At 01:01 AM 10/14/01 -0700, various people wrote:
From: Kevin Schlosser <Pschlosser@ctlnet.com>
Subject: recipes for "bread bowls" and bread sticks
I am looking for recipes to make bread "bowls", both a general recipe
Use any bread recipe, roll out the dough to the thickness you want and
drape it over an overturned custard cup, grabbit, etc.
also like a recipe for soft breadsticks like the serve at Fazoli's,
Olive garden, etc. Can anyone help?
The first time I had Olive Garden breadsticks, they were crisp on the
outside and soft on the inside, and butter/garlic soaked ... if anyone has
that version of them, I'd love to have it. The way they are made now is
boring to me.
Subject: Re: Browning of Crust
FMTZ@aol.com wrote
>I cannot get my crusts to get as beautifully dark brown as those
pictured in
>books or, for that matter, available from artisan bakeries
I got some recipes from a German friend with the following baking instructions:
Preheat oven at 200C. (392F.) Put a little bowl with water in the oven
ground. Bake bread on the first level of the oven about 50 to 60 min. (I
generally bake at 350F for 40 min.)
When I questioned the high temps, she said: "Don't worry! The first ten
min. are necessary for the crust I think. 200C is quite normal. If you have
an oven which "Umluft" circulating air (I think she means a convection
oven?) you bake it 30 - 40C lower. You need also the higher temperature for
the color and crust and because the dough is heavy (starch gets brown and
there is no sugar in it). Pale bread doesn't look and taste good. Nobody
would buy a pale, soft and doughy bread here. If you think your bread will
get to dark cover it with foil the last 10 or 15 min. Every oven works
different. But remember you need a thicker crust."
Personally, I don't care to have a thick crust because it always seems to
fall off the top when I slice it!
From: "Dick Smith" <k4kqj@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Bread Bags
I'm wondering if anyone on this list has information on buying the poly
style bags that grocery store bakeries and regular bakeries use to package
their bread?
Presto makes a bag called "Food and Bread Storage Bag" that a loaf of
homemade bread will fit into. They're 10" x 14". They're not freezer
bags, but I freeze in them and unless the bread is in the freezer for
months, it's just fine.
From: Kathleen <kmschuller@home.com>
Subject: sourdough starters
We moved across country a few weeks ago and had to toss out the starter
rather than take it in the car in the heat. (Yes, I did try the drying
My starter came to me about 30 years ago. I've taken it everywhere ...
even to Korea for a 2 year military assignment! I put 1/4 cup in a little
jar inside 3 Ziploc freezer bags in my suitcase in July. Yes ... it did
expand and escape the jar to make somewhat of a mess after a 24 hour
flight, but it didn't escape the bags.
Once you get a good starter, hang onto it. You DO NOT have to bake every
week. I use mine every 4-6 weeks. A friend to whom I'd given starter a
couple years ago told me recently that he hadn't taken his starter out of
the refrigerator for 9-10 months. When he did, it took a couple days to
revive, but made the best loaf of bread he'd had in a long time. Here's my
4-H championship recipe (I and my sister won lots of purple ribbons on it
in Minnesota) converted to sourdough:
4-H CHAMPION BREAD - SOURDOUGH VERSION
Makes 4 loaves
3 cups sourdough
3 1/3 cups lukewarm water (beer or buttermilk, at room temp)
3/4 cup dry milk (optional)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
4 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted
9-10 cups flour
Mix sourdough, water, dry milk, sugar, salt, and margarine. Add 5
cups flour and beat until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes. Add flour to make
a soft dough. Knead, adding flour, until dough is no longer sticky. Place
dough in large bowl. Cover with a dish towel. Let rise until double in
volume.* Knead down and divide into fourths. Let stand 15-30
minutes. Shape into loaves And place into greased and floured one-pound
loaf pans. (To avoid flouring pans, use the following pan coating
recipe.) Let rise until 3/4 inch over top of pan. Bake at 350F for 40 min.
*On a cold day, you can speed the raising process. Set the oven
to 200 degrees for 2 minutes. Turn oven off immediately and place bread,
covered with aluminum foil - in metal or glass bowl only - in oven to raise.