Comments on: Great Bread in Five Minutes? Not Quite, But Close

By: Shoshana

Shoshana — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:49:44 +0000

Thanks! I really like your blog.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:34:41 +0000

So sorry Shoshana! I think you mostly got it right; mine has a superhard exterior. It’s a feature not a bug! And yes, the interior is indeed very polenta-y tasting. My only suggestion would be to try a different polenta. LIke I said above, my is fancy-ish, and really tasty. But it’s also possible that you just might not like this style of bread. It’s really meant to be toasted afterward as well….

By: Shoshana

Shoshana — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:07:03 +0000

I tried making the Broa. I like the simplicity of the recipe, but my bread came out with an inedibly hard crust and a dense, polenta-flavored, interior. Any tips on making this a ligther bread, or is that they way it’s supposed to be? I’m trying to move from relying on my bread maker, to baking by hand.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:30:54 +0000

Masako! So great to see you here — we’ll take this to email!

And Stuart — haven’t tried Heidi’s pizza dough, but I will. Here it is:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001199.html

By: Stuart

Stuart — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:23:23 +0000

For pizza I like Heidi’s variation of Peter Reinhart’s recipe on 101 cookbooks. I use half white half whole wheat flour, mix it in a stand mixer and form balls. Put those in individual qt size freezer bags and freeze right away. Take them out to thaw in the fridge the day I need them. TJ Dough is too gluteny to work with, even after sitting out for hours!

By: Masako Imai

Masako Imai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:15:50 +0000

Hi,Eric-san.
Hope you remember me.
Recently published Haruki Murakami’s book “IQ84 ” reminds me of you and days we read “TV people” in Japanese together.
So I googled your name and discovered you!
It’s a nice and big surprise to find how you have been.
I travel around this blog and enjoy yummy photos.
I will try some recipes.
Cornbread is my favorite!

By: Anne Napolitano

Anne Napolitano — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:56:39 +0000

There is a chapter in the book dedicated to flatbreads and pizzas. I haven’t tried them yet but have had great success with other recipes from that book.

By: Karena

Karena — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:32:29 +0000

Sounds like I need to lift my moratorium on new cookbooks and order this one–and “Happy in the Kitchen” as well. Two quarters coming your way!

By: Ed Ward

Ed Ward — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:30:37 +0000

The pizza dough I make makes enough dough for two pizzas, so I’ve been freezing half of it for some years now. The thought that it might not have to be frozen, but just stuck in a bag in the fridge, is new to me, though. But yeah, it works.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:27:39 +0000

The book doesn’t say anything about pizza dough, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. After all, that’s exactly what the Trader Joe’s fresh dough is.

I’m willing to bet it’s even freezable; you could make a batch of, say, five, freeze five balls, and just take one out in the morning before you go to work.

I’ve had the TJ dough in the fridge up to about 10 days, and it’s always fine. That’s a superquick weeknight lazy-but-hungry dinner for us, too.