Ross's Maryland Bakery

[ssorllih]

Hey Ross,

I think I might be able to do something on this - but I am leaving for ten days or so and won't be able to reach the potential supplier until I return....Stay tuned! This could be a new adventure!

Lynn

I just received a go- ahead from Bill for using his mill. It is rather a universal stone mill. Self contained counter top size.
Ross

[HamnCheese]

Hey Ross,

That's great! I've sent a note to my supplier - will see what she says. It may be a while before she responds. This is a busy time on the farm.

Ray, there is a follow up video - part 2 - here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKkG80YHutc

Excellent instructions for shaping and slashing a French batard.

Lynn

[ssorllih]

Ray aka Sawhorseray. complained lately that the burger buns that he made on Monday were pretty bad by Friday. most everybody that makes bread knows that it is best the day it was baked and still pretty good the next day and for toast is it good for two more days and then it is either very tired or starting to show mold spots.
I try to gauge my rate of use to the size loaves that I make so that I use a loaf in a couple of days. I still make rather large batches but divide it into small loaf sizes and freeze if as soon as it is cool. I can thaw it in half an hour in a toaster oven.(I don't have a microwave) and it is perfectly good for toast or sandwiches. Stale bread makes the best French toast and should be enjoyed regularly.

[ursula]

Lynne,
Your baguette looks delectable! Inspiring!
Ursula

[HamnCheese]

Thanks Ursula - but for my money not nearly as inspiring as your smoke house!

[sawhorseray]

I did watch part 2 of the video right after part 1, more focus on shaping. Slapping the dough down hard on the table 850 times? Maybe they meant to say "a hundred and fifty times"? Then there's the thought of all that flour flying around the kitchen that would lead to even more tidy-up. Either way, I'm just making a few rolls, not framing a roof.

I've taken to wrapping the bread in cling wrap as soon as it's cooled down, placing the wrapped rolls in a Ziploc 2-gallon freezer bag and then into the freezer. Sixty seconds of micro-thaw has them soft and warm on the inside, ready for use. I don't know how long they stay good in the freezer because I make only a half dozen at a time, they're all gone by the end of the next day. Putting a frozen roll in a quart Ziploc and letting it sit on the counter for and hour works every time also, bread thaws fast. This has inspired me, I think I'll thaw a couple of burgers and buns right now for lunch! RAY

[sawhorseray]

Rolls thawed on the counter for an hour after two days in the freezer, absolutely perfect. Mushroom - Swiss burger for Mrs G, a "kitchen sink" burger for me. We're stuffed, probably won't eat dinner. RAY

[ssorllih]

They look mighty fine.!!

[ssorllih]

Bread starts to suffer a little after a month in the freezer, after three months there is a lot of frost in the bag that makes for soggy spots on the loaf when it thaws. Sometimes I make a batch to give and that doesn't happen so it ends up in the freezer.

[HamnCheese]

Holy Schmokes, Ray! Quite the lunch...Looks like you're on your way to getting your own "Ray's Bakery" thread!

Lynn

[ssorllih]

Lynn, You know the old lament, " I taught him every thing I know and then he went off and started learning on his own and now he knows more than I do about making the best dang burgers I have ever seen."

[sawhorseray]

I know a little about baking bread now, learned most of it from Ross, thank you very much. I know quite a bit about making burgers of the hipshot variety, all thanks to CW. A FYI is in order! A 8oz burger grilled over hot coals comes out perfect after 4 & 1/2 minutes, then flipped, cheese added after one minute, grill for another 3 minutes, 4 minutes total on that side. Burger will be cooked thru, still pink in the middle, not over-done, tasty and very safe to eat, still nice and juicy. The first time I made hipshot burgers my wife said, "not mine, just make mine out of beef like always, that sounds ickey". Now it's " don't run out of those", just like the instructions for CW's smoked chickens and Canadian bacon. What a great site, I've learned a ton, and from folks who know how to take a joke and give one back. Thanks. RAY

[ssorllih]

If you have watched more than just a few "U-tube Videos" for bread making you have discovered that there are as many opinions about kneading or not kneading as there are people who make bread.
If you make three identical mixes of flour, water, salt and yeast and assemble them differently you will get three slightly different batches of bread.

