The rehabilitation of a failed baker

[gsquared]

WHEW!  At last.  And you will NEVER go back but move ever onwards and upwards.  Congratulations.

←

Thanks, Anna. Relief, I think, describes it. Such a small and imperfect result. Such a big move forward.

[EllenC]

This has been an excellent experiment to watch. Thank you for being so brave and shring your pains and trails with us. Now you can share many many successes.

Congratulations.

[miladyinsanity]

Congratulations! I've been following this thread, because I recently baked my first loaf of bread--yeast, and relatively successful--and because I'm thinking about baking bread rather than baking cookies/cakes (might be less fattening in the long-term :laughs:)

[Desiderio]

I just started my rye sourdough and its looking good ( i got it form Hamelmann book ),now I am reading it and reading it , and one thing isnt too clear ( I need to read more ), after my starter is ready,and I get a piece for my bread what do I do with the rest to propagate it ? Put in the fridge and refresh it every 12 hours as usuall? Not too sure about that step.

←

Jack's already responded pretty thoroughly to you above, but I did want to stress again that Wood's Classic Sourdoughs was probably the best resource for me in figuring out, pretty simply, how to cultivate and maintain and refresh a sourdough culture. I like Hamelman very much (I mean, what's not to like? he's a fabulous resource), but for me, Wood was simpler to follow for a truly novice baker.

←

Thank you for the tip Dev ,Im getting ready to do a try tonight , probably a simpler starter will be a better idea for a newbie. Thank you )))

[Desiderio]

I add my congratulations to you Gerhard, this thred is been very very instructional , very inspiring and helpful.

Thank you for sharing all you progress ( and frustrations I know ) with us .

Now I gotta go and find myself a piece of fresh baked baguette ( impossible !!!)Yummie

[HeatherM]

Like many others, I've been following this thread, groaning with each "not quite as hoped" experiment. Congratulations on your beginning success with bread, and I admire your persistence. I would have given up on try 2 or 3 to fight another day. This thread has inspired me to try baking bread (again). Now, I just have to keep this inspiration until I've finished moving and have a kitchen!

[Swisskaese]

Congratulations!

Well done. Now, I can send you some bread recipes to play with.

[Tepee]

For the nonce, K, I will desist boring you with a daily report.

←

There was never a dull moment...and well worth staying up way past my bed time for the past few nights. Methinks we'll be seeing a whole range of breads from Gerhard's Boulangerie before long. Until then, we'll keep our eyes peeled on this thread...

[devlin]

Anyway, on the heels of Jack's comments, I'm expecting we might hear next you've hired somebody to take over the handling of the inn so you can make time for handling more dough.

Congrats. It makes me glad.

←

Devlin, I owe you a special word of thanks. You post still haunts me. I am generally coldly analytical and logical. I am still pondering what you wrote. There is no doubt that it will have some impact. Not sure what it is. I'll let you know.

←

That's a nice compliment, G. And now somebody besides my husband faces the prospect of future haunting.

It's a good thing.

[Beanie]

A belated congratulations. After the daily suspense of checking on your progress with bated breath, there was a sense of loss this morning when I woke up, turned on the computer, and realized the saga was over for all but the Artist. Sort of like how I felt after the last episode of Sex and the City. Please continue the thread periodically with an update on your bread baking achievements. Thanks again for the inspiration!

[devlin]

A belated congratulations.  After the daily suspense of checking on your progress with bated breath, there was a sense of loss this morning when I woke up, turned on the computer, and realized the saga was over for all but the Artist.  Sort of like how I felt after the last episode of Sex and the City.    Please continue the thread periodically with an update on your bread baking achievements. Thanks again for the inspiration! 

←

I was feeling the same way. Sort of, "What, that's all?... Over already?"

So, yes, please come back to the thread now and again and update us on how the bread progresses.

[gsquared]

A short update. There has been a temporary hiatus in my odyssey. My daughter has been visiting for 10 days, to introduce the new boyfriend. He is gluten intolerant and it would have been insensitive to continue with the baking experiments. This week will, however, see me once more into the fray. I will report back later in the week.

[jackal10]

I was beginning to wonder....

[Lori in PA]

Thanks for the update. EACH member of my family has asked me at some point or another in the past couple of weeks, "Has there been any more news from the guy who's learning to bake bread?"

[rooftop1000]

There you are

Its this threads fault that I had sourdough starter invading my kitchen yesterday. Yes I think its alive, as it escaped the bowl and went crawling down the counter while I was out. A larger bowl and a refreshing later...I think I am ready for dough mixing tonight.

First time without the nice little packet of yeast.

tracey

anyone do sourdough - doughnuts, bagels, waffles, zeppoli......?

Edited May 1, 2006 by rooftop1000 (log)