Scoring dough - aargh!

[Lee_C]

Calling Norcalbaker to the rescue!

I've just started getting into making bread and made 3 loaves of bread over the last few weeks. The first one was a wholemeal loaf baked in a 2lb loaf tin and came out very nicely.



The second two I made were white bloomers. While I had no problem making a decent bloomer loaf, for the life of me I cannot score the top of the dough without it dragging the dough and misshaping everything. Doesn't matter what knife or razer blade I use. In fact, tonight I couldn't get a knife to make an incision at all so I used scissors but the end result is not pretty.

I think it's about creating the right amount of tension in the loaf to be able to cut it. I used my stand mixer and dough hook to knead it for 10 minutes, then I did some manual kneading when I took it out of the bowl with just olive oil on the worktop. Put the dough into a bowl and proved it for an hour until it had doubled in size.

Then I knocked out the air with my fingers and palms, turning and folding the dough, slapping it on the worktop, and then I rolled it up, shaped it to an approximate oval shape and let it prove again on a baking tray. Maybe I didn't roll it tight enough, maybe I needed to knock the air out of it for longer or knead for longer to develop the gluten more. Maybe it was slightly over proven/d. Seems to be quite a lot of variables. But I'd love to be able to slice through the top of the dough.

The finished shape should look very smooth and rounded as in this video which I followed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5-WLT0X9t8

But as you can see in my pics, it's not, it's rough looking. This loaf is one I made last week. The one I made tonight looks about the same but slightly worse. However, I under baked last weeks one by about 15 minutes and had only baked it for 25 minutes. Tonight's loaf should be better as I baked it for 25 minutes at 200c and then turned it down to 180 for another 15 minutes. (edit: Oh yeah, it's much better. After letting it cool I had a couple of slices. Lovely and soft inside with no taste/texture of any under baked dough, and nice and crispy outside).

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Calling Norcalbaker to the rescue!

I've just started getting into making bread and made 3 loaves of bread over the last few weeks. The first one was a wholemeal loaf baked in a 2lb loaf tin and came out very nicely.

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The second two I made were white bloomers. While I had no problem making a decent bloomer loaf, for the life of me I cannot score the top of the dough without it dragging the dough and misshaping everything. Doesn't matter what knife or razer blade I use. In fact, tonight I couldn't get a knife to make an incision at all so I used scissors but the end result is not pretty.

I think it's about creating the right amount of tension in the loaf to be able to cut it. I used my stand mixer and dough hook to knead it for 10 minutes, then I did some manual kneading when I took it out of the bowl with just olive oil on the worktop. Put the dough into a bowl and proved it for an hour until it had doubled in size.

Then I knocked out the air with my fingers and palms, turning and folding the dough, slapping it on the worktop, and then I rolled it up, shaped it to an approximate oval shape and let it prove again on a baking tray. Maybe I didn't roll it tight enough, maybe I needed to knock the air out of it for longer or knead for longer to develop the gluten more. Maybe it was slightly over proven/d. Seems to be quite a lot of variables. But I'd love to be able to slice through the top of the dough.

The finished shape should look very smooth and rounded as in this video which I followed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5-WLT0X9t8

But as you can see in my pics, it's not, it's rough looking. This loaf is one I made last week. The one I made tonight looks about the same but slightly worse. However, I under baked last weeks one by about 15 minutes and had only baked it for 25 minutes. Tonight's loaf should be better as I baked it for 25 minutes at 200c and then turned it down to 180 for another 15 minutes.

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Hey Lee, bread is frustrating. The fewest ingredients and yet the most difficult to bake.

But first I would caution you against making a lot of bread using your stand mixer. Bread doughs are extremely heavy. So it puts an extraordinary amount of resistance against the motor to move the hook. If you mix a lot of bread dough, you will burn out the motor of your stand mixer within a few years. Advertisement and reality are not the same. If you enjoy making bread I would encourage you to explore the world of high hydration breads. Aside from producing a superior bread, you do not need to use a mixer.

I am not familiar with a bloomer ( hydration levels, traditional flour), so I can only be general.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Bake with Jack, but when it come to the fundamentals of bread all I can say is I haven’t seen anyone else on the Internet to demonstrate the basics as clearly as Jack.

Kneading: it is not about time. There are specific characteristics that you must look for in your dough. Do you remember in another post I mentioned that with experience you’ll begin to recognize the look and feel of doughs and batters as you make them? In the link below Jack demonstrates what you knead to look for in your dough. I want you to take particular note to the very little flour he uses to dust the counter. That is the correct way to dust a countertop with flour. When dough sticks to the countertop use the bench scraper to scrape it off. Continue to knead the dough and use the bench scraper until the dough doesn’t stick to the countertop anymore. The mistake that bakers make is the dough sticks, they throw down more flour, knead, dough sticks, they throw down more flour, knead more...

