andrew's Reviews
2 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 2Sort by: Title 
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HomeBaking : The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World
By Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
Random House of Canada, Limited - 2003
Montreal Bagels : page 232
These are almost there... they're so close that I can just about see they could be a substitute for getting 'real' bagels from an actual bagel restaurant. Of course if I lived in a town with real bagels, I wouldn't be trying so hard to do them at home. But that's another story...
Some notes: they're not chewy enough. I used bread flour (they recommend all-purpose), but still not chewy like the real thing. Secondly, they're a bit small. As written, they're tiny things - half the size of what I'm used to, so I doubled it.
The real secret here is using a baking stone - it browns them very nicely and they look just like authentic wood-oven bagels. I tried them out on a friend from Montreal, and she was impressed. Not that they were as good as Montreal bagels, but that I'd come close at home.
useful (0)
Russian Apple Pancakes : page 276
This is the first yeasted pancake recipe I've tried, and it's truly delicious. I make it with a blend of whole wheat and white flour (3.5 oz each) and I usually prepare three apples, as two, unless they're quite large, don't provide quite enough apple for the bottom.
One issue, though: the timing of the recipe is complicated, and detracts just a little from it. If you want these for breakfast they requires a primary fermentation of 30 min to 2 hrs, then 6 to 8 hours or overnight in the fridge plus 2 hours out of the fridge (whew!).
So, it's difficult to get the timing right, unless you're having a brunch at 10 or 11am. I actually got up at 5am once to take the batter out of the fridge. What I've found is that if you can do a longer pre-fridge fermentation, before you add the salt (as salt slows yeast growth), then you need less on the other end.
My most recent breakfast timing: 90 minutes to 2 hrs first fermentation. Add salt egg and butter, then refrigerate overnight. Take out for 30 minutes to 1 hr (batter should be frothy and have risen) before cooking.
useful (1)