the same time. Baguette was maybe slightly over proofed, the scarifications did not open as well as I would have liked. I should add this was with a brand new, untested stainless steel lame rather than my trusty carbon steel blade. I distrust the lame. Nothing wrong with the baguette crumb, crust, nor taste. I served it with a Pink Lady apple and a cheese spread, and much Zinfandel. I have yet to cut into the boule. The boule was baked in my L-CSO while the baguette was baking in the big oven. I must admit it got rather confusing at times. I have only a four channel timer. However tired I get of bread, I need only taste it to my lips again.

Frustration free packaging.

Much appreciated. The dough is mixing as we speak.

Yesterday's bread didn't happen. Somewhere in the set I think I read that if a poolish was overripe just to add more yeast -- which I would have done anyway. But I don't recall how much was suggested or where the discussion was. Anyone know the page number?

My new food processor arrived, less than 24 hours from Carrara to my doorstep: As I've mentioned I've been reading Tasting Georgia. Seems like every Georgian recipe begins by pounding walnuts. I was all set for Chicken with Nut Sauce (p350) when I realized my otherwise modestly provisioned spice cabinet had no marigold petals, no summer savory, and somehow I was out of fenugreek. Thanks to the miracle of Prime same day they should be here shortly. Meanwhile: Served with both sauce bigarade and cranberry, 'cause sometimes you just can't decide. My Methode Rotuts froze.

So far a generous bowl of Chex Mix, gift of my dear boss, accompanying my mai tai. How, how could I have run out of mixed nuts? Meanwhile I'm sitting here tracking the progress of my new Italian food processor! That is supposed to be delivered in a few short hours. It just left Leipzig. I hope beyond hope DHL can really make this happen. (Though for the 77 Euro shipping charge they should.) I find myself craving pork and chicken* -- neither of which I have in house. It's winter and I've not made it to the food store in some while. Don't worry, no danger of starving...more a danger of running out of W&N. No points to amazon for discontinuing Fresh delivery just when I need it most. There's a bag of questionable sous vide meat in the refrigerator but I don't know what it is. Some of my son's pumpkin soup? Heel of bread? Bread that I've been eating twice a day and is not getting any younger. Then again there is an avocado. Or maybe just another mai tai. *OK and now spinach.

May I please like this except for the chopped boiled egg? I confess more often than not I eat my spinach raw.

Pizza from leftover lean French dough. I'm not out to win any beauty contests but I'm pleased that with my DeLonghi griddle I can quickly and reliably bake pizza I prefer to the output of the local New York style pizza joints.