Dear Fellow Baker,

We hope you enjoy and benefit from our recipes, videos and occasional special offers. We’ll shoot out a newsletter one or two times a month that will highlight new recipes and video tutorials at Breadtopia and alert you to our occasional baking equipment giveaways.

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Eric & The Breadtopia Family

 

 

 

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217 replies to “Thanks For Subscribing

  1. Good morning…
    Thank you for your breadmaking videos…I am a relatively new baker and value the help more than I can say. I began by sending for the 1847 sourdough starter mix but then discovered your site and found a deep appreciation for just about every bread you have listed. I have found your baking tips nowwhere else. I recently found a local source (Seattle area) for low-cost flour and supplies so am baking even more…more than we can consume…it’s driving my wife crazy! (but what fun)

  2. Hi Lisa,

    I’m not qualified to answer your question well. I know diabetics who do a lot better with sourdough starter leavened breads vs commercial yeast breads because sourdough starter apparently has a lower glycemic index.

    Also, you definitely don’t need to add sugar to a basic sourdough recipe. I never have. See: sourdough no knead recipe.

  3. I have been baking Sour Dough breads for some time now. Two months ago I learned that I have diabetes. SO, I have stopped feasting on that wonderful white bread. Do you know of a recipe that makes the Sour Dough bread healthier for diabetics? The recipe I make my Sour Dough with includes sugar. I am also doing the Weight Watchers program , so I need to be careful with startch. Help!
    Impressed, Lisa

  4. Hi Shereen,

    You just need to coat the basket with a layer of bran flakes to prevent sticking.

    You also might want to add more flour next time to stiffen it up some. That will help with the rise. Also be sure not to let it proof too long. Err on the short side and you’ll get more rise in the oven.

    At least these things usually help. 😉

  5. I wonder if you can help me. I finally made the sourdough however after the proofing in the basket… the dough stuck to the bottom and when I turned it onto the dutch oven it spread and lost its rising … what did I do wrong?

    should the dough be firm or wet?

    I am eager to try again, so any assistance would be appreciated.

  6. Hi A.J.

    Welcome to Breadtopia and thanks for the nice post!

    Eric

  7. I am a novice but almost fearless sourdough person who has made a starter from flour and water. It is still alive and I shared with a friend who is equally fearless in the kitchen. She discovered your web site and shared the info. with me. This is ABSOLUTELY fun. I am sure I will eventually view all of your videos and read all of your recipes and have a good time baking bread.

  8. Hi Shereen,

    Here’s the link for making sourdough starter.

    And this is an easy recipe for making sourdough bread.

    There are many more easy recipes on this site as well.

    Good luck and have fun!

  9. I am about to make my first starter.

    I love to bake and I am looking forward to making my own sourdough. I lived in San Francisco for 2 years and we have moved back to Australia. I have been looking for a good sourdough here but I have not found one that my family likes so I hope this works.

    Please can you send me some easy recipies so I can make my first sourdough this week.

    Looking forward to receiving your reply.

    Regards
    Shereen

  10. I am looking for a bread receipe called “Times Square Bread”.

  11. Hi Paul,

    Are you asking how you can get an all whole wheat flour no knead bread to not be a door stop?

    It’s tough. But increasing the yeast and adding high gluten bread flour would help.

    Peter Rienhart’s 100% whole wheat breads call for, in many cases, something like 2 1/2 tsp of instant yeast. That’s 10x the amount called for in no knead. Now Reinhart’s recipe probably shouldn’t even be mentioned in same breath with no knead as it’s a totally different thing, but I think it can give you a hint at the kind of fire power it can take to get an all whole wheat loaf away from comparisons to an anvil.

    You can also try adding 1 1/2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten to your 3 cups of whole wheat (and the rest of the normal no knead ingredients). I’ve heard this can work well.

  12. Hi Denise,

    Using a bowl to form a foil dome. Now that’s some clever innovation! Nice going.

  13. Hello Eric…
    I realized that my corning dish was not tall enough. What I ended up using was an iron skillet (12″) and used a bowl to form a foil paper dome. It worked great. The only changes I have to make is the bake time. The bottom of the bread was a tad bit more done than I wanted, but the bread was still delicious. 🙂 I will be baking more this weekend. Thanks.
    Denise

  14. Thank you. Have you or anyone else found that gluten flour can help with 3 cup Whole Wheat? I found that increasing the yeast to .5 teaspoon helped.

