Introducing myself, from California

[Barb Bowers]

Hello from sunny Bay Area, Calif.

My favorite tool is Myrtle, our Wolf 24” built-in steam oven that we have been enjoying for over 5 years. I use it for baking our breads and for reheating, mostly. Next fave is our Wolf range. Both are expected to drop down a peg in the favorites list, as our Breville-PolyScience Control Freak is due to arrive in under a week. It has taken me just over a year to take the plunge and place an order with PolyScience, getting the ChefSteps discounted price. I hope to have burnt my last caramel sauce!

 

I found eGullet by googling the Control Freak. Thank you for the information in that thread. And thank you for your forum.

[paul o' vendange]

Hi Barb.  Born Ventura, Cal '86, love and miss the Bay Area!  Welcome, looking forward to your ventures.

[TdeV]

Hello Barb. Many friendly folk here, but hold onto your wallet (lots of enablers 😄). Welcome to eGullet.

[Kim Shook]

Hi, @Barb Bowers!  Welcome to eG!  I'm looking forward to your contributions!

[Barb Bowers]

Thanks for the welcomes!
I have spent the last days since joining eGullet looking at the forums, esp the Modernist Bread one. I am on p. 29 of 44 there now. Wow! I have followed Raymond Calvel and Peter Reinhart, and for the last year and a half have moved to our own San Francisco Tartine Bread with Chad Robertson. I make his country bread usually. Reading this MB forum I have discovered fixes to some of my problems, like being more heavy handed with the rice flour on the linen for the final proofing. And setting my steam oven to 450 deg. F.

 

just tried our local Los Altos library, and yes, they have the Modernist Bread books available for loan, and the books are going on hold for me. Such adventures await!

[Shelby]

Welcome!

[Barb Bowers]

Making cinnamon buns this morning, from an old standby cookbook, The Tassajara Bread Book. I have been baking with thus guidance for 51 years now. 

[Barb Bowers]

[TdeV]

 

Fixed it. 🙃

 

These look marvelous, Barb!

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by TdeV (log)

[Barb Bowers]

Thank you, TdeV 🙏🏼

[Dr. Teeth]

Welcome.   Trying to decide if I need  a steam oven myself.   Love to see more of what you bake in it

[Barb Bowers]

A steam oven! I would not happily be without one. Ours cost us $5k in 2015, a huge investment, but the kids are gone. It has some preprogrammed recipes like scalloped potatoes and pasta gratin that are delicious, and an auto steam bake function that I use a lot for breads. Some of my bread baking uses the “A11 Bread” auto setting — that is all I have to push — and turns out pretty fine, nicely risen and crisp crunchy dark crust. And the vegetable steaming is awesome, game changing.

What I would look for if buying a new steam oven: a full Combi capability, so I could program steam injection at desired points, not only at the beginning of a cook cycle; a better self-clean capability (now it steams the oven, and then I wipe it clean, sometimes unscrewing wall parts — this has stopped my ever roasting a chicken in there again,  no matter how delicious it came out).

 

I will post pics as I use Myrtle for more baking. But the Control Freak should be winding its way over to our house, and that will be the focus should it ever arrive.