What would make this a fav watering hole or boulangerie for you? Let's start with suggestions for bake-offs and topic of sourdough discussions. Just copy the list, paste in your post and add to it. Thanks!
Bake-Off Suggestions:
1. Wholegrain
2. Rye
3. Pain de Mie
Sourdough Topics you would like to see:
1. Technique Demos, like.......
Category:
Replies
When I first found this site I spent hours reading old posts and learnt a lot very quickly. The archives on here are a wonderful source of information.
I think the big challenge for this site is to keep the more experienced bakers visiting on a regular basis.
My suggestion for a bake off would be Spiced Breads. The most common spiced bread on the UK is the hot cross bun. I think there is a lot of room to be creative with both sweet and savoury spiced breads.
Bake-Off Suggestions:
1. Wholegrain
2. Rye
3. Pain de Mie
4. Spiced Breads
Sourdough Topics you would like to see:
1. Technique Demos, like.......
Adding to the list...
Bake-Off Suggestions:
1. Wholegrain
2. Rye
3. Pain de Mie
4. Spiced Breads
5. Plaited Breads
Sourdough Topics you would like to see:
1. Technique Demos, like.......
TP
TP, I think we need to keep bake-offs as accessible as possible, to encourage as many people as possible to join in. So that would rule out things like unusual ingredients (eg. kamut, home-milled flour) and overly difficult techniques (eg. brioche, bagels). I'm also not sure how plaited breads will work - I've found them difficult to execute in sourdough (I think Cat had a similar problem, from memory?)
Bake-Off Suggestions:
1. Wholegrain
2. Rye
3. Pain de Mie
4. Spiced Breads
5. Plaited Breads
6. Mixed flour/hybrid loaves
7. Unusually slashed loaves
8. Pizza
9. Small breads (rolls, mini loaves etc)
I'm also not sure how plaited breads will work - I've found them difficult to execute in sourdough (I think Cat had a similar problem, from memory?)
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Not sure why you find plaited sourdough difficult.
Here are plaited sourdough spelt loaves I made earlier.
I think these bake-offs also act as master classes, and we should tackle difficult things in order to learn from each other. For example I have difficulty with sourdough sweet or enriched breads - the slightest sign of sugar and my leaven goes sulky. As for sourdough brioche or croissants or chocolate breads I find them impossible unless there is also conventional yeast or chemical raising in there.
Gluten free is another neglected area, where sourdough may have beneficial uses.
Celia, I tend to see it like Jack...that these bake-offs are opportunities for us to tackle something which we have yet to get a handle on, something which, on our own steam, may have been a bit intimidating. However, I agree that we shouldn't include ingredients not easily available to the majority, like kamut. But...if some people mill their own flours and happily use it in their breadbaking, why not? As long as it is not specified that the bake-off requires home-milled flours and no other flours.
Ooh...the list is growing nicely. Jack, I need your help in nailing which breads you would like to include in the list. Pls copy and paste, and add. I don't know if sweet breads should be lumped together with spiced breads because spiced breads are usually sweet, no? And, should chocolate breads stand alone?
TP
1. Wholegrain
2. Rye
3. Pain de Mie; toast and sandwich breads
4. Spiced Breads; sweet breads including chocolate bread
5. Plaited Breads
6. Mixed flour/hybrid loaves
7. Unusually slashed loaves
8. Pizza
9. Small breads (rolls, mini loaves etc) Hamburger buns
10. Gluten free breads
11. Baguettes
12. Vennoiserie especially croissants
13. Crackers, crisp breads
14. Pita, Naan and other flat breads
15. Pannetone
16. Other seasonal breads (Pan de Muertos, Columba etc)
19. Decorative breads: wheat sheaves, bunches of grapes, plaques etc
20. Steamed breads (Bao etc)
21 Donuts, crullers and other fried breads.
No, you've missed my point there, TP. If you have a bake-off on breads using home-milled flours, then most of us wouldn't be able to participate. I was just saying we needed to not specify anything that might be exclusionary because people couldn't get the ingredients.
I can see yours and Jack's point on the bake-offs being an opportunity to learn, and you and I would probably really enjoy that, but I also think that if you want more people to join in rather than less, you've got to make sure that it's something people feel they can do. As it is, the bakeoffs so far have only drawn less than a dozen contributors each, whereas there are so many bakers who on the forum! If you have, say, a bake-off on gluten free breads, then I'm not really sure how many people will be joining in? I'd suggest that a couple of those things are a better topic for a thread rather than a bake-off.
http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/12/07/panettone/
Celia, just so that we are on the same plane...
Like you, I feel, our bake-offs should not have a topic which exclusively use home-milled flours, but, what I'm also saying, is, people, like LeadDog, are free to use it as he wishes, because it's the flour he uses to bake bread. Which is another way of saying
[quote]we needed to not specify anything that might be exclusionary because people couldn't get the ingredients.
[/quote]
is it not?
Let the list grow and we'll neaten it later, pruning the very exotic or specialised breads which are less likely to have participation. What I am thinking is, even if we have an 'everyday' bread for a bake-off, there isn't going to be many more participators. Why? I don't know. It's like, you see so many registered members, but just a tiny percentage post on the board. Duh.
TP
Fair enough, Teep. :) Your first point is exactly what I was saying, no disagreement there. I was simply trying to clarify what I'd meant.
As for the second one, that's your call as moderator and bake-off queen. I'd love for more people to join in the bake-offs too, but you're probably right. Heck, we can't even really get regulars involved, let alone lurkers.
I was going to suggest flat breads, as I am particularly partial to nice flat breads (presumably we would be talking about leavened sourdough versions), and Jack has beaten me to suggesting rolls
How about sourdough pancakes and injera? Whole grain and sprouted grain loaves, 100% rye
Bake-Off Suggestions:
1. Wholegrain
2. Rye
3. Pain de Mie; toast and sandwich breads
4. Spiced Breads; sweet breads including chocolate bread
5. Plaited Breads
6. Mixed flour/hybrid loaves
7. Unusually slashed loaves
8. Pizza
9. Small breads (rolls, mini loaves etc) Hamburger buns
10. Gluten free breads
11. Baguettes (already done, though no harm repeating if enough enthusiasm!)
12. Vennoiserie especially croissants
13. Crackers, crisp breads
14. Pita, Naan and other flat breads
15. Pannetone
16. Other seasonal breads (Pan de Muertos, Columba etc)
19. Decorative breads: wheat sheaves, bunches of grapes, plaques etc
20. Steamed breads (Bao etc)
21 Donuts, crullers and other fried breads.
22. Sourdough pancakes and injera
23. 100% rye loaves
24. Whole grain and sprouted grain loaves
cheers
Dom
Maedi
How about adding Ciabatta to the list. I have never gotten around to making Ciabatta but has always been on my list of something to try.