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!