    Thanks,
    Paul

  15. Re Beginner Pauls question. I used 100% whole wheat (3 cups) using the original No Knead recipe. I followed all the other ingredients and steps and baked it in a Le Crueset dutch oven. The result was the loaf was rather flat, only about 2 inches in the middle. The crust was thick and chewy and the bread was really heavy. But I find that it tasted really good, especially if I toast it lightly.

  16. Eric, I really enjoyed your site and I find your video very helpful. I tried the Cooks Illustrated Almost No Knead recipe and find the results very good except the cut I made didn’t seem to make a difference. I baked two loaves at the same time and used a squarish Corningware casserole and a French White oblong casserole and only preheat the oven to 450 degrees instead of 500 degrees because I don’t know if the glass lids can withstand the heat and baked it for a full 25 minutes after I took the lids off. The inside were chewy but not sticky like the Sullivan Street Bakery recipe and with smaller holes. I also like the parchment paper, a lot less waste of flour.

  17. Hi Denise,

    If you can get a hold of a pizza stone or even quarry tiles from a home improvement store, that will work better than a plain baking sheet. But a corning dish with lid should work very well so long as it’s big (and tall) enough to accommodate the rising dough.

    Spelt flour should be easy to find at any store that sells health food type groceries. It’s pretty common stuff. If there are none in your area you could look into buying on line.

  18. Hello Eric…
    Recently, I stumbled upon your website by accident and have been back everyday. I have followed your instruction for the sour dough starter and have started the Poilâne bread. I guess I should have watched both videos before I started. I don’t own a clay baker or a proofing basket. I can handle putting it in a regular bowl for the proofing process. My questions are… Can I put the bread on a plain baking sheet? Will a corning dish with lid work? If I let it sit longer than your recommended time, will it flop? I figured I could knead the dough, let it rise and then bake it when I get home from work.
    Also, where do you buy spelt flour? I’m a diabetic for a little over a year now and have been watching what flours I use. I love bread, so this has been really tough for me. I am a bit reluctant to use the All Purpose flour. I have been using King Arthur 100% Whole Wheat flour for all my breads.
    I really enjoy your website and videos. I have already told my husband about it and he is looking forward to trying your breads. Thank you!
    Denise

  19. arian. when you find it, share it with us please,

    sandy in fl

  20. Hi Arian,

    I had to do a Google search to find out what it is. So I guess that answers your question. Sorry.

  21. hi! i was just wondering if you have any instructional videos on pan de sal bread making. i would like to learn to make this bread for my family so that i don’t have to go to the bakeshop to buy just a few pieces of pan de sal every morning. thanks!

  22. Good question on increasing the yeast or adding gluten. Seems like it could only help. It is certainly a challenge maintaining the desirable qualities of no knead bread when you use more whole wheat than white flour.

    If you go that route, I hope you’ll let us know your results.

  23. Dear Eric,

    Thanks for the follow-up. For ten years, I used a bread machine. Its breakdown last month was a blessing in disguise because I discovered no-knead bread on U-Tube. I feel more connected with my bread and it is much better bread. The no-knead has more prana, better flavor, and even the kids like it.

    So far, I have made five loafs but still need to solve the time issue for my working schedule. I will try your plan of mixing up the dough on Friday morning, putting it in the fridge, and then about 9 or 10 PM on Friday, I will take it out. Sat AM around 6AM, I will start the rest of the process. I should have the bread done around 9 AM – before the summer heats sets in. Will let you know how this works for me.

    Instead of saving for a bread machine, I now am saving for a flourmill. My goal is to move up to no-knead sourdough whole-wheat breads. This is really a wonderful experience.

    My current goal is to increase the whole wheat to white flour ratios from 1:2 up to 2 to 1. Do you recommend raising the yeast to .5 tsp or adding some gluten flour, or both?

    Best wishes,
    Paul in Ojai, CA.

