Linda Donaldson said...
March 16, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Incredible..I cant wait for my english muffin rings to arrive from King Arthur!!!
Every bread I have made has come out perfect..I even bought a 25 lb bag of bread flour from Sams..I am baking bread daily.

Sarah Seitz said...
March 16, 2010 at 12:51 pm

OH wow, that looks amazing…Dinner tonight!!!

nico said...
March 16, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Lamb burger!? sounds great!! I’ll try those very soon, thanks

Amanda said...
March 16, 2010 at 1:12 pm

Thanks for the info! I have always wanted to make hamburger buns with the dough. Now I have to wait till the snow is gone here in ND! Maybe I can make some sandwiches instead….I just can’t wait till we can do pizza on the grill again.

Patice said...
March 16, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Looks amazing! The Tucson Festival of Books was great! It was great meeting you both. As soon as I returned to Phoenix, I whipped up a batch of dough for Monday! Thank you!!!

whaledancer said...
March 16, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Do you think a clean tuna can with the top and bottom cut out would work, instead of the English muffin ring?

Kirsten said...
March 16, 2010 at 6:33 pm

This is off topic but you indicated this was how to ask questions. I’m just starting to work through your HBin5 book and love it. I’ve made the master recipe and the whole wheat loaf and now I’ve tried the soft whole wheat sandwich bread and it was great. I have some soft whole wheat sandwich bread dough left–can I try baking it straight on the stone in free form (no loaf pan) and with the water in the broiler tray like with the master recipe? Is that somewhere in the book and I missed it? If so, I’m sorry. Thanks for the great experience my family and I are having with these efforts!

zoe said...
March 16, 2010 at 7:45 pm

Hi Patice,

Thank you for coming to see us in Tucson, it was a wonderful festival!

Happy baking! Zoë

zoe said...
March 16, 2010 at 7:48 pm

Hi whaledancer,

Yes, I’ve heard of people doing this, but be careful of the sharp edges!

Let me know how it goes! Thanks, Zoë

zoe said...
March 16, 2010 at 7:54 pm

Hi Kirsten,

You will want to shape it as you would the classic master recipe boule, let it rest as you would the master recipe, but bake it at the temperature indicated in the Whole Wheat Sandwich bread recipe. Bake the loaf for about 35 minutes for a 1 pound loaf.

Thanks! Zoë

Jackie said...
March 17, 2010 at 9:23 am

Thank you for showing both results with the rings and without; very cool. This has inspired me to make a round of buns. Show the hotdog shaping of buns if you have some time. Thanks for all your hard work.

Nicole said...
March 17, 2010 at 12:11 pm

I love that you included a unique lamb burger recipe and I can’t wait to try making hamburger buns from the brioche recipe. I’ve been impressing people left and right with the boule master recipe, thank for such a wonderful book and easy technique!

Tara said...
March 17, 2010 at 4:27 pm

I too would like a “how to” on shaping hot dog buns. The ones I made for our HBin5 bread braid were so sad looking. I mean really bad! Tasted great, however.

zoe said...
March 17, 2010 at 8:01 pm

Thank you Nicole,

The burgers are great and to die for with the brioche buns!

Enjoy, Zoë

zoe said...
March 17, 2010 at 8:10 pm

Hi Tara,

Great idea, we will do a post on hot dog buns this spring sometime!

Thanks and enjoy! Zoë

Georgeann said...
March 17, 2010 at 9:13 pm

The burgers look delicious! What equipment do I need for baking bread on/in the grill….cast iron dutch oven? Anything else? Is the pizza cooked directly on the grill or maybe on a cast iron pizza pan?

Christy said...
March 18, 2010 at 4:18 am

HI. I love your breads, BUT I am having trouble shapping my bagette. I feel like I’m working it too hard or pulling too much. do you have a video showing the technique used to get a long and thin loaf? My fat ones taste great, but its the wrong look!

jeff said...
March 18, 2010 at 4:24 am

Christy: Are you using the “letter-fold” technique from the second book? We don’t have a video on that yet. Make an oval of dough, then flatten it a bit and fold it like a letter, sealing the seam. Then stretch it out. Jeff

jeff said...
March 18, 2010 at 4:26 am

Georgeann: I’ve had the best results on the grill in a cast-iron pan (for breads): http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=552

Other grill ideas, mainly pizza:
Grilled pizza: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=237
Pumpernickel done on the grill: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=245
Fruit pizza on the gas grill: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=248
Rustic fruit tart on the gas grill: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=267
Brioche on a grill: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=294
Bread on a Coleman stove while camping: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=318
Kohlrabi Greens Pizza right on the grates: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=846
Fruit pizza on the grill baked with the stone: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=248

Jeff

Georgeann said...
March 18, 2010 at 6:46 am

Wow! Thanks for all the great info!!!

