[aaronatthedoublef]

I like parchment too. It's just so much cleaner than flour or corn meal.

Fermentation is definitely a matter of taste. The sour dough here is much less sour than when I lived out west because that is the way most customers here like it. And like your husband my family likes less fermentation. But when I made them pizza with fresh dough that had only had a few hours to rise, they said it was missing something.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, I've taken one, brief pizza class (it was part of a larger class) with an Italian chef who taught that all the pizza makers in Naples allow a three day rise for their dough. I started doing that and then extending it to five days. I am not back down to between one and two because my family likes that better. It ferments too much for their tastes otherwise.

Andris Lagsdin, inventor of the baking steel was blogging here at KAF and he talks about extending Jim Lahey's no knead pizza dough to 72 hours. So there are a few of us out preaching long, slow rises.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I guess I'll do some research, experiment and let you all know the results.

Thanks

[aaronatthedoublef]

The challah bake is done. We had a big, raucous group of 7th and 8th graders and we made 26 loaves in about two hours (including second rise and bake time). There were some interesting shapes but everything will be saleable. A few of my balls of dough were still a little frozen but I worked them into logs to be braided for the kids.

The proceeds are going to rebuild a playground that is accessible to all kids including those in wheelchairs. We used to take our kids there weekly before it was closed when it fell into disrepair so this is a good cause. I'll have to see if the teacher took any pictures. I forgot to.

I haven't tried reviving the flat dough yet. I was out of energy by the time I was done making dough yesterday. I'll pull it out of the freezer and try later this week. I want to do it before Wednesday so the kids can sell what I can make from it.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, like Mike and you I've cut way back on the butter (and the sugar) in my waffle recipe. Especially as you add flax meal you can use less butter. I think I am down to two or three TBLs. I use pastry flour and flax meal. I have not yet started to add in some whole wheat flour. But maybe I'll get some WW pastry flour and sub that in. I use the same recipe for pancakes and waffles because three people like waffles and one likes pancakes so everyone get what he/she wants. My oldest is now a teenage boy and I think he eats things faster than he can taste them.

[aaronatthedoublef]

We will shred it and use it in salads or in slaw.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks everyone. This was a no knead recipe to begin with a very soft dough. A little too soft if it's not going to be baked in a pan like in the recipe.

I'll try some yeast and water and then add in some flour and let you all know what happens.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Joan and BA. I really hate to through away four pounds of challah dough because of a penny's worth of yeast. even if it doesn't rise I may try and cook it on the griddle for flat bread!

Now, like Joan I have to go buy more yeast because I ran out.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. Will do.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I currently have 20+ pounds of challah dough on hand and have yet to bake a thing this week! I need another 10-15 pounds for Sunday when we will be making loaves of challah at religious school. I will probably make a few loaves Saturday to have on hand for the kids to taste as we make it. And we're going to do all this in two and a half hours!

I also have shortbread dough sitting in the refrigerator which I need to make. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow too.

Question for you folks who make gluten free things. Who are you making them for? I've said I would make things for people who were trying to cut back on gluten or had gluten intolerance. But I won't do it for someone who has celiac disease because I'm too scared that there is still some flour left on all the things I normally use to bake. I would want new bowls, scrapers, pans, etc.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, what is sweetened chocolate? I have unsweetened, bitter sweet, semi-sweet, and milk all with varying amounts of cocoa.

I finished up the week making KAF no-knead challah. I subbed out 1/2 cup of water for 1/2 cup of apple cider. Also, like many of the reviewers I mixed all the wet and dry ingredients separately then combined them. I found when I put the recipe together as called for by KAF I either have streaks of egg running through the dough or I had to knead the dough quite a bit. I was testing to see how big a loaf I needed before baking to end up with at least a 1 lb loaf after baking. I lose about 2.5 ounces during baking so I'll start with a 21 ounces loaf. If I bake a loaf in a pan I only lose about 1.5 ounces. All of this is in preparation for our big challah bake next weekend. I will be with the 7th and 8th grade at our religious school and we're going to make between 30 and 40 one pound loaves of challah in about two hours. Lots of prep this week.

I have some leftover shortbread dough and I was going to bake cookies and dip them in chocolate for dinner at a friends but my wife nixed it as our friends were trying to be healthful (actually it was a conspiracy of the two moms!). But I'll make those some time this week.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Madeleines are roughly the same shape but the dough is much more of a cake then a crisp cookie.

I made scones 2/15 for Valentine's Day. My wife was away on Valentine's Day so I did some things with the kids but our celebration basically crossed two days. This week so far is English muffins, shortbread, and scones. I need to make a batch of challah and I'll try to do that tonight.

The parchment pastry-bag trick is cool. I've never mastered it but I also never thought about sitting down with a sheet of parchment and practicing. Thanks for the tip.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I ordered Wilton Meringue powder from Amazon. It won't be here in time but I'll have them for the next time.

I think I actually have the Good Eats Art of Darkness. Someone gave me some Alton Brown DVDs so I'll check there.

I made shortbread cookies for my kids yesterday. I used brown sugar and cut back the butter a bit. They had a chewy snap and the reduced butter plus brown sugar really made the taste. I usually use corn starch in addition to flour but I was out so I substituted cake flour.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I'm looking for powdered egg whites but I cannot seem to find them anymore. I may have to go to WalMart which is a bit out of the way considering I have three grocery stores within two miles of my house.

Mini chocolate chips (any kind of chocolate for that matter) will go over well.

Any suggestions to look for instructions on tempering chocolate? I may try that to dip some berries.

[aaronatthedoublef]

It's fascinating to see how people make pizzas. There are as many varieties as there are people. There is a place - I think it's on Coney Island - that puts cheese down first then sauce on top of the cheese for a crisper crust. And they've been around forever so they must have their fans.

When I teach pizza classes I try to stress that there is no "right" way and that my goal is to give people the skills and the courage to create their own pizza that works for their friends, family, guests...

I have some chicken breasts and thighs. I have not decided how I will cook them yet. I also have some lamb koftas for later in the week. Also my wife is out of town so we will make or get hamburgers. I really want to try grinding my own beef one of these days.

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