  24. How are you doing with this, Paul?

    For baking early on a Sat AM, I would try mixing up the dough on Friday morning and put right away in the fridge. Then just before going to bed Friday night, take out of the fridge to continue its normal routine until you commence the final steps early Sat.

    Or I would simply start the recipe the second you walk in the door after work on Friday and finish as late as you can on Saturday morning (and still meet your “ready to eat” deadline). This entails a much shorter “long” proofing time than the original recipe calls for but in warm summer weather I often go with a 12 hour (or so) proof anyway because it actually works as well as 18 hours would in cooler temps.

    These are just a couple things I would try. Of course your ideas could easily be better.

  25. Eric,

    Thanks for your comments. I am making progress.

    Here is my challenge –bake the no-knead bread early Saturday morning. I go to work on weekdays from about 8am to 6:30pm.

    Here are a couple ideas:
    Plan A: Mix and start Thursday at 7pm. Put in refrigerator for 24 hour rise in refrigerator. Friday night, 24 hours later at 7pm, let set for 30 mins then do the 1.5 hour rise. Put back in refrigerator. Take out Saturday AM, let rest for 30 mins while over heats up and then bake.

    Plan B: Start Friday at 7 AM. Leave covered on courter until Friday night at about 9 pm (14 hour rise) put in refrigerator. Saturday AM, take out or refrigerator, let rest in room for 30 mins, then do the 1.5 hour rise and then bake.

    What are the pros and cons of refrigerating after the 1.5 rise?

    So far, I made two loafs, ordered the La Cloche and other items from Breadtopia and am getting more confident. Both loafs were good.

    Thanks
    Paul

  26. WHAT A DEAL!!!! My kids were going to buy me two La Cloche bakers for Mother’s Day, and had the order in. Rummaging around Goodwill today I found a brand new terra cotta “apple baker”, 9″ round, domed lid. The only difference between this and the La Cloche is that the base is a about 3″ deep instead of 1″ (and 9″ round instead of 11″, which I like better) and it is finished on the inside. I’m assuming that will make the bread not stick, or is it a bad thing? So I have some questions:
    1. Do I soak the top like it says, or use it just like a La Cloche? Would soaking steam the break better?
    2. Like the La Cloche, I can’t have sudden temperature changes. So what do the rest of you do with the La Cloche when you take the bread out. Just leave it in the oven to cool?
    3. Can anyone see a problem I could have with this because I’m telling my kids to cancel the order for the round La Cloche.

    Also, and this is on the recipe:
    If I am adding things like wheat bran, bulgar, seeds, whatever, do I deduct that from the 15 oz of flour? I would think to deduct the grain type things but not the seeds, but want to confirm.

    Thanks for your help. I’m trying out my new terra cotta baker tomorrow. If anyone uses this please share your experiences with me!

    Barb :-))

  27. Hi Kathy.

    Thanks.

    It’s just an inexpensive Panasonic. It’s a few years old so no doubt this model is not made any more but I’m sure the same quality would be found on any lower end Panasonics. Much higher quality is available now with HD camcorders but they’re much more expensive too.

  28. I love your videos. What camera are you using that give such great detail?
    Thanks for posting your work.
    Kathy

  29. Hi Amanda,

    I’m not aware of a source in Australia. I’ve send a few your way but the shipping charges are a bit steep.

  30. Love your site and video’s, but I am feeling crust envy!!
    Do you know if it is possible to purchase the La Cloche Bakers any where here in Australia?

  31. Hi Sandy,

    I don’t think many people visit this particular thread. Most of the Q & A takes place on the pages where the videos and recipes are posted. Speaking of which… are you usually able to view videos on your computer (like YouTube videos)? Or is it that your computer has trouble with it in general?

    If you can watch YouTube videos, my videos are posted there too and can be found by doing a search on Breadtopia.

  32. I have just purchased the two lacloche. Cannot wait to use them. Any feedback about them from someone that has them is appreciated. How well does everyone like them?

