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Thanks, Chef, for extending your time and knowledge to us. I've been baking bread fairly regularly for about 35 years for family and friends -- so I'm just a piker. No commercial baking experience; basically self-taught through (mostly) fun and (occasional) flop trial and error. Embarrassed to say that no I haven't read any of your books. But do plan to remedy that in the future. Rye breads. Dark, light, seeded or not, soft rye loaves, hard, dense German breads, sourdough, or yeast. I love them. Sometimes I get that "perfect" loaf. But not always with the same method. Rye is a heavy flour and sometimes it just does not want to proof out nicely for me after a good first rise. I do turn the dough. What do you recommend for rise and proof? How many times do you allow the dough to rise? Am I being too impatient with the proof? Am I allowing the dough to become too dry? Am I just not getting it somehow?

I would like to make Naam bread at home, but can't seem master it without a tandoori oven. Can you help.

It's very timely that your Q&A is this week. I just "re-found" my copy of Bread Upon the Waters yesterday to start getting serious about breadmaking. I really love your analogy of bread development and spiritual journey and have reread it several times, learning something new each time. But now it's time for more hands on work... I took a wonderful course you offered at Sur La Table back in 2000, then soon after moved to Colorado and the SF Bay area, now living in both places. In CO (alt. 6,000 ft) I had really bad luck at making any bread other than pizza dough, especially multigrain breads, and basically gave up. I started by reducing the yeast and salt in my doughs by about 1/4 to 1/3, resulting in a dense loaf. Using the normal amount of yeast caused the bread to overrise and fall and become concave. Do you (or anyone else) have any suggestions or tricks for high altitude baking? regards, Kelly

I love fruit in breakfast bread, but have a difficult time finding recipes without nuts in the loaf as well. Is there a "bread science" reason for the nuts or can I just forge ahead with extra fruit in lieu thereof? Also... what is your favorite sweet/fruit/breakfast bread? Thank you!

Hi Peter, I know there is a great deal of concern among artisan bread bakers about the disappeance of their craft and the continuing wave of lesser, imitation products (par-baked, etc.) filling the marketplace. What's your take on the status of the battle? Are the artisans winning or losing this one? Is artisan bread baking in the U.S. healthier now than it was 5 years ago? BTW, I just want to add that I loved American Pie and I'd like to thank you for writing such wonderful book. =R=

Thank you for joining us. I was first introduced to your work by having a copy of "Sacramental Magic" included free in a book mail order. After I read it I thought, "These people are nuts for giving this book away! I'd pay for it any day." There are two matters which have been puzzling me. First, sometimes I see a recipe for a bread I'd like to try, but it calls for Rapid Rise Yeast. I just can't bring myself to buy that, knowing as I do that long rising improves/develops flavors, it just seems like a bad idea. When and why would this yeast be necessary? And, if it's not necessary, how do I go about substituting regular dry yeast granules? Are there any breads which absolutely call for a different kind of yeast such as cake yeast or can I always use dry yeast granules? Second, being a diabetic I have to watch my carbs. The low carb breads using soy flour and other flours simply don't taste good to me. I'm wondering if there is a way to add enough seeds, nuts, bran, etc. to a white/whole wheat loaf to make the fiber count lower the effective carbs.

I'm a huge fan of Harold McGee, Shirley Corriher, Robert L. Wolke and Alton Brown. I've read everything they've written, and most more than once. I'd like to delve further into bread, specifically dough rheology as well as enzymes. I've been able to amass a decent amount of knowledge on yeast from books on brewing, but a good book on that would be great too. Are there any books you'd recommend?

It is quiet fortunate that you are with us this week since we recently started discussing Lebanese Mountain or Saj bread, Click Here for the thread. Have you ever tried this bread cooked in this manner? Do you have a formula we can use to produce thin soft Saj bread? Thanks, Elie

