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"Baking With Julia" by Julia Child (2004)


SethG

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I made my first attempt at challah this weekend, and had pretty good luck. I used my stand mixer to knead, but I think I added too much flour, or maybe baked too long.

My oven has always been consistent with the temp for other recipes, meaning that I've not usually found it to bake faster than the recipe states, but with this recipe I shaved 10 minutes off the total time. Maybe it's time for a new range . . . I'm looking for an excuse. :rolleyes: Did anyone else find that the baking times stated were too long?

It was beautiful, and tasted great. Just a bit too dry.

I'm looking forward to the next recipe.

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I ordered "Baking with Julia" from Amazon over a week ago, but it still hasn't arrived.  :angry:

Uh oh, I just ordered my copy yesterday. Guess I'll hope for the best.

I got a used copy for $16.00. From the description it sounds like it's a bookstore overstock. So, essentially a new book. I hope anyway.

I may have let it get a bit too brown, but it tastes great.

i2458.jpg

Hey I got a picture to post! :biggrin: And they said it couldn't be done.

--therese

Many parts of a pine tree are edible.
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I made my challah on Thursday evening, but didn't have a chance to get back here and post until now (I'm at school and have to teach a class in ten minutes, but we're just doing grammar exercises so I can dilly dally for a minute.)

Am I the only one who found the bread a little too salty with sea salt sprinkled on top? It was delicious, but I had a salty taste in my mouth for hours after, and the Picky Eater said it was too salty for him.

I've made chocolate chip challah before (another recipe) by dropping chips into the batter. I'll have to try that next time.

Neil

Author of the Mahu series of mystery novels set in Hawaii.

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The Brioche recipe is fine with me for the next project. Bread baking is ALWAYS addictive. I am still voting for pies after that, but I think Seth is right let's be sure we try cakes and pastry too. I'll start looking at those sections.

Shall we try to make the brioche this week? (Everybody at my house is really liking the idea of fresh bread on a regular basis.)

I think I will pick up a digital camera - Everybody's pics are great!

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I'm so happy to see all these photos of beautiful bread!

Okay, so twice baked brioche this weekend, and we'll do some kind of pie after that? Ellen, was there a pie or tart you had in mind? I don't have Baking With Julia with me; are there any true "pies" in there?

By the way, Rhea S, the SAF instant yeast I bought came in a vacuum-sealed bag that was stamped with the date it was packed as well as a suggested "use by" date (about a year after the packing date). If you still have the bag yours came in, you might want to check.

The last thing I want to say about the challah-- the center of my loaf was quite delicious. The ends were a little dry. I made my loaf plumper in the center, as I was instructed to do, but I think next time I won't. The loaves you see in stores usually have tapered ends. How do they bake them evenly?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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ChzHead: Your rolls look very similar to the ones I made this weekend using brioche dough. I filled mine with gouda cheese, slathered butter once baked, rolled tops in sugar and added more cheese on top. I ate two right away. Heaven! I brought most of the rest to a friend's house for dinner. I think the Sherry Yard recipe is better than the one in BWJ: softer texture, richer flavour. However, that could be attributed to the very slow rise.

Seth: I think my kitchen was just too chilly. I put the dough in my bedroom, close to the radiator and went to work for a few hours yesterday. When I got home, the dough had doubled very nicely. Proofing the rolls was also taking a long time, so I put the baking sheets right on the radiators.

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Baking With Julia is a gorgeous book. Makes me wonder why I've never bought it. There's a gingerbread cake recipe that I'm dying to try.

I tried that gingerbread cake recipe and the flavor was a bit too strong, dark and assertive for me. The word "aggressive" comes to mind. It was unusual, which is a quality I generally love, but the sort of thing I would only enjoy in very small portions with lots of whipped cream to kick it down a notch. My husband tried it and said about the same thing - "I like it but I don't want any more." I ended up throwing out about half of the cake when I just couldn't look at it any more. I should have frozen it, but I'd had enough. It offended my frugal nature, but every now and then I get tired of being frugal so I just chucked it. I do think it turned out as the recipe intended. I followed the recipe exactly. And I love gingerbread. But this wasn't my favorite.

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Okay, so twice baked brioche this weekend, and we'll do some kind of pie after that?  Ellen, was there a pie or tart you had in mind?  I don't have Baking With Julia with me; are there any true "pies" in there?