Mandy said...
March 18, 2010 at 4:09 pm

Thanks for the post… made them today and had them with Savory Nut Patties from Paulette Mitchel’s Vegetarian Sandwiches book… (nut burgers)
and they were fantastic!
I think I will invest in some rings to get the sides to be straighter…
as always, thanks for your hard work!

Doug said...
March 18, 2010 at 5:32 pm

I spoke to you at the Minneapolis class (at the Arboretum) about my son working for a caterer in Telluride, Colorado and how he told her what I said about your brioche recipe and she said, “impossible.” I sent the recipe and she made it (but forgot the salt). He sent me a picture of the loaf which was beautiful (I don’t know how to post it to your FaceBook page). I asked if it passed her expert analysis. He said, “Most certainly. You just changed her life.”

Thanks for the great class!

zoe said...
March 18, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Hi Mandy,

That sounds wonderful! I’ll have to give Paulette’s Nut Patties a try!

Thanks, Zoë

zoe said...
March 18, 2010 at 7:31 pm

Hi Doug,

Thank you so much for letting me know! I was so curious about how that went. I’m thrilled she tried it and couldn’t be happier that she likes the results!

Hope you are doing lots of baking! Zoë

Britt Dougall said...
March 19, 2010 at 11:45 am

Loved your recent class at BLC! Got adventuresome & tried the pistachio twist this afternoon, but much (most?) of the filling leaked out in the baking & it looks really scary! Any suggestions?

zoe said...
March 19, 2010 at 6:08 pm

Hi Britt,

It is most often cause by stretching the dough a little too thin so that it splits when baking. I have been meaning to do a post on this twisty loaf, thanks for reminding me!

Hope that helps! Zoë

Lynne said...
March 21, 2010 at 7:53 am

I have just made the mastser recipe whole grain artisan free-form loaf. I would like to make small rolls for my 2 year old granddaughter. I have read about the letterfold method – how small can I make these? Or can I make some pretty small free-form rolls?
Thank you!

Herb Ryan said...
March 21, 2010 at 10:31 am

have been baking Vollkornbrot with malted rye flakes but not wheat berries. Can I use hard white spring wheat (Prarie Gold) instead of “wheat berries”or are they the same thing ?

jeff said...
March 21, 2010 at 5:27 pm

Lynne: There’s no limit to how small you can do a letter-fold… Jeff

jeff said...
March 21, 2010 at 5:31 pm

Herb: The intention of “wheat berries” is that they’re unground; if the Prairie Gold product is unground, that will give the same effect. If not, then no. Won’t harm anything but it won’t create the chewiness and texture we’re going for here. Jeff

coco said...
March 22, 2010 at 7:57 am

hello guys. I just tried your baking technique yesterday to make my first artisan bread (using bread machine for the dough). it was a total success! thank you!!!

Jesse said...
March 22, 2010 at 11:12 am

Zoe & Jeff I want to hug you both! Thank you for showing me how to provide healthy fresh hamburger buns for my family. The selection in the supermarket is horrible and now I finally have a choice.

Grace said...
March 22, 2010 at 12:39 pm

I made a batch of Brioche dough on Friday (my first attempt). Saturday I made the Pecan Sticky Buns. They were great! Today (Monday) I just made a loaf of Brioche. It had a very strong fermented smell and tasted a little fermented too. I kept it in a non-airtight container in the fridge for all 4 days. What did I do wrong???

jeff said...
March 22, 2010 at 3:29 pm

Excellent coco!

jeff said...
March 22, 2010 at 3:32 pm

Jesse: Hug accepted, thank you!

jeff said...
March 22, 2010 at 3:37 pm

Grace: Our stuff is supposed to develop a sourdough character with dough storage– it’s possible this just isn’t to your liking. You can make smaller batches and keep them for a shorter period of time… or just freeze the dough if you’re not going to use it right away. Jeff

Dara said...
March 23, 2010 at 12:14 pm

Thank you for HBin5 — I love that I am able to make healthy and delicious bread for my family instead of buying it!

