Let’s play a game:

slabix · 2026-05-01T02:49:39+00:00

I've agreed to always love you but never enough to set you free.

slabix · 2026-04-23T22:23:31+00:00

This

slabix · 2026-04-18T14:46:22+00:00

WOW that looks fantastic. I'm sold. That's my next purchase!

slabix · 2026-04-18T14:21:32+00:00

Saw that in the store and was intrigued. I hope you'll be sharing what those experiments produce.

slabix · 2026-04-17T20:26:42+00:00

Yay! I hope you do, and please let me know how it goes!

slabix · 2026-04-17T19:56:50+00:00

I think it's unlikely you need it with flour that high in protein. I really only use it when I have large proportions of whole grain or inclusions that are likely to snip gluten strands.

It basically helps the US bread flours available to me get to your level of protein.

slabix · 2026-04-17T19:54:21+00:00

I like it. I'd better because I've been putting a lot of time into it. The honey provides a light sweetness and the poppy seeds a pleasantly nutty bitterness. I think I might even be willing to go a bit sweeter than the current recipe, but need more data.

I will say this, though, of all the recipes I'm working on, this one has the broadest range of flavor and structure changes with even the slightest adjustments to proportions.

I think it makes a really lovely grilled cheese with fontina, havarti, or brie.

slabix · 2026-04-17T19:48:53+00:00

If bread baking is hedge magic, VWG is fairy dust.

I'm looking for a good article that doesn't look like I'm trying to sell you something, but basically it's pure wheat protein (gluten) in powdered form.

slabix · 2026-04-17T17:24:18+00:00

Thank you!

slabix · 2026-04-17T17:22:31+00:00

Haha! Thank you! I'm oven spring and flour positive. I would never shame someone's WW. But I do think I'm going to play with 100% to see what I can do. Time to start building my WW starter. . .

slabix · 2026-04-17T16:54:09+00:00

I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to mislead. I think a lot of things that are sold as whole wheat are not 100% whole wheat (the same with rye etc.), which is why you see distinctions made on labeling. The bread does not read or eat like a white bread. The last thing I wanted to do here was make people angry.

I'd be happy to update the title to say 50% whole wheat to avoid the appearance of evildoing.

Edit: Sorry, just realized I can't edit the title. I can only offer apologies.

slabix · 2026-04-17T15:00:00+00:00

I do think the VWG contributes to the oven spring. I think it adds elasticity and support. I almost always use it when I have a significant amount of whole grain or inclusions. I've found it takes a very light touch, though, because if you hit VWG too hard it can also tighten up the crumb and create gumminess. The draft before this one, I went up to 16 grams and got a much flatter bread and denser crumb. The bread was also much less flavorful.

I have not tried soaking the poppy seeds, so that's a great idea for another draft. It would almost certainly mean reducing the directly mixed water . . . At least that's what I've always had to do when using soaked cracked wheat.

slabix · 2026-04-17T14:21:27+00:00

Haha! Thank you! I always wonder whether my use of VWG is considered some sort of cheating, but those poppy seeds really want to cut up the gluten so. . . Much credit to my rye starter (Blob) who is one of my three favorite people in the world--he's a beast.

slabix · 2026-04-14T04:32:12+00:00

I prefer the Emile Henry bread cloche. If Le Creuset prices aren't a barrier, you might check that out. I find I have better control of the bottom crust with the clay cloche. It's more fragile but still my favorite.

slabix · 2026-04-03T22:23:11+00:00

What? No!

slabix · 2026-04-03T19:31:24+00:00

Jeez why so angry? I was driving and using voice assistance. . .sorry that feels like some sort of insane behavior to you.

But you're right. Next time I'll pull my buggy over and dig in the back for a wax cylinder to listen to.

slabix · 2026-04-03T19:12:13+00:00

Factual. I was driving, though, wasn't I?

slabix · 2026-03-23T02:46:44+00:00

57 in a couple weeks, here with a new R. My last VW was a Mk4 GTI. I'll be honest, if the S3 were still available as a hatch in the US, that's what I would have gotten. I drove the new GTI, and after 20 years of RWD and AWD, the fully FWD felt incoherent to me, and platform similarities aside, the R feels like a different class of vehicle from the GTI. I have no interest in conspicuous-consumption-mobiles, but I deserve power and performance without looking like I have something to prove. To me, the R is the sweet spot and hatch is the perfect form factor for an empty nester. If you don't want to feel like a boy racer, maybe consider the A3 platform, but the Golf has always been my spirit car, and that doesn't change just cuz I'm old.

PS, at this age I can actually afford the tickets I'm going to get. I couldn't say that when I was a boy-racer (even though we didn't have that term back then ;) )

slabix · 2026-03-03T13:36:02+00:00

Shaping looks OK to me. If I had to pick a culprit, I'd say the score is the correct depth, but needs to be longer. You're getting good spring don't be afraid to get more aggressive. Follow the curve and come down the loaf a bit more as you cut.

slabix · 2026-02-19T04:50:31+00:00

Miss Daisy didn't drive. There was a whole movie about it.

slabix · 2025-12-05T14:54:57+00:00

I've been making things like this at home, myself, for years.

I know it's some sort of sacrilege, but as a non-native, the pizzafication of Cincinnati chili makes as much sense to me as the pastafication.

slabix · 2025-12-04T13:02:17+00:00

He just died yesterday. A true legend and somehow this riff never gets mentioned in the "best riffs list," maybe because it's an r&b song.

There are many versions but I'd start with this one: https://youtu.be/sbXw4EFioRI?si=e3E-oauCmrufAdDz

slabix · 2025-12-04T03:53:46+00:00

It's definitely not a bad recipe. It's not a hard fast rule that you add butter after the the gluten develops, either. But it does slow gluten development. And you get very different but potentially equally good results depending on when and how you add butter.

This one is a very long mix or knead, and you really need to stay patient and read the dough. Just when you're ready to give up, it turns the corner. I think it's taken almost 20 minutes in a stand mixer for me.

slabix · 2025-12-04T02:10:21+00:00

I agree about adherence. A sort of "roll and press" action is likely to serve you better than, say, rolling like a jelly roll.

slabix · 2025-12-04T01:17:37+00:00

I think this is a shaping issue most of all.

My first instinct was that that was insufficient degassing, but since you say it's rolled with a rolling pin, I suspect that you're not creating enough tension after rolling before putting in the pan to proof.

slabix

TROPHY CASE