[Mike Nolan]

According to the USDA database, 1 cup of packed brown sugar is 220 grams, 1 cup of unpacked brown sugar is 145 grams (65%), so your 1/4 cup of unpacked brown sugar was probably the equivalent of just under 8 packed teaspoons.

[Mike Nolan]

Well, the set of pictures won't be quite complete, I ran out of space on the camera's memory card mid-way through test #6. I deleted some unneeded stuff (which I should have done last night) and was able to get the last few minutes of that bake, but I missed the shot at the turn. I think I cleared enough space for the final 2 tests, but I'll double check that before the next one goes in.

[Mike Nolan]

I still haven't done anything with the 8 pounds of triticale grain my wife got from the wheat breeder at UNL. I've been researching triticale, it has kind of a mediocre reputation for breads, something I think the researchers are working on, currently most of the triticale being grown is used for animal feed. You can use it like rye in a wheat/rye bread, I may try that using a recipe I'm familiar with. (Probably not one of the Ginsberg recipes quite yet.)

I might also try it in some pain de campagne, it is a lean dough but with a small amount of whole wheat flour added for taste and texture.

I've also been thinking I might try making a wheat/triticale cracker, the structural issues with triticale shouldn't impact a flat bread much. Crackers are something I've not yet mastered, though, so it could be a real learning experience for me.

[Mike Nolan]

Yes, my baked goods always get a lot of compliments. One of the former staff members used to be a chef, he says my Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake is just fantastic. He switched jobs last year and now works on the downtown campus, but when I sent in a Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake last fall, my wife dropped him a note and set a big chunk of it aside for him to pick up that afternoon.

The former chair of the department of Agronomy and Horticulture is a grill master (in addition to being one of the leading experts in turf grasses), and he hosted two dinners that were silent auction fund-raising items for student groups. We volunteered to send in some bread, and I made two Celebration Challahs (2 layers tall and about 22" long) that everyone really appreciated, Roch said he didn't recall the last time he ate that much bread. (I posted a picture of one of them here at the time, it came out about as perfect as I've ever had one come out. That picture isn't coming up for some reason so I've reposted it below)

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[Mike Nolan]

An immersion blender is a great way to get a smooth soup or sauce, I use mine for that frequently.

[Mike Nolan]

Today is steam test day.

I'm taking pictures through the oven door window every 15 seconds, I'm hoping to be able to stitch them together into a short video. They're not the clearest of pictures, because I'm shooting through the oven door window, but I think I can see changes from one shot to the next. I'm also taking a picture with the door open at the 10 minute mark (when I rotate the loaves and remove the steam pan, if any water is left) and one just before I take the bread out.

The first 3 loaves are out (no steam, water sprayed on sidewalls, and pan of hot water in oven before bread goes in.) The more interesting tests are yet to come, with my steam tube. I'm also going to do one in a dutch oven, though I won't have shots of it during baking, obviously.

I do see a few differences in the crust between the first three loaves, though the amount of oven spring doesn't seem to have been affected much. I won't be cutting in to them to get an interior photo until later on. I don't know if I'll have the pictures posted until tomorrow, the baking will be going on until at least 7PM. (I will have to take a break after the next one to recharge the camera battery.)

My wife had no trouble finding takers for some free French bread.

[Mike Nolan]

I have a similar quest for a dinner roll I had in NYC about 25 years ago, so far I haven't made anything even remotely close to it.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm not convinced that well-insulated big ovens heat up the kitchen that much more than the usually poorly-insulated countertop cookers.

A toaster oven is functionally so different from a microwave that I don't see that as a viable combination. There are microwaves that function as convection ovens or slow cookers, though.

The Maillard reaction may be non-pyrolitic, but it does happen faster at higher temperatures. (Compared to balsamic vinegar, years faster!) And at the usual temperature for baking bread you will get a combination of the Maillard reaction and caramelization.

Don't you wonder who it was who first thought: Let's let this vinegar sit around for a decade and see what happens?

[Mike Nolan]

Black rice is sometimes called forbidden rice, because it was reserved for the Emperor of China, the health benefits were recognized even back then. It is not always easy to find and it is usually a lot more expensive than white rice. (Brown rice is usually more expensive than white rice, too, which puzzles me.)

Some varieties of black rice will turn purple when cooked. I must not have found that variety yet.

[Mike Nolan]

Did you try a stretch-and-fold or two? That will usually firm up a too-soft dough.

[Mike Nolan]

It came out quite well, even though it wasn't very pretty. The crust is a bit less crisp/flaky than the last time I made this hot water crust recipe, I think I should have added a little more flour. My wife thinks I should have cut the chicken up a bit finer and I probably used too many carrots, but it was excellent for supper last night and I had another slice for lunch.

It was a two-crust pie made in a 9 1/2 inch pan, I used 60% of the pie dough for the bottom crust.

I'm working on an article that will deal with how to compute how much pie dough to make based on the size of your pie pan and the type of pie you're making, but I've got some testing to do for one part of it. Guess I'll just have to make more pie dough. :sigh:

[Mike Nolan]

I made the pate fermentee for the steam tests tonight, I'll make the pain de campagne dough tomorrow and divide it into 12 ounce pieces for pre-shaping, then I should be able to do the rest, including the baking, on Tuesday.

This is going to make a lot more bread than the two of us could eat and I'm not sure I want to freeze that much, either, so I'll have my wife let people at her office know that there will be bread available on Wednesday.

I'm going to be interested to see whether there's much difference between methods.

[Mike Nolan]

I always forget how soft a hot water pie dough is, even after refrigerating it, and I had some trouble getting the top on in one piece, so it won't be the prettiest pie I've made but it should still be a tasty one.

[Mike Nolan]

Another way to measure honey and other sticky liquids is to spray your measuring cup with a little oil before measuring. The honey will slide right out and the tiny amount of oil that comes along with it won't impact most recipes.

[Mike Nolan]

Oh, I made 6 eggs, though I was only planning on using 2 in the tuna salad. Most of the time that I make hard boiled eggs my wife will take two of them, it is one of her favorite simple meals. This gives me two left either for a quick snack or for Diane's lunch on Monday.

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