Blog posts

Ahh...finally after more than a 2 week wait, it arrived. Peter Reinhart's bread baker's apprentice finally got to my doorstep. Got it from Amazon. Haven't went thru it thoroughly yet, but it certainly looks great, though i find adhering to some of the recipes difficult at times (as in measures). ;)

I just set a starter out last night. Made of raisin water and unbleached all purpose. Hopefully i'll manage to get some loaves outta it this time.. hehe.. This is the 2nd time i'm doing this. Earlier this year, when i knew very little about making bread, my starter looked fermented, but they didn't produce anything or make dough rise... Guess it's just some other bacteria, not wild yeast. I live in a tropical country. Hope it's ideal for wild yeast and not some other nasty microbiological impostors... Didn't use wholewheat flour.

I baked a pumpkin french bread this weekend:

Pumpkin French Bread Makes 2 loaves Poolish: 8 oz. water 8 oz. all-purpose unbleached flour 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast Final dough: All of the poolish 16 oz. all-purpose unbleached flour 4 oz. pumpkin puree 4 oz. water 1 teaspoon instant yeast 1 tablespoon brown sugar

At least I think that is right.

Today, I baked a birthday cake for Floyd. Our son was a great helper. There's our cake completed. And served... And look! My first baking blog entry on your site too!

Sunday is my birthday. Sunday is also World Bread Day. Coincidence? I think not. After my excessive baking spree last weekend, I had said I wasn't going to bake this weekend. But I may just have to celebrate World Bread Day by putting together a loaf or two.

"Hello, my name is Floyd, and I am a bread-aholic." I went crazy this weekend. Kaiser rolls, a french bread, oatmeal raisin cookies, pumpkin bread, ciabatta, a raspberry cheese braid, honey wheat bread. Not to mention that I made a batch of apple butter, specifically for eating on home baked bread. Next weekend, I've gotta stop. Maybe one or two batches but that is it. Man, I'm pooped.

You know you've got the baking bug bad when you find yourself making a sponge on a Saturday night not even sure what you'd want to bake the next day, just figuring it is a good idea to have one ready. I think I may try a ciabatta again, but who knows? Still, I'm glad to have my poolish handy.

Yesterday i tried making croissants for the 2nd time. The first time wasn't tht good becoz the butter burst through the dough and i just threw part of the dough and simply made some badly/oddly shaped croissants. So yesterday, i rolled out the dough and thought mebbe if i use pieces instead of a block, the results will be better. Instead, the pieces were too frozen and it pierced right through the dough!.. :S... I got frustrated and kneaded the pieces in the dough and roughly crushed it while i kneaded it. Then i quickly threw it in the freezer.