Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:28:36 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v107.n030 -------------- 001 - "Audrey and William" Subject: Misters and moving bread makers Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:35:36 -0600 I had a Pampered Chef mister and, after trying unsuccessfully trying to clean it time after time, I just gave up and threw it out. I followed all the instructions very carefully, especially about not filling it more than 1/3 full. Still there was oil that secreted itself somewhere and became rancid. When I spoke at length with the Pampered Chef representative I was told that they'd never had anyone else complain about this. She asked a lot of questions and decided that I was doing everything according to the little booklet but could offer no solutions. So much for quality care. As far as bread makers and mixers moving across counters and eventually falling off the edge - I have a really old Regal bread maker and my solution was to cut 2 three-inch squares of that rubber or plastic woven material that is sold as shelf lining. I put it under the two feet closest to the edge of the counter and haven't had a problem with it moving even a fraction of an inch since then. When through baking I just put the two squares back in the clean and dry mixing pan and it's all ready for the next baking. Audrey Konie --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.2 --------------- From: Jim Shaw Subject: Re: Sourdough in NZ Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:03:15 +1300 Hi Ian. I don't know where in NZ you are but there are a number of excellent bakers in and around Wellington that have sourdough product and I'd be surprised if most major cities and good sized towns don't have some too. I have been making my own sourdough (in Wellington) for about 5 years or so now and am pretty happy with the results. I am on my third starter - I don't think I fed the first two well enough. I have found that it always works best when warm - say 20-22C - but it does work if its cooler only more slowly. I just left the starter in the kitchen to get it going - flour and water with a little bit of slightly fermented apple juice to kick it along. I only use organic flour and filtered water. Now my starter spends half or more of each week in the 'fridge and I take it out and feed it for a day or so before using it. I always at least double the volume with equal parts flour and water each time and don't use it until its really foaming. I have several books that have slightly different approaches. I started with the Bread Bakers Apprentice and have made Reinhart's San Francisco sourdough successfully. I now have a couple of books that are by a NZ baker - Dean Brettschneider "The NZ Baker" and "Global Baker" and his recipes work here. If you are near Wellington you can have some of my starter to kickstart yours if you like. Cheers, jim --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.3 --------------- From: Alan Woods Subject: Sourdough in New Zealand Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:12:41 -0400 Ian: you can create your own sourdough, or order a dried starter from Sourdoughs International. You can use an incubator to start and grow the sourdough (a disposable foam ice chest is useful), then store it in the refrigerator. Shouldn't be much of a problem. Ed Wood's books and directions from Sourdoughs International should be invaluable to you--good, clear directions on both creating your own, as well as using a starter, and then maintaining the starter. Peter Reinhart's new book, Whole Wheat Breads, also has very complete directions on creating your own. Happy baking! Alan Woods Columbus, Ohio, USA http://alan-ohio-bread.blogspot.com --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.4 --------------- From: "Pedro S. Arellano III" Subject: Re: Sourdough Help Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:50:00 -0500 All of your questions are answered in Ed Wood's _Classic Sourdoughs: A Home Bakers Handbook_, which is an updated version of _World Sourdoughs from Antiquity_. Either one of these books will answer your questions. The updated version has over 90 new recipes. This book assumes you know the basics about bread such as measuring flour by spooning the flour into the cup not dipping etc. It sounds like you already know those basics. If you're not sure you know the basics Betsy Oppenneer's _The Bread Book_ would be a good primer. Your Fellow Bread Baking Fiend, Pedro --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.5 --------------- From: Ellen Lee Subject: Sourdough starter Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:53:45 -0400 I have had excellent results from a King Arthur (www.kingarthurflour.com) starter that I ordered eight years ago. It still is alive and healthy. At that time, the starter came in powdered form. It now comes in fresh, ready-to-use form. The catalog does not indicate whether it can be shipped outside the USA, however. Complete instructions for use are included with the starter. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.6 --------------- From: "Chris Nelder" Subject: Re: olive oil misters Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 11:52:10 -0700 Thank you all for your feedback re: olive oil misters. I will try Diane's suggestion and if I don't like it, well, it sounds like this is a ripe opportunity for invention! Cheers, Chris --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.7 --------------- From: "Werner Gansz" Subject: Potato Bread Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:18:58 -0400 According to DuPaigne's "History of Bread", potato bread was known as the "poor man's bread" because the potato, newly introduced to Europe from the Americas, was looked upon with suspicion by the aristocracy and was thought to cause all manner of diseases and ailments. Parmentier, the world's first bread scientist, took an interest in potatoes and recognized the benefit of using the potato as a wheat substitute during times of famine. He developed potato bread recipes and potato cooking methods and eventually popularized the potato, even convincing Louis XVI to wear a potato flower as a corsage. Through such events history is made. I have been making this delicious potato bread for many years. The dough is 1/2 potato and 1/2 wheat flour and comes from Baking with Julia, by Julia Child. The recipe is credited to Leslie Mackie. Potato Bread 1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed un-peeled (about 3) 4 tsp salt 1/2 cup reserved warm potato water (see below) 1 Tbs Active Dry yeast or a scant Tb instant yeast 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil 4 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour Quarter the potatoes length-wise and add them to a 2 quart pot, add 2 tsp of the salt, cover with water (about 2 cups +/-). Boil the potatoes until a knife pierces them easily, reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy, salty water, then spread the quartered potatoes on a rack to cool and dry. Let the water cool and the potatoes cool and dry for 20 - 30 minutes. There are two tricks to this bread: getting the salt right and getting the moisture right. The salty potato water provides some of the salt so don't overfill the boiling pot and dilute the salt. Note that this recipe uses only the 1/2 cup of potato water for almost 5 cups of flour. That is a tiny amount of water. By itself the added water could never moisten that much flour. As you will see, the remaining moisture comes out of the apparently dry boiled potatoes as you knead the dough. (remember; most foods are 90% water by weight). When the potatoes are cool and dry use the flat beater on your mixer to mash them, peel and all. Dissolve the yeast in the warm potato water (you may have to re-warm the water in the microwave if you are using active dry yeast). When the potatoes are mashed smooth, add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Continue to blend the liquids and the mashed potatoes for two minutes. Switch to the dough hook and, while mixing, add the flour and remaining (2 tsp) salt. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes. At first the dough looks like a dry pie crust dough with lots of un-moistened bit of flour. Fear not! Turn the mixture to medium, (2 on my Viking) and watch the magic. After 5 minutes the dough will come together and will at least look like a too-firm bread dough. After 10 to 11 minutes the dough will have softened to the texture of a normal bread dough. The trick is not to panic and start adding water early in the mixing. Most doughs firm up with mixing while this one softens up with mixing so you can't really tell how you are doing until minute 10 or 11. You won't really know until the end whether or not you will have to add a few Tbs of water. Caution; The mixer is working very hard while the dough is in the too-firm stage. If you have a mixer with plastic gears, like most new KA's, you might want to cut the recipe in half. My Viking just blows right through it. Preheat the oven to 375 F. This dough has so much potato in it that it cannot stand up to a long final rise, it will collapse. I let the dough double for the first rise, punch it down hard, shape it into a boule, then let it rise for only 1/2 hour more. Slash the boule to allow for oven rise. Use whatever artisan baking and steam generating methods you are comfortable with. I bake it on a stone covered with a large preheated terra cotta flower pot to get a deep crust. The potato bread should bake for 45 to 50 minutes or to an internal temperature of 200 F. With a deeply browned crust the finished loaf looks like a giant potato. The slashed areas have a beautiful golden brown color, like a buttered baked potato. Besides being an excellent accompaniment to almost any meal, it makes great sandwiches and superb French toast. Variations: Rosemary Potato Bread: 3 Tb fresh coarsely chopped rosemary, less if dried, add to dough while mixing. Roasted Garlic Potato Bread: cut the top from a head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, roast until tender, squeeze out the garlic, rough chop and add to dough while mixing. Roasted Onion Potato Bread: Cut top from an onion, cut an "X" into the base, drizzle with olive oil, roast until tender, peel, rough chop and add to dough while mixing. Roasted onion and garlic will breakdown and distribute evenly while kneading. Fresh onion can be chopped fine and added to the base recipe for a more "oniony" Potato and Onion Bread. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v107.n030.8 --------------- From: Ann Greenberg Subject: Mixers Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2007 11:06:35 -0700 (PDT) I have been using a KitchenAid Classic mixer for about 5 years. It works well, but sometimes overheats and/or stalls when it is mixing 6 cups of flour. I thought of buying a stronger Kitchen Aid, but I don't like the ones where the bowl moves up and down (too little room for adding ingredients). I had been considering getting a Bosch or Electrolux, but then I noticed that Cuisinart came out this year with a stand mixer that looks quite good. I would like to know if anyone has tried the new Cuisinart and what their experience has been. Ann --------------- END bread-bakers.v107.n030 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2007 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved