AlaMoi

in the cooler months, I use a "butter bell" on the table, at room temp. it has a water seal to keep butter 'fresh' dates back to my 1960's experience in Europe. eggs on the counter, butter in the bell..... does not work for me in the warm months - the ambient temp is high enough that the butter sags and falls out of the inverted bell . . .

" . . . in place of . . ." malted powder and diastatic malt powder are not the same thing . . . that said, I use it all the time. so 'in place of' I suppose there maybe a difference - per some 'experts' diastatic malt powder gives the same/similar flavor boost, but also helps the yeast do its thing.

my no-knead uses 430g bread flour - I use a heaped tablespoon. dunno about "should" - that's just my practice.

I regularly use the dia malt powder in breads - no-knead to full blown knead forever stuff . . . among other 'things' - it adds that "fresh German Broetchen" aroma....

the pot pie innards - yes - precooked the crust, no. caveat: when baking pot pie from frozen, use a pre-heated mega-heat bottom source ala baking/pizza stone. . . . the usual timing : bake at x F' for Y mins typically results in an uncooked/soggy/wet bottom crust. mucho bottom heat is needed to 'cure' the soggy bottom.

very simple. chicken in a pot. put lid on. roast at 275'F cool pour off the chicken juice.

fascinating.... I think it's a whole lot like 'which soft boiled egg is best' unless one has all the 'candidates' available on the table . . . to evaluate . . . there's 'good stuff' and 'not so good stuff' like, Dude . . . how "good" is "good?" how "good" is "best?" I'm on the side of "artisan" is always better that "mass production" - which actually provides an easy way to differentiate 'so-so/bad' from 'good' to 'superb'

"Classico" is our current fav. they have a multitude of 'vaiants' - and one cannot even think of the local supermarket having some - and certainly not 'all' - of the brand offerings supermarkets / stores want to know what they are 'failing?' they don't have the stuff people actually want. reality: "highest margin" is actually not what people want / buy . . . .

search on 'NY knish' - that produces bunches of "authentic" recipes. . . . rather a lot use the phyllo dough approach . . . more of a pie dough recipe - alt: use vodka instead of water - less gluten... https://italianchef.org/new-york-knish-yo-a-step-by-step-guide-to-delicious-homemade-knishes/ the phyllo method.... https://www.food.com/recipe/new-york-city-knish-34043

yup / / /

my method is utterly heretical . . . but they sure do disappear right quick... make your filling - typically mashed potato, onion, (++++) use phyllo dough - cut, rolled/wrapped around the filling. bake or deep fried. much less "doughy" - which is a plus or a minus - depending on personal experience/preference.

I suspect another factor may be 'freshness' - it takes us a while to go thru a pack, so I keep them in the (frost free) fridge. that sucks the moisture out of them - even if in a plastic wrapper/bag. did you get big bubbles forming? no bubbles = no moisture , , , could be a clue. I use a hot pan - it only takes 30 seconds or so for the bubbles to start expanding - flip for another 20-30 seconds. in cases where I bobble something and left them too long, they get over browned/burnt and also crisper.

the maintenance manual is here https://tomric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/RS200-ENG-Ed-20190201.pdf but it does not specify how often / conditions under which the filter should be changed. which . . . obviously depends on hours of use, general cleanliness of 'environment' / etc. from the pix, if that's two years(+) - I start with replace&check every year....

tonight was the "famous" Senate Bean Soup - we're in the temp F teens . . . it's a very simple recipe - Navy beans, smoke ham hock, onion . . . S&P but it is a 4-5 hour cooking time dish.

I 'toast' the tortilla in a cast iron / black iron pan . . . pre-heated, toast, get bubbles, flip.... wrap while warm....