ptw1953

@@shain & @Okanagancook I thank you both for your posts. Your advice is taken on board. I will make a pizza next Saturday night, and am now looking forward to spring, when my individual puff-pastry rhubarb tarts will be cooked on the steel...yum, yum! (I will make fresh-ginger ice cream to go with the rhubarb tarts. A match made in heaven...)

The Pizza (or bread) steel that my son ordered for me as a Christmas present from Denmark, finally arrived on the 4th of this month. Better late than never I suppose. I spent a few hours seasoning it, then baked this boule on it. The rise was/is good. I am excited to have it for other breads/pastries/pizzas that I will be making. The Pain de Mie (for Croque Monsuier tonight) wasn't baked on the steel, as I feel it may be a tad too hot for loaves that are baked in a Pullman pan/dutch oven. Any advice/info on this would be received gratefully... Philip

A boule for my wife and I to eat, with the winter veg soup I made last Sunday morning...

Thank you @andiesenji for this information...

Oh damn, I thought I had: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01IIAI9DI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JJH1FL8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'm sure they can be sourced worldwide, and maybe this one as well: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00VTDYTR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Philip

I use this tape; never had a fail, nor needed a heat gun!

Save up with indecent haste, for you will have no regrets. None at all. I have acquired many things in my long life, but the EZTemper is, for me, one of my best ever purchases. It will be passed down to one of my grandsons/granddaughters when the grim reaper comes a callin' for me. For sure...

Pain de Mie for my eldest grandson's lunch sandwiches at school - he doesn't like to eat the school dinners. Daft boy! My wife and I walked up with it to his home, and there were two first for us; (1) eldest grandson (5 years old) read us a book for the first time, and (2) youngest grandson (1year old) walked for 14 steps for the first time. Two very proud grandparents...

Hello to everyone, I hope all is well with you. It has been some 3 weeks since last I baked bread, and yesterday proved to me that if you don't practice regularly, you never improve. I baked two boules for my son and his family, promising my grandsons that I would carve diamonds in the crust. Carving-wise, this was a disaster of a day. Thankfully, my son was unable to collect the boules, so my wife and I ate some with a porcini and potato soup I had prepared, and I sliced the remainder and froze them for eating on another day. My son sent me a text at 7am, telling me that he and my eldest grandson would be visiting me at circa mid-day to collect the boules. I let him know of my carving disaster, and that I had sliced and frozen the loaves, but I'd make another for mid-day. Couldn't bring myself attempt carving diamonds again, so did the usual Saltire instead. My grandson was not impressed at all...

I hadn't prepared myself, mentally, for the cutting of diamonds on the crust, so did only 4 slashes...

Happy birthday, when it comes, @heidih...

@Margaret PilgrimI thank you for your kind words. My initial displeasure with the Boule concerned not the shape, or taste, of it, but my cutting with the Lame. The lame blade was tearing the dough, rather than slitting smoothly. I was aiming for a shallow cut, but my first cut went deep (trying to be rid of the ragged edges on that cut). All other cuts then had to be the same depth. Having looked at the photo of it, I am growing towards liking it very much. There is much work to be done on the cutting, but I think a huge improvement (in the number of diamonds at the sides/bottom of the Boule) is possible. Perhaps another 10 Boules will see me happy with the pattern/cutting... Philip

Magnetic mold about to be hunted down, and a sheet of diffraction grating about to be ordered from Amazon. Thank you Kerry...

I should know better than to cut shapes/patterns with a blunt Lame blade; especially when i have a pack of 12 brand spanking new blades within touching distance. But me? No siree, I do things my way (that is, the daft way)...

Only used on the base of chocolates/bars Kerry?