New Member
Hello to the group,
A few years ago I retired early and I have been busy remodelling our 28 year old home. Recently, the kitchen has received a full gut to the bare slab and studs. The old layout was sub-optimal and lacked an understanding by the original builder why a proper “work triangle” and an effective layout is important.
As a part of this remodel, I’m getting the new appliances and equipment setup for my love of French gourmet savoury cooking, with a secondary theme of baking, ala a Boulangerie and a Patisserie.
I’m new to milling my own grain… I’ve always been a fan of true “made from scratch“ cooking and baking, but my job did not always allow such time intensive luxuries. I have been looking at grain mills for a few weeks and I now have a Salzburg MT18 mill being shipped.
Our new kitchen has a “”European“ theme and the MT18 will fit in well with the other European appliances. I’ve ordered a plethora of bulk grains that have arrived, so when the mill gets here in a day or two, it’s going to be a stack of fun milling my own flours right before they are mixed.
I have a Gaggenau convection oven and a combo steam/baking oven that I will be experimenting with for baking the bread and pastries. The Irinox blast chiller and shock freezer will come in handy as well, and it also functions as a low temp (185F max) oven/proofing oven.
I have a Famag 8qt HH spiral mixer and a Kitchenaid 8qt commercial stand mixer currently and I’m researching a two arm Italian commercial “diving arm” dough mixer for use with some doughs. I will also be adding a commercial dough sheeter, so I can explore my passion for croissants and pain au chocolat!
It’s going to be a stack of fun and I can’t wait to get stuck in with all of the challenges and my new baking focus.
Cherrs!
Welcome RossoCorsa458,
You will find a ton of great advice and experiences here on TFL.
You'll want to have a look at the Grains and Milling forum section for recommendations on sifting your freshly milled flour to achieve various levels of flour extraction.
Also - now you've given me kitchen envy - you should post photos when the remodel is completed.
Tony
Hello,
Thanks for the forum pointer… I’m still trying to learn my way around the site. We’re competing the finish on the poured in place concrete countertops now. Once that is done, things will start going faster, hopefully! I’m into espresso big time and I’ve got a Dalla Corte Mina espresso machine and a Mazzer ZM grinder in crates waiting to be installed. Getting by with a Nespresso for now.
With all of the supply chain issues, it’s been a real faff making progress on the kitchen. We had to wait nine months just to get the main appliances in from Germany. Six months wait on the blast chiller, six months for the tile guy to lay the granite floor to name a few. It’s like being in the military, hurry up and wait… :-o
We’re getting close now… I hope to have the upper cabinets on the wall in a couple of weeks. My MT18 will be here early next week… I can taste the whole grain now!!!
Cheers!