Also, new icon.

[roadrunnertwice]

itastelikelove has apparently been leveling up in beer lately, and in one of those blips of family synchronicity, I've been cashing in some Baker job points. The big news lately is this thing:



This trick comes from my latest baking crush over at Wild Yeast, who will helpfully explain the whole concept for the curious. And yes, it is in fact a big fat clay flowerpot. (And yes, I am paranoid and tested it for lead.)

A pot that looks like the ones in her article would be probably be better, but this one's working fine. It's FINALLY solved the mystery of how to get that perfect crust; at long last, I'm getting that serious golden shit, along with huge oven spring and razor-sharp grigne just like I routinely sliced myself up on over at Rustica. (And that's just with my newly revitalized sourdough; I haven't even tried any yeasted bread in it yet.)

'Course, it puts a bit of a crimp on the shapes of loaf I can make. Even a bâtard is pushing it a bit (yesterday's attempt at stuffing two bâtards in there was downright comedic), so I'd better learn to love the boule. Anyway, given how well this is working, I'm thinking the next step is to follow the rest of her advice and rustle up a junky pan, some chunks of lava rock, and a long-spouted watering can. I'd been down on steam for the longest time because Reinhart's techniques turned out to useless, but now I'm a believer.

Comments

[chronographia]

O-ho, but this gives me an excuse to meander down to my local cookware store and see if they've got any appropriately shaped clay pot cookers and then relay the info back to you. Whenever I can get out from under all this freaking snow. Clay pot cookers are awesome, in general!

(Dammit, why do I not have anything resembling a foodie icon?)

[roadrunnertwice]

This one was six bucks in the Fred Meyer's garden department! I think they cost more if you get them from someone who tells you you're supposed to cook with it.

(There's a biiiiit of a limiter on how much use a more appropriate size would be to me, since my baking stone is still the little tiny one I got off Freecycle back in the beginning of '09, and it's gotta fit on top of that. Slowly starting to chafe against the limits of your cheapass beginner's equipment: always a milestone in any pursuit!)

[chronographia]

Well, mostly it is an excuse to go down to the cookware shop and gawk at things, which I don't get to do often. But perhaps it will also make you feel more thrifty if I bring back price point info?

[itastelikelove.livejournal.com]

That looks pretty slick. I should give some of those steam techniques a try, but I haven't been baking nearly enough lately. I did use my new kitchen scale for my last batch, though!

And for a little more family synchronicity, I specifically talked about leveling up my brewing in today's post, before checking your journal. Awesome.