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This episode in my baking story starts with lamb.   We received a shipment of lamb meat yesterday from a ranch in the Sierra foothills that supplies several of the finest restaurants in the Bay Area.  We got some chops and some stew meat (roughly 2 inch pieces of leg meat).  I planned to make shish kebab today, even though the bizarre June rain threatened to snuff out my barbecue.

I don't know how many different formula's for baguettes I've tried, but the one with the best flavor was that for the Pain à l'Anciènne of Phillip Gosselin. (See: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8524/philippe-gosselin039s-pain-à-l039ancienne-according-peter-reinhart-interpretted-dmsnyder-m).

Several years ago I embarked on research and development of fun shaped buns.   The doughs I use are:  whole wheat, sweet roll, cheese, oatmeal, and caraway rye.  For the eyes I use currants, raisins, olive slices, a date slice filled with a craisin.   For fins and feet I sometimes roll out and cut pieces, other times I make a ball and cut toes in.  I use an egg white for the glaze and for some designs sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

If you've been following this blog, when we last left this subject, I was trying to determine which of my many jars of YW I should keep. I have decided that having multiple jars of different fruits is pointless, since it is near impossible to tell which fruit was used by either taste or smell.  Some color will be added from darker fruits, but that's about it.

I have a friend who owns an orchard of chestnut trees. Each year she harvests them, aided by her donkey, Carlos, who pulls the harvest wagon tree-to-tree. It's hard work, a lot of bending, and the outer husk of a chestnut pod is armored with thorns. In past years, rising at 4:00 AM, she sold her crop, pound by pound, at a nearby Farmers' Market. A recently retired ICU nurse, the proceeds add to her modest pension.  Two years ago, chestnut farmers in the area formed a Co-op.  Now she sells her entire crop to the Co-op. Her life got easier; Carlos didn't benefit.

Apricot Yeast Water Pullman Loaf

Previously, I posted a short Pullman loaf leavened with Potato Yeast Water (PYW). Link:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/23793/potato-yeast-water-pullman-loaf-shorty

Miche using a Stiff Levain and Gilchesters Organic Farmhouse Flour

 Because all of the pictures below are broken. Very sorry for this inconvenience, that my computer crushed and lost all pictures I had.

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I was in a search for the perfect hamburger bun for a long time. When I say "perfect", I mean perfect for my personal taste. I've tried Peter Reinhart recipe from BBA, I've tried different recipes form diferrent sites, I've tried Tangzhong method, all with wonderful results... but not perfect.

OK you guys, I'm kinda excited  - everyone knows the baker around here is Floyd, and with him doing all the breads, I haven't had to venture into the kitchen to deal with my mageirocophobia. I don't know what it is about baking but I have always tended to shy away from anything baked beyond the occasional cookie and cake.

For all that I'm on here every day for the last 6+ years, I still had never actually baked any sort of yeasted bread myself - I've only made simple quickbreads  -  one anyway: banana bread.