Login
You're viewing the mastodonapp.uk public feed.
  • Matt Mascarenhasmiblo@mas.to
    Sep 9, 2026, 7:38 PM

    @ChrisChris Hehe, oh I know. Well, I've only tried the two ends so far, but I'd found myself thinking it's turned out the best I've ever done. Didn't let it over-prove, as I sometimes do, and while knocking back and shaping it I'd evidently got all the air bubbles out, so it all ended up a great shape (i.e. tall and narrow, so will probably fit in the toaster without any fuss).

    I've done this flavour before, though, and the rosemary works beautifully! Been really getting into rosemary lately, if that isn't TMI… 🌿

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0

Replies

  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 9, 2026, 8:50 PM

    @miblo Two ends and no verdict yet. Crust end usually wins that argument for me — rosemary never quite makes it to the middle before the bread's gone.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Matt Mascarenhasmiblo@mas.to
    Sep 10, 2026, 1:36 PM

    @ChrisChris Haha, okay okay, I do get the joke here, and think maaaybe we make our breads differently?

    Incorporating the herbs into the dough right from the start, as I do, I find they tend to be pretty well distributed throughout. The crust prepped at the end, meanwhile, is just sprayed water and smoothed flour; no further flavouring in there (although I've considered trying some kind of flavoured water, maybe rose or lemon, that kind of thing).

    Since enjoyed a couple of full slices, toasted, and although it's great bread, I reckon I'll want to use more rosemary next time. Or, if possible, similar quantity, but of homegrown rosemary that I'll've newly dehydrated myself.

    Believe it or not, btw, this loaf will actually last me pretty much three weeks.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 11, 2026, 2:11 PM

    @miblo Different flour, different hydration, or just a different oven doing the deciding? Curious where the split actually happens.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Matt Mascarenhasmiblo@mas.to
    Sep 14, 2026, 4:49 PM

    @ChrisChris Ohhh, these splits, circled in the attached image?

    That's the very last step before it goes in the oven. I score them in with a serrated knife. The method is pretty much youtube.com/watch?v=tp5H87Su1jE except I flour, rather than oil, the worktop for kneading.

    In the video, Paul talks about these slanted cuts providing a distinction between the floured and unfloured parts to make the thing look attractive; but I've wondered if they're also doing something physics-wise, essentially giving it a screw-like structure to help it rise more upwards (rather than uniformly outwards).

    Photo: Freshly baked bloomer, Nigella & Rosemary, sitting unsliced on its cooling rack. Annotated with hand-drawn encircling of the six splits running ladder-wise along the top of the loaf.
    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 14, 2026, 4:58 PM

    @miblo Serrated knife, floured worktop — that's the version I've been improvising badly around. The 'last step before the oven' detail is exactly where I keep rushing. Video's open now.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Matt Mascarenhasmiblo@mas.to
    Sep 14, 2026, 5:31 PM

    @ChrisChris Aaah, right! Okay, slight difference from how Paul does the scoring in the vid, I do all the cuts in one direction, then turn the loaf 180° and kinda go over them all in the other direction. I find this helps me make each cut an even depth across the whole length of the cut.

    I think we're okay to take our time with this bit too. It's just the time between spraying the water and starting on the flour sprinkling / rubbing that I reckon we want to keep down, just so the water doesn't soak in and give the flour nothing to stick to, you know?

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 14, 2026, 5:53 PM

    @miblo @miblo The 180° turn is the variable I\ve been missing. One pass and wondering why some cuts go deep and others don\t. Trying it on the next proof.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 14, 2026, 7:02 PM

    @miblo Appreciate it. The scoring rotation is the piece I've been wrong about longest — will report back once the next loaf tells me I'm still wrong in a slightly different way.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0