calling out all home-bread makers!

[dsc]

Hi guys,

I recently bought this:



and was hoping to bake my first bread today, but unfortunately the terracotta tile I bought from Fired Earth to use as a baking stone is sealed with something that smells rather badly when heated to 200*C.

I know zapty on TMC bakes bread, but I was wondering whether there's anyone else and what people use as baking stones? I've been trying to source unsealed terracotta tiles for a bit now and apparently it's not as easy as I thought.

Regards,
dsc.

[leecb]

You can find pizza stones in many kitchen shops and on sites like amazon which will work fine.

[leecb]

http://www.divertimenti.co.uk/Bakeware/ ... 38-cm.html
This one looks good and is quite large at 38cm.

[espressomattic]

I use a pizza stone too. They are really good,

[dsc]

Hi guys,

the problem is they are usually quite expensive and shipping usually costs a lot (as they are heavy). A terracotta tile is 3-4GBP:) they are also quite thick as well (around an inch or so)

I will look some more, but thanks for the info.

Regards,
dsc.

[crphillips]

I bought a bread maker....one of the best gadgets i have......put enough ingredients in for a 1.5ld loaf and 3 hours later it's done. Can't beat bread done in an oven the traditional way though:-)

[Bombcup]

I got a spare pizza stone, doesn't fit my oven. Yours if you want it.

[motoman]

I love home baked bread and even grind my own wheat. Mix in a couple of handfuls of mixed seeds and you can't beat it.

As for baking stones, you don't need 'em, every old fashioned baker I knew used bread tins and I do the same. Bread makers are OK when you start but that bloody paddle gets baked into the bread and rips a hole in it when you knock it out. When I used one I used to mix it in the machine but removed it for the last rise and baked it in the oven. Now I mix by hand or use my Kitchen Aid mixer.

You can get wheat suitable for home baking from the net, it works out cheaper than buying it from shops and it is guaranteed fresh. Just look up 'Brow Farm' in your search engine. Shop Wholemeal flour has the best bits removed and replaced by cheaper alternatives.

[eivindt]

http://www.divertimenti.co.uk/Bakeware/Baking_stones/pizza-baking-stone-38-cm.html
This one looks good and is quite large at 38cm.

I had one of those once, but didn't get very good pizza results, and it broke after a while.

I bought one from www.pizzastein.com which works really well. The postage was more than the stone it self, and payment was a bit old fashioned, but the guy selling them was very helpful, and it works so much better than any other stone I've seen, so I'll definately recommend it.



Eivind

[bruceb]

I got a local stone mason (actually a gravestone engraver) to make me a granite slab just a bit smaller than the oven grate and about 1" thick. This is usually cheaper than the postage for the commercial stones and in my opinion works better than the chamotte fire clay (Molochite) stones. At full throttle it takes just 3-4 minutes to bake a thin pizza. It's great for loaf bread and for focaccia, too.

[geedee]

Is it only me thinking 'if I got it engraved now my wife could save money later on ...'

[bruceb]

Is it only me thinking 'if I got it engraved now my wife could save money later on ...'

Hmmmm, I had thought about working it the other way around, but she's a good bit younger than I am, so I had both our names put on it...just in case something goes wrong with the next pizza.

[motoman]

Sorry to divert a little but all that reminds me of my friend John, making love to his girl in the cemetary she told him later that on returning home she saw she had R.I.P. impressed on her backside.

[Bertie_Doe]

Hi Tom

I also bought a clay pizza stone made by Faringdon via Amazon. Faringdon make loadsa cheap kitchenware and looks similar to leecb's stone. Sometimes I use a large loaf tin, but lately I've been using 2 x muffin tins, which make 24 bread rolls. I freeze most of them.

My New Year resolution was not to buy any more breadbooks, until I've read my current ones. I must say, your book looks quite good. I googled it up and the author has put a couple of recipes on the net, the pan-baked Naan bread grabbed my attention. I now need to google 'how to make clarified butter'.
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=582#more-582

[darrensandford]

Our local supermarkets sell Ghee in tins, in the section with the other indian goods. Worth a look, and totally authentic