My co-op has rye berries– hurrah! I am planning to use them and wheat berries in the Vollkornbrot; do I need to adjust the recipe at all to use rye berries instead of flakes?

zoe said...
March 23, 2010 at 8:32 pm

Hi Dara,

I have not tried it before, but I think they will absorb about the same amount of water. You really won’t know until the next day. If the dough seems a touch too dry just sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit more water and it will absorb into it.

Let us know how it comes out! Thanks, Zoë

Barb said...
March 24, 2010 at 5:55 am

Hi Jeff & Zoe,
I’ve been loving using my fresh ground WW flour in your recipes. I tried the soft wheat recipe yesterday for pulled BBQ chicken on sesame seed buns. I wish I had known about the rings. My rolls were pretty rustic looking…but so sift and good!!! Thanks!

Eva said...
March 24, 2010 at 5:21 pm

Had chanced on this topic last year, but didn’t follow up, have been mining the net lately and found this site, it has inspired me to try bread baking, a previously poor part of my cooking, due to the problem of kneading the dough and my arms and shoulders hating me for trying. These burgers look wonderful and will try them out as soon as the snow goes again, it was quite nice and almost dry enough in the back yard, and we just got about 8-10 inches of the yuk!
I have ordered both of your books from my book store (internet is wonderful) and can’t wait to get them once they arrive there, hopefully next week.

zoe said...
March 24, 2010 at 9:22 pm

Hi Eva,

So pleased that you will be baking bread again! If you have a stand mixer you can always mix the dough in that if it is more comfortable. It does mean cleaning an extra bowl, but if it is easier on your body it is worth it!

We will look forward to hearing from you as you bake through the books. Zoë

Sara said...
March 25, 2010 at 6:40 am

Hi, I found you through cheaphealthygood… then casualkitchen… then about a gazillion other sites. You guys are awesome. I took HBin5 out of the library, but it is so chock full of greatness that I’m going to have to buy it (and apparently the library copy was previously borrowed by a smoker?)

The first loaves I tried with the master recipe, I let my 5 year old make half of the loaves. He insisted on adding dried cherries to the dough. Nothing else, just random dried cherries mixed in. IT WAS AMAZING.

Off-topic question: do you recommend a metal or wood pizza peel? Is there a specific peel you would point us to? Amazon has A TON, but I didn’t see one on your amazon widget.

Thank you so much!

Sara

Eva said...
March 25, 2010 at 6:41 am

Have been looking at the past posts on the site, and gaining ideas for baking. I can’t wait to get the books, and start out, but will be trying the brioche dough today, am going to halve the recipe I think, unless I can use it to make hot cross buns, then I will just bake them up for next week, and freeze them. Can you freeze the brioche dough itself, I see that they say in several places that you can freeze extra regular boule dough but was wondering about the brioche.

jeff said...
March 25, 2010 at 12:38 pm

Sara: I prefer the wood peels, they absorb a bit of water so things don’t get waterlogged. But I know people who really like the metal as well. I loved the Sassafras wood peel but not available anymore, and don’t have a really strong recommendation at the moment. Glad the recipes are working for you. Jeff

jeff said...
March 25, 2010 at 12:41 pm

Eva: Yes, you can freeze the boule dough in one-pound portions (or whatever you use in one baking session; idea’s to avoid freezing, defrosting, and re-freezing). Use within 4 weeks (per the book); some people prefer used within 2 weeks. The longer the freezing time, the more you add some density to the result.

But it works quite well. Jeff

Bob C. said...
March 26, 2010 at 1:17 am

This one’s a request for web site functionality. The search doesn’t appear to search comments. It would be great if it did or another search app did so I could look up an answer I know I saw before. Thanks.

Bob C. said...
March 26, 2010 at 1:37 am

Both books have hidden themselves! How long should I bake a dinner roll size piece of the master recipe fom AB? I was able to find the temp of 205-210, but I doubt I’d be able to pierce the crust. Thanks.

