UKCruiseJeff

Hi, thanks for your comments. The leaoparding ie the spots is from the control I have of the heat and I prefer 800f which I've heard = I think it was the chap from King Arthurs Mill - say is his favorite. The good news is that perhaps counter-intuitively all you need to do is forget about everything and all of the stuff about dough and bread making you've learned and think you know and start again - because it turns out that it is exceptionally simple to make and the less you faff around the better it will be and the smugger and more contented you will become. There is simply absolutely nothing you can ever do that is more rewarding than eating a piece of the best bread you have ever tasted and that you have made it. 🙂 ) You can use any bread flour but for pizza I still use 00 and like pretending I'm a Neapolitan (person not icecream) and use Caputo. All I do is make a dough with 80% hydration and add a small amount of yeast salt and sugar using a bowl and my little blue scraper. I haven't used a mixed for as long as I can remember. I put a shower cap over the bowl (these must be from a 5* hotel otherwise you will not get the same quality of rise) and when it has grown to around double scrape it into an oiled box and put it in the fridge until you want some. This could be later today or a few weeks. Just a tip. If you want to add a bit of olive oil then don't mix the oil and water together because as we all now know they don't mix and this is one of the reasons why people have problems. Mix the water and dry stuff together first and wait a minute or so after you've combined it all then add a drizzle of oil. This bizarrely makes the world of difference. The longer you leave it the better it will be. What causes the magic to happen is the high hydration (most so called experts say 67% - but believe me 80%+) - and leaving it for a lot of time to develop slowly in the fridge for a longer time. If you do this you will get sour-dough light. No biga, and no poolish - it simply doesn't matter. By doing this it means it follows that when you get the pizza yearnings but you would otherwise be dough-less - you simply reach into the fridge and scrape a portion out from Big Bertha and ball it. Let it warm a bit and do your flattening and stretching on fine semolina and you have a pizza. When you use the last bit always observes Jeff's law and make some more. It's take around 30 seconds to weigh the stuff and scrape it in a bowl and a few more to put it in the fridge. You don't need to knead it or mix it just let it get on with it. I follow this simple approach with all of my breads pretty much except for bagels which must be dryer. I have amassed what I believe is the biggest library of books on bread than anyone else is likely to have and what many have in common is that they want it to look like bread making is difficu;t and that they are clever because they can do it and we can't. Every time I have simplified my approach my bread has improved. I cannot remember the last time I used a recipe. I just blend different flours and let the water and time do the rest. I'm going to revert to my ipad now and look for some dough pictures. What I'm hoping you can see is that the texture of all my (non-bagel) breads are open looking a bit like sour dough but they also have a glisten/sheen. I hope you an see that. It is the time you allow the bread to develop that gives you both the crumb texture and the glisten. The other thing about my journey is that it is so tempting to be American and put far too much topping on a pizza. My progress has been to put less and less on. I like the dough and the tomato topping speak for itself and now to be completely honest I'm finding that cheese detracts from my enjoyment although we both like finely grated shake of Parmigiano Reggiano. Sometimes I like some Milano Salami because I don't like chorizo or anything that is leathery or sweaty. I'll hunt out some piccies and if you want any more suggestions - don't be shy. EDITED: Found some bread and then the pizza cornicione ….. which hopefull demonstrates the effect of high hydration, simplicity and time. Good Luck.

Good Afternoon Coolers! 🙂 It turns out that some years ago I drank some wine and imported a Neapolitan pizza oven and had it couriered all the way from Italy to Jeff’s Cucina in order to fire it up and wait patiently for around one and a half hours to reach 950f in order to make a Neapolitan pizza in ninety seconds. Is there anything more pitiful and sadder and dafter and more stupid than a compulsive obsessive doing too much for a just a better pizza? Some will understand I hope. 🙂 Last nights pizza and the oven …….

Sometimes the best suppers in life are supremely simple. Ficelle, butter and jam and no noise.

