On Sun, 13 May 2007 01:14:50 GMT, "wff_ng_7" >
wrote:

>Today's project was making kaiser rolls.
>
>I make them using my sourdough starter, but I "cheated" this time and added some
>active dry yeast. I do that when I'm a little pressed for time and not sure of
>the potency of my starter. I shouldn't have worried, as it was only a week since
>the last time I refreshed it. Sometimes it's three weeks before I get around to
>it.
>
>The recipe I use is roughly based on the one for hard rolls in the Fanny Farmer
>cookbook. But I say roughly because I bake bread more by the "seat of the pants"
>method. I just use that as a hint for how much water to use and double it, to 3
>cups. The amount of flour is by feel, I add yeast if I feel like it, I put in my
>sourdough starter. I make the rolls much bigger than the Fanny Farmer recipe.
>That one says it yields 18 hard rolls. I'm essentially doubling the recipe and I
>get 12 rolls.
>
>The active dry yeast I'm using has an interesting "history". It is close to 4
>years old. It used to belong to my father, who passed away about 3-1/2 years
>ago. I keep it in the freezer. It's amazing how long it keeps. I would have used
>it up long ago, but most of my bread baking is with my sourdough starter and no
>added yeast.
>
>Here are pictures of the kaiser rolls and my next batch of sourdough starter,
>ready to be stirred down:
>
>Twelve Kaiser Rolls: http://i5.tinypic.com/67fo3zk.jpg
>Sourdough Starter: http://i7.tinypic.com/5402dev.jpg
>
>Kaiser rolls MUST have poppy seeds on top. I found a neat method to getting them
>evenly on the tops of the rolls. I put some poppy seeds in the bottom section of
>a small tea ball and shake them on.

They look great. Do you participate in the sourdough group?

Koko
---
http://kokoscorner.blogspot.com

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw