Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:50:35 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v109.n008 -------------- 001 - Don Reynolds Subject: Adjustable bread knife Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:45:51 -0800 (PST) Lisa, knifedepot.com sells an adjustable beadknife that allows bread to be sliced up to 1 inch thick. I have no idea how well it works. Don --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.2 --------------- From: Margaret Miller Subject: Air bread Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:12:28 -0800 (PST) I'm sorry I've taken so long to reply but I keep forgetting... I have found in my yrs of baking breads that if you use milk (at least half the liquid), more yeast, use all purpose flour and keep your dough slack you will get a very soft, fluffy inside.  At least this works for me. HTH, Margaret --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.3 --------------- From: debunix Subject: Spelt has gluten Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:53:34 -0800 Spelt is wheat and has gluten. It is not safe for celiacs. Look it up. -diane --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.4 --------------- From: chasebusiness@sbcglobal.net Subject: Cutting info for Lisa Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:59:55 -0800 (PST) Hi, Lisa, my daughter bought me a bread board and this knife that comes with it is such a good sharp bread knife that it's easier, but I don't worry about too thick or thin. But... when I did try to do it more uniformly, I got an inexpensive meat slicer, like the plastic ones you find at Wal-mart. The blades are extremely sharp and there is a guide to set the width. It works perfectly for bread. Linda Blessya' bunches from Linda chasebusiness@sbcglobal.net http://justastitchintime.blogspot.com --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.5 --------------- From: Mike Avery Subject: SPELT IS NOT GLUTEN FREE!!! Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:31:16 -0600 There's a reason that spelt works almost as well as regular flour. You see, as Dr. Wood points out in several of his books, Spelt is wheat. A primitive wheat, but wheat. Its gluten is somewhat more fragile than the gluten in modern wheat. It helps to knead gently, and to make the dough slightly wetter than bread made with modern wheat flour. If you check the celiac.org web site, in the "Label reading" section, there is a discussion of the proposed FDA definition of "gluten free": "FDA is proposing to define the food labeling term "gluten-free" to mean that a food bearing this claim does not contain any of the following: an ingredient that is a 'prohibited grain,' which refers to any species of wheat (e.g., durum wheat, spelt wheat, or kamut), rye, barley or their crossbred hybrids;..." You'll note they refer to "spelt" as "spelt wheat." I'm making this point, not to berate Stephen, but to correct a common misconception. Celiacs know spelt is dangerous, but a well-meaning baker might make bread for a celiac and assure him, "it's OK!" when it's not. Spelt is better tolerated by some people who have wheat sensitivities than modern wheat. And it is said to help "purify the body" (whatever that means) by some naturopaths. A local naturopath wanted me to bake all spelt bread. However, to make a decent amount of profit on it, I would have had to sell it for about $12 a loaf - I couldn't find a reasonably priced source of spelt at that time. Mike *Bake With Mike * Mike Avery 18 Bluebird Lane Sanger, TX 76266 (940) 312-2774 Email to: mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com Mike's Bread Logo A Randomly Selected Bread Saying Of The Day: "Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of all feasts." - James Beard --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.6 --------------- From: Brian Rice Subject: RE: slicing bread Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:25:38 -0500 As a novice worker but experienced bread-baker, I agree with the sawing wood/slicing bread analogy. They're two very similar skills. One thing I always keep in mind when slicing bread is to hold the knife the way I would a saw. That is, with my index finger extended and not curled underneath the handle. I think this helps you guide the knife better. Also, as others have mentioned, let the knife do the work; don't force or otherwise over-pressure it. One other thing to remember, though, is that most bread knives are serrated. The serrations, I think, do have a tendency to cause the knife to pull to one side or the other. (Sorry, I can't remember if it's towards the serrated side or away from it.) You do need to apply slight pressure to compensate for this tendency. -Brian --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.7 --------------- From: Haack Carolyn Subject: Rick Bayless on corn tortillas Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:48:44 -0800 (PST) Corn Tortillas -- Rick Bayless (Chicago's Frontera Grill and Public TV chef "The first fundamental I learned was that fresh corn tortillas are absolutely essential. They're the all-important foundation of Mexican cooking, the canvas on which Mexican flavors are painted. Simply made, with neither salt nor fat, hot-off-the-griddle corn tortillas provide the same intrinsic, mom-made deliciousness as crusty, warm bread fresh from the oven. Their earthiness is the perfect wrapper for flavors that traditionally emerge from the Mexican kitchen. Mingling with their aroma is that of frijoles de olla, or boiled beans. This scent has suffused every kitchen I've had, welcoming all with a comforting embrace." Recipe from his Rick Bayless's _Mexican Kitchen_ calls for "1.25 cups masa harina for tortillas (such as Maseca brand), mixed with 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons hot tap water. Mix the masa harina with the water, cover and let stand 30 minutes. Then work in cool water, a Tablespoon at a time, until dough is as soft as you can get it without being sticky. Cover with plastic wrap." His recipe calls for a tortilla press, but otherwise seems to follow your procedure fairly closely. So I'd check the masa harina itself -- it's practically the only ingredient, and perhaps moving up to a more ethnic/gourmet label will help your flavor quotient. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.8 --------------- From: Marcksmar@aol.com Subject: slicing bread thinly or fat Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:57:17 EST I bought an electric knife from Amazon.com which I use to slice bread (among other things). No weight is put on it, just hold it straight and let it go down to where you eye drops at the bottom. It works fine and even can make slices as thin as Melba toast. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.9 --------------- From: Marcksmar@aol.com Subject: chewy crust thin rolls Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:07:19 EST I used the recipe for "A great hamburger bun recipe" from the list and it came out chewey and quite flat. While it could make Grecian Buns, it certainly wasn't light and fluffy as the post says it should be. Did anyone have a similar reaction? If it turned out light and fluffy, what did you do? I used bread flour, maybe it should have been all purpose flour. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.10 --------------- From: "Allen Cohn" Subject: RE: Gluten Free & Spelt Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:47:53 -0800 [I hope the technical geniuses among us will correct any inaccuracies in what I write below] First of all, no flour has gluten. Gluten is formed in dough when water is added to flour and two of the proteins in flour, gliadin and glutenin, bond. Secondly, spelt *is* wheat...just an "earlier" form of it. It has both gliadin and glutenin, just not as much gliaden. So it forms gluten when hydrated. Perhaps this is why it works almost the same as regular bread flour and why protein additives might bring it even closer to wheat flour performance. (I've only experimented with it a little.) So if someone is truly gluten intolerant, then they will have trouble with spelt. And if someone *says* they are gluten intolerant (many people self-diagnose) and doesn't have trouble with spelt, then I would think it's likely they misdiagnosed. Allen SHB San Francisco --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.11 --------------- From: MKstmn@aol.com Subject: Re: Corn Tortillas Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:04:09 EST According to Diana Kennedy's _The Art of Mexican Cooking_, there's no salt added to corn tortillas. Her list of ways to get good corn tortillas starts with "buy good frozen tortillas (avoid tortillas with additives)" and ends with "Use Quaker Masa Harina, mix with water, and make your own." The lack of salt in tortillas is probably because they're usually eaten with highly seasoned foods. Similar to the unsalted Italian bread (Tuscan???). Check in your area to see if there are any Mexican grocers or tortilla factories. Kennedy listed these as a possible source of fresh masa to make your own tortillas. Although...you are the baker...add salt if you think it needs it! Marsha in southern IL --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.12 --------------- From: "Gonzo W" Subject: Re: corn tortillas Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:03:58 -0600 Werner.. Mexicans put salt in everything!! I had a Mexican lady come to my house and help me fix something and she grabbed my sugar bowl thinking it was salt. I found out why when I visited her kitchen. She has a big bowl for salt, little bowl for sugar. So don't be afraid to put salt in the Masa. As for the chips, they made the taco shells and chips by frying the regular tortillas. Same recipe. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.13 --------------- From: Chuck Rossi Subject: cutting and Hearthkit for sale. Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:02:48 -0800 Re: cutting I've gone through some difficulty with consistent slicing. Here's what I've found (most of this has been mentioned in one way or another 1) As mentioned, let the knife do the work. You'll get a ragged cut if you're bearing down on the knife and bread. 2) Use a long knife. This one surprised me, but when I bought a dedicated bread knife with a long blade, life got easier. I used the full length of the blade, gently sawing back and forth. My favorite bread knife is a serrated Spyderco made by Masahiro in Japan. It's 11 inches long and makes nice straight slices of all types of bread with little effort from me. Got this knife years ago on closeout - they are no longer made. 3) Someone gave me an electric knife with a bread attachment (Farberware), and yes, it really goes through bread fast. I only use it if I've made more than 2 loves and I'm slicing it all before freezing. Too much of a hassle to use for one or two loves. Be aware though, it can bounce around on hard crusted breads, so watch your fingers. It will definitely do damage in an instant if it hits flesh. Re: Hearthkit for sale For anyone in the Northern CA (San Jose -> Palo Alto area), I'm selling my 19 inch Hearthkit oven insert for $140. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/hsh/1046008091.html I've got a bigger oven now, so moving up to a bigger model. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.14 --------------- From: "pedrothethird@qwest.net" Subject: Werner's flavorless tortillas Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:34:34 -0500 I would be willing to guess your griddle was not hot enough. Corn tortillas need an almost, almost screaming hot griddle. I've made them on electric griddles and they turn out with about 40% of the flavor as they do on a good hot comal (griddle). I'd say they come out tasting something similar to what you would imagine playdoh would taste like if it were cooked. Flour tortillas need maybe 2/3rds of the heat as do corn and actually I have not worked with a griddle hot enough even for flour tortillas. The difference is quite noticeable. I would not recommend electric griddles for making tortillas. I have never worked with the tortilla grills out on the market though. I would challenge anyone who has made corn tortillas on an electric to try making them on a comal (griddle) on a stove. Personally, I prefer gas stoves because I can fine tune the heat more. I don't like electric stoves though, so maybe it's just my bias. I'm convinced electric stoves are the spawn of Satan. I have made them on electric stoves though, in my apartment days. I swore to God and the angels I would never live in an abode sporting an electric stove, but I digress. You do not need to add salt to corn tortillas. I've never heard of adding salt to the masa (dough). My mom always used plastic from grocery bags, they seemed to stick less. Don't ask me why. I tried to make them once with some other type of plastic and complained to my mom, she just corrected me, got out a grocery bag and schooled me. Good luck and enjoy. Your Fellow Bread Baking Fiend, Pedro --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v109.n008.15 --------------- From: "Jean Schultz" Subject: RE: cutting bread Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:46:35 -0500 About cutting bread straight....Once the bread has cooled or not, I slice the entire loaf with an electric knife. It's very slick and looks perfect. Sometimes I cut the loaf in half first then slice each half. It's the only way to go! --------------- END bread-bakers.v109.n008 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2009 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved