jpduggan

Suthep has 210 million baht asset but has 320 million baht debts. So that's why he's trying so hard to get into power, for him to be able to skim his way into the black!

The captured gunman was reported to be a motorcycle taxi driver

No doubt.....he is a Yellow supporter in disguise

Or maybe he's just a motorcycle taxi driver pissed off with not being able to make a living as a result of this shutdown?

Don't mess with the farmers.

Why, because they have AK 47's?

''with some foreign nationals re-entering the country as many as 60 times, each for a duration of between 15 and 30 days.''At this rate Thai tourist figures may as well be thrown in the trash because if there are so many foreigners coming as ''tourists''but are actually working illegally then they are in the statistics as 12 to 24 tourists per year which begs the question as to how many tourists are really visiting Thailand.

We are going to Krabi at the end of the month and was looking for recommendations of moped rental places please.

Just when I was getting to like Yingluck she goes and receives her instructions from her brother again which is one of the reasons the country is in <deleted>.

Just get your wifey to do the housework!

Sorry, but it sounds that you are looking to import a domestic slave, who has no social life or connection to the world, but live to serve you.

Anyone would be a runner, if you not treat them well.

Just what I was thinking!

I'm sure at some time in his career Adolf Hitler probably won some person of the year poll too!

Feel sorry for the Volvo...........

Must have a heck of a lot of air in those tires to sit that high in 10 meters of water, or perhaps it is floating.

Where does it say 10 mtrs.? of water, it said 10 metres deep , assumably from the bank to the bottom

''He urged his supporters to respect the Constitution''Amazing considering he is showing no respect whatsoever for it himself!

Maybe he had his sights set on the 50 million baht reward for taking Suthep out of the picture?

I'm interested in the bike if you want to sell at that price!

Will visitors and Thai residents than finally have to pay the same price to visit? I don't visit and I don't recommend Ayutthaya anymore as every time I feel cheated. Even presenting a work permit they still want me to pay the "farang" entry price every time at all sites

I get annoyed over the same thing and cannot see why UNESCO and in this case the Americans are sanctioning rascial discrimination at these sites.

Typical police stupidity, pounce on the mule instead of putting the place under surveilance and catch the bigger fish.

Were to start GET A WORK PERMIT if you are going to sell any. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

Were to start GET A WORK PERMIT if you are going to sell any. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

I could'nt picture anyone putting a downer on making ones own bread but you just. Do I Knead permission to fry my eggs in the morning too?

HAPPY NEW YEAR folks !

I am absolutely a beginner of making bread. share with you my failure just yesterday while preparing a 1kg focaccia for the family new year eve dinner party. the dough was too wet and too sticky ( with bread flour ), even adding and adding flour into the mixture.

it is really fun of making bread, but at the same time is really frustrated when failed. my hands were stuck with the wet dough and I couldn't run other tasks in the kitchen. my party completely spoiled.

yes, definitely more practice, and more practice - my simple new year resolution !

Got great advice onetime that that has become the golden rule...''Don't ever make a dish for guests that you hav'nt tried out previously''

If you go up Sukhumwit Soi 33 to the carpark, then on the opposite side of the carpark there is a baker and pastrycook wholesalers outlet. They have tins, flour and probably yeast and gluten as well.

What town Pattaya or Bangkok?

I was a pastry cook for 40 years and apart from patisserie, I made fancy breads - brioche, croissant, several different rolls and some fancy Swiss egg and milk loaf which was plaited and called zopf. So I have a few credentials.

I am retired now but still make my own bread. Don't be too fussed with what you do. Bread is the easiest thing to make. People tend to get worked up about it and try too hard. If you want to go to the bother of running a sour dough like Ratsime does that is OK and there is lots of info on the intenet about getting one started. If you can get hold of compressed yeast it is better than the dried stuff but the dried yeast is ok too. The sour dough starters available at the supermarket are not sour dough at all. They are just a con with dried yeast in them.

I don't even use a recipe. For 3 loaves I put about a teaspoonful of yeast into a bowl of about 2 cups of water at blood temperature - no warmer or you will destroy the yeast but cooler is ok but will take a bit longer to work. Into that I put enough plain flour to make a slurry and let it sit until it starts to bubble and rise.

Next I add some more water - maybe a cup or 2 and whatever else I feel like. For 3 loaves I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. More salt will give a better flavour but too much will retard the development of the yeast and really too much it will never rise at all. I add 20 - 30 grams of a fat [ butter, olive oil, margerine ] and next it can be wholemeal flour, plain flour, a bit of bran, a bit of oatmeal, a few linseeds or a bit of oat bran. If you can buy some gluten [ the protein in flour that give it its strength] you can add a teaspoon of that.

The next step is really important. You must knead it for about 20 minutes and it is hard work without a machine. If you have a mixer use the hook fitting and run at slow speed. The more you knead the dough the less sticky and more elastic it becomes and that is what you want.

When you start to knead, if the dough is too soft then add some flour and if it is too dry then add some more water.

When the kneading is finished let the dough rise and then give it a very short further kneading. Do that 2 or 3 times. Form your loaves and then proof them [ allowing the loaf to rise before baking them[.

I make mine in oblong tins, sometimes sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds. I bake it in an old, small Electrolux oven at about 220 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn down the temp. to 200.

The last 5 minutes I tip it out of the tins and finish baking on the racks of the oven. It is baked when you rap it on the bottom and it sounds or feels hollow and firm.

Good luck and remember - don't worry, you can't do much that is wrong.

I just had an idea that I wanted to put by you. I've done Thai cookery classes for 1000 baht per person for a morning class with up to 10 attending.Hands on tuition is always best in my opinion so would you be up for running some bread making classes?

CelticBhoy, on 02 Jan 2014 - 10:54, said:

Great news. Let the Baht slide

as it did in '97. No complaints

from me, that's for sure.

And then.....I am accused of bashing the Thais!

Self interest comments, like this, shows how much we care about the country we are living in!

Keep it up, mate, and I hope your wish will come true!!!!!!

Sometime when I have a lot more time I'll lay out a few facts about how your newly adopted country embraces you by overcharging you because you're a farang and cops pulling you over when they see a farang as an easy buck. I'm also delighted to see this country coming to it's knees with a crumbling baht. You're not a police or tourist police volunteer in your spare time by any chance are you?

"One staff member told Ryan that she once heard the girl speaking on the phone in a Slavic language."

Oh righty. A Thai person says or even knows about a 'Slavic language'?

Of course they do , a lot can even speak Russian. Why waste your time with English when there are more Russians here now.

You will get many opinions.

I bake bread every week for home use. My electric oven goes up to 275ºC, which is enough.

I bake the bread on a non-stick pizza pan. A bread stone would be better, but I haven't found one.

I use my own sourdough starter instead of yeast.

I buy the cheapest bread flour (high gluten flour) that I can find. I usually add whole wheat, dark rye, rolled oats and other grains.

I mix a very wet sponge which I allow to rise for three or four hours before kneading. This makes heavy kneading unnecessary.

I spray water in the 275º oven to increase humidity before putting the bread in. I spray several times during baking. I spray the loaf itself after removing from the oven. This gives a shiny, chewy crust.

If I'm baking bread for sandwiches I aim for a high loaf with a fine grain. This means a drier dough with more kneading.

If I'm baking bread to go with a meal, I aim for a flat loaf with big holes and chewy texture. This means a wetter dough and less kneading and a dough that's harder to handle because it's sticky.

The most important thing you can learn is the feel of the dough. It takes practice and some failure. Eventually you will know when the dