Judy, it's not so much the higher wattage on the medium burners that you need as on the big one. You should be able to use a flat bottomed wok on that and get plenty of power. I understand shy, but they really are there to help you. The Miele showroom in Beverly Hills is an especially friendly space, and considering its location I have to think that that's corporate policy! Hm... above statement was made without thinking through your way of cooking. The wattage on the mediums is important if you have a really big pan that you're transferring from the wok into, so want to wok on one of the smaller burners. If you're not ready to cook something yourself in the showroom, ask for a personal demonstration. Even boiling water should give you a good idea about the heat and responsiveness. Could you work up the courage to make an appointment and go watch the salesman or chef use the unit? Or get a pushy friend to come along and speak for you? It's important for you to be happy with your choices, and one of the best ways to do that is to actually see the appliances in action. Re gas, yes, you can use the wok burner with a grill plate, but there are single sided ones that you can easily use on induction. Also, some of the double sided ones with shallower edges work okay as well, at least on some cooktops. I have always roasted eggplants and peppers on the gas flame to get them charred on the outside and not overcooked on the inside (a distinction which may just show up my lacks as a cook in not being able to do this in an oven). I have a little barbecue grate that's made for the purpose. It's a trick that's not for the faint of cleaning, however. Nolamom, the magnet test is a great way to assess whether the pots you have will work with induction, but if you're buying new it's probably worth your while to get pots that are known to work particularly well. Since I already have a lot of Le Creuset (works great with '60's coils, gas and induction all and I love the enamel), I don't know the specifics. Do a search here and you'll find recommendations. Some steel cookware has different amounts of steel in the sides of the pan and the bottom, so it cooks a little differently than one that's all the same. Some have more steel than others. Etc. Cast iron is pretty much cast iron, though weight and thickness will effect the way a particular pan works in comparison to another. Enamel shouldn't matter (it's an insulator but I haven't heard that it impedes magnetism). I have a little Turkish coffee pot which is stainless but doesn't attract a magnet at all. I can't remember if I tested it on Mr. Induction (all this stuff is packed for demo), but I'm pretty sure it won't work. :) Anyway, what I'm trying to say is if you're buying something new, make sure it will work well rather than just work.

Bill - your work never fails to amaze me. Absoulutely beautiful! And I agree - marble has been around way longer than any of us and is definitely not a fad. For some reason I haven't been able to figure out, there are many porcelain look alikes for calacutta, but none for cararra. Calacutta is too gold for my project. Do you know the manufacturer of that tile? Maybe they make a carrara look alike? I don't see myself spilling nail polish remover in my shower :-) But, I hear what you are saying. The Q-seal stuff is intriguing though. I started looking for porcelain subways that are not marble look alikes and I think I found a winner. It's the Villery and Boch Bernina series. Will probably do a strip of decos in cararra to get my marble fix and just have to deal with keeping that sealed which hopefully won't be a big deal. May still do floor in honed marble because it was just so beautiful I can't resist. Shower is small (32x48) so sealing that shouldn't be a big deal. Holly - I think you misunderstood. I do not want faux stone. I want real stone without the maintenance. I actually do not like faux stone at all and most of the time it looks fake to me and my even more picky husband (Bill's job above is definitely the exception!). The Q-Seal is not faux stone made with real stone. It's real stone. Any stone. And then they apply a sealer and bake it in. nikinikinine - thanks for the info. Please come back and let us all know how it goes. Would really love to know more about this stuff and how it holds up over time. Good luck with your project!

Well, here is the results of my first attempt. I used a Corningware two quart casserole dish, and put it on the cast iron grill which I had set on the bottom rung of the oven. Not sure if the grill made any difference. First I was going to bake the bread in the casserole with the cover on, but during the last rise, it rose all the way up to the top of the lid. Then, when I went to slash the bread, it deflated. Not sure how to do the slashing without deflating. So I let it rise 15 more minutes after the deflating. As you can see, there really isn't much of the slashes present. It rose a little but not as much as it had before, so I was able to put the lid back on, but it still rose up in the oven to meet the lid so I took the lid off the last part of the baking. So I ended up trying to add moisture to the oven by putting a cake pan full of water on the bottom rung of the oven. Not sure how much of it evaporated. I used a 450 degree oven for the first 40 min. and turned down to 350 for the last 10. I also painted the bread with water before putting it into the oven. When I first took the bread out of the oven, the crust sounded as hard as a cracker. In fact I thought I had overbaked it. But as it cooled the crust got soft and although it was a nice crust, it wasn't very thick and chewy. This bread turned out more like your average loaf, just round. Also, Also it tasted good but yeasty, like all the recipes from that book. Next try I am going to break the dough in half and put in two of the casseroles (I have two). In my "Laurel's Kitchen" cookbook she says to pour 1/4 cup of water over the bread before putting it into the oven in a covered casserole. I think I will be able to do that if I use the two casseroles, each with half the dough in them. I'm still not sure if the cast iron grill contributed much to the baking so not sure if I should use that or not. Also I think I might use slightly less yeast, as the bread from that cookbook always tastes too yeasty to me. Here's a photo of the bread. Oh, and also, the top got browner than the sides, which makes sense since they were inside the thick corningware casserole. And here is the bread sliced, with some beans soup with escarole. Boy, that soup was delicious, I had never had cooked escarole before, and I LOVE it! Thanks you "Greens" Cookalong!

thank you josie...I am so glad you are having fun with all of this baking ! mama...this is what is called a preferment. You make a small amount of yeasted dough and let it mature overnight and then make the main dough w/o yeaast and add this preferment to it. There are lots of different preferments...poolish,biga,barm,starter. They are all with a small amount of yeast. Then you have sourdough...and wild yeast...if you want a good beginner bread recipe then try what josie made. It is very easy to use if you aren't afraid of very wet dough and also HOT pots. Let me know if I can help....c