Bob C. said...
March 26, 2010 at 1:45 am

ok, that last question was dumb – the answer’s right above. Please delete the roll question and this post. Thanks.

jeff said...
March 26, 2010 at 12:27 pm

Bob: There are no dumb questions! At the moment, WordPress doesn’t allow searching inside the comments, so we’re limited that way. It’s not a bad tool, but not entirely flexible. Jeff

Eva said...
March 26, 2010 at 1:50 pm

Well I thought I didn’t have enough flour and couldn’t get any, a combo of no funds and 8 inches of snow on the drive, but today measured the flour out and there was enough for the brioche dough, so made it up, wondering if it would work as the yeast packets were quite old, went away leaving it sit on the counter for the two hours, and when I came back it was beautifully risen. So now its chilling, and tomorrow morning the experiment of making cinnamon rolls. I made an egg dough in my bread machine which didn’t rise much at all, so this will be interesting to see how it goes.
Tomorrow I will also be getting the drive cleaned off (running the snowblower myself) and Tues will be stocking up some lovely flour and yeast to try some of the goodies I’ve found on this site.

Denisa said...
March 26, 2010 at 7:48 pm

Great looking hamburger buns! Here is a question I’ve been meaning to ask. I want to make bread with seeds and herbs on top. I’ve tried caraway seeds and sesame seeds and those worked fine, but it seems that when I used sunflower seeds or rosemary they overbake on top during the 30 min bread baking time.
Is there any way to use these without overbaking? I just bought organic pumpkin seeds and want to use them on my bread but am afraid they’ll overbake too.

Also, is there a trick to getting the seeds/herbs to stick better to the top of the bread?

zoe said...
March 26, 2010 at 8:43 pm

Hi Denisa,

We just use water to stick the seeds to the top of the loaf, maybe you just need a touch more.

Try moving the rack lower in the oven so that the top crust is not getting too dark. The top of the oven will be hotter and therefore your seeds will burn if they are too far up.

Hope that helps! Zoë

Sara said...
March 27, 2010 at 10:54 am

I whipped up a tub of dough, let is sit out for 2 hours and then forgot to put it in the fridge. It sat out all night. I assume it’s ok, just a bit more sour dough flavor… Is it ok???
I didn’t see this addressed in your FAQ. I’m sure I am not the first to be so forgetful.
Thanks, Sara

Rosie said...
March 27, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Well … you got me … hook, line & sinker … I can’t stop making and baking! Thank you SO much for your wonderful books! I haven’t had this much fun in the kitchen in a LONG time!
You’ve got me thinking though … how would it be best to create a pie crust? One of your lean doughs, rolled out super-thin (as with the apple, ham and blue cheese tart you made a while ago)? Would love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you!

Helen in CA said...
March 27, 2010 at 1:39 pm

I currently bake in a toaster/convection oven (stalled re-model). Works well.

Realized that the reason that my bread was over-browning was that there are electrical elements on both the top and bottom. So, I know place a loose piece of tin foil on top of whatever I’m baking. This protects from the “browning effect” while baking. Denisa might look at where the heating elements are in her oven (in addition to rack placement).

jeff said...
March 27, 2010 at 3:33 pm

Sara: It’s fine, pop into the fridge and use at will. Jeff

jeff said...
March 27, 2010 at 3:36 pm

Rosie: Our stuff wouldn’t make authentic pie crust, which is very “short” (fatty), and unleavened. But you could definitely make a tart the way you suggest. It’ll be more like savory pizza rather than pie.

But delicious! Thanks for the kind words… Jeff

jeff said...
March 27, 2010 at 3:37 pm

Great idea Helen… Jeff

Katya said...
March 27, 2010 at 6:19 pm

This is irrelevant to the post but I plan on making the cinnamon raisin bagels and I was wondering whether or not I should soak the raisins before adding them in. Thanks!

zoe said...
March 27, 2010 at 7:11 pm

Hi Katya,

I never have and fear they would get too mushy when you work them into the dough. I am now curious to know how it would work, so if you try it please report back!

Thanks, Zoë

Eva said...
March 28, 2010 at 10:49 am

Well the brioche dough went well, the yeast must have been just fine, as it filled the bowl up to the rim as it sat on the counter. Put it in the fridge and it settled back down but still higher than the original dough. I did use my new Kitchen Aid mixer ( a birthday present last year) and that worked so well. I do think the dough is a bit dry though. I made the mini muffin tin cinnamon rolls with it, they raised quite a bit while sitting and more in the oven and came out well. I had added raisins. The reason I think the dough is dry is that it didn’t want to stretch when the instructions say to stretch the rolled dough to the thickness of a broomstick or smaller, so suspect its too dry. My house is very dry, for my bronchitis problems, so the flour would be dry too, so will add a bit of water to the dough I have left, about half, as I made another batch up for a nice young man who came over and cleared the drive off for me. Can’t wait for the books!!!