You asked why you could not slash your dough with a blade or knife. Most likely it was made extremely tough from all the extra flour that was rolled into it from kneading and shaping.

What to look for in kneaded bread dough

This is Jack’s video is shaping.

Slashing: Slashing is an art in of itself. And that takes practice. I am a terrible slasher...sooooo, I’m probably not the best one to give you advice. I use a lame. I dip the blade in water before each slash. I don’t know if it helps or if it’s psychological. I prefer to use more of the corner of the blade rather than the side of the blade. For the angle I imagine I am going to I don’t overthink it and just slice. The other thing I find is if I push hard the blade grabs. If you just slice through it gently and without hesitation it will glide through.

And really there’s nothing wrong with using scissors. And we the best of baker’s make bad slashes

Here’s Jack demonstrating different slashes and even has a blooper in there

I love Jack’s videos. I actually subscribe to his Thursday videos. Don’t always have time to watch them, But I do enjoy them when I have the time.

 

[Becky]

Wow, his videos are great! I've subscribe to his channel, might binge watch later...

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Wow, his videos are great! I've subscribe to his channel, might binge watch later...

Yeah I think Jack makes great videos too! He keeps it simple and he keeps it light. Plus I just love that British accent

Oh his video page is neatly organized so if you’re looking for a video you can easily find it.

 

[Lee_C]

Thank you Norcalbaker!

Yes you're right, I think I'd burn my mixer out eventually.
I could hear it struggling a little, the motor was whirring faster and slower.
Kneading fully by hand is the way to go from now on.

Thanks for bringing Baking with Jack to my attention, excellent stuff! The main thing I'm taking away from his tutorials is 'structure'.

I think the reason I couldn't slash my dough wasn't because it was too tough since I didn't use any flour to knead with this time, I only used a few drops of olive oil on my worktop to keep it from sticking too much. It was because I'd obviously not built enough structure and tension into my dough. I could tell because even after a second rise, it felt too wobbly and there wasn't enough tension or solidity in the dough for a blade to cut against. Even holding the dough lightly with my left hand while trying to cut started to mis-shape the dough and ruin the smoothness of the surface.

But as far as flour, I now see how little he used. I'll persist with that. When it got sticky *I was adding flour all the time (*the last time I made a bloomer, not this time) as it seemed unmanageable to continue kneading with bits of dough breaking up everywhere and sticking to my hands. I kept thinking it would never not be sticky as it seemed that after a few seconds of smooth kneading, it all of a sudden got really sticky again! But I guess I have to push through and trust that it will eventually come together and not stick anymore.

I really like all the things he shows to look out for like the window pane test and particularly the way he demonstrates the folding to tighten it up and shaping into a ball in the second video to create structure and tension. But he only does each cob for a few seconds. Is that really all it takes to create enough structure, or would I need to fold and shape the ball for several minutes between each prove? In the first video, he kneads for about 10 minutes until it goes from sticky to non sticky and presumably strengthens the gluten. Perhaps that's enough so that afterwards, it just needs a few seconds of folding and kneading and shaping.

But yeah, I think it's a case of simply doing this many times to really get the hang of it! I'm looking forward to trying again and will keep my fingers crossed that my dough will be tight enough to make some proper slashes in it.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yes be very good to your mixer and she will serve you well for years. I’ve had my KitchenAid, ol’ Bertha for nearly 20 years. I bought a new bigger KitchenAid last year, but I rarely use it. I like ol’ Bertha.

I’m sorry about my assumption about adding too much flour. I assumed the reason the knife could not make an incision through the dough was it was tough. It didn’t dawn on me that it was too soft. But yes, soft dough would also make it very difficult to score.


The wobbly feel of the dough is a combination tension and how much the dough has proofed.

Below is another Jack video. Tip #2 he talks about touching the dough. I can’t emphasize the importance of this enough when it comes to proofing. Touch the dough. Get a feel for what it feels like as it’s proofing.


When the dough is nearing ready it will look fuller, it will firmer. It Will not be sticky to the touch. And when you gently press on it it will give. Initially that little finger indentation will stay. But as it reaches it peak, The indentation will start to spring back slightly, not all the way but most of the way. There will be a slight firmness to the dough. It won’t be too woobly.


It’s your call as to when to score the loaf and begin the the bake. You look, you touch, you decide when it’s ready.


About 15 years ago I was in Italy taking a 7 day cooking program. I was working on a pasta dough. I kept knead this dough and the head chef kept poking and pulling it telling me it wasn’t ready. I kept asking how he could tell it wasn’t ready because it looked smooth to me. And he kept telling me I needed feel and pull the dough. Then he told me to go ahead and try to run it through the pasta roller and see what happens. And sure enough the pasta roller ripped it to shreds.


There are some things we can easily teach each other as bakers; but there are some things that we have to learn through experience.


https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/videos/2016/8/4/bread-tip-3-when-is-my-bread-ready-to-bake


Regarding your question about whether it only takes a few turns to create tension bread. It depends on the level of hydration in your dough and the size of your dough ball. High hydration dough is going to require more effort because the dough is stickier and more lax.


You can see how high hydration dough is shaped. This video was produced by the San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI). It was founded by Michel Suas. If I could complete a baking program it would be at SFBI. Suas is legendary in the world of baking.

One of the things I wanted to mention was work surface for bread dough. When working dough and especially in shaping, wood is the preferred surface. It’s easy to scrape the dough off of wood. When wood is lightly floured, dough doesn’t stick to it. And when it comes to shaping your dough wood is ideal as the grain creates a little bit of drag on the bottom of dough. That torque helps create the tension on top. Wood pastry boards can be expensive, but you could use a clean wood cutting board. I noticed in your pics you have a rather lovely wood cutting board.


BTW, what is Marmite? I’ve seen it at the world market in town. And when the Britxit vote happened the news here reported the British people were concerned it could effect supplies of Marmite in the future since its not manufactured in England.

 

[Lee_C]

I was looking at some KitchenAid mixers at John Lewis recently. Wow, never realised how heavy they are, I think they're made from cast iron. They ooze quality. No wonder 'ol Bertha has lasted so long!

Oh no need to apologise, . Me saying 'I couldn't get a knife to make an incision' was somewhat misleading and it does imply the dough was tough.

Yes, this seems to be a definite hands on experience thing that I'll need to practise to get a proper feel for it.
Thank you for your further explanations, very helpful indeed. And thanks for SFBI that video, that's educated me much more in how to create tension in the dough. When he rolled the dough up, he said to roll and push, roll and push. When I rolled mine I hadn't done the push after each roll.

Ah, it certainly looks like I have a wood cutting board but unfortunately it's actually just a wood effect laminate surface of my kitchen worktop. It's kind ok for kneading but I'd like to invest in a proper wooden board because as you say, it would give some necessary resistance. The black board you can see with my Marmite on is a small plastic cutting board for general use like cutting vegetables.

And yes, Marmite, I love it! It's made from yeast extract and has a tangy, savoury, salty taste. It's an undeniably strong flavour. Because of this, it has to be spread sparingly. I had it as a kid and loved it ever since. But many people can't stand the stuff which is understandable. It's one of those foods you either love or you don't. But I'm sure you can also acquire a taste for it. There's now a figure of speech in the UK that goes 'it's a bit marmite' or 'it's a marmite thing' to describe something you'll love or hate. For example, 'that Salvadore Dali painting is a bit marmite'. You should watch some videos on youtube of people tasting Marmite, the reactions are hilarious

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I was looking at some KitchenAid mixers at John Lewis recently. Wow, never realised how heavy they are, I think they're made from cast iron. They ooze quality. No wonder 'ol Bertha has lasted so long!

Oh no need to apologise, . Me saying 'I couldn't get a knife to make an incision' was somewhat misleading and it does imply the dough was tough.

Yes, this seems to be a definite hands on experience thing that I'll need to practise to get a proper feel for it.
Thank you for your further explanations, very helpful indeed. And thanks for SFBI that video, that's educated me much more in how to create tension in the dough. When he rolled the dough up, he said to roll and push, roll and push. When I rolled mine I hadn't done the push after each roll.

Ah, it certainly looks like I have a wood cutting board but unfortunately it's actually just a wood effect laminate surface of my kitchen worktop. It's kind ok for kneading but I'd like to invest in a proper wooden board because as you say, it would give some necessary resistance. The black board you can see with my Marmite on is a small plastic cutting board for general use like cutting vegetables.

And yes, Marmite, I love it! It's made from yeast extract and has a tangy, savoury, salty taste. It's an undeniably strong flavour. Because of this, it has to be spread sparingly. I had it as a kid and loved it ever since. But many people can't stand the stuff which is understandable. It's one of those foods you either love or you don't. But I'm sure you can also acquire a taste for it. There's now a figure of speech in the UK that goes 'it's a bit marmite' or 'it's a marmite thing' to describe something you'll love or hate. For example, 'that Salvadore Dali painting is a bit marmite'. You should watch some videos on youtube of people tasting Marmite, the reactions are hilarious

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! @Lee_C!

I hope you have a lovely day with family and friends.


We’ve postponed my sister’s birthday lunch. Her spinners guild does a fundraiser every spring in early May, but due to unseasonal rain, they had to reschedule the event to today. So she’s off with her spinning wheel turning wool into yarn.


