ann_t, you saw the shine! As my bread mentor, I sure wanted you do see my progress and am thrilled you popped in! I had a better photo showing the shine but didn’t upload it. I let this bread rise the same time, but the difference was the pizza stone and the grill – sure hope I can replicate it as we enjoyed in so much this weekend! I think you’ve done an amazing job at describing the uses of the pockets/holes, the flavor difference, texture difference. dcarch, as always, your words are so kind – thank you. I agree, a bread with only massive holes would be useless. It needs ‘pockets’! I admit, I am proud of this loaf. Ricky (fawnbridge), I’d never heard of ‘voonge’ but clearly I do it, a lot! We used this loaf to voonge gravy and bits from beef tips : ) Thank you for the kudos! mamapinky0 – wonderful descriptions of ciabatta and artisan breads – makes me hungry for it right now – and how blessed you are to have a bakery to make it for you! I like all breads – white and whole wheat sandwich for our lunches, and eggs on toast, savory for cheese and herb breads, uber-soft Hokkaido for melt-in-the-mouth dinner rolls and decadent French toast – and yes, even bread pudding. DH and I love the crust of artisan, the pockets that hold flavor, and the ability of this bread to hold up to moisture over regular sandwich bread – but the flavor is also quite good. We all have our preferences : ) Hi chas045! Seems you’ve been following posts! The credit really goes to ann_t, who in her recipe (link above) explains the entire process and includes wonderful photos. I thought it was the grill – my first pizza on the grill had nice holes and pockets accompanied with an excellent crust, but the 2nd was like my cast iron in the oven pizza… I suspect it’s the wetter dough, among other things. As with my first attempts decades ago with white bread, there came a point when it was muscle memory while kneading – it just felt and looked right at some point. Hopefully I can attain this over the next year on a consistent basis with artisan. annie1992, thank you! I’ve seen photos of your breads – and your bread always looks better than mine (and while it’s not about looks, when bread looks right, it tastes right) – and you explained it so well also, the artisan is chewier and more substantial. Chewier does not equate to ‘tough’ in case anyone who hasn’t tried it is wondering. . I started making artisan bread a few years back, but it was rather tasteless and touch, rather than chewy. The crust was like concrete also – and my pizza could not hold up to sauces, so I just stopped all attempts. ann_t’s tutelage and recipe have improved my recent efforts to the point we prefer this over sandwich breads now. I’m hoping others who want to try artisan breads will be encouraged to! I’ve learned some wonderful lessons in bread-making, but the biggest lesson which ann_t taught me: Don’t be afraid of the dough – it can take a lot!

2Many, I was thinking about how to use the 12" tube for shorter smokes. First thought was to loosely crumple some aluminum foil and stuff in as a space filler and then add pellets to fill. (Except getting foil out would be a bit of a pain.). Thinking that a partial loose fill might cause the pellets to burn too fast? After I ended up with that huge 40# bag of pellets decided not to worry about it; I'll just fill it up and let 'er burn out past the time I remove the food. With pricier pellets, yeh, I'd try conserving the fuel. Course this then strengthens the argument for adding a 6" tube...for shorter smokes and adding part way thru longer smokes. Then again, I was pondering last night why something like a tomato paste can or two with a bunch of holes punched in it wouldn't work... (from a brand with a removable paper label.) Pulled a couple of chicken halves out of the freezer last night. Going to brine overnight and smoke 'em tomorrow. Thinking I'll try to confine the smoke a bit better with the chicken going on what you learned with your bird. I bought the chicken already halved (was in the reduced 'Use today or freeze' bin--perfect, I thought for experiments!) so the halves may be a little more receptive to smoke than a whole bird? Also, more prone to drying out but brining ought to help offset that... This is actually kinda' fun to do. Needed that cause I get burned out on cooking!

I love those things which I tried to grow several years ago. But the blasted quail ate the seeds. Just one little seedling was germinated, and it was devoured in hours. I've never seen the plants for sale. I refuse to have a seed starting operation in the house again in my old age. Daisy, I love your description of the flowers. Before they open, they look like little fiddlehead ferns.

And here's another good one. Make a day in advance. 2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, room temp. 2 small cloves garlic, minced 2 T. minced green onion or chives 2 T. chopped fresh basil (or 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. dried) 2 T. chopped fresh dill (or 1 1/2 tsp. to 2 tsp. dried) 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste) Garnish: Lemon pepper and chopped parsley Combine ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill. Form into ball, then lightly sprinkle with lemon pepper and chopped parsley.