DrMeglet said...
March 28, 2010 at 11:25 am

I made the Brioche dough, halving the recipe (and checking my calculations). It was quite wet, but the instructions said it would be fine after chilling. As far as I can tell it didn’t rise at all. Is there anything I can do to save the dough, or use it for something else? I’m afraid the buns I had planned will be flat.

jeff said...
March 28, 2010 at 11:53 am

Eva: Sounds like you’re on the right track… Jeff

jeff said...
March 28, 2010 at 11:55 am

DrM: If it didn’t rise, there are only a couple of possible explanations:

1. Water was hot (>105 or so). Can’t be salvaged.
2. Water was cold (from the tap). It will rise, but it will take much longer than we billed (maybe 6 to 18 hours).
3. Forgot the yeast.

How long did you wait here? Jeff

DrMeglet said...
March 28, 2010 at 12:36 pm

rise = 2 hours, didn’t forget the yeast, but it was going to expire next month; water temperature was good. The dough just seemed more like cake dough consistency than bread, so I was worried it was a hydration problem.
I have too little time today to add on more rising and get the buns baked for dinner, so I’ll go for a 2 day refrigerator rise and purchase hamburger buns for tonight. Hopefully the dough will be salvaged.

Thanks for the response!

Eva said...
March 28, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Thanks Jeff, meant to ask are you supposed to bake the rolls with steam? I couldn’t find anywhere that said so, but figure I might have had a better second batch if it did have steam, they raised shorter on the counter, and cooked a bit shorter than I thought they should (they were regular muffin tins they were in) and I didn’t use a stone in the oven at all.

Eva said...
March 28, 2010 at 2:10 pm

a further comment on the stone, I have a large cast iron griddle which would work fine for a stone, this I got in the household dept of the local co-op, but you can find good sized ones in any sporting goods section, for using with your gas or charcoal grills, I saw the pictures of the pizza pan, and am almost certain any of my large cast iron skillets would work just fine, and I know the cast iron round griddle I have that is over 150 years old would work great! Cast iron ware in all disguises is the workhorse in my kitchen. I have 4 different sizes and shapes of dutch ovens, and a set of pots, at least 5 skillets, and the aforementioned griddles. I also have two cheap pizza stones from the local Safeway, maybe not as thick as your stones, but hey they work!

Helen in CA said...
March 28, 2010 at 4:27 pm

Question about the Avocado/Guacamole Bread. When I made the dough…..I mashed the avocado & frozen pureed garlic. Then I stirred in the water. So, the guac basically disolved in the water. Proceeded w/ the recipe. The bread’s pretty good….but nothing much different tasting.

Did you design the recipe w/ some chunks of avocado or garlic in mind?

Not being summer…..I used some canned salsa for the tomato. So there are occasional tomato flecks. But since the salsa was canned….basically the salsa pieces disappeared into the bread.

Pretty good as toast. Gonna try it for sandwiches & make hamburger buns from the rest. But wanted to know what your version was like (as authors of the recipe)

thanks

zoe said...
March 28, 2010 at 7:44 pm

Hi DrMeglet,

Did the dough develop any bubbles at all or is it completely flat? If it never rose even after 24 hours I fear your yeast was no good. This dough is usually very active.

If it rose, but is just way too wet it could be that there was not enough flour. Be sure to use the scoop and sweep method of measuring the flour. If you spoon the flour into the cup instead you will end up with too little flour and very wet dough.

Thanks, Zoë

zoe said...
March 28, 2010 at 7:54 pm

Hi Eva,

There is no need to have steam with enriched doughs. The steam is used to create the crust on breads and enriched doughs won’t ever be crusty. It would allow the dough to rise a bit better, but I’m not sure it is worth the effort?

You can use the stone, but again it is not necessary with enriched doughs.