Sometime salt is not added until the second kneading. Sometime everything is dumped into the bowl and mixed for five minutes allowed one rise shaped and baked. Sometimes half of the flour and 2/3rds of the water and mixed the day before with a pinch of yeast and allowed to ferment then finished.

Most advise is to make the same bread by the same method several times until it is predictable. This can be a dependable recipe for you. Then you can start playing with different mixes and different flour combinations. Boiled and mashed carrots will make a very yellow bread , spinach will turn it green and beets quite red to purple. The taste doesn't change very much.

Shaping bread is an art form that can be carried to considerable heights. I have made a batch into many skinny strands and woven them over the outside of a bowl and baked them to form a "Bread Basket". Braiding is a common practice that makes a loaf the can be torn apart in small pieces at the table.

[crustyo44]

Hi Ross, Lynn and Ray,
Now this young fellow needs some advise about bread making. All those photo's really done it for me. I purchased some fully imported "country French bread" flour on advise that it was the ants pants, with the advise to experiment.
My first experiment was just a plain old loaf in the Panasonic bread maker. The result was OK but not what I expected.
The next loaf ( on advise) is to mix it all in the breadmaker, let it rise once and keep it in the fridge overnight, than let it rise again, shape and bake.
Does this actually improve the flavour?
I am also thinking of making a sourdough culture with it as an experiment?
Potato bread has got my ears pricked up as well.
You good people certainly started stirring up some of my brain cells. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jan.

[ssorllih]

Jan ,
First of all put the bread machine back on the shelf and start with a good sized bowl. Weigh out a half kilo of flour and 320 ml of water about 5cc of salt and yeast. Put the flour in the bowl and scoop a hollow into the middle of the pile and pour the water in. Sprinkle the yeast on the water and the salt around the edge on the flour. Then just let it sit for a few minutes and start to get bubbly, then stir it all together until all of the flour is picked up. Then let it sit for an hour, It will rise almost double, stir it down and keep stirring for a few minutes pulling the spoon out and watching the dough peel off the spoon. When it all peels off the spoon you can wash the spoon and put it away. Dust some flour over the dough and work it around until it is no longer sticking to the bowl and pour in some melted fat ( a tablespoonful is plenty). I like bacon best. Let the dough rise for quite a while and look at it from time to time and watch for it to develop blisters and thin places. For batches this size I just cover the bowl with a dinner plate. When I looks like the dough has risen enough I pick the bowl up and thump it on the table and watch the dough collapse. It will often make bubbles like bubble gum. Now you have gotten bread dough that you can shape dump it out onto a well floured table( they always tell you that but what the hell is a well floured table?) Just grab a handful of flour from the bag and spread it a little bigger than your bowl. (with my big bowl I use two handfuls)) Bread makers say at this point that you need a dough scraper. Ray and I use a six inch drywall taping knife. With the dough on the table push it around and flatten it with your hands. When it sticks scrap it loose, that will push a little flour under the dough, pick the dough up and flop it over and stretch it some more and start to learn the feel of it. It will be lively. Fold it into thirds and then stretch it along the length of the folds and then fold it again into thirds. It will start to get firmer and in stretching it will feel stronger. Give it a five minute break and it will relax a little and you will be able to again stretch it out long and flat. This time start on one edge and roll the dough into a log shape and coax it into a neat shape. Pinch the edge tight to the layer underneath and it should stick. Now you can sprinkle some corn meal on a baking sheet and place the loaf on the sheet and cover it with a towel and let if rise for an hour or two. Preheat an oven to 425° F or about 220°C. With a sharp knife cut the top of the loaf with ¼ inch deep slashes diagonally a couple of inches apart. This controls where the loaf expands. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes. Nice and brown but not black. This will make a large loaf or a smaller loaf and a batch of rolls and will give you a chance to "play with your food".
Mother always allowed us to have a fist size lump of dough to play with when she was making bread.
When we are making bread we and the bread seem to benefit from mutual contact.
Enjoy the effort.