forever_young_ca

Agreed

It might be common but it is very bad table manners, I don't care who does it!. This is not a predilection nor a hang up, it is simply knowledge of proper table manners. See one of the many links on table manners "Your knife should never enter you mouth or be licked" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_manners I would also put forth that it is not common practice, but something done by a minority. Just because a TV personality or a "gourmand" does it, does not automatically make it right. BTW - it is also considered a dangerous practice.

I do dine in many classy expensive restaurants, and in my opinion bad manners are not exclusive to less expensive restaurants. I was in a very expensive restaurant the other day and saw a diner put food onto the blade of her knife and then put the knife, blade forward, into her mouth. I also saw one of the judges on Top Chef Canada do the same thing - not only once, but twice!. I guess this is another pet peeve.

My pet peeve is men who wear baseball caps in restaurants. I don't know why this should bother me so much, but it does. I remember an era when it was considered extremely bad manners for men to wear hats indoors - they were always to be removed when entering a building, and never in a restaurant. Now dirty looking baseball hats are worn everywhere, frontwards and backwards, and it seems to be acceptable to sit at the dinner table with one on - ugh!!!!!!!!

it is poolish - a typo on my part

Hi Ann_T I measured the flour by weight - 1000 g - not by cups so my measurements should have been OK. Next time I make the Saturday White Bread I will increase the water to 82%. as you suggested. BTW - perhaps a dumb question - I know that different flours have different gluten content.. Do different flours absorb water in different ways?

I am using Robin Hood all purpose flour. That is what I used for the Harvest Bread with polish as well, which ended up to be a much slacker dough.

I haven't used the parchment sling, but have very carefully transferred it from the proofing bowl to the how baking pan - so far no burns

Since this book has a thread of its own, I will share some comments on the two that I have made Saturday White Bread. I loved the bread - however, I felt that the dough was quite stiff and a tad difficult to mix properly. It was so stiff, I wondered if I had measured something wrong, but I had been fairly careful, (not my usual bread baking slap dash routine.) Next time I make it I think I would increase the hydration on it just a bit. The overnight whole wheat with polish that I made was less stiff and nicer to work with. One loaf froze beautifully and I refreshed the bread in a hot oven when I took it out of the freezer. The crust came out nice and crispy. The bread has a lovely nutty whole wheat flavour and texture. I did not have wheat germ or wheat bran in the house so substituted 70 gr oat bran. I also found it to be a good keeper - over a few days. So far I am really enjoying this book, as it has enabled me to bake professional looking and tasting loaves at a fraction of the price of store bought artisan bread.

Kerry - what was the flavour like on the 100% levain? I am wanting to try it but have to wait as I am going away for a couple of weeks and it takes time to make the levain.

Here is the second loaf. For some reason the top did not split on the whole wheat bread like it did on the Saturday White Bread. Perhaps I had it rolled tighter. It has a great crust on the loaf

In spite of my resolution to not buy more cookbooks I have purchased "Flour Water Salt Yeast" - and am very glad I did. The first bread I made was the Saturday White Bread. With this recipe I made one loaf of bread, pizza and a small cheese focaccia. All were great. Last night I started the polish for the Harvest Bread and baked it today. I can say that it is the best whole wheat bread that I have ever made. I did not have what germ or wheat bran, but substituted 70 grams of oat bran. The loaf was tasty and light with a terrific crust. I would post a picture, but could not figure out how to do it! if someone can tell where I can find instructions it would be appreciated. I am fairly computer savvy and have posted pictures in the past, but can not remember how I did it. I am determined to work my way through this book. I find the descriptions on the pincer method, folding the dough and shaping the loaves really helpful. There also exists U tube videos with Ken Forkish demonstrating. A picture is worth a thousand words. I will try Costco next time I need flour as it seems to be much cheaper. Thanks Anne_T for the tip.

DiggingDogFarm - 1% salt suits me when dry-brining chicken or turkey. Can you be a bit more explicit on 1% salt? salt / turkey ratio = 1%?

Thanks Ann_T. I ended up using plastic wrap as well as that is what I had on hand. The turkey was great, and I will do this method again. I am surprisingly a convert to cooking the dressing outside of the bird as well. I resisted this for years but I have to admit I preferred the result to that cooked inside. I used homemade turkey stock, but I felt the dressing was not as heavy as that cooked inside the bird and had a better flavour. It had the added benefit of being put together the night before and being less fuss when I was trying to juggle getting everything on the table hot at the last minute.