Thanks, Zoë

DrMeglet said...
March 29, 2010 at 10:07 am

Thanks. I added 1/8 cup more flour (after overnight in the refrigerator), and will give it another 2-3 hours on the counter to see if it rises, but I think the yeast may be dead. The packet said May 2010.
I’ve had a good year of bread successes from your other recipes, so I’m pretty sure I’m measuring right.
I may try Beignets with the dough, or maybe invent something like cinnamon sugar flat crisps, to use it up.

jeff said...
March 29, 2010 at 10:25 am

Helen: I found this to be a very distinctive (but admittedly subtle) flavor effect. Pushing the amount of avocado made the loaf dense, so I wouldn’t neccesarily recommend that. Didn’t envision chunks but nothing wrong with that.

Plus avocado is a mild ingredient in the first place– it’s in our healthier-ingredients book because its oil is a very healthy fat source.

If you want something zestier, use a homemade or high-quality prepared salsa, crank up the jalapeno, or increase the amount of salsa (decrease the water a little to make up the difference), and see what you think. Jeff

Eva said...
March 30, 2010 at 7:57 am

Thanks Zoe, am waiting anxiously for the book store to call saying your books are in, am going to make the hot cross buns next, and see how they go. Also making half a batch of dough to make some pain d’ epi rolls for Easter dinner, they look fabulous and can’t wait to startle my DD when I bring fresh home made rolls, she’s not used to me baking bread, cakes and pies etc, yes, bread no! I’m actually having a blast.

Eva said...
April 6, 2010 at 8:25 am

Well the hot cross buns were great. although the brioche dough was once again a bit too dry, didn’t get much raise or oven spring, but they were almost all gone by Monday.
The pain d’epi was a big hit, and I thought that dough was a bit wet, as I added water, because my flour is very dry and I keep my house drier than most do. I didn’t have a stone big enough to bake them on, so used a nonstick cookie sheet, and it worked just fine, no cornmeal or wheat bran on it either.

The books were there on Thurs, so spent a lot of the weekend reading them, and thinking, I can do that! And yes I can and did do bread, wonderful, and thank you wonderful people for coming up with the way of doing this without all the work!

jeff said...
April 6, 2010 at 2:09 pm

Eva, thanks so much for all the kind words…

Eva said...
April 11, 2010 at 11:51 am

I discovered that my oven is about 13 or so degrees out (on the cool side) yesterday, so boosting the temp has made a better bread today, Am waiting for my last loaf to come out of the oven, and then I am doing a Danish with blackberries (did one with strawberries yesterday and it was under done) and a pletzle both for my husband to take back to his work with him. Then I have to start over with dough! You have created a monster here!

jeff said...
April 11, 2010 at 5:05 pm

Eva: Not montrous, just having a good time, yes!

Eva said...
April 14, 2010 at 9:42 am

Oh am I ever! I have been looking at sites all over for bread, and discovered an amazing array of items and recipes, some of which I might even try once! LOL Yours I will keep doing. Have you seen the Super Peel, its fabulous, and for me a must have! I’m sure you can find the url by google, but its a great item, and one of those things that you wonder why no one invented before!

Eva said...
April 14, 2010 at 9:44 am

By the way, I can’t say enough about the wonderful pletzle and am so grateful for the recipe. I have been considering adding a bit to the onions, but am not sure it would work. But am going to try it, will have to make smaller ones for just me, as they are not really good for my blood sugars!

jeff said...
April 14, 2010 at 10:40 am

Eva: You can make a very thin-crusted pletzel, and that will decrease the overall carbohydrate load. Try one where you go to nearly paper-thin and see what you think. Baking time will be much decreased.

Eva said...
April 15, 2010 at 10:30 am

I made the one from half a pound of dough, and rolled it out very thin and it was just too good, my husband and I ate the whole thing with a stew for supper, it probably didn’t help the sugars that the stew was full of potato and potato starch for the gravy! But it was soo good, so now I have to make smaller ones for just me, he is out working, I want to get the dough on the go (can’t decide to go with challah or the brioche) and make up a couple for this weekend. I dearly love it though and its just a wonderful bread, and too bad its been almost forgotten.

jeff said...
April 15, 2010 at 12:06 pm

Eva: Yes, there’s that tricky little detail about portion size and blood sugar… sorry we can’t help you with that!

Eva said...
April 19, 2010 at 4:04 pm

It unfortunately is inherited at least in my family, so will just have to learn to control myself!

I have bought some peppers to try doing like the onions and see if its as good. Of course nothing beats a good onion, and it was soo good. However the peppers might be a bit better for the sugar levels having less convertable starch.

