Gluten Free Bread – Dan Lepard

Just remembered that I meant to post this one as I said in a post called Gluten Free Seems Hot Right Now a while back that I would have a go at Dan Lepard’s Gluten Free Bread and here are the pics, mostly from the iPad which doesn’t have the best camera in the world.

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This is an easy one to mix though I had to hunt around before I could find the psyllium husk powder loose for sale which I did at Scoopaway on the Gloucester Road, Bristol. They were surprised when I told them what it was going to be used for! It also proved a good place to buy the large quantity of cornflour (cornstarch in American English – the white stuff!) that you need for this recipe. Continue reading →

Deconstructing Jeffrey Hamelman’s ‘Bread’ – Part 1

Firstly let me say, this is not a how to bake bread post, this is a ‘how to read and use a book’ post. I hope no one is offended or feels patronised and if you are completely comfortable with baking books then please do skip on to something more interesting.

I find myself recommending this book simply because it has a really solid range of recipes and formulae and tons of good advice and information embedded in the text but it is a bit scary when you first open it!

EDIT April 2013 : There is a new and updated edition of this wonderful book now available and I recommend you get hold of that one rather than this older one. It has new recipes and has been considerably updated.

challah winston knot

Celia figured out the instructions for this one, bless her!

I remember when I first got it I was really excited and then my heart sank as I looked at the dense pages of text, flicked through, came across all those decorative bread projects, rummaged through the formulae, stared at the columns, wondered what on earth the words meant. Continue reading →