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I made a modest little pan loaf yesterday (no-knead) using 1 1/4 cup unbleached flour and 1 cup nine-grain (whole wheat) flour. Tasty, but it didn't rise as much as expected, so was a bit denser than optimal.

Is the ratio of wholewheat to white too high to get a good rise? If so, what should it be?

Could I get a better rise with:

1. Longer cold fermenting?(it sat 3 days in the fridge after the initial rise)

2. Longer rise time after shaping? (it had about 1 -1.5 hours before baking)

3. Less salt (had about 1/2 tblsp) or more yeast (used about 1 tsp)

4. Cooking time/temperature change (cooked at 450 for 35 mins)

I have several books stored in my Amazon cart, but don't want to buy them all at once, or get past my still-basic baking level. Which one or ones (up to three) do you recommend I get right away:

• The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking - French Culinary Institute; 
• Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers - Peter Reinhart; 
• Classic Sourdoughs, Revised: A Home Baker's Handbook - Ed Wood; 
• My Bread - Jim Lahey; 
• Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza - Ken Forkish;
• Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads 
• How to Make Bread - Emmanuel Hadjiandreou; 
• Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes - Jeffrey Hamelman;
• 200 Fast and Easy Artisan Breads: No-Knead, One Bowl - Judith Fertig;

 FYI I already have the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice.

I have seen most of them in store, and my own favourites were the Lahey and Hadjiandreou books, because they lay things out in easy steps with lots of photos.

I need a recipe for a bakeable custard/pastry cream to use on Danish pastries.

Looking for one that will hold its shape, not "explode", or get completely absorbed into the pasty.

I've used several commercial ones that work great (Puratos) but I need one made from scratch.

If not available, any ideas on how I can keep the pastry "dented" so I can deposit the cream after baking?

Hi there -

A very nice person loaned me his older style DLX (looks like it's from maybe the 80s and on the front reads DLX 9000 - or maybe it says 3000 - hard to tell).  So today I made a triple batch of cookies using whole wheat flour (and some white flour) and adding chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, pecans and almonds. :) Tomorrow I'll try bread.

My assessment so far is that a quadruple batch would be too much (not that I'd want to make that much!) but I think I heard somewhere the newer ones have a slightly larger capacity and can do quadruple batches. I did have to move the arm a few times to find a location that would make it so there'd be contact with the dough or else so that it wouldn't creep over the edge, so I sort of see what they mean when they say it needs some babysitting (it may be that all stand mixers do though...I've never used one before). I could imagine maybe wanting to go higher in speed when I used this older one, but not necessarily and I know the newer models have a bit more power.  I didn't like how because my fingers were oily from the batter, I had a hard time unscrewing the arm to move it (it would slip and I had to grab a paper towel to get it to turn).  Not a deal-breaker by any means.  I also noticed that at one point the dough was creeping up the scraper (!) but that's probably a learning-curve issue - something I was doing wrong.

Starting to make the cookie dough, I got the butter to room temp and used the roller to mix that with the sugar and that took a long time compared to if I'd used a handheld electric mixer or no doubt something like a Kitchen Aid.  Granted the newer ones have the plastic bowl with whisks so that might have been less of a pain to mix up the butter had I had that...but then I'd have to switch bowls once time to add the flour lest the whisk/paddle thingies break.  But e.g. with the Bosch, a separate bowl isn't needed - and having a metal bowl to do both kneading and mixing/whisking is an option.  I'm annoyed that the Ankarsrum forces us to use plastic (and also - I really wish they'd make a stronger cookie paddle so we could also make pie dough).  Oh and before I forget, someone told me to grate cold butter and add it to the flour that way, for pie dough.  Sounds like a real pita to have to do that though.  But that is one way that she said has definitely worked well for her re. pie dough.

As someone else mentioned on another thread, the lack of a dedicated on-off swtich on the older model at least (do the new ones have one?) was a PITA cause I had to either wait for the timer to turn off or else unplug the machine.  I assume they no longer make it that way?

When I made the speed faster or slower, I heard the motor sort of shift in sound each time consistently - like with a slight delay each time.  This is normal for this machine, yes? 

When I'd put all the dough and nuts and chips in the bowl tonight and the bowl was pretty full, I did feel like there was one point when I was pushing the motor (yikes - not my machine!) and I could swear I smelled some sort of mechanical subtle burning type of smell if you know what I mean.  LIke maybe the motor was getting hot?  But it may not have been used for years - not sure if that matters.  I guess my point here is that I've read over and over how nothing beats this mixer in terms of thick thick doughs and durability, but is that really true?  Are the extra watts on the new ones going to get rid of this problem (the feel like I was pushing it)?  I seriously hate the look of the Bosch (and that stupid blender tower everyone's always trying to hide in so many of the pictures, lol) but I didn't get the feeling it couldn't handle it from looking at videos anyway.

I have the question/concern that if this mixer takes a while longer to beat/mix everything up, is that a problem with some recipes that say not to over-mix or over-knead?  Maybe only an issue with pie dough? 

Lastly, I read a comment that someone who used the DLX/Assistent was used to making challah bread that came out dense and now since using the Assistent, it comes out light and fluffy.  Ok clearly that's a good thing but see for me, I get nervous every time I read people talking about the DLX making bread lighter.  Because I like it very dense and moist with a tighter crumb I guess you could say - at least when making sandwich bread and probably a few others.  Like Dave's Killer Bread if any of you know it.  Dense is a good thing.  E.g. when I eat fluffy cake, it's usually from a cheaper Safeway bakery type place.  When I eat heavy, moist, dense cake, it's from a higher-end bakery.  If I were to get an Ankarsrum (Assistent, DLX, Electrolux, Magic Mill, whatever you want to call it) - and don't laugh at such a stupid question - can I still have dense breads or will everything be super light and fluffy all the time?  Hahaha I know I sound ridiculous...

Thank you!!  

Oh one last question!  Anyone have any of those cool colors?

Aaargh - sorry so long!!!