If it works out, I shall probably call it the John Barrymore Pepper Pletzle just to keep the tradition going.

zoe said...
April 19, 2010 at 7:05 pm

Hi Eva,

Do let us know how the JBPP comes out! Sounds great!

Thanks, Zoë

Dana said...
April 19, 2010 at 7:34 pm

I made slider versions of these burgers (buns and all) for an Easter party and they were fabulous! (Yes I’m an overachiever and made 60 of them…) I had leftover meat so I made them into meatballs and served with swiss chard for different but equally scrumptious dinner. Thanks for the recipe!

Eva said...
April 21, 2010 at 9:00 am

Its been one of those weekends and its dragging into the week, today I have to do the dough, didn’t get it done before, due to getting my water tank filled (from the well which goes dry in winter) and then had to take my van in for a drs visit! Its fine but needs more and more expensive repairs later. So today is bread dough day, and hope the temps are good, they have been fab all weekend, we went from around 44F to 70+F overnight it seems, and the snow is finally just about gone, and we do have some leaves out. So for this part of the country the weather is superb, so need to get with the stuff before it heats up in here.

jeff said...
April 21, 2010 at 9:39 am

Eva: Once it does heat up, check out all our grill-baking methods to do the bread outdoors:

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=768
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=698
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=678
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=627

More to come this summer, some video this time.

Eva said...
April 22, 2010 at 9:13 am

I am going to try that for sure, I already bake shortcakes on the grill, because it was so hot last summer, I was desperate, it was over 90 in my kitchen for most of June, July and August and that was at 6 am, don’t ask what it was by 6 pm. :0

I want to build an wood fired oven this summer if I can, may be a dream but I want it!

I did learn a handy trick about the shortcakes which are just a baking powder biscuit really, with more shortening and a bit of sugar, the trick was to place the number of biscuits needed for the fruit IE: 6 on the baking sheet, and butter the tops, place another 6 on top, and bake the whole for about 10 minutes in the grill, which has a large cast iron griddle in it preheated to 450F on the gauge on the top of the grill. They bake in about half the time of my oven, because the lidded grill is more like a convection oven so quicker to cook. When done, you can simply peel the biscuits apart and fill with the fruit, top with whipped cream or simply pour the whipping cream over the whole thing.

I got the dough ready yesterday and it rose well, so now to bake, will try out the Pepper Pletzle today, and take some pictures to post in my Picture Trail account.

jeff said...
April 22, 2010 at 11:09 am

Thanks for the tips, Eva…

Eva said...
April 22, 2010 at 4:36 pm

Okay, I baked two onion and one pepper pletzle this afternoon, they look so good, haven’t tasted them yet, but did take a picture of them, and uploaded them to my Picture Trail albums, the url is http://www.PictureTrail.com/ebeaton and the album is Bread in FiveI think.

nora said...
May 19, 2010 at 4:32 pm

URGENTE!
I wanted to do half recipe of the brioche dough I made a mistake, putting 1.5 cups of water instead 3/4 cup that is the half quantity. What can I do? throw away it?
=(
It is in the fridge

zoe said...
May 19, 2010 at 7:51 pm

Hi Nora,

You can fix it by making a full batch of the dough. Just add the remaining ingredients to prepare the full batch. It will be easiest to do this with a stand mixer.

Thanks, Zoë

Katie said...
May 21, 2010 at 11:10 am

Hello,
So I just made my first batch of Hamburger buns, and they both smell and taste delicious. However, the buns stuck to the rings – did you grease your English muffin rings? Should I use butter or cooking spray? Thank you. -Katie

jeff said...
May 21, 2010 at 12:29 pm

Katie: Yes, the muffin rings are greased; you can use pretty much anything you like to accomplish the task, butter, lard, shortening, oil, or cooking spray.

Jodi said...
June 7, 2010 at 6:07 am

I just got out some ground lamb for dinner, wondering what to do with it. Decided to have a look at your site before I googled ground lamb. Surprise! Looks like you’ve made my dinner plan. I just got your HBin5 book. Can I bake the same day I mix the dough (after the 2 hour rise) or does it need to be refrigerated first?

jeff said...
June 7, 2010 at 6:20 am

Jodi: Can bake same day, but it will be better the next day (and continues to improve through the storage life). Texture and flavor both improve. Definitely easier to work with when cold, which is another consideration.