I was wondering what you folks used for your flipping board when going from linen to peel? Size?  I have a sheet of medium or heavy weight balsa wood, 1/8 X 5 X18 in mind, with one long edge sanded down to a knife edge for getting under the dough. This is a pretty cheap and easy item to obtain. Your thoughts? Thanks

I have a Primo Escali that I got for Mother's Day and I'm mostly happy with it.  But sometimes it can't seem to make up its mind.  I weigh something at--say--60 grams, then turn to pick up the next ingredient.  When I look at the scale again, now it says 61 grams.  Then a second later it returns to 60 grams.

I suspect this is happening when I'm "in between" grams--say the weight of that particular ingredient is actually 60.5 grams but since the scale measures only to the whole gram it "waffles".  I know for 50 or more grams wieghed, 0.5 grams more or less is not going to make a huge difference, and that it's not going to be totally reliable for very small measurements like salt and yeast.  So I'm OK with using volume for those (though I would love to have a second set of measuring spoons so I don't get yeast in my salt or salt in my yeast!). 

Is my half gram theory correct, or is there a problem with my scale? 

I see so many posts about which machine to buy if you're baking enough bread to feed an orphanage on a daily basis.

I only bake on the weekend, a couple of loaves and usually only 3~4 cups flour per recipe. Are there any recommendations of what machine a weekend baker should be looking at? I'm in Canada and the stores are full of KA appliances - starting at about $300 and up. After reading here I'm not sure I want to invest in a KA.....

Any suggestions?

Jackie.

This is pretty pathetic, I'll admit...but here I sit, 3:50am on a Saturday morning, watching my starter bubble waiting to make English Muffins. A bit nervous...I've had a 50-50 success rate...first batch was amazing to me, recognized areas of improvement...second batch went in the trash at the grill stage.  I'm new to this realm, but in these economic times, I'm looking for both cost-cutting and fulfilling projects...making my own baked goods saves me scads of cash that my office building's cafeteria will never see. As i browse the site, I try to act like the starter sponge...absorbing knowledge and nutrition slowly.  I love it in here. Now comes the pathetic part.

I was sitting here thinking about buying Peter's books...having the internet as a resource is the best, but sometimes you just like to have something tactile to peruse...pages to dog-ear, highlight and splash flour on. Add to that an unreliable laptop and cable access that seems so frivolous to pay for...the thought occured to me that my sponge development could be halted at any moment. Equally frivolous is the concept of paying $30 for a book right now...borrowing out of the local library is out of the question (ask the daughter that "borrowed" a $50 Japanese-English dictionary on mom's card that she now can't find)...so I look in the forum for help.

I know it's a lot to ask, but if anyone has an copies of any bread books and baking paraphernalia...in any condition...or a line on a garage sale in Upstate NY, keep me in mind. Every other Saturday (I get paid bi-weekly), I make the local rounds of tag sales, hoping to find that baker that's upgrading their kitchen...or moving to Europe and can't take the cookbooks, utensils and gadgets they've accumulated...the best I've done so far is a really wobbly GE plastic stand mixer with a detachable beater but without a bowl. Pathetic to the hilt...but there it is.  Thanks for being here, for listening, and for giving me something constructive to do with my free time...

I have my grandmother's nigh upon ancient pastry cloth. I know it's older than I am - my mom remembers seeing it in use when SHE was a kid, and she's 60. Let this be a testament to the lifespan of good, quality stuff! It came with a few bits of dough imbedded into it where stuff had stuck. Nothing to worry about. And then, last week when I was making my version of Anadama bread  - I failed to flour thoroughly before turning my dough out onto the cloth to divide and shape. I have a large, perhaps 3" round spot now that didn't come up entirely when I scrapped (carefully and at a very shallow angle) with my bench scraper.

Can I wash this? Is it going to be a mess? The edges are not finished/hemmed - they're simply cut with pinking shears. Other than unraveling, do I have to worry about the embedded flour and dough just turning into a paste and ruining the cloth entirely?

Any suggestions welcome.

Does anyone know where to purchase a reasonably priced sieve that wont sift out too much of the bran in whole wheat flour?

Hi everyone!

Has anyone had success using the Nor-Pro Canape tube tins?  They are about 3" in diameter and 9" tall with two lids on either end.  They come in heart, flower and star shapes. I suppose I want a tight crumb? Any recipe suggestions?

Thanks,

Tania in Boise

When I bake I like to give the breads away. I used to buy bulk paper bags from a local restaurant supply store, but when I returned to my city after three years of being away, this store had disappeared. I can't even find paper bags at Costco!  Does anyone know a good place to find paper bags that are smaller than grocery store bags but bigger than lunch bags?

-Allison

D'oh! I forgot to get rice flour to use in my new brotforms. I don't really feel like going to the store tomorrow JUST to get rice flour. Is there a second choice that would work OK? I have KA Bread Flour, stone ground whole wheat, cornmeal, and I have whole quina, barley, wheat berries, rye berries (either could be coarsely ground), oats (could make oat flour, but I think that'd be particularly sticky?) Heck, I've even got a boatload of brown rice that I could grind in the spice grinder if that'd work?

I have the opportunity to purchase a dough divider for what appears to be a great price. It is a manual one similiar to the Duchess that Mark has used in several of his videos.

One of my main concerns is portion size and how is that determined.  Basically this thing came out of a Panchero's Mexican Resturaunt.  They are a fast food burrito place.  Is the size of the roll going to be determined on the amount of dough placed in the pan?  Or is it more along the lines of different models for different needs.  One model will only do tortilla's while another model does only rolls, while yet another does only buns.

I would really like to use it to make dinner rolls and perhaps buns if possible any thoughts???