In response to Linda and her question about vital wheat gluten, I
never use it. That's probably because I generally only make a couple
of kinds of bread that don't call for it.
Mostly, I make a regular sandwich / toasting loaf (I use the recipe
on the regular King Arthur flour bag, but use King Arthur bread flour
instead), and a variation that I made up, a cracked wheat loaf with
whole wheat and molasses. I use my bread machine to make the dough
and then finish it in the oven.
I have been experimenting with no knead bread and have made
variations three times. First I tried the almost no knead version
that Cooks Illustrated published (didn't care for it much, although I
have never made bread that good looking before). Then I tried the
New York times version, but with the added salt variation. That was
way too salty. Finally, I tried the straight New York times version
and it turned out much better, although it could have stood another 5
to 10 minutes in the oven.
For Steve, I love half pound burgers too, but have to admit I usually
buy kaiser rolls at Wegman's market. I wonder if your rolls are too
hard on the bottom because of the initial blast of heat. Have you
tried baking them at a uniform 375 F?
Happy baking,
John