There are several pies in there. I don't have my copy with me either, but my son spent last night drooling over the pictures of pies so... I will look when I get home and come up with one or two suggestions. Then we can decide for when we finish the brioche.

edited for fat-finger errors.

Edited by EllenC (log)
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Looks like everyone had a great time with this project and produced some wonderful looking bread!

Tmnoland - Your loaf looks great, of course I am partial to the European style that tend to be a bit darker than.

The brioche sounds good to me for the next project.

Wearing jeans to the best restaurants in town.
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Am I the only one who found the bread a little too salty with sea salt sprinkled on top?

This was the first time I've sprinkled salt on challah and I decided that I won't be doing that again. I like to be able to savour the flavour of bread and this was prevented by the salt. I got too much of a salt after-taste even though I had sprinkled the salt sparingly.

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Tmnoland - Your loaf looks great, of course I am partial to the European style that tend to be a bit darker than.

The brioche sounds good to me for the next project.

I forgot to taper my ends. :shock::laugh:

I'd love to do the brioche, but not sure if I'll be able.

I've got several things working against me. I don't have a heavy

duty mixer or Popeye arms for that matter. :raz: Also, looks like I'm going to be out all day Saturday. I guess I could do the brioche by hand; they didn't have stand mixers 100 years ago. Don't know if I'm that brave.

-therese

Many parts of a pine tree are edible.
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Ok got my book, so hopefully I can catch up.

Here are some pictures of the focaccia I made to bake along in spirit.

This is a foccacia I made with the Dan Lepard's Baking Day recipe (Modified to include basil/tomato/garlic/parmesan) , changed a bit to use Jack Lang's starter instead of the leaven.

This didn't last long.

i2524.jpg

i2525.jpg

Sorry about the poor photography.

Msk

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msk, your foccacia is beeeeuuuuutiful! I'm surpirsed you were able to take a picture at all.

Seth, I have been flipping through my copy and I am voting for the French Apple Tart. It's classic, and the description makes me hungry! I think it will be an excellent first pie adventure.

What does everybody else think?

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I agree with both of your statements.

I haven't looked at the recipe, but that tart looks good in the photograph, and I've been wanting to make one.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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I know I'm behind schedule, but I plan on making my challah on Thursday. This way we'll use it for shabbat dinner. I've decided to use the Sherry Yard recipe in The Secrets of Baking.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Greetings All

I've just joined this forum, and this sounds like great fun. So I made the Challah today, and it came out wonderfully. My house smelled so good a friend dropped in and walked off with one of the loaves. Looking forward to the Brioche next weekend. I just need to find someone to help me eat all this great stuff !(ridiculously small and overstuffed freezer :hmmm: )

-gayle

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It sounds like a lot of this gang are busy this weekend so I just wanted to share the fact that you can prep everything ahead of time, even bake off your brioche loaves and freeze them. The morning you want them (which will be EVERY morning), you've got everything on hand and they'll be scenting your kitchen in no time.

Having made these many times, I've altered Nancy's dunking and baking a bit. She suggests slicing off the rounded tops of the loaves for an even loaf. I prefer to use everything so I use the technique used to turn day-old croissants into almond croissants: I slice the brioche loaves in half lengthwise. I dunk each cut side into the sugar syrup (which I flavor with kirsch instead of orange), spread the bottom half with almond cream, place the top on and spread it (and the sides) with a bit more almond cream, sprinkle with sliced almonds and bake. They are rustically beautiful (or beautifully rustic) and oh so awesome.

Of course I suggest following the recipe EXACTLY the first time you make it BUT for those of you who like a little more almond goop in your brioche... :wub:

kit

"I'm bringing pastry back"

Weebl

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This is jumping ahead, and cheating. I make these every day. People love them. The one in Julia's books has apple compote on the bottom. This has pastry cream.

Gorgeous!! If you have any extra lying around, feel free to send one my way! :biggrin:

allison

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McDuff, that is absolutely gorgeous. Do you slice apples by hand? Using a mandoline? Or food processor?

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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That does look good, McDuff, but it's no fair showing off your professional skills here among us amateurs!

I'm wicked busy, but I still want to bake some brioche twice this weekend, whatever that entails. Are others still in?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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I'm wicked busy, but I still want to bake some brioche twice this weekend, whatever that entails.  Are others still in?

I just bought my supplies for the twice baked brioche. I couldn't find dried sour cherries, though. I bought dried sweetened cherries. I've never bought vanilla beans before - $17 for a bottle with 2. Is that normal?

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