While the Hogsmillkitchen bannetons may be reasonably priced, looks like shipping to the US is on the expensive side (at least what Etsy is showing me). I'm still using a colander, and have been wanting to upgrade to a full-fledged banneton for a while now.
For years I’ve been meaning to invest in my first true lame. Today’s post describing the Baker of Seville lame seemed just right so I purchased one. That lame is on its way to me. The design of this lame offers both a straight- and curved-blade option. Why? When is a curved-blade used? What is the benefit of a curved blade compared to the usual straight blade?
I'll do a post about scoring and lames soon, but the basic idea is this: if you want a cut that opens up symmetrically, you use a straight blade, oriented perpendicular to the dough surface. If you want a cut that creates an "ear", you want to form a flap by cutting at a shallow angle to the dough. A curved blade helps facilitate the latter.
i am excited for the crash course! and a piece of equipment that i cannot help but ask about is ovens. mine is about 60 years old, propane, and rife with idiosycracies ... one immovable, non-level rack, a door that doesn't quite close, and most notable: a very vague sense of temperature. an accurate thermometer inside will read anywhere between 275 and 375 at its hottest, and fluctuate considerably during a bake. and yet, despite this low temp and variability, it produces beautiful baked goods consistently. and oddly, without much (if any) change in baking time. i do store all my cast iron-ware under the rack to hold and radiate heat when i bake, but obviously they can't generate any.
so i feel compelled to ask about heat's role in bread baking chemistry. and specific temperatures especially. i am certain that with your experience, nuances in results that i am unaware of are effected by this, but that loaf after loaf (and since your bagel recipe, bagel after bagel) are consistent and *good*, baffles me.
will do, though I don't know that I have much in the way of useful advice to someone with a stove like that! I feel for you, though I am glad you are able to make my recipes just the same. Sounds like you've got it figured out.
Bought the lame yesterday after reading your post, it arrives on Monday! Can’t wait to give it a try. I have a curved one now that a friend gave me, but it sucks. This one looks awesome, like it’ll cut through anything.... plus I love the name. Thanks for the tip!
I was intrigued by Flourside bannetons. I ordered the small 600 gram long loaf shape and the large loaf shape you used in class. Should I just consider the 600 gram bread as a mini of your standard 900 gram bread? I don’t go through that much bread so I was drawn toward a smaller loaf. Are there watchouts in reducing the scale of your recipes or other factors? Thanks.
While the Hogsmillkitchen bannetons may be reasonably priced, looks like shipping to the US is on the expensive side (at least what Etsy is showing me). I'm still using a colander, and have been wanting to upgrade to a full-fledged banneton for a while now.
ugh, sorry Jerry. At least they are _available_. Get on Breadtopia.com's waiting list too. They have to become available here sooner or later.
Ditto Jerry's comment...a potential 98USD order had over 75USD in shipping....wait list, here I come!
sorry about that. I'm not sure why it'd need to be that expensive.
For years I’ve been meaning to invest in my first true lame. Today’s post describing the Baker of Seville lame seemed just right so I purchased one. That lame is on its way to me. The design of this lame offers both a straight- and curved-blade option. Why? When is a curved-blade used? What is the benefit of a curved blade compared to the usual straight blade?
I'll do a post about scoring and lames soon, but the basic idea is this: if you want a cut that opens up symmetrically, you use a straight blade, oriented perpendicular to the dough surface. If you want a cut that creates an "ear", you want to form a flap by cutting at a shallow angle to the dough. A curved blade helps facilitate the latter.
Who knew? Your explanation about lame technique makes perfect sense. And your future post about the topic is highly anticipated! Thank you.
i am excited for the crash course! and a piece of equipment that i cannot help but ask about is ovens. mine is about 60 years old, propane, and rife with idiosycracies ... one immovable, non-level rack, a door that doesn't quite close, and most notable: a very vague sense of temperature. an accurate thermometer inside will read anywhere between 275 and 375 at its hottest, and fluctuate considerably during a bake. and yet, despite this low temp and variability, it produces beautiful baked goods consistently. and oddly, without much (if any) change in baking time. i do store all my cast iron-ware under the rack to hold and radiate heat when i bake, but obviously they can't generate any.
so i feel compelled to ask about heat's role in bread baking chemistry. and specific temperatures especially. i am certain that with your experience, nuances in results that i am unaware of are effected by this, but that loaf after loaf (and since your bagel recipe, bagel after bagel) are consistent and *good*, baffles me.
please talk about ovens and heat some more!
thanks
will do, though I don't know that I have much in the way of useful advice to someone with a stove like that! I feel for you, though I am glad you are able to make my recipes just the same. Sounds like you've got it figured out.
Bought the lame yesterday after reading your post, it arrives on Monday! Can’t wait to give it a try. I have a curved one now that a friend gave me, but it sucks. This one looks awesome, like it’ll cut through anything.... plus I love the name. Thanks for the tip!
I was intrigued by Flourside bannetons. I ordered the small 600 gram long loaf shape and the large loaf shape you used in class. Should I just consider the 600 gram bread as a mini of your standard 900 gram bread? I don’t go through that much bread so I was drawn toward a smaller loaf. Are there watchouts in reducing the scale of your recipes or other factors? Thanks.
Cindy - Yes, there's no reason you can't reduce (or expand) a recipe proportionally without making any other changes. Enjoy the new bannetons!
Would this wood pulp banneton from Amazon work? It is from Germany and $32.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08ZL9WR16/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_YCW0HPQZQST4PZDW21YR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
yes, but it's on the small side compared to the one I use. The good news is that Flourside currently has them in stock to ship soon.