KitchenAid makes a really makes good quality mixer. When I decided to upgrade to a stand mixer I cringed at the then $200 price. But all the reviews indicated it was worth the cost. And now 19 yrs later the cost comes out to a mere 88 pennies a month. So she’s the best bargain I’ve ever made.


I’m glad you found the SFBI video helpful. Learning to use the bench scraper to move dough on a surface without flour is a big step forward for a baker. His emphasis on keeping your freehand floured—not the dough floured is key. When handling sticking dough, the tendency is to throw the flour on the dough. But the right way is to keep the hand floured so we minimize working more flour into the dough.

I like that he explains which side of the dough you need to keep upright and why. While he is referring to this in dividing a large batch of dough, it remains true for small batches as well. I find the less you tear the dough when turning it out onto the work table the better. I prefer a shallow rectangular container as opposed to a deep bowl since the farther the dough has to fall, the more it tears. And of course the more it tears, the more expose sticky interior. So I use a shallow rectangular container. I like the shape as it allows the dough to spread out in an even layer while fermenting. A bowl has sloped sides, so it’s impossible to gauge how much a dough has increased in volume in a bowl.

The tool he uses is called a taping knife in the US. It’s used to put up drywall in houses. It cost about $10 - $15 at the hardware store. You just have to make sure the blade is made of stainless steel to use on food. The cheaper ones have a different type of metal that will rust so are not food safe. They might even have an anti-rust coating that could flake off into your dough. You’d be amazed at the number of baking tools bakers pick up at the hardware store.

Shaping dough is about practice. I go through periods where I’ll bake bread regularly. And then I stop for long periods. So it’s like starting over each time.

I went through a baguette phase last June. Really obsessed about them. Baked them everyday. But by mid July it was too hot to bake. And I haven’t baked any bread since I resumed baking in the Fall

There’s a bakery supply company the next county over that is part of a partnership with the farmers and the millers. While they are to the trade, they open some of their products and services to the home bakers. I use a lot of their flours. I’m enrolled in a baguette class there next month. The instructor won the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in the early 90’s and has coached the US team for the past 10 yrs. So hopefully my baguettes will eventually look and taste more like a bakery baguette instead of a homemade baguette. Not that there’s anything wrong with a homemade baguette. And I’m not ashamed of my baguette. Rather the baguette is one of those breads that is the hallmark of a great baker. So a great baguette is part of my personal journey as a baker.

After I read your post I just had to look up some videos of people eating Marmite! They were sooo funny. I thought it looked like a bouillon paste because in the US they sell concentrated stocks called Better Than Bouillon. But people in the videos made comparisons to things chocolate, caramel or Nutella—And then they took a bite. Lol yeah definitely a love it or hate it thang. So what is really surprising to me is your love of it stems childhood. Children have very sensitive sense of taste. That you could eat it as a child is surprising given the response from so many adults was extreme. So as a child did you happily munch a slice of bread with Marmite while the other kids looked on and wonder did you lose your mind?

My dough tub. Any food safe shallow straight sided container will work.

 

[Lee_C]

Thank you so much Norcalbaker, yes, I had a lovely birthday! I'm out and about this weekend but I'll reply properly later tonight.

 

[Becky]

Belated birthday wishes @Lee_C! Hope you had a great day! Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday weekend

 

[J13]

I just read somewhere that one thing you can try if you’re having trouble scoring bread (it’s ragged) is spraying the blade with vegetable spray. Very lightly I assume. I have no idea if “greasing” the blade in this way will do any good...but it’s yet another thing to try.

 

[Lee_C]

Thanks Becky! I had a lovely day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! @Lee_C!

I hope you have a lovely day with family and friends.


We’ve postponed my sister’s birthday lunch. Her spinners guild does a fundraiser every spring in early May, but due to unseasonal rain, they had to reschedule the event to today. So she’s off with her spinning wheel turning wool into yarn.


KitchenAid makes a really makes good quality mixer. When I decided to upgrade to a stand mixer I cringed at the then $200 price. But all the reviews indicated it was worth the cost. And now 19 yrs later the cost comes out to a mere 88 pennies a month. So she’s the best bargain I’ve ever made.


I’m glad you found the SFBI video helpful. Learning to use the bench scraper to move dough on a surface without flour is a big step forward for a baker. His emphasis on keeping your freehand floured—not the dough floured is key. When handling sticking dough, the tendency is to throw the flour on the dough. But the right way is to keep the hand floured so we minimize working more flour into the dough.

I like that he explains which side of the dough you need to keep upright and why. While he is referring to this in dividing a large batch of dough, it remains true for small batches as well. I find the less you tear the dough when turning it out onto the work table the better. I prefer a shallow rectangular container as opposed to a deep bowl since the farther the dough has to fall, the more it tears. And of course the more it tears, the more expose sticky interior. So I use a shallow rectangular container. I like the shape as it allows the dough to spread out in an even layer while fermenting. A bowl has sloped sides, so it’s impossible to gauge how much a dough has increased in volume in a bowl.

The tool he uses is called a taping knife in the US. It’s used to put up drywall in houses. It cost about $10 - $15 at the hardware store. You just have to make sure the blade is made of stainless steel to use on food. The cheaper ones have a different type of metal that will rust so are not food safe. They might even have an anti-rust coating that could flake off into your dough. You’d be amazed at the number of baking tools bakers pick up at the hardware store.

Shaping dough is about practice. I go through periods where I’ll bake bread regularly. And then I stop for long periods. So it’s like starting over each time.

I went through a baguette phase last June. Really obsessed about them. Baked them everyday. But by mid July it was too hot to bake. And I haven’t baked any bread since I resumed baking in the Fall

There’s a bakery supply company the next county over that is part of a partnership with the farmers and the millers. While they are to the trade, they open some of their products and services to the home bakers. I use a lot of their flours. I’m enrolled in a baguette class there next month. The instructor won the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in the early 90’s and has coached the US team for the past 10 yrs. So hopefully my baguettes will eventually look and taste more like a bakery baguette instead of a homemade baguette. Not that there’s anything wrong with a homemade baguette. And I’m not ashamed of my baguette. Rather the baguette is one of those breads that is the hallmark of a great baker. So a great baguette is part of my personal journey as a baker.

After I read your post I just had to look up some videos of people eating Marmite! They were sooo funny. I thought it looked like a bouillon paste because in the US they sell concentrated stocks called Better Than Bouillon. But people in the videos made comparisons to things chocolate, caramel or Nutella—And then they took a bite. Lol yeah definitely a love it or hate it thang. So what is really surprising to me is your love of it stems childhood. Children have very sensitive sense of taste. That you could eat it as a child is surprising given the response from so many adults was extreme. So as a child did you happily munch a slice of bread with Marmite while the other kids looked on and wonder did you lose your mind?

My dough tub. Any food safe shallow straight sided container will work.
View attachment 2277

What a pity your sister's birthday lunch was postponed, but had you already baked the lavender lemon cake?

Good idea about the shallower rectangular dough tub, I've got a similar box here which I'll try next time.
How amazing you mentioned baguettes as it's on my list of breads to make, I love baguettes! I've watched a couple of videos, one is a home baking recipe and method where there's a lot of time between each stage. And one is in a bakery where the owner demonstrates his folding and rolling technique. Particularly describing about how to build tension into it by not rolling along the top but by pushing along the bottom, basically similar to what you were saying about torque. The baguette class you're going to should be fun!

Haha yes, the marmite videos are too funny. Yes, they think it might be like chocolate. But the mistake most people make is that they spread waaaaay too much on and it's unpalatable. It's one of those foods that only needs a thin coating.

Heh yes, I wouldn't be surprised if other kids looked on in horror as I tucked into it. I just remember there was white bread and butter and the marmite had been already spread on it, it was some holiday centre I was at, I think I might have been about 9 or 10. It was the first time I ever had it I think and I just thought it was yummy. That said, I don't eat it a lot, but I've always got a small jar at home and it lasts a long time. It's great on both bread and toast. There's also a snack over here in the UK, Jacob's 'Twiglets' which are lovely. They're crispy wheaty twig shapes coated with what is very similar to marmite. If you can find them in the US, definitely worth trying!


As I play gigs with the band I'm in, and was gigging Friday Saturday and Sunday this weekend, my family put on an early surprise birthday meal for me in a restaurant last sunday when they knew I was free. It was a great night, there was about a dozen of us, and the food was great. I got given a load of amazon gift vouchers so a Thermapen 4 is about to be ordered! The biggest surprise of the night was a birthday cake made for me by the wife of someone that one of my brothers works with. She did a great job and the cake was moist and delicious with a very sweet sort of buttercream filling. Best of all though was the drum set she'd created!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I just read somewhere that one thing you can try if you’re having trouble scoring bread (it’s ragged) is spraying the blade with vegetable spray. Very lightly I assume. I have no idea if “greasing” the blade in this way will do any good...but it’s yet another thing to try.

Hey @J13, That’s a thought… I dip the blade in water between each cut. Maybe I’ll try the spraying the blade next time I bake bread.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thanks Becky! I had a lovely day.





What a pity your sister's birthday lunch was postponed, but had you already baked the lavender lemon cake?