Pardon me in advance if I get a little bit abstract or theoretical ... seemingly too far from the real subject of bread. The more I've moved and travelled the more I've attempted to understand the character of people through their foods, their markets, their rituals of preparing, of eating. Some cultures, often densely urban and relatively poor, offer a mosaic of streetfoods; others neglect breakfast in favor of extravagant mid-day meals and late dinners eaten late, comprised of an assortment of small bites; and so on. Every culture, perhaps with the exception of those that have an abundant supply of cheap meat, rely on a grain as their staple. What this grain is impacts culture significantly ... I think it was in The Revolution of Everyday Life that the French historian Fernand Braudel connected the staple grain to systems of governance and cultural production. Simply put, it's much easier to build monumental architecture when you have corn because you can get a lot of calories without a lot of energy input. Rice, on the other hand, takes more labor input. China, of course, got around this with raw numbers, but I digress. The root of "companion" in "pan" has always resonated with me. But, what I was getting at in the previour ramble, is that some cultures, though they have a staple grain, don't always have bread. Their staple, however, brings them great comfort. A bowl of rice for many Japanese people has the same connotations as a loaf of bread. Your statement that "there's something so intrinsically satisfying about dough with something on it" got me thinking in this vein. What is that intrinsic satisfaction? How does the satisfaction of bread as a staple compare to others? With your research, have you looked into this? What component if physiological, what is mental, what is cultural? The physiological and mental components make me think of research into what "umami" is and how it "works." Bread is obviously working on a very different principle - often as the backdrop for umami. There is something "ambient" about its pleasures. The last component of this overstuffed message: why do some places within the bread eating world seem to care so much more about bread than others? For example, I currently live in Chicago and it seems not to be a great town for bread. There is good bread here, but it is not abundant. On the other hand, I've had friends from Montreal tell me that great bread is readily available there in many varieties (for the sake of my point, let's assume this is true). Is this just about supply - there are no good bakers making bread there and making great bread isn't easy - or is it about demand - people are happy with what they've got and their not willing to pay $4 + for a loaf? If it's the latter, is consumer malaise underminind our "intrinsic" love of great bread? Whoo. Thanks for participating. As a lover of great bread that's ventured very little into baking, your generous responses and the passion exhibited thus far have inspired me to take up flour and yeast in the near future. Ciao, rien

In "Apprentice" you describe the modified Gosselin method for making baguettes. In "Crust and Crumb" you describe a more conventional method. Which do you prefer now? I'd like to make a baguette with all sourdough. Is this possible, and which method shoud I follow? I've tried both, but despite high hydration, the crumb is still quite tight, rather than the large open structure I'm looking for. I use a silpat baguette form, and I wonder if this is the problem, as I've heard that one of the key elelemnts in crumb texture is high bottom heat form contact with a hot stone. I've no problem with achieving good texture in conventional sourdough boules, baked on the oven floor.

Yikes! Feeling nervous and presumptuous to be asking my amateur-home-baker questions of you, Mr. Reinhart. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us! When making a sourdough boule, for example, I've read that you should heat your oven up as high as it will go before sliding in your bread. But I've read elsewhere that if the oven is overly hot, a crust will form too quickly and prevent oven spring. Which is correct? Although I know there are many factors involved, my problem in a nutshell: a flattish bread with a quickly burnt crust and a damp interior--which, to me, sounds like the work of a too-hot oven. However, I don't use quarry tiles or anything of that sort. All I have is a small electric oven turned to 240 degrees celcius. Could it really be producing *that* much heat? Or is my problem something else entirely?

Thank you, indeed, for this Q&A - if it weren't for American Pie, I wouldn't have convinced my Illinois-native sweetheart that there is life after Deep Dish, although I nearly caught a plane back to CT for New Haven pizza.... but here's my question. We, as a species, have gone from unleavened, to leavened, to sliced, with a recent dip into low-carb, yet it is all still variations on flour, salt and water. If you had to imagine what will happen to bread in the next hundred years, where do you think our bread is headed next? And, as an offshoot of that, where is your bread headed next? Now that you've explored crust, crumb and toppings, are you ready for something different or is the mystique still alive?

I am in the process of developing a low carb bread/pizza crust. I have two versions at the moment. One is a combo of soy flour, almond flour and wheat protein isolate and the other version subs vital wheat gluten for the isolate. So, from a perspective of sustaining the yeast, the WPI version will rely entirely on added sugar, whereas the VWG version will work with both added sugar as well as the trace amount of starch in the gluten flour. My goal is to add just enough sugar to sustain the yeast for the duration of it's lifecycle, and no more, keeping residual sugar content to the barest minimum. My first plan of attack will be to utilize a wet sponge method with frequent whisking to encourage an aerobic environment for the yeast. The second part of my plan will be to mix 8 small batches of dough, each with slightly more table sugar than the last, and then observing the rise I get from each. Would you have any other ideas that might help me in my quest?

