11-29-2009, 05:10 AM
Sure Carol, just let me know when you can stop by. My number is: 982 8950.
How old is your starter? Did you get a chance to read through the tutorial? There is a lot of good information in it. My starter took about 6-7 days to get to a point that it started to look and smell like a SD starter.
I also would recommend a bread baker buying a set of scales that reads grams, ounces, and can be "zeroed" (tare button). There are a lot of good recipes out there that are all measured out in grams or ounces rather than cups and spoons. If you get into the habit of using the scales, you'll find that you'll have fewer dirty utensils and can put your ingredients together faster with more consistency than using all the measuring cups and spoons. Using a recipe that is in grams allows you to just set the bowl you mix in right on the scales and just start adding each item and then pushing the "tare" button to zero the scale and allowing you to add the next ingredient.
Another plus to using grams rather than cups and spoons is it allows you to use "bakers percentages" or "bakers math" (http://www.wildyeastblog.com/bakers-perc...-index/)to scale your recipe up or down. By the way... The wildyeastblog is a wonderful site to wander around at. Susan is a wonderful baker that has put a site together that is full of great recipes, photos, tutorials, and good information in general.
I'm far from an expert as I've only been baking for about 4 months now. It is an "addictive" hobby to get involved with but I've yet to make a loaf of bread bad enough that I couldn't eat! If you practice with "lean" breads (just salt, yeast,water, and flour) rather than "enriched" breads (breads with things like oil, butter, eggs, or milk) you can make french baguettes for just pennies.
Sorry about rambling but I've gotten bitten hard by the baking bug.
Royall
PS. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/ This is another great site to ask question and get wonderful help. A friendly bunch of people there.
How old is your starter? Did you get a chance to read through the tutorial? There is a lot of good information in it. My starter took about 6-7 days to get to a point that it started to look and smell like a SD starter.
I also would recommend a bread baker buying a set of scales that reads grams, ounces, and can be "zeroed" (tare button). There are a lot of good recipes out there that are all measured out in grams or ounces rather than cups and spoons. If you get into the habit of using the scales, you'll find that you'll have fewer dirty utensils and can put your ingredients together faster with more consistency than using all the measuring cups and spoons. Using a recipe that is in grams allows you to just set the bowl you mix in right on the scales and just start adding each item and then pushing the "tare" button to zero the scale and allowing you to add the next ingredient.
Another plus to using grams rather than cups and spoons is it allows you to use "bakers percentages" or "bakers math" (http://www.wildyeastblog.com/bakers-perc...-index/)to scale your recipe up or down. By the way... The wildyeastblog is a wonderful site to wander around at. Susan is a wonderful baker that has put a site together that is full of great recipes, photos, tutorials, and good information in general.
I'm far from an expert as I've only been baking for about 4 months now. It is an "addictive" hobby to get involved with but I've yet to make a loaf of bread bad enough that I couldn't eat! If you practice with "lean" breads (just salt, yeast,water, and flour) rather than "enriched" breads (breads with things like oil, butter, eggs, or milk) you can make french baguettes for just pennies.
Sorry about rambling but I've gotten bitten hard by the baking bug.
Royall
PS. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/ This is another great site to ask question and get wonderful help. A friendly bunch of people there.