http://www.squidoo.com/the_bread_bridge

Follow the construction of SFBI's Golden Gate Bridge Baking Sculpture, 20 feet x 8 feet x 8 to 12 feet tall!

Betty

I seem to have trouble getting a good crisp crust, I use a Neff double fan oven. Ive tried putting a pan of water in at the bottom and removing it after 15 mins or so but the crust is always soft after cooling the bread, any ideas how to remedy this anyone ? also when I use a proving basket the bread  is always very floury on the surface no matter how much I remove the exess, any ideas on that one ?

Cheers

Dave W

I am interested to know the ash content (55, 60, 65) of the Robin Hood Best For Bread Homestyle White Flour. I need this to determine how much water I need to arrive at a good fermented dough.

Anybody knows?

Thank you,

After two successful tries at making bagels, I now have some to half of each batch shriveling into worthless, doughy prunes.  Anyone know how to solve this flour-wasting problem. 

I keep reading in various recipes that splitting English muffins with the tines of a fork "creates" texture or "creates" nooks and crevices. This has never made any sense to me. As far as I can tell, the texture is already *in* the muffin, created by large, irregular air bubbles, which are encouraged by using a higher hydration dough (or batter) and by ensuring adequate proofing time right before cooking on the griddle. I have always split my muffins with a bread knife, and have no shortage of large, irregular pockets inside. Am I missing something? If this is a myth, why do people keep repeating it?

My theory is this: the original idea was that the mark of a good English muffin was one that had so many large holes inside that it COULD EVEN be split with just a fork; a knife wasn't required. For reasons unknown, this then morphed, illogically, into the current, widespread notion that English muffins SHOULD be split with a fork, and this was then retroactively justified by attempting to connect it to the texture of the nooks and crannies.  

What do you think?

Kent in Taibei

Please, if you write a cookbook, do not give two completely different recipes similar names!

This morning, I stirred up poolish for "Pain Rustique," p. 111 of Hamelman's. Tonight, I finished mixing "Rustic Bread," p. 115.

Doh!

The difference in the two recipes is huge, and I ended up with a soupy mess. I think I managed to salvage it, but not before a few choice words. 

Of course, I realize that it is entirely my mistake. If I had been paying close attention, I would have noticed that the amount of water called for by the second recipe was almost equal to the total weight of flour. "Pain Rustique" might be a wet dough, but not THAT wet! 

Lesson learned: pay attention to the details!

Eric

Giving away bread...or spreadin' the love, 1 loaf at a time.

I built a wood fired oven in the backyard last summer and quickly discovered I could bake more bread than I could eat! This was especially true after buying a used 20 qt. Hobart mixer.

So what to do?

Give it away!

I set a goal to give away 1000 loaves of bread this year and as of this writing, 7/21/09 I'm on track with over 600 loaves given.

A few days ago a firetruck pulled up investigating a complaint of smoke. So I showed them the oven and they said, "Cool!"

Wow, this gave me a great idea - to visit all the fire stations with a delivery of freshly baked bread! In fact I just came back from delivering to the 2nd station near my house. You can bet the firemen loved it and they are chowing down right now on a few of the 15 loaves of football shaped 2 pound "half whole wheat" loaves I just delivered.

If you have a story of giving away bread let's hear it...and I'll keep you posted on my goal of giving away 1000 loaves in 2009.

Jay Kaiser, Seattle

Since I bake all of our bread, I'm always on the hunt for great sandwich loaf recipes to try. I get bored making the same ones week after week.

I tried this one today and I'll definitely be adding it to the rotation: Oatmeal & Brown Sugar Toasting Bread from King Arthur Flour.

It has rolled oats, steel-cut oats and a nice dose of brown sugar for a sweet, toasty, nutty loaf. I bumped up the nutrition a bit by adding some whole-wheat flour to the mix.

You can see photos and get the recipe on my blog, Flour Girl, or on the King Arthur Flour site.

Happy baking!

Flour Girl

I tried the following Pumpernickel recipe and was disappointed.  It looked nice, but was pretty bland.

Any suggestions for improvement of this recipe?  Or alternative simple pumpernickel recipes?

Thanks!

Rye Pumpernickel Bread Recipe

Makes 2 Loaves

2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon Saf-Instant yeast
1 cup strong coffee, at room temperature
1/4 cup barley malt extract/syrup or sorghum syrup
2 tablespoons cocoa powder or carob powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
3 cups rye pumpernickel flour
2 cups whole wheat bread flour
2 cups unbleached bread flour
About 4 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

In a large mixing bowl,  combine water (not over 110° F) and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is dissolved. Stir in the coffee, barley malt, cocoa or carob powder, and sea salt. When well combined, stir in the rye and whole wheat flours and as much of the unbleached bread flour as you can work in before the dough gets too stiff to stir.  Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and let rest for 5 minutes. Begin kneading in the remaining flour. Knead for at least 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to get sticky.

Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise at room temperature in a draft-free spot for about 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

Grease 2 baking sheets and dust each with 2 tablespoons cornmeal or enough to generously cover. Set aside.

Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Shape each half into a ball, molding the sides under and smoothing any edges together. Place 1 loaf on each baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free spot for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the Oven to 350°F. Slash the top of each loaf in several places. Whisk together the egg and milk. Generously brush the top surface of each loaf with egg wash. Bake for 1 hour or until deep brown and crusty and it sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

I guess pillow soft is a good description of what I want to achieve. When you squeeze-test a package of these buns, they feel like a pillow you would sleep on.Depresses easily but has bounceback. I'm not talking "store-bought" guar gum,air injected buns,stick-like-wallpaper paste-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth kind of buns. I have seen soft sandwich buns at a local organic, flour,water,yeast,salt,starter kind of bakery.It is easy to get a bite without all the filling squishing out.  Of course, they don't want to talk about technique-then I wouldn't buy their buns. My bread crumb turns out chewier-it's good but I want to be able to achieve the soft bun.

I have sifted this site numberous times and I'm missing something because I'm not able to achieve this. I have tried adding:potatoes, milk,eggs and oil after various posters suggested that. Delicious experiments but still not there. I have to believe it is a technique or hydration issue rather than an ingredient issue. I have always used either Better for Bread (Gold MedalBrand) flour or AP flour for these endeavors. I also use a KitchenAid stand mixer and favor using sourdough with a little additional yeast due to time constraints (I bake on weekends).

So, how does one achieve a pillowy crumb and a crust that is thin and easy to bite off without being tough?