Returning After a Long Absence
Hi folks,
We used to be Craig-Kathy, and I see we had 1 post, 7 years ago. It was about non-diastatic malt extract, and how we were trying to make a particular Italian roll. Since then, the "Kathy" part of the two of us has passed on, and hopefully has discovered the secret to this type of bread. Now I only have to use either a medium, or maybe a Ouija board to find out what it is. I'm workin' on that.
Turns out there's another member here, who apparently had the same problem, out there in Seattle, WA. He has a recipe that resulted from lots of work, experiments, but also consultation with some commercial bakers. I'm going to try that. I see that baking at high temperature is very important, and something I didn't even think about before.
Over time, I've become older and a bit more obsessive -- probably somewhere on the autism spectrum. But....it's a blessing...and a curse, as the great Detective Monk would say. I hope to spend a bit more time on the forums, as I'm also learning a great deal about bread.
Cheers, from North Carolina in the Raleigh area.
Welcome back. Your original post was certainly comprehensive on trying to duplicate the Turano roll.
If you manage to contact Kathy, could you also ask her the secret of Courage Bagels?
I've been working on this, and so far, unreliable results. I'll certainly ask about the bagels, and perhaps she knows someone who knows someone who knows someone. :-)
😊
I'm in Cedar Grove just a few miles away from Raleigh. I'm also somewhere on the spectrum.
Gary
Ah, near Emily Buehler's ("Bread Science") old stomping grounds. Does anyone know if she's still in the area?
I occasionally visit in Cary, so I've been in the Raleigh area before. I don't know it well, but think the Art Museum and the Natural History museums are pretty good. Many good city parks, too. Have you visited the Yates Mill? That's a restored Evans mill. They do grind sometimes and you can buy some of the output, but I think they only grind cornmeal, not wheat flour.
https://www.yatesmill.org/history-of-yates-mill/
TomP
I rode the bus with Emily when I was working at Chapel Hill. I haven't seen her in years. Her web page says she still lives in Hillsborough. I have her book. Edit: Exploring her website I found updates to her book.
Yes, we have great museums.
We have visited Yates Mill and if I recall correctly we bought some grits.
The historic old mill of Guilford is a neat place to visit with many flours available for sale.
Yoder's Country Market in Blanch NC (just north of us) is a great place to buy grain berries in small quantities. They have great sandwiches on bread they bake themselves and delicious desserts.
Lindlley mills is not far away.
I haven't yet bought anything from Red Tail Grains but will one day get to one of the markets to check them out.
Gary
I actually live off of Penny Rd, just down the road from Yates Mill. I haven't been in to see it, but my next-door neighbor, who's been here all his life, knows some of the old guys who built the place. Way long ago. Pretty cool, with the water-wheel and old technology.
Cranking up the heat when you bake makes a huge difference.Experiment and have fun with it. I bet your Italian cream rolls are going to turn out amazing. Can't wait to hear how they come out!
I'm working my way up to trying the Italian rolls recipe. I'm a little surprised more people don't talk about this excellent "hack" for getting steam in a home oven. The post I referred to uses some clay tiles, sprayed with water. Instead:
Get some small white cotton towels or washcloths -- white is best because colors will run and make a mess. Cotton absorbs a lot of water, so better than blends. I use 4 small washcloths from Walmart. Roll them up into "logs." Soak them in water, put them in a microwave-safe dish and boil them. You can do this while pre-heating your baking oven. Transfer the now hot, steaming towels to any dish or tray -- I'm using a couple of 8x8 pans, one for above, one for below.
When these go into the oven at the start, it's a little bit shocking just how much steam results! The key is having them "steaming hot" from the MWO right from the git-go. Then the oven temp will just continue the process. I read this on another forum, which I can't find for some reason.
This method was introduced to TFL by SylviaH, quite some time ago -
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20162/oven-steaming-my-new-favorite-way
It's probably been re-discovered many times over the years.
TomP
Good!
I may have read this long ago, remembered the idea but not the originator. I'm glad there's a track-back here, as it's so much easier than all the other stuff -- ice cubes, wet tiles, and so on.