ruthie, you're probably back by now, I hope you had a great trip. I've been doing "international" cookies too, LOL, but not because I decided to, just because that's what struck me. I just made cuccidati, a fig filled cookie that a friend sent me and I loved them. I've made Venetian rainbow cookies with almond paste, and I've made good old American toll house cookies and grandma's molasses cookies and peanut butter cookies. Elery and I are making cannoli tomorrow, and I've done the Scottish shortbread and the spritz and the pfefferneuse. I think I'm not going to do any more baking except cut out and frosted sugar cookies with the grandkids! Now, that pannetone. Here is a recipe from King Arthur Flour for a traditional pannetone, it requires an overnight resting of the "biga", which is just the yeast with a bit of water and some of the flour, kind of like a sourdough "starter". The bread is made using the biga the next day. I didn't have orange oil or the special seasoning thing you can only get from King Arthur Flour, LOL, so I used the vanilla and some orange extract. My family loves this recipe and since it uses dried fruit instead of the candied stuff, I like it too. I do not like candied fruit at all. Anyway, it's easier than it looks and the recipe came from King Arthur Flour: Overnight Panettone This traditional Italian holiday bread will stay fresh longer when it's made with an overnight starter. Biga (Overnight Starter) 3/4 cup (3 1/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/16 teaspoon yeast (just a pinch) 1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) water Dough all of the biga (above) 2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/4 cup (2 ounces) water 2 large eggs 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia flavoring OR 1 teaspoon vanilla + 1/8 teaspoon orange oil 2 1/4 teaspoons SAF Gold instant yeast OR 1 tablespoon instant yeast 1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) sugar 1/2 cup (3 ounces) golden raisins 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) slivered dried apricots 1/2 cup (2 ounces) dried cranberries or flavored fruit bits 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) dried pineapple, chopped 2 tablespoons orange or lemon zest The Biga: Combine the biga ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl, cover, and allow them to rest overnight (8 to 12 hours). Dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients except the fruit, and mix and knead them togetherby hand, mixer or bread machinetill you've made a soft, smooth dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it's puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk). Gently deflate the dough, and knead in the fruits and zest. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a panettone pan or other straight-sided, tall 1 1/2- to 2-quart pan. Cover the pan and let the dough rise till it's just crested over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes; reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake an additional 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil if the crust appears to be browning too quickly. Remove the panettone from the oven and cool completely. This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. III, No. 2, December 1991 issue. Annie

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.

Hi, I am also experimenting with my steam oven. I have made bread several times with auto steam bake. While the bread came out good, I agree, not fabulous. Last time I tried using the Wolf Gourmet "Bread" feature. I thought the bread turned out better and will use this feature again. One caution, once you selet "bread" you then select level of doneness (I think it was light, medium, dark). I selected medium and checked the bread once the aroma of freshly baked bread filled the kitchen. Happy I did as the bread was definately done! Best of luck. I hope more owners share their baking and cooking experiences with the Wolf steam oven. I will say, so far I love it! MJ

Teresa's Struan recipe is a favorite in our house. Oatmeal bread you say? On my! Annie's Maple oatmeal bread is to die for. makes the best peanut butter sandwiches in the world! Struan Soaker 3 Tbs. polenta (corn meal) 3 Tbs. rolled oats 2 Tbs wheat bran 1/4 cup water Dough 3 cups unbleached bread flour 3 Tbs brown sugar 1-1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbs. instant yeast 4 Tbs cooked brown rice 1-1/2 Tbs honey 1/2 cup buttermilk (I make my own by putting 1 Tbs vinegar in milk) 3/4 cup water Topping 1 Tbs poppy seeds Mix together the ingredients for the soaker. Cover and allow to soak for at least half an hour or as long as overnight. In a larger bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then stir in wet ingredients and soaker. Add more flour or water until the dough can be formed into a ball that is tacky but not sticky. Place the ball of dough on a clean work surface and knead it for 10-12 minutes, then return it to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to ferment until doubled in size, appr. 90 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, de-gas it gently, and split it for two loaves or shape it as is for one large. Place the loaves in greased bread pan(s), spritz or sprinkle water on top, and sprinkle a handful of poppy seeds on top. Cover the pans loosely with plastic and allow the loaves to rise until doubled in size again, appr. 90 minutes. Bake the leaves at 350 for 40-55 minutes, until the internal temp is around 190 degrees. When ready the loaves wil be quite brown on top and will make a hollow thud when tapped on the bottom. (Note, this takes 45 minutes in my oven, and I tent the top with foil at about 35 minutes or it gets darker than we like) Maple Oatmeal Bread 3-3-1/4 cups flour 1 pkg dry yeast 3/4 cup prepared coffee 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats 1/2 (scant) cup real syrup 2 Tbs. butter 1 tsp salt 1 egg Combine a cup of flour and the yeast. Heat coffee, oats, syrup, butter, and salt until just warm and butter is almost melted. Add to flour mixture along with egg. Beat with mixer on low for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir as uch of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead in enough remainng flour to make a moderately soft doug that is smooth and elastic (3-5 minutes kneading) Shape dough into a ball, place in lightly greased bowl, and turn over once to grease surface of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about an hour. Punch down dough, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a loaf pan. Shape dough and place nto prepared pan, cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30-45 minutes). Bake at 350 about 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack. Note* This bread takes closer to 45 minutes to bake in my oven. Tent if gets too dark) Note* I just throw all the wet stuff into a breadmaker, then then dry stuff on top and make dough that way. Then I remove the loaf, shape and rise again, then bake.