sturlington's Reviews
4 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 4Sort by: Title 
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Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
By Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press - 2009
Neo-Neopolitan Pizza Dough : page 67
This was the first recipe I made out of this cookbook. I thought the dough was very easy to make and it came together beautifully with such little effort. I really like the stretch and fold techniques and the convenience of overnight fermentation. My troubles came when it came time to stretch the dough out for baking. I had divided the dough into 5 sections as directed but had a very difficult time stretching it out without it tearing. I ended up combining 2 dough balls into one, which while still tasty, was a bit chewy for my tastes. Next time, I will follow the advice of some of the other reviewers and divide the dough into 4 portions instead of 5. However, I believe this will be my standard pizza dough recipe from now on.
useful (1)
Pain a l'Ancienne Focaccia : page 57
I actually used the pizza dough for this recipe. In the introduction, he says that focaccia dough is very much like pizza dough, except wetter, and after I had thawed my frozen dough, it seemed very wet indeed. I liked the method of dimpling and stretching the dough; it worked very well, and since I had all afternoon, I didn't have to bother with the oven. The dough did not rise up as much as I would like (probably because it was frozen), but it was chewy and full of bubbles, which is what I associate with focaccia. I topped it with some tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese, so it was almost pizza-like anyway, but definitely a different texture. We enjoyed it very much.
useful (0)
Soft Sandwich Bread and Rolls : page 105
This did not turn out for me. The dough did not rise. I think it was my fault. I think I bungled the first step of combining the yeast with lukewarm buttermilk, or else my yeast was no good. I will try it again sometime, because the pictures in the book look so yummy.
useful (1)
The Best Biscuits Ever : page 175
I had a very different experience from the other reviewers. My biscuits did not rise well and indeed resembled little hockey pucks. I rescued the second batch by piling several cut biscuits on top of one another to create layered biscuits.
These biscuits are indeed flaky, but they are not fluffy like I want biscuits to be. This is the second recipe I have made from this well-reviewed book that has not turned out for me. At first, I was blaming myself, but in truth, I have made biscuits many times from many recipes and they always turn out great. I also have a reliable buttermilk biscuit recipe I can turn out in less than 1/2 hour, without freezing the butter or resting the dough, and they always bake up high and fluffy. I really think the dough is worked too much with all the folding, as I have always been taught to handle biscuit dough as little as possible.
I am more than a little disappointed that I am not getting the same results from these recipes as the other reviewers, since I was so excited to get this book. Perhaps this book is just not a good fit for my baking style, but I will try one or two more recipes from it before making up my mind.
useful (1)