The Wood-Fired Blog
Mixing High Hydration Dough
May 21, 2012I made 80% hydration baguette’s, and was reminded just how much longer (and a little faster) you need mix the dough to build the strands of gluten and develop the bread’s structure. That statement marks roughly the end of my technical knowledge on the science of web dough—thought I want to do some more research in order to understand why this is true. From this sequence of photos, you can... Read More
Baguette à l'ancienne
May 20, 2012From William Alexander, author of 52 Loaves. I hate to burst anyone’s fantasies, but the typical baguette in a Parisian bakery, that very symbol of French cuisine, simply isn’t very good, made quickly by machine, from pumped-up flour. If you ask for a baguette à l’ancienne, however, you might pay a little more, but get an artisan baguette, made slowly, with a wild-yeast starter. This is my own interpretation of... Read More
Baguette Flipping Board
May 20, 2012Watching Ciril Hitz’ wonderful video on baguette shaping and baking, I quickly saw the answer to one of my long-standing questions. For years, I have done my best stretching, folding and shaping my baguettes, only to get a little confused and frustrated about ruining their shape as I moved the loaves from my linen couch to the peel. But there in the video is my answer. The baguette slipping board. You... Read More
Baguette Shaping with Ciril Hitz
May 20, 2012On YouTube. Baguette shaping from the bulk fermented dough through to finished bread. Everything except how to load a wood-fired oven—they use modern electric bread ovens. The technique is awesome, and I learn a number of things that I am going to be incorporating into my daily baking. Read More
Sculpture Of Stereotypical Italian Chef Proof Of Pizzeria’s High Standard Of Excellence
May 19, 2012You just can’t beat The Onion. Brilliant Headlines. Sculpture Of Stereotypical Italian Chef Proof Of Pizzeria’s High Standard Of Excellence You really should take the time to read the entire article. Funny. Read More
Traditionalists and Innovators Square Off in Naples Pizza Debate
May 19, 2012This from the Guardian in the UK. Naples chefs take sides in the ‘ultra pizza’ wars The opening salvo by the innovator: Enzo Coccia has an evangelical air as he discusses his spring pizza – piled with asparagus, buffalo mozzarella, sheep’s cheese, lard and beans. “They may say I am a heretic, but I just want to experiment,” says the controversial exponent of the Italian trend for what are being... Read More
Free Stuff
May 19, 2012Facebook went public yesterday, and there a couple of things that stood out for me. With a market capitalization of $104B, larger than both Amazon.com, and McDonalds, and 900 million users (a significant percentage of the population of the planet with access to a computer) the company has clearly been an incredible success. As an aside, from an investor’s perspective, the Facebook IPO demonstrates how important it is in today’s... Read More
Keeping It Simple
May 18, 2012I really enjoyed this posting on www.zeldman.com: web design news & information since 1995. THANK YOU for the screen shot. I was actually already aware that the type on my site is big. I designed it that way. And while I’m grateful for your kind desire to help me, I actually do know how the site looks in a browser with default settings on a desktop computer… The first thing... Read More
Innovating the Outdoor Fireplace: Part 3
May 17, 2012I have been writing about ways that Forno Bravo can develop an outdoor fireplace that is both easy to set up and also looks like a real, site-built masonry outdoor fireplace. Here is a graphical view of how these layers might look. Read More