Good idea about the shallower rectangular dough tub, I've got a similar box here which I'll try next time.
How amazing you mentioned baguettes as it's on my list of breads to make, I love baguettes! I've watched a couple of videos, one is a home baking recipe and method where there's a lot of time between each stage. And one is in a bakery where the owner demonstrates his folding and rolling technique. Particularly describing about how to build tension into it by not rolling along the top but by pushing along the bottom, basically similar to what you were saying about torque. The baguette class you're going to should be fun!

Haha yes, the marmite videos are too funny. Yes, they think it might be like chocolate. But the mistake most people make is that they spread waaaaay too much on and it's unpalatable. It's one of those foods that only needs a thin coating.

Heh yes, I wouldn't be surprised if other kids looked on in horror as I tucked into it. I just remember there was white bread and butter and the marmite had been already spread on it, it was some holiday centre I was at, I think I might have been about 9 or 10. It was the first time I ever had it I think and I just thought it was yummy. That said, I don't eat it a lot, but I've always got a small jar at home and it lasts a long time. It's great on both bread and toast. There's also a snack over here in the UK, Jacob's 'Twiglets' which are lovely. They're crispy wheaty twig shapes coated with what is very similar to marmite. If you can find them in the US, definitely worth trying!


As I play gigs with the band I'm in, and was gigging Friday Saturday and Sunday this weekend, my family put on an early surprise birthday meal for me in a restaurant last sunday when they knew I was free. It was a great night, there was about a dozen of us, and the food was great. I got given a load of amazon gift vouchers so a Thermapen 4 is about to be ordered! The biggest surprise of the night was a birthday cake made for me by the wife of someone that one of my brothers works with. She did a great job and the cake was moist and delicious with a very sweet sort of buttercream filling. Best of all though was the drum set she'd created!

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Lol...okay first I have to apologize all over myself...I thought you were a woman. I don’t know why I made such an assumption. So I must offer my sincerest apologies.

I’m so happy to hear you’re getting the Thermapen 4! The 4 is the best one. It is really well thought out. The Classic is on sale here in the US, but I’m holding out for the 4. I’m really hoping it goes on sale for Father’s Day.

Oh that cake is adorable. I take it you’re the drummer in the band. What genre? Boy gigs the entire weekend is pretty good.

My brother-in-law is a musician. He’s a guitarist. In his younger days he was a studio musician and did a few tours with a few noted artists. Now teaches privately. He and a few of his friends used to have a Yardbirds tribute band.

Jeff Beck is a GOD. Rolling Stone magazine has it wrong, how they can have Clapton #2 and Beck #5!! Nope.

On one of the videos I saw some Americans eating Twiglets—lol they said they were worse than the Marmite straight up. Was interesting because one of the guys actually liked Marmite, but he didn’t like the Twiglets.

No I didn’t make the cake; my sister gave me enough heads up notice. I’m hoping to make something for her next weekend. But I have to go out of town the middle of next week. So I don’t know if I’ll be able to get the cake done. But she said she had a good time at the fun raiser. She’s been spinning and weaving for about four years now. And she’s gotten quite good at it. The guild is small so she tries to participate in all of their events. She keeps trying to get me involved but I don’t have the patience to spin a yarn. There’s a large convention of spinners and weavers that happens in the Fall in the Catskill Mountains in New York. So I’ll probably go with her since the area has a lot of woodworkers. While she’s poking around looking for wool, I’ll go hunt for an Amish woodworker to see if I can find a hardwood pastry board.

 

[Becky]

That cake is wonderful! You're a lucky guy

 

[Lee_C]

Yes Becky, I'm fortunate to have a great family, they really surprised me with a lovely meal and birthday cake, and secretly invited my band members to the restaurant!

Lol...okay first I have to apologize all over myself...I thought you were a woman. I don’t know why I made such an assumption. So I must offer my sincerest apologies.

I’m so happy to hear you’re getting the Thermapen 4! The 4 is the best one. It is really well thought out. The Classic is on sale here in the US, but I’m holding out for the 4. I’m really hoping it goes on sale for Father’s Day.

Oh that cake is adorable. I take it you’re the drummer in the band. What genre? Boy gigs the entire weekend is pretty good.

My brother-in-law is a musician. He’s a guitarist. In his younger days he was a studio musician and did a few tours with a few noted artists. Now teaches privately. He and a few of his friends used to have a Yardbirds tribute band.

Jeff Beck is a GOD. Rolling Stone magazine has it wrong, how they can have Clapton #2 and Beck #5!! Nope.

On one of the videos I saw some Americans eating Twiglets—lol they said they were worse than the Marmite straight up. Was interesting because one of the guys actually liked Marmite, but he didn’t like the Twiglets.

