Hi all,

I'm planning to make the potato, cheddar and chives bread from the BBA book.  It may sound a bit silly...what kind of potatoes should I use?  The recipe only says "unpeeled potatoes".  Any tips/suggestions will be much appreciated!

I am planning on making the Cottage Herb loaf from Laurel's book.  I've made it before and liked it a lot.  This time, I want to change things by substituting red onion, adding cubed cheese and rosemary (instead of dill and parsley).  What adjustments do I need to make to the dough to accommodate the cheese, so that it is still able to rise? And what is the maximum amount of cheese I can add?  I am thinking around 4 oz of hard chese.

As a sidenote, am I the only one puzzled by solid ingredients (such as onions and cottage cheese) being measured in milliliters, which are used to measure fluid?  I always wonder how I am supposed to measure.  For liquids, such as honey and oil, I just use density to calculate weight, but what about solids?  Fortunately, her recipes are forgiving and always work for me.

Here is the list of original ingredients:

1/4 cup minced onion (60 ml)

2 Tbs oil (30 ml)

7 g active dry yeast

120 ml water

235 ml cottage cheese

120 ml parsley

1 tbs dill

22 ml honey

1 egg

8.25 g salt

375 g whole wheat flour

Any advice would be appreciated.

Yulika

     I cannot believe I have found a cake of fresh yeast. The expiration/use by date was three days away, it was a 18 gram "fresh active" cube by Fleischmann from a well known grocery store.  I sort of remember this type being used by my mother when I was a child but I have not seen it for years. And looking for some for years too! 

So, I tried it. The bread I made was a buttermilk whole wheat sandwich loaf; straight dough, made in one day. It turned out fine but I'm not sure there was any difference in the taste or action of the rises. What am I looking for? 

Has anyone used this kind of fresh yeast lately? Is there a noticeable difference in your breads and what kind of doughs do you use it in?   Anet

The malt shelf in the home-brew aisle of a local hardware store holds a bewildering parade of exotic titles, none of which say, "Best for Bread"!  I was reluctant to spend $20 on the wrong thing, so I slunk away malt-free.  The clerk seems clueless about beer-making, much less bread-baking.  Is anyone familiar with the typical malt offerings, and which one would be most appropriate?  (I know that I could order from an online bread supplier, but I'd rather spend the money on malt than shipping.) 

Thanks!

Terri

I have looked at a lot of recipes for Baguettes and there is no concensus as to whether All Purpose or Bread Flour is the most appropriate. The breakdown is as follows:

Jeffrey Hamelman: BF

Peter Reinhart (Crust & Crumb): AP

Peter Reinhart (BBA): 50% AP & 50 % BF and also either AP or BF

Daniel Leader: AP

Dan DiMuzio: BF

Michel Suas: BF

Joe Ortiz: AP

Richard Bertinet: BF

Personally, being a Libra, I compromise and mix 2 parts AP to 1 part BF and have had good results. I am curious to see how most people feel.

Don

I am going to Montreal in a couple of weeks to visit friends and am planning to bring back some flour from the "Meunerie La Milanaise", the same flour that Daniel Leader uses for his bread. Does anybody have any experience with bringing back flour through customs? I went on the US Customs website and checked their frequently asked questions about what is allowed through customs but flour was not specifically addressed. I send them an e-mail asking the question but have not received an answer yet. I would appreciate input from anybody who has gone through the same experience. Thanks.

Don

Ok, this may have been mentioned before, but when using agave nectar should a person half it in a recipe where you originally used honey.  My nectar is very thin and the honey I have been using is very thick.  I also noticed that the nectar seems to be a lot sweeter then my honey.  We use raw honey here and it is much thicker then the pasturized stuff we find in the stores around here.  If this has been talked about somewhere please let me know and I will go look there for my info.  I am having a fun time trying out some new sweeteners.  Next I will be trying some different types of sugars.  I will try and post some pictures of the breads I make with the different sugars to show the differences in rise and texture if any.

Blessings,
Lydia

Recently I saw a recipe for raosting garlic whole to use in recipes and thought that it would be mighty tasty in some fresh homemade breadsticks. I'm wondering about how much to use though per batch of breadsticks, my recipe makes 18, and also how exactly to incorporate them into the dough.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

chrissy

Has anyone had any experience with Bay State Milling's Heritage Artisan flour?  I have been looking at my local Bakery Supply wholesaler and this is a flour that I have not seen mentioned before. I searched the site here but there were no hits under "Heritage Artisan"

Paul

....at least in Modesto,Cal. Eagle Mills ap unbleached, It is blend of white and ultragrain flours. It is sold in 2 ten bound packages(20 pounds) for about $.35 a pound. There appears to be some whole wheat added. States that is can be used where ever all purpose flour is used.  I haven't used it but will let you know what I think when i do. Patrick