I have a glass bowl from Kitchen Aid. I put starter inside, add flour,
water, oil and sal. Take the fork and stir it until it looks
consistent and smooth.
Is it enough ?
Seems pretty easy task to do, and fast also.
The batch for about 2-3 loaves, each one about a lb, I do and it does
not take more than 1-2 minutes.

Is it that I do not do it long enough and this is why I need the
machine, or is it OK?
What is the indicator that tells me it is ready to be put on the
kneading board and be kneaded?

Here is another question.

When baking, I have tried to put a dough on flat surface. Like a
firebricks or later on aluminium pan. After a while, the dough
flattens very much. If I do not put it in some kind of a form it
spreads out a lot on the surface and becomes very thin. Like pizza.
This is not what I want.

I have tried to make dough very thick. By adding a lot of flour when
kneading it before putting for last 2nd rise. But what I got is almost
no rise, and very hard, tough bread, that is probably very healthy,
but very difficult to eat. Not interested.

Now, if I put it in the forms, this is OK. But the forms have outside
walls. So, I am not sure if it prevents from heat getting inside the
bread evenly?
Also, because I smooth bottom of pan with oil as it is recommended it
comes out kind of wet on the bottom and crust on the top.
When I buy bread from the store, the baguettes are evenly baked, how
they do it?
Can I do it without any special expensive equipment?

I think I should be more specific, asking specific questions instead
of many questions in one thread.

Anyway, is the recommendation to use high proteine, flour made from
winter wheat correct path to follow?

Does it grow or gets milled in US.
What company does it?

I have noticed an interesting thing.

I have started new starter from whole wheat flour I have got from
local store, that caters mostly to people from Middle East.
So they sell flour in bulk. Price is very reasonable, $.49 /lb.
I would expect people from Middle East generally do more cooking than
people on the average. Reason I say is at least because I see over
there products realted to cooking from scratch. Like different types
of spices, fresh produce,etc,etc...

And flour being sold in bulk.
The only other place I saw that was a health food store.

Anyway, I have made a starter and it was bubbling like crazy. Every
time I would add a cup of flour, and cup of warm water, and stir it,
in an 1-2 hours I would see
pretty intensive bubbling,and raising. Looked good.

Then I would take enough starter to make 1 bread, use the starter to
make bread, and replenish starter with 2 cups of flower and water.
Like I have said before, a lot of bubbles, and fast activity.
Great.

Does anyone know of a source for commercial sized bags of "Sir Lancelot"
flour by King Arthur? Apparently, they only sell the expensive 3lb packages
on their website, but larger commercial sizes (25 or 50) do exist. Any
ideas?

Russ

My understanding is that to make delicious bread, one of the most
important things is to start with good flour.

This is what I see in the stores:
King Arthur flour, All purpose flour, Philsburry, Bleached,
Unbleached, some other names. I do not remember. Still this is what I
need:

1. Company that does not sell garbage in the first place. Starts with
good, high protein, winter wheat.

2. Does not sell unfresh flour. I do my own starter. I already know
that bacterias do not like unfresh flour. Probably it does not taste
good to them. So, they do not eat it that much. So, they are not that
happy. So, they do not multiply that fast. So, they do not make a lot
of gas, that makes a the spnge porous.

So, point is how do I know that flour is fresh. I did see already
that same brand and from same supermarket reacts differently and
either ferments faste or slower.

Just posted the full deal for Ukrainian Maky on my web site.

http://www.artisanbreadbaking.com/breads/maky/maky.htm

As I've said, I don't know if this is the proper name but it's what my
guide to all things Ukrainian calls it, so who am I to differ?

Barry

"There's something happening here.
What it is ain't exactly clear"

I've been seeing posts from all sorts of bakers, experienced and
novice referring to a dough with which the poster is having trouble as
"glop", "soup" and similar terms born of exasperation and fingers,
arms and, occasionally, whole bodies covered in flour/water paste

However, when I make the bread concerned, I never have any trouble.

This is NOT because I am superbly coordinated - I am a clumsy, often
catastrophically clumsy man who boasts little in the elegance stakes.

So what's the difference?

Well, it's not mixing time or speed unless you're venturing into
coccodrillo land.

It's the stretch and fold cycles that I apply to pretty much every
bread I make.

Sure, if I'm feeling lazy then long, high speed mixing can save 2- 3
S&F cycles.

But stretch and fold is the key to handling wet dough.

Love

John

I just posted the full picture deal of Ukrainian Maky on my web
site, http://www.artisanbreadbaking.com/breads/maky.htm