My mother was brilliant at baking all sorts of bread and did so with deceptive ease. A few years ago I decided to follow in her footsteps (r.i.p. mom!) and have struggled to produce consistently edible bread. I live in a very high humidity climate (70-80% year round) and I know that has an effect. Which of your books would you recommend? I still consider myself a novice in spite of weekly efforts. I have been most successful with the milk bread and white sandwich bread recipes in the 97 edition of Joy of Cooking.

i recently bought one of those semi round pita pans. what i need now is a authentic pita recipe to start the feast!

i was hooked on brown bread ice cream years ago when living in london. i've found what seem to be good recipes for it but i am not an ice cream maker. has anyone ever come across it in seattle? or know of a source that would maybe ship it to me? these fall days have me longing for roast dinners, followed by a bowl of brown bread ice cream. lemony

I've been looking up a lot of classical sweetbread preparations recently, and I keep noticing - from Ducasse to Sone, and Keller to Robuchon, that all of them go with a brown veal stock + red wine (or variation) type sauce. Am I the only one who thinks this seems counterintuitive? The sweeetbread is such a fantastically delicate and subtle meat, I keep thinking you'd want a white wine + chx stock or white veal stock based sauce. Possibly a sauterne. Is it just me? Wouldn't a brown sauce dominate the delicate flavour? What do people think?

Either the texture is weird; or it's too sweet; or it's too oily; or it's too heavy; or... Banana bread would be my preferred method for dealing with all of the inevitably over-ripe bananas that are hanging out in my freezer...sometimes you just get tired of banana smoothies. However, I still have an overabudance of these bananas because I can't find a recipe that I like. Does anyone have suggestions?

I've been getting my bread for my chemistry experiments in the city but I'm out and need some today. If anyone's awake, where can I get thick white bread and 7 grain and baguettes or ciabatto rolls? It doesn't have to be great, but lend itself well to cooking in a panini press.

Hi all, Iam in love with the baguette. But this version that I want to make is a Vietnamese version, that Ive heard uses part rice flour??? The crust is crispy and light. The bread is not at all dense. The vietnamese baguette is supposedly taken from the French Baguettes. Any help is greatly appreciated. -Nhumi

I like toast in the morning but don't like sweets that early so jam/marmalade are not my choice. In desperation I will put ketchup on toast but would like something more interesting that I can whip up myself. I have tried the flavoured cream cheeses and they are OK but I want something different and home-made. A gift of a food processor (KitchenAid 11-cup with mini-bowl) only makes me think this should be easier than ever. What is your favourite thing to have on toast in the morning that isn't sweet? Do share.

14 Sept 2004 8am Cambridge UK I've been tipped again to do the foodblog. Last time was Christmas and New Year. This time is Rosh Hashonah, which seems fair, so you will have to suffer my awful typos for this week. "L’Shona Tova Tikosaiv v’Saichosaim". "May you be written down for a sweet and good year in the Book of Life! " to all First of all coffee, mail and eG's overnight messages. The coffee is dark roast Java Sumatra, made in a press pot, and is breakfast unless otherwise noted. The mug is a Microsoft give-away. My desk, unusally tidy, and the view from the window in front of me. Sunny but windy. While I am not religious myself, I did have an othodox Jewish upbringing, and still like the food, so I guess some will figure this week. This week is fairly busy, and today is the calm before the storm. Main highlight is our annual apple pressing party on Sunday, weather permitting. We have open house, and expect about 100 people to come and pick apples and help press them into apple juice. We fire up the wood burning bread oven and bake pizza and things. . What we eat and talk about on the rest of the week is to some extent up to you, an I hope for a lot of interaction. If I get time I'll try and rig a webcam, as an experiment. Current fixed points: Today is fairly quite. Probably Bangers and Mash for supper Wednesday we are going to friends for supper to celebrate another friends birthday. Thursday a freind of Jill's (my partner) is coming to stay. Being Rosh Hashonah I plan a Brisket Tzimmes, with a pototo kugel. Friday start prep for the party, and start the bread doughs Saturday Fire the oven and bake breads etc Sunday Apple pressing Monday I'm hosting dinner in College The house is built in an old orchard, with about 20 of the original trees still standing. There is a newer orchard, maybe 30 years old, with 30 trees. Here are some pictures taken this morning of apples. The identification is noit certain, but were done by The Brogdale Trust. . Joan Morgan's The New Book of Apples (ISBN0-091-88398-9 is definitive. Regular eGulleteers may remember that many of apple trees were severely ringed by the rabbits last winter, and I feared for their survival. I'm happy to report that they seem to have pulled through. Some, like the NewtonWonder, are biennial bearing and are off this year with only a few apples, but most have a large crop. However since we have not pruned or reduced the fruit numbers the apples are mostly small. They are mostly cookers or eating apples, rather than cider. I've tried making cider from the juice, but it is thin and weedy stuff, but more of that anon. The apple juice is lovely, an we freeze it in plastic bottles, straight from the press. Allington Pippin (my favourite, good general purpose apple) and Newton Wonder (cooker, said to be derived from the apple tree that dropped and apple on Newton's head) Lord Derby (cooker) and Tydman's Early Worcester Orelans Reinette (russet); Queen Cox and Ellison's Orange Other apples are Charles Ross, Laxton's Fortune, Cox (poor trees), Grandier (cooking) and John Standish (late red, not yet ripe), Also pears and Quinces, again a bit early. Late purple plums (Marjorie's seedling?) and Damsons Dog rose hip and Brambles (wild blackberries) in the hedges

Looking for a nice whole wheat or multigrain bread for sandwiches, not the artisanal stuff. What I like is something that's not too sweet and fluffy, but not cardboard-y, either. Any suggestions?