No I didn’t make the cake; my sister gave me enough heads up notice. I’m hoping to make something for her next weekend. But I have to go out of town the middle of next week. So I don’t know if I’ll be able to get the cake done. But she said she had a good time at the fun raiser. She’s been spinning and weaving for about four years now. And she’s gotten quite good at it. The guild is small so she tries to participate in all of their events. She keeps trying to get me involved but I don’t have the patience to spin a yarn. There’s a large convention of spinners and weavers that happens in the Fall in the Catskill Mountains in New York. So I’ll probably go with her since the area has a lot of woodworkers. While she’s poking around looking for wool, I’ll go hunt for an Amish woodworker to see if I can find a hardwood pastry board.

Sorry for the late reply! Hehe, no apology needed, and I have to admit that up until a few days ago I also made an assumption that you were a man before you mentioned husbands.

Oh Twiglets are lovely, very crunchy and tangy. Do try them if you get a chance.

Re the thermapen, I'm excited to get one. I phoned ETI to ask them if it's safe buying from Amazon and was told it's perfectly safe as long as it's listed/sold by ETI, which it is. Still deciding on which colour, but I'm drawn to red like most other people. That must be their best selling colour I reckon. Orange is a possibility, but I suspect red will win the day. Not that it matters, but it's about adds some fun factor!

Very cool that your brother-in-law is a guitarist and it's difficult getting into the studio session scene so he must be very good. Teaching is great, it's what I do as well as playing to pay the bills. I agree about Jeff Beck, he's so awesome. I like Clapton, (we play Cocaine in our band) but Beck is technically on a different level from him.

I don't blame you at all for not wanting to spin and weave, wouldn't really interest me either. Baking all the way! But great idea to take the opportunity to seek out a quality pastry board. I guess it ould need to be fairly large for rolling longer lengths of pastry?

Yes, it was a lovely cake. Yep I'm the drummer. We play a mix of blues, motown and rock. I love it. I've been playing since I was 12, ever since I snatched some drumsticks out of my brother's hands that he made at school. My mum eventually decided to buy me some drums to save the furniture from further destruction. ​

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yes Becky, I'm fortunate to have a great family, they really surprised me with a lovely meal and birthday cake, and secretly invited my band members to the restaurant!

Sorry for the late reply! Hehe, no apology needed, and I have to admit that up until a few days ago I also made an assumption that you were a man before you mentioned husbands.

Oh Twiglets are lovely, very crunchy and tangy. Do try them if you get a chance.

Re the thermapen, I'm excited to get one. I phoned ETI to ask them if it's safe buying from Amazon and was told it's perfectly safe as long as it's listed/sold by ETI, which it is. Still deciding on which colour, but I'm drawn to red like most other people. That must be their best selling colour I reckon. Orange is a possibility, but I suspect red will win the day. Not that it matters, but it's about adds some fun factor!

Very cool that your brother-in-law is a guitarist and it's difficult getting into the studio session scene so he must be very good. Teaching is great, it's what I do as well as playing to pay the bills. I agree about Jeff Beck, he's so awesome. I like Clapton, (we play Cocaine in our band) but Beck is technically on a different level from him.

I don't blame you at all for not wanting to spin and weave, wouldn't really interest me either. Baking all the way! But great idea to take the opportunity to seek out a quality pastry board. I guess it ould need to be fairly large for rolling longer lengths of pastry?

Yes, it was a lovely cake. Yep I'm the drummer. We play a mix of blues, motown and rock. I love it. I've been playing since I was 12, ever since I snatched some drumsticks out of my brother's hands that he made at school. My mum eventually decided to buy me some drums to save the furniture from further destruction. ​

Lol, Ohhh I’m so glad to hear you thought I was man, that settles our tally sheets!


You are so right Beck is technically on a different level. Clapton is an an incredible blues guitarist. But Beck can do Clapton-and without a pick. And Beck can do rock like Page. Beck doesn’t get pigeonholed in a genre. You never know where Beck is going to show up, or with who.


Beck is also unique in that he will

explores sound in his music. If you listen to You Shook Me covered Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, and Led Zeppelin, the only outlier is Beck’s guitar. Everyone else in all three of those covers sings/plays the blues except Beck. Beck is out there making sounds with his guitar you didn’t even know a guitar could make. Some of the sounds scratch your ears. And yet, the sounds blend in an odd kind of way. And you just can’t stop listening. That’s the brilliance of Beck.


It’s interesting my group of friends strongly embraced the Beck/Zeppelin/Pink Floyd/Frampton plus the Motown/Al Green/Earth Wind and Fire. I’m embarrassed to admit to attending a Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult concerts.


How cool that you started playing drums with a pair of drumsticks that your brother made? Do you still have them? Is your brother a drummer also?


We seem to be a family of mostly guitarist. My oldest sister plays a 12 string guitar. My niece plays guitar. My sister the spinner took some guitar lessons but gave it up.


