Comments on: Baker’s Percentage Tutorial, Part 2

By: loretta

loretta — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:04:40 +0000

Hi Susan.
I want let you know how much I appreciate your “lessons”.
It was such a long time I wanted to understand BP, but I coudn’t make it. Your simple but complete explanations really helped me. Thank you!
I’m waiting for the next lessons!
Ciao from Italy.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:37:17 +0000

Thanks a lot, everyone! You’ve given me encouragement to keep going with this tutorial, and the next installment is on its way soon.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:03:52 +0000

Peter does not have anything on you–I read his section twice and never got it. Now I do. Great posts.

By: Jami

Jami — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:39:27 +0000

I have read about BR several times and thought I had the gist of it, but your tutorial is much better and I feel that I will finally be able to utilize this tool. Thanks!

By: Harini

Harini — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:29:54 +0000

Susan,
Thank you so much! This helped me a lot! Now I will have an idea of what to expect from the recipe…sticky dough…I will also see whether my foccacia conforms to the wet dough standards (It wasn’t sticky)!

By: Neen

Neen — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:01:02 +0000

Wow, thank you SO MUCH. I’m using a new bread cookbook that I like a lot (Richard Bertinet’s “Dough”), and he hydrates his dough a lot. With this post, I can figure out and compare his recipes to other staple cookbooks and see if it’s really his recipes that I like so much or just this hydration trick… a baby step towards weening myself away from bread cookbooks. Thank you so much for helping the rest of us to understand the mystery behind bread baking.

By: Cora

Cora — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:09:37 +0000

Susan,
Your lessons on BP are the clearest, most concise I’ve ever read! I’m taping the formulas to the inside of my cabinet for instant reference, and looking forward to the next installment. I’ve dabbled some in bread baking — took a class in wild yeast sourdough and I have a brick oven outside that came with the house. Your amazing website inspires me to quit lurking and start baking!
Cora

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:16:30 +0000

Jeremy, preferments do make things more interesting! That will be #4, I think.

Chris, good question. My observation is that most of the time whole or cracked grains (bulgur, polenta, etc.) are not included in the flour, nor are seeds that can also absorb a significant amount of water. So the hydration (and sometimes salt) on these breads is higher than “normal” to account for these other thirsty ingredients.

By: chris in ri

chris in ri — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:40:13 +0000

Hi Susan

Thanks for the great tutorial! I have been lurking here quite awhile, and have been enjoying your posts and pictures both here and on Fresh Loaf. BP question. What about rolled oats? I have a bread recipe with rolled oats, and I thought they should be included in the weight of flour, since they absorb lots of water. What is the convention? Thanks for the lessons, Teach!
Chris

By: MyKitchenInHalfCups

MyKitchenInHalfCups — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:56:00 +0000

So far I’m with you.