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crisp crust

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AnnieT on 6 Aug 2007 at 20:17
Today I made Will's baguette again because I love the tender crumb and the good flavor. I held back some of the water and was really proud of the dough. Did the French fold, yay, and 2 stretch and folds and made 2 batards on parchment with rolled towel "couches" The dough was full of big bubbles and I kneaded each piece to degas them. I slashed pretty deeply and baked them on the stone and turned them and removed the parchment halfway through the baking time. So far, so good.

Melon Pan

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susanfnp on 5 Aug 2007 at 11:07

I recently returned from a trip to Japan, where I encountered melon pan, a sweet enriched bread encrusted with cookie dough. Here's my version of it, not authentically Japanese but good anyway. The recipe is here. Although July is not the best month to go (hot and humid!), Japan is a wonderful country with amazingly hospitable people. Everything they make is exquisitely beautiful, and my bread cannot do justice to theirs, but it was fun to make!

pictures

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AnnieT on 4 Aug 2007 at 22:47
Hi KipperCat, I had just about given up on the photos, but if I can remember how to get back to them I will try again. Many thanks for the info. Hate to be so pitiful! Had my grandaughters for a sleepover last night and we made individual pizzas. I had the dough ready and helped them with the stretching and they chose their own toppings. They liked seeing the dough slide from my cardboard "peel" to the hot stone but by the time I had cooked 3 the cornmeal was well and truly black. So tonight I made one for myself and used parchment, much less smelly.

Pearl's Walnut Levain, Portuguese Sweet Bread

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beenjamming on 1 Aug 2007 at 07:38

Yesterday, I gave my back from the dead starter a workout and made some of the Pearl's walnut levain from Artisan Baking. I turned out really well and is mostly gone already! The dough was pretty stiff, but really easy to handle as a result. I was surprised that i didn't end up with any char walnuts poking out, but luckily the dough proof around any nuts near the skin.

pizza

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AnnieT on 31 Jul 2007 at 19:10
I decided to take the experts' advice and use my (what would have been) discarded starter and made myself a pizza for supper. Of course as this was a last minute thing I didn't have Mozzarella cheese so used Monterey Jack and Parmesan. Also cooked some Italian sausages from the freezer and sliced some mushrooms. I took 1/2cup of starter and added 1/2cup bread flour and 1/2cup water, mixed it well and let it sit for a while. Then I stirred in 1 cup bread flour and some salt, kneaded it briefly and let it sit again. Did a couple of stretch and folds and preheated the stone.

Help

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AnnieT on 30 Jul 2007 at 19:15
I don't know what I have done to my sourdough starters (I know, one would be plenty) and I would really appreciate any help or advice. I decided to feed one ready to do some baking this week. They have been languishing in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks since I sent a jar of starter to my friend in Eugene. I had decided one was the runny one and one was the thicker one, but this evening when I tried to stir them they were both more than thick. No hooch on top where 2 weeks ago there was a good 1/4" on each one.

wholemeal flour

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Dorothy on 30 Jul 2007 at 08:14
What is wholemeal flour???  I went to my local health/organic store in search of wholemeal flour.  They had no idea of what it was.  Could it be whole wheat?
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