JoNorvelleWalker

Ichiran Ramen, thanks to the inspiration from @Duvel... I possess a tolerance for salt and spice, so I employed all of both packets in the kit. Very good if not absolutely the best ramen* I have had from amazon. What was absolutely the best ever was the APO egg. Press button on the anova app. Add egg to oven. Remarkable. *What was the best ramen: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Much cheaper than Ichiran too.

Contact @Pankaj, ask nicely, and see if you can't still get the discount.

Duck, Brussels sprouts, Bineshii Ghost. With amazon one takes one's chance. Always before I had received large duck legs with much fat. These were parrakeet sized ducks with no fat to speak of -- less fat than a typical chicken thigh. Not over cooked but tough as shoe leather. But, oh, what flavor. First food photograph with my new lens, a Voigtlander. I read that Voigtlander was the lens mandated for portraits of Emperor Showa. I can't compete with Emperor Showa but the Swedish Consul selected my photograph of him taken at the dinner commemorating the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Sweden as his official portrait. (That was taken with a Leitz Tele-Elmarit however.) Now I have to think of some way to tenderize the remaining leg.

I found something that might work to solve my problem. I have a Vollrath 13 qt mixing bowl that fits over the banneton with a little room to spare. Maybe not enough room to prevent the rising dough from sticking. Another possibility: I have a round rack that just fits the bottom of the Vollrath bowl. I could put a little water in the bowl and set the banneton on the rack. I have a large Cuisinart domed lid that almost covers the bowl, but the lid fits well enough not to leave an air gap. The bowl and lid would allow more room for expansion.

I had never seen the technique of proofing in a bowl with oil. I use a linen lined banneton. Before I was baking round breads, I used a well seasoned steel pan with a cover for proofing and baking my baguettes.

I don't understand about the oil?

I learned recently that my great great grandfather emigrated from Glascow while he could. In Stornoway I was served "American Style" hamburger, battered and deep fried.

@rotuts You have a CSO and an APO. Lack of fresh local bakery bread is no excuse. Dinner here is coleslaw, bedroom aged Sunset Organic Campari, pork loin* sandwiches -- two nights in a row. I am not complaining. Mayonnaise is Hellmann's. In winter I store my organic cabbage downstairs by the front door. For anyone wondering, toilet paper is on the landing. @Dave the Cook might not be thoroughly convinced but toilet paper is related to food. Moreso sometimes than I might like. * blessings to @Shelby

Do you have the app? Plenty of guidance on steam and rack position. For example one chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for rack position 3, 190.6C, rear heat, 10% steam.

In solidarity with @MaryIsobel I decided to hemorrhage a bit myself.

At the start of COVID as store shelves were going bare I craved a bit of gruyere. The only gruyere available was a whole, uncut brick. At about $50. That gruyere is still in my refrigerator, still uncut. Someday I will develop the courage of my convictions. Maybe.

I've been told I have a big head. But probably not that big.

Do you have any spinach?

Last night's kilogram boule: Previous batch was 63% hydration. This was 66% hydration. For me 66% worked out better than 63%. I could use the Ankarsrum dough hook and did not need to switch to the roller. Mixing was 10 minutes on low and 10 minutes at 3:00. After bench rest the dough handled beautifully. Using less flour on the board solved my previous seam sealing difficulties. This loaf had more volume than any I have baked in recent memory. It was over the top of the banneton. Final proof was 105 minutes. One outstanding problem: as can be seen in the picture, the boule surface dried out and developed a skin during the final proof. Unfortunately this is typical for me with this size loaf. For a smaller boule I would cover the banneton while proofing. But for these loaves I don't have a vessel large enough, at least not that I can think of. Would plastic wrap around the bottom of the banneton be of any help?

On the bright side, good color choice for the aprons.

I've looked into ice machines but so far nothing has appealed to me. What's wrong with ice cube trays? I seldom use more than one or two trays a day, and wet ice does not appeal to me any more than water puddles on the kitchen floor.

Batch 23 was otherwise OK but more viscous than I would have liked, which made pouring and measuring difficult. Back to the drawing board... Batch 24: 90g blanched Spanish almonds 90g apricot kernels 350g water 280g sugar 30ml Wray & Nephew Overproof 30ml orange flower water What was new this time is that I skimmed off the foam layer* after homogenizing. So far so good. *and no, fear not, the foam did not go to waste.

The A4 box is a good induction cooker. I believe the additional pans are only available as a set (you could write them and ask). While I can only say good things about the A4 Box, I must admit I hardly ever use mine. But I like knowing that I have it.

Is the orange cup for spitting?

I have no desire to create waste. However for sanitary reasons I don't prepare protein on any of my wooden cutting boards. The thought alone causes me shudder. I used to pound chicken parts on one of my NFS plastic boards till I got tired of chicken bits on my glasses and in my hair. With a sous vide bag I don't have to wash a cutting board, my pounder, or my hair. Plus, I figure I have a lifetime supply of sous vide bags, particularly the larger size. And whatever I pound on, the bags and I will be in the landfill soon enough.

I'd worry about the mess of cleaning the Silpat. My method is to put the protein to be pounded into a sous vide bag.

Breville offers a rotisserie, so that leaves Anova.

The exudate collects in the hotel pan (which currently is soaking in the sink). Or on the bottom of the oven, depending.

I finally cooked the pork loin... Three hours (I was aiming for two and a half hours, but you know how mai tais are) in the APO at 59C. Then seared ten minutes at 250C.

No, no need. Edit: Think of the interior of the oven as a big sous vide bag.