I have a brother that plays a little piano. Another brother that owns a piano but doesn’t play. Not sure why he bought the piano


My BIL the guitarists also plays keyboards. He also knows how to do sound work for studio recording. And stage sound. He had a number of gold records for the albums he worked on.


I was into sports and food. Run. Cycle. Hike. Bake.


The color of the Thermapen of course doesn’t affect how it works. But with so many cool colors—why not get RED! Red really is the best color.


And speaking of Amazon… Right after our conversation about Amazon I needed an 8” square cake ring for a baking project. My local restaurant supply store didn’t have one. My go to Internet restaurant supply store didn’t have it either. Only place on the Internet that had it was Amazon UK.


The brand is De Buyer, an excellent French brand. I noted on Amazon UK it was covered under Amazon’s guarantee. A big selling point for me so I ordered it. I was shocked this came out of the UK and it got to me in 10 days. That’s faster and somethings I order from companies in the US. That item had ship from England, hon through customs, transfer to a delivery carrier, then transport across the US. I have to say I was pretty impressed with Amazon UK. So you’re right Amazon UK is a lot better than Amazon here.

 

[Lee_C]

I see what you mean about 'You Shook Me' which in fact is a song I didn't know of. Great song and yeah, Beck works his magic like no other. I used to love Kiss! Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear The Reaper! That's the only song of theirs I know but it's awesome.

I wish I did still have those drumsticks, I could have framed them with a caption "this is where it all started".

Nope my brother isn't a drummer, but the sticks were possibly just the easiest things to make in his woodwork class, lol. I kind of look at it like a defining moment that changed my life. What started as a hobby became my living. If he hadn't come home with those sticks he made, who knows what direction my life would have taken.

And clearly you have a musical family! And your brother in law... gold records, wow!

It's great you were into healthy outdoor pursuits. I'm not so much into playing sports but I love watching it. I should really get myself a bike, not had one since I was a kid, but it's great fun and of course great exercise. Although I get a bit of a workout behind my drums! I used to love running 100 metre sprints. But I've not much stamina or interest for long distance.

Yep I'm going to order red thermapen.

That's great news you received the cake ring so quickly from Amazon UK to the US! Cake rings are new to me, how does a square cake ring work compared to a square cake tin?

I'll be coming back to this thread when I make bread again. Meanwhile, I've made a start on my rough puff pastry, so I'm about to update that other thread.

By the way, I'd pasted this reply from notepad to the forum and then my laptop battery died just before posting this. I thought I'd lost everything I'd written but thank god the forum saved it!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I see what you mean about 'You Shook Me' which in fact is a song I didn't know of. Great song and yeah, Beck works his magic like no other. I used to love Kiss! Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear The Reaper! That's the only song of theirs I know but it's awesome.

I wish I did still have those drumsticks, I could have framed them with a caption "this is where it all started".

Nope my brother isn't a drummer, but the sticks were possibly just the easiest things to make in his woodwork class, lol. I kind of look at it like a defining moment that changed my life. What started as a hobby became my living. If he hadn't come home with those sticks he made, who knows what direction my life would have taken.

And clearly you have a musical family! And your brother in law... gold records, wow!

It's great you were into healthy outdoor pursuits. I'm not so much into playing sports but I love watching it. I should really get myself a bike, not had one since I was a kid, but it's great fun and of course great exercise. Although I get a bit of a workout behind my drums! I used to love running 100 metre sprints. But I've not much stamina or interest for long distance.

Yep I'm going to order red thermapen.

That's great news you received the cake ring so quickly from Amazon UK to the US! Cake rings are new to me, how does a square cake ring work compared to a square cake tin?

I'll be coming back to this thread when I make bread again. Meanwhile, I've made a start on my rough puff pastry, so I'm about to update that other thread.

By the way, I'd pasted this reply from notepad to the forum and then my laptop battery died just before posting this. I thought I'd lost everything I'd written but thank god the forum saved it!

Amazing that a project from your brother’s woodshop class would you shape your life in such a meaningfully way.

Kiss was the first concert I ever went to, but they were B-list back then. They weren’t even the headline band at that concert, and it wasn’t even a major arena. But within two years after that concert You couldn’t turn the radio on without hearing a Kiss song.

I was extremely active up until three years ago. I ran six days a week. Hiked five days a week. Cycled to three days a week. I did that for years. And then I just hit a wall. I just started questioning why I was driven to such a level of exercise. I want to get back to some level of activity, but I need to do it for the right reasons.

I’m actually heading out of town so won’t be checking my email for the next few days. Meeting up with my son and SIL in Southern California.

Looking forward to seeing your puff pastry and that shiny red Thermapen

 

[Lee_C]

Wow, that amount of exercise is incredible! That's like a fulltime job. You must be super fit though.
Have a nice time!