“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of all feasts.”
Slice a Bagel – Not Yourself! When we teach in person bagel classes we spend some time teaching people how to slice a bagel safely. Someone told me that the most common reason for an emergency room visit weekend mornings is when people hurt themselves cutting a bagel. According to Freakonomics, bagel injuries are the …
2020-07-26 – If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck! Hello Bread Heads! Class notes – The LONG awaited better Internet connection is here at our house! As a result, we are starting to offer classes again. We are delighted! Our current game plan is to send a “care package” to students in the USA containing all …
2020-07-26 – If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck! Mike’s (more or less) Weekly Baking Tips Read More »
2020-06-25 Pizza AND TRADITION!! From Mike’s (more or less) Weekly Baking Tips Let’s change course in the middle of the data stream… let’s talk pizza! AHHH!!! Pizza! One of my favorite YouTube series is “Real Dough – is it pizza?” Scott Wiener (owner of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City – I really want …
Seeded Sourdough Lavash Crackers Made With Sourdough Discard And Other Goodness Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE bread, and that’s not going to change! However, there are times when there is nothing as satisfying as a cracker. The crunch! The burst of flavor! These crackers are a bit of trouble, but I think you’ll love …
2020-06-18 Yet Another Mixer Shootout Should I hook, or should I roll? We could turn that into a rock’n’roll anthem! What’s it all about? Hang in for a few more paragraphs, and you’ll be in with the in crowd! Like many bakers, I grew weary of my KitchenAid mixer. I wanted more capacity than the …
Honey Honey is a sugar based syrup made by bees gathering pollen from plants. Many people feel local honey, having local pollen, can help people minimize allergy symptoms. Sugar contains enzymes which can interfere with dough rising. This is most pronounced with raw honey. The answer is to blanch the honey to denature the …
Cake Flour According to Nigella Lawson, cake flour is mostly found in the USA. It is a low protein flour, between 6 and 8% protein, that has been milled very finely and bleached. Cake bakers have historically wanted a very white flour to make very white cakes. Higher protein levels would make cakes tough rather …
2020-06-05 It Doesn’t HAVE To Be Difficult! Sometimes, OK – all too often, we make baking bread harder than it has to be. Feed the sourdough starter for three days. Make a preferment for 12 to 18 hours. Bake the bread in a dutch oven or a wood fired oven that has never cooled in …
2020-06-05 It Doesn’t HAVE To Be Difficult! Mike’s (more or less) Weekly Baking Tips Read More »
2020-05-28 Secrets of Bread Pudding and Class Comments – Mike’s (more or less) Weekly Baking Tips Hi Bread Heads! I thought I’d better send another note out before people start asking if I’m dead. I’m not dead, not even wounded or ailing! Time gets a bit strange when you’re livin’ on Corona Time! (I looked …
Sourdough English Muffins This is a stunning sourdough English Muffin recipe which has been on this site for years. We’ve just taken another shot at it to clarify instructions and measurements. The taste of these muffins is awesome! My son, who was about 10 when we first made these and who didn’t like English Muffins, …
Basic Yeasted White Bread Introduction to Baking This recipe has been with us for a long, long time. It’s an old favorite. So it shocked me when I found somewhere between the old web site and the new I managed to mess up the recipe. Yeah, the mangled version worked, but it just wasn’t as …
2020-05-13 – Oops, What Do We Do With All That Bread, and Hopes for Classes! Hello Bread Heads! A former student had a team building exercise class with us some time ago. It must have gone well because she recently contacted me REALLY wanting to have another class. It turns out her staffers are spread …
2020-05-13 Oops – Too Much Bread, What Now? – Mike’s (more or less) Weekly Baking Tips Read More »