Bread Pudding cabin style by Debra Diller This recipe I made for a crowd for our dinner night at the yearly family reunion. Makes 4 Lasagna aluminum pans (can buy at any grocery store) or can be made in two full length hotel pans or whatever vessel you choose. Variations I usually make are rum raisin (use spiced bacardi rum) and chocolate. Caramel apple, any other booze and your own creation are also easily acceptable. Oven needs to be set at around 325-350 F depending on your altitude. Timing on this varies on how dry your bread is but is around an hour. I usually press on the top and it is done when no actual liquid oozes. Very technical I know... 2 qt 2% or Whole Milk 2 qt Heavy Cream 3 T Cinnamon 1 Vanilla Bean scraped 24 (lg) eggs 6 Loaves of Brioche or other bread 28 oz sugar Preheat oven to 350 F. Put pan in bottom of oven with water. Often all I have available to use at the cabins is a broiler pan. Fill pan 3/4 full with Hot water and put in bottom of oven. Combine all ingredients in pitcher or large bowl except bread. Use an immersion blender to combine. Use 2T vanilla if you do not have a bean, otherwise use the bean seeds and save pod for other recipes (you can put in spice grinder to use as "vanilla bean"). Set mixture aside. Cut up bread or bread items (pound cake, sourdough, pull apart bread works well) into about 1 inch cubes. Divide bread into 4 pans to "measure". Have a bowl aside to toss bread with desired ingredient. When you take the bread out of the pans to toss, spray these pans with Pam or equivilent spray. Also can use butter if available. If using chocolate (I use about 3 pounds chocolate for two pans) melt chocolate first. Toss bread with ingredients of choice and press in pans. Pour liquid ingredients over pans and do not cover the top or fill liquid to top of bread. This gives a crunch for texture. Bake until when you press on the mixture that no liquid comes out about 45 min to an hour usually, depending on the altitude you are baking at. Rotate pans at least once during baking to make sure it is even. Serve warm with ice cream or creme anglaise Keywords: Pudding, Dessert, Easy, Immersion Blender ( RG1161 )

Bread Pudding cabin style by Debra Diller This recipe I made for a crowd for our dinner night at the yearly family reunion. Makes 4 Lasagna aluminum pans (can buy at any grocery store) or can be made in two full length hotel pans or whatever vessel you choose. Variations I usually make are rum raisin (use spiced bacardi rum) and chocolate. Caramel apple, any other booze and your own creation are also easily acceptable. Oven needs to be set at around 325-350 F depending on your altitude. Timing on this varies on how dry your bread is but is around an hour. I usually press on the top and it is done when no actual liquid oozes. Very technical I know... 2 qt 2% or Whole Milk 2 qt Heavy Cream 3 T Cinnamon 1 Vanilla Bean scraped 24 (lg) eggs 6 Loaves of Brioche or other bread 28 oz sugar Preheat oven to 350 F. Put pan in bottom of oven with water. Often all I have available to use at the cabins is a broiler pan. Fill pan 3/4 full with Hot water and put in bottom of oven. Combine all ingredients in pitcher or large bowl except bread. Use an immersion blender to combine. Use 2T vanilla if you do not have a bean, otherwise use the bean seeds and save pod for other recipes (you can put in spice grinder to use as "vanilla bean"). Set mixture aside. Cut up bread or bread items (pound cake, sourdough, pull apart bread works well) into about 1 inch cubes. Divide bread into 4 pans to "measure". Have a bowl aside to toss bread with desired ingredient. When you take the bread out of the pans to toss, spray these pans with Pam or equivilent spray. Also can use butter if available. If using chocolate (I use about 3 pounds chocolate for two pans) melt chocolate first. Toss bread with ingredients of choice and press in pans. Pour liquid ingredients over pans and do not cover the top or fill liquid to top of bread. This gives a crunch for texture. Bake until when you press on the mixture that no liquid comes out about 45 min to an hour usually, depending on the altitude you are baking at. Rotate pans at least once during baking to make sure it is even. Serve warm with ice cream or creme anglaise Keywords: Pudding, Dessert, Easy, Immersion Blender ( RG1161 )