  33. unfortunately eric, I cannot view any of your wonderful videos and I am bummed about it, big time. I have an at&t laptop connect card and I am lucky to even get a picture after about a half hour wait. Is there any other way for me to view your videos? Is there a cd I can buy? thanks, sandy

  34. i like to thank you for these videos for a long time i been wanting to bake bread the right way. and never was able to get a recipe that i could master. even when it came to making sourdough. i give this site a big thumbs up. please keep up the good work. for those of us who love baking bread and never knew how thank you shelia

  35. Hi Dennis,

    There’s a sourdough pizza recipe over at http://www.breadtopia.com/pizza-dough-recipe that makes 2 pizzas and calls for 1 1/2 cups of starter that you could cut in half.

  36. how much starter would you use to make 1 pizza pie

  37. Thanks for the nice comments, Ralph. And good luck with “The Quest”.

    Eric

  38. What a great site, Eric! I stumbled upon it while looking for bread baking tools. I’m on a quest for the evasive (for me) ciabatta loaf. I used to buy these at Il Fornaio in Pasadena, CA., but since moving to the Pacific Northwest, I’ve not been able to find a comparable loaf. And I’ve not been able to replicate it myself, even with Peter Reinhart’s and Il Fornaio’s bread baking books. The crumb of the Il Fornaio loaf is a yellowish, creamy color and chewy. It must be the flour I’m using. Anyway, I’ve made 17 loaves of the No Knead Bread, most of which I’ve given away. It’s great fun. Again, you’ve got a great site. Many thanks. Ralph Gandy

  39. Ihave been following the no knead bread recipe since spring and have had perfect results everytime. The best bread I have ever made and so easy. Keep up the good work.
    Susan
    victoria, B.C.

  40. Kim later replied with this update…

    “Hi thanks for your reply. I ended up baking the bread at about 4:00 p.m. I put it in a cool place until I could get to it. It actually turned out really good. It had nice oven spring and a nice crisp crust.”

    Kim

  41. Hi Kim,

    Ooops! I’m afraid I’m a little late in my response to help you on this batch.

    Unless you are in a very warm and humid area, it’s unlikely the dough has over proofed in just 9 hours. During the warm summer months here in Iowa, I often cut the 18 hours down to 16 or even 14 hours to avoid over proofing.

    Did you use less than the amount of salt called for in the recipe? Salt inhibits yeast growth and slows fermentation.

    How did this bread turn out?

    Eric

  42. Hi Mali,

    I’m not familiar with Magnalite roasters. You would have to check with the company that makes them.

    Maybe you could make a half recipe of the Poilane bread. That should fit nicely inside the oblong La Cloche.

    Eric

  43. I am a newcomer to the no knead bread.I own a oblong La Cloche.Tomorrow morning I will make the finished dough for you “Poilaine” bread and that does not fit in My stone conyainer.I own a large Magnalite roaster.Can that be heated to 500 F? Mali

  44. I’ve been baking bread off and on for some time and have had less than stellar results. I’m looking forward to trying your no knead bread. Watched the video this morning and can’t wait to try out this weekend!

  45. Eric, I just received my proofing basket and dough wisk. They arrived in perfect condition and were beautifully wrapped. My my fist batch of whole grain sour dough bread is resting comfortably in the refrigerator awaiting tomorrows baking.
    I cannot wait. A few weeks ago I read a novel written by Patricia Kate Lynch. It was called By Bread Alone. Her inspiration is also the Poilâne Bread of Paris. I used her starter recipe for my bread.
    Thanks again,
    Cathy

  46. Thanks!
    Have a beautiful sunday!

    Doris

  47. Hello Doris,

    Thank you for your comments.

    It’s really a pity we can’t have Austria here in Iowa ;).

    I will check with my supplier and let you know if I find availability in Europe. The postage rates from USA to Austria are a little extreme.

    Eric

  48. Thanks for your beautiful videos.
    It’s a pity, that I cannot have a LaCloche here in Austria. Or do you know a place here in Europe, where I can get it?

    Best regards from Vienna
    Doris

  49. I just stumbled upon your site after spending several hours researching and reading about the no knead bread. Your is by far the best! I have my first batch nearly ready for the second rise and I am already using some of your methods.

    Thanks,

    Jerry Ulett in Seattle

  50. Wonderful job Eric!
    Can’t wait to try this, but it was so much fun to watch your video;
    You leave Julia Childs in the dust with your comprehensiveness, presented with such simplicity- it is great!
    Many thanks, Kate and Barry Ross

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