Dr Ron, Loved your piccies. Extraordinary pictures which will deservedly be a really precious record of an extraordinary trip. Memories are precious. 🙂 Jeff

Good afternoon Cooler inmates. Not suggestion these are “funnies” just food’ish. 🙂 Today was our first oysters of the year. Scrawny and small so a couple of dozen all shucked bloodlessly by me and supported by some lovely ficelle and Laurent Perrier Blanc de Blanc ie the absolutely original non sugar dosed but naturally sparkling champers. It was lovely to have a slow going lunch today with my extraordinary long-suffering partner in crime. These piccies are of eatings and empties. Have a great day all Coolers. 🙂

Good afternoon Cooler folks! Today’s bagels …. I hope you can taste and smell them …. 🙂

If it isn’t against forum rules - then may I suggest some extra virgin olive oil?

Perhaps you are getting crusty.

That is lovely looking bread. Is it my imagination - or is that bread smiling? It’s lovely that you share it with older neighbours. Jeff

Good evening Coolers from a grey and wet Hampshire. I had told myself no more bread posts but tonight my baguette bizarrely invoked Eric Clapton and “wonderful tonight”. For a very small minority of cooler bread squinters I played with steam on my new oven and it provided this. Some of it will be with lot’s of good French butter and thinly sliced young Gruyere (note this Swiss lady!) and the bit left over will be with far too much strawberry jam. Hers was identical. I perfectly accept that it isn’t funny but as Homer Simpson would say “dough!” 🙂

Thanks! 😊 No day is ever complete without putting tomorrows baguettes into the fridge for a contented doze. 😄

Hello, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your post about your passion for your baguettes. For sone reason that totally bewilders me almost all of the commentary about breadmaking had taken me - and I feel many others- down unsuccessful paths. They like to make it a black art to preserve their perceived skill. As you may recall, I then decided to simply combine a lot of water with flour instant yeast and salt and leave it to the water to do it’s magic. No mixer, no mixing, no complex kneading just a lot of water and scraper kneading in the bowl and a lot of leaving alone. I handle it as little as possible. That is why they are ugly and misshapen. I now hydrate to 80%+ and leave it overnight. We have baguettes every day and the whole process only takes around a couple of minutes of labour. I’ve also just bought a worktop 4 in 1 combi oven which has a steam function and is effectively a perfect crispy bread/baguette oven. The manufacturer doesn’t seem to know because they barely mention bread. It also proves bread to same day perfect baguettes as if they are 36 hour bread. It is easy. So I can make baguettes to my normal quality in just a few hours. It tastes like poulish/biga starter bread. Sadly much of real baguette baking in France has been replaced by rebaking bought in bulk stuff and we are eating better than anything we have ever had in France. Anyway you know what I’m like about bread! 🙂 Last night she wanted Naples salami with tomato and a smear of mayo and a mug of white. Happy to provide. I thought you might like the piccies although I’m afraid you cannot see the crumb. They remain ugly delicious. Enjoy and thanks so much again for taking the trouble to tell me about your bread. Jeff

Good Afternoon Coolers …. Glancing in I thought I’d just say how lovely it was to see that the Cooler 5 has had a million views and 20k’ish posts. What on earth happened?! 🙂 I wonder how many posts and views there are since we collectively started this mini-community which was intended to be specifically about nothing too important and it is a credit to all new and established members that stop by and sometimes even stay a while that it survives and is a place of sanctuary and sanity in an increasingly bewildering world. Anyway, self-indulgently I’ll share that it is our 50th Anniversary today. and I’m so happy that she still hasn’t found the combination of the padlock and made her escape. She is simply the loveliest thing on two legs and I’m so happy she has enjoyed our journey together. Some still might like my mundane food piccies so today was chill garlic enormous prawns with home made baguette and Laurent Perrier. Keep enjoying this community and if you are a lurker who has yet to post please just visit and post. Bestest wishes to all.

Hi, Great memory. Yes, and I think we’re only half through the champers lake. I’m so pleased I converted all my miles to something more userful. Jeff

A shorty to wish all Coolers the very bestest for a cool and lovely 2024. It is extremely lovely to “pop” in and not only see so many founder Cooler members seated in their allotted stools at the bar and posting - but also so many who have opened the door and sat on a stool by the bar, ordered a drink and now stay and chat. I do so hope they stay and welcome every newby who ventures in. Some here (mostly me) enjoy reading of other people’s every day sustenance and in that spirit I share today’s eatings of sushi for lunch with Laurent Perrier and later supper on a plate on the lap in front of the TV of a bacon and chip with sea salt and Sarsons sandwich in tiger bread (with some dipping fries left on the side) and a lovely second bottle of frozen LP. Always bestest. Jeff