What did you cook/eat today (October 2017)?

[Frizz1974]

Vegetables au gratin.

Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus & peas with an enriched bechamel poured over & grated provolone dolce. Then baked until golden.

Served with a BBQ roasted chunk of rump beef & baked pumpkin.

 

[Frizz1974]

Extremely rustic pork Banh Mi with homemade chicken liver pate.

 

[Frizz1974]

Thai Beef Salad.

 

[Morning Glory]

Great photos @Frizz1974! And a fantastic selection of dishes.

 

[Morning Glory]

The crumb is too fine & the crust went soft almost instantly.

I have yet to bake bread which keeps a crisp crust...

 

[Morning Glory]

Superfast Spicy Spinach and Chickpeas

 

[Elawin]

Lovely - your photos are getting 'brighter'!

It's weird - the lighting is the same, and the position is the same. I can only think the photos are brighter if I let the food cool a little first so there is no steam.

 

[Elawin]

I have yet to bake bread which keeps a crisp crust...

Mine is always crusty! I cover the bread with a tea towel while it is cooling.

 

[Morning Glory]

It's weird - the lighting is the same, and the position is the same. I can only think the photos are brighter if I let the food cool a little first so there is no steam.

That could be it!

 

[Morning Glory]

Mine is always crusty! I cover the bread with a tea towel while it is cooling.

A damp tea towel?

 

[Elawin]

A damp tea towel?

No - I don't even use a damp tea towel to cover the dough when it's rising. Dry, all the way!

 

[Elawin]

That could be it!

I tried it tonight when I dished up dinner. I took a photo when the food came out of the oven and it was definitely blurry compared with the ones I took a few minutes later. In fact the photo was so bad where the food was steaming hot, I deleted it without thinking, otherwise I could have posted both for comparison.

 

[Elawin]

Tonight's dinner was one I made earlier. I found it lurking at the bottom of the freezer while I was looking for something else

Lamb bamieh served up with plain steamed rice and flatbreads.

 

[Frizz1974]

A damp tea towel?

No - I don't even use a damp tea towel to cover the dough when it's rising. Dry, all the way!

I did an overnight uncovered rise for the second loaf - I let it sit in the cold oven then removed it in the morning to pre-heat the oven for baking. The loaf was dry to the touch when I slashed it.

Some reading suggested turning the oven down after 20 minutes and cooking a little longer - another 15-20 minutes. This seemed to help with a crisper thicker crust.

 

[Elawin]

I did an overnight uncovered rise for the second loaf - I let it sit in the cold oven then removed it in the morning to pre-heat the oven for baking. The loaf was dry to the touch when I slashed it.

Some reading suggested turning the oven down after 20 minutes and cooking a little longer - another 15-20 minutes. This seemed to help with a crisper thicker crust.

I divide my dough make small loaves (i.e. about 400 g/15 oz each), so I usually bake mine for about 17 minutes at 200C in a fan oven. This seems to work for sourdough bread too; it was only when I was suffering after having my tooth out that I had the disaster - I was so drugged up on painkillers, I don't even know what I did wrong! However, if I was making larger loaves, I'd probably turn the heat down after 20 minutes - this does seem to be recommended in a lot of recipes.