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I am sitting at my sister,s dining room table trying to type on a laptop..  I have never done this before and the keys are sooo narrow!!!

 I baked yesterday, twice in a week!! I did the ciabatta and my brother in law took pictures with a great camara, pictures to come soon. He does part time camera work for hockey teams, so shooting bread gave him a whole different goal.

The flour worked differently again, and the crumb is once again different We had to open the windows as the cornmeal was burning and she was worried about the fire alarm going off..

Its probably stale by now but I made an attempt at claypot bread. I probably need a few more practice to get the hang of it but it was fun. Perhaps I am too used to the conventional way of making bread but I think the old way makes bread that is predictable and better looking.

More pictures in http://www.angelfire.com/planet/tomsbread/index.htm

After a 3 week stretch with no baking, I finally caught up a bit this past weekend.  With the exception of some crescent rolls for Thanksgiving dinner from a recipe in Southern Living magazine, everything was from the Bread Bakers Apprentice.

I wasnt to make a Rustic loaf, but my dough is always too runny.  Runny in the way that its like normal bread dough, but it spreads out no up. It rises, but not high. I tend to end up with a loaf 30cm in diameter and spreading.

I am guessing it has something to do with the spelt flour I am using.

Maybe it is my technique. By the time I decide it chould be in a loaf tin and I put it in there ti proof a bit, it doesnt want to rise.

So, I've talked alot about making this bread in previous posts on the original thread but have not documented the experience as yet in photos. So here goes:

3 cups casually measured AP flour + 2 T rye flour (i read somewhere that it enhances the flavor)

1 1/2 t salt

1/4 t active dry yeast disolved in 1 5/8 cup purified water

Oven at 475, baking vessel pre-heated. Baked covered 30 mins, uncovered 15.

1. What I call the biscuit stage-- all the ingredients are dumped in the bowl, mixed just enough to bring it together:

I like these Italian rolls. Nice shaped and great in taste!

250 g flour
8 g fresh yeast
5 g salt
20 g lard
1/2 TL honey
~130 g water

How to shape them you find on my blog: http://kochtopf.twoday.net/stories/2958191/

Tried a whole wheat sourdough for the first time with my current starter.

Certainly not the kind of crumb I can get with regular bread flour, but not bad for something purely leavened with a starter.

I made my very first Rye loaf today, and it turned out wonderful! I used a recipe from "The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking", which someone let me borrow. The bread turned out moist and not too heavy which has been a problem with some heavy grained breads.

Anyway, the only changes I made to the recipe was to do it all by hand- without a bread machine or mixer. I prefer the way completely handmade loaves come out. The rise is usually better and the taste is extremely superior.

Here is the recipe, as well as pictures should any of you like to try it out =)

This last batch of the NYT bread has worked out wonderfully for me. Kitchen temp a brisk 26C.

I used 3 cups AP flour and 1 cup WW.

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp yeast

1 7/8 cups of room temp water.

Mixed as per the video,then into oiled bowl and covered with plastic and refrigerated 24 hours. 

Removed from fridge and brought to room temp for three hours.  

Folded twice at 1.5 hour intervals., after the above 3 hour climatizing.