Bread

I blame this fancy new website.

Anyone want some vegan sourdough starter?

Have made a starter from rhubarb stems and flour with added bits in it. The flour starter was quite live as it was milled within a week of me making the starter. All I have done is added the rhubarb to flour and water, no extra added yogurt or anything.

This sounds very interesting, alas I'm not in the UK!

Allegedly you can dry the starter and send it via the post and it is still alive. That is how you can buy san francisco starter that is But no idea if I can post internationally.

From my experience wait for the dough to double in the first rise and then knock back

What kind of kneading did you do?

no idea if I can post internationally

If you could be bothered, please check if it was possible.

I know I could basically do my own (have never done sourdough myself though), but I like the idea of baking / continuing yours..

hmm, trying to make bread rolls with a cheese filling, possibly just putting a cube of cheese in the middle was not such a great idea, it looks like i should have grated it instead

am new to baking so a steep learning curve

at least the dough is not as cake like as my last batch of bread - the recipe i used that time suggested putting a little butter and teaspoon of sugar in and it ended up more like a scone

I've had some success with slices in the middle - width and depth of the block of cheese and about 5mm thick. Too thick seems to result in large voids around the cheese - too thin and it mostly disappears. Additional problems (for me) come from crumbly cheeses such as cheshire or caerphilly: mostly I use extra strong or extra mature cheddar or lancashire strips rolled in while knocking back, with more grated on top just before baking.

Try olive oil instead of butter? Something like 300g strong flour / 7g fast yeast / 5-7g salt / 200g warm water / 20g olive oil for six to eight rolls - enough to prove the recipe, not so much that you'll be ill from eating the evidence if it doesn't work.

Ever tried Brazilian Pao de Queijo, those little bread balls/cheese puffs? Would those work for what you are after? Incredibly moreish. These ones

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/make-your-own-brazilian-cheese-puffs/

That is what I was aiming for but making it up as I went along.

Will give that recipe a go soon.

Report back on how they turn out. I first had them in Rio some years ago, and they are amazing.

I bought a baking stone today. Technically it is a limestone stepping stone, but it was only £6.18 in B&Q. Made some good sourdough. Nom.

1 Attachment

Made Focaccia

..looks both very good - bravo!

Nice,

Have you used an unglazed terracotta tile as pizza/bread stone?

I have got a few broken unglazed tiles, missing corners, that I layer on the bottomof the oven after the tiles have been soaked in water to make a steam oven type of thing.

Anyone got a steam oven?

Anyone used one of those unglazed ceramic bread pans, any tips on their use.

No steam oven but I put a pan of boiling water in there. Same effect?

Er, not sure. But I think it is similar theory but instead of just adding moisture to the 'dry' heat from the gas or electric source, the actual steam is what gives the heat to the oven.

The pan of water trick I replace with the terracotta soaked in water.

I have got a few broken unglazed tiles, missing corners, that I layer on the bottomof the oven after the tiles have been soaked in water to make a steam oven type of thing.

Oh. That's a good idea; haven't heard / thought of that.
I always put a small, shallow cast iron pan with water on a rack below when baking bread..

It was a tip given to me on a pizza forum. The unglazed terracotta tile idea to use as a pizza stone. The broken tiles idea were cheap, soaking the tiles in water then three or four layers on the bottom of the oven. Gives a moist heat, brilliant for bread or pizza.

Make sure you use tiles that are lead free and made only made from clay, some non-food intended tiles have bonus ingredients.

a'ight

Can I ask where you got this information from, in relation to unglazed tiles?

Additional -Genuine question by the way, as it could be interpreted in other ways and I wish to be very clear.

Using unglazed terracotta tiles and unglazed ceramic tiles is fine in food use. That Paul, the bread guy in BBO, uses a unglazed terracotta pot to bake one of the breads in. Says to purchase them in a garden centre.