Yer all missing the boat..shape up ya hear???

Char-Woody

Boy, can I scold good??[p]But in fact, your all missing out on the other half of the benefits of owning one of the finest brick ovenearth style bread making machines. Let's see how many of ya can crank up some dough and do some. MaryB has been loading me up with some of the worlds best techniques, and I am opening up a whole new adventure with the BGE.
Once you get the BGE perking at the 400 degree level, do the breads for your dinner, takes only about 30 minutes..depending on your bread's. Then put on your meats, and damper down a bit and your meat will settle in at the 350 range for most cooks. By the time your meat is ready, so is the bread from its rest on the bread rack. Makes a heck of good dinner even better...Cheers..
C~W
Go Ram's~~~~~~~Super Bowl Champs!!..Y2K

Grumpa

Char-Woody,[p]Where is that Mary B Lady? She seems to be missing in action here as of late!

Tim M

<p />Char-Woody,[p]Well, here is my french italian bread. I have no idea if this is right or wrong - I am a bread neophite. I have added the adventure to my website for those totally bored with life. You can see the plate setter, BGE pizza stone and bread on top in an aluminium pan with corn meal. Cooking at 400 for 20 min. Hope that sounds right.[p]Tim

RhumAndJerk

Tim M,
Scrap the metal and bake right on the “bricks” with cornmeal. Think of it as a large loaf of pizza. Once I have my kiln shelf setup functioning I am looking forward to baking bread on the Egg. [p]I have used baking tiles in my oven for many years to bake bread on, give it a try with next loaf.[p]Just a suggestion,
RhumAndJerk[p]

Dr. Chicken

Tim M,
It sure looks fine to me, but I can't see if the slashes are done. Those are really expansion joints! Yuk! Yuk! What happen to the sesame seeds and the poppy seeds? Did ya run out or didn't have any to begin with? Really looks good to me.[p]Dr. C[p]p.s.: I'll give you odds, you love it!

Tim M

<p />Dr. Chicken,
This is a test loaf - it does have the cuts in the top. I don't have any seasame seeds - used them on Okinawian wings. The recipe you sent me via .doc file said 1 cup water and 2 cups flour. All the other recipes had 3 or more so I am wondering if the one you posted is right or is the .doc recipe wrong. I used the recipe in the new recipes section.[p]Tim

Dr. Chicken

Tim M,
Should of had 3 cups of flour. I need to go back and see what kind of mumbo-jumbo I sent ya! I'm gona have to get me a secretary just to proof read my e-mails! I wonder if Gretl has any she can recommend?[p]Dr, C[p]

Gretl

Dr. Chicken,[p]I represent that remark!! [p]Now, back to the question at hand: I didn't check the recipe in the archives, but I do know that 3 to 1 dry to liquid is about right for a good loaf of bread. The more liquid, the harder it is to roll and shape the dough, but the resulting loaf is lighter in texture. I'm thinking specifically of Italian Slipper Rolls which are so sticky you need to drop the dough by greased spoonfuls rather than shape it, but after it's baked, the rolls are so light and airy they practically melt in your mouth. Horribly messy to make, though.[p]For what it's worth, after I let the dough rise in an oiled bowl covered with a tea towel for about an hour, I then "punch" it down to release the air. But this should be a sort of very gentle punch; more like a push. You don't want to punish it! Then I flatten the dough on a board; I generally don't flour the board unless the dough's really sticky. Then I roll it up like a tight jellyroll, seam side down and tuck the ends under OR I divide the dough into thirds, roll each of the thirds into a rope and braid it. This is very easy but impresses the diners no end. If you do leave it as one long loaf, slash the top for expansion. I don't slash until it's ready to go into the oven after the second rise; again, about an hour. A REALLY sharp razor is necessary because you don't want to deflate the loaf. There is a special tool (called a lame) for this purpose, but it's not necessary if you have either an extremely sharp knife or a razor blade. An egg wash results in a shiny brown crust. Very lovely and tasty.[p]Since I'm in a big hurry to get out of here now, I'm hitting the old "send" button without proofreading. Live dangerously![p]Happy Egging this Superbowl weekend![p]Cheers,
Gretl[p]

Char-Woody

Bob, she been laid up with a virus..but maybe she will come on with some good tips too..Man I like that BGE bread, and great recipes get even greater!
C~W[p]

King-O-Coals

Tim M, sorry buddy,, but here comes Mr. Honest. That stuff looks kinda green to me. Did you use food color? OH NO! you didn't use Dr. Chickens recipe did you? He told me he was going to have some fun with yall. Just kidding,, but seriously, my wife has me on that damn SugarBusters diet and bread is out cause your body changes it to sugar easily. Whole wheat and whole grain is fine,, but I made a deal with her and promised not to eat any bread if she would allow me to get my daily grain intake in the liquid form. So I'm stuck.. I could eat a whole loaf (raw) all by myself about about now. She even smell my breath and checks the cracks between my teeth to see if I have cheated. Oh, I forgot,, I said seriously. Truthfully, I have enough Big Green EGG vices. If I start with bread, I will surely be consumed with it. I have heard if you try homemade bread just once, you are hooked for life. I want to join in and succumb to peer pressure, but I'm a-scared.

Dr. Chicken

Thanks Gretl! Your a doll for helping me see some humor in this mess! I haven't found the mistake yet, but I've been known to have 11& 1/2 thumbs at times! Your recipes didn't have that mistake in them did they? I'll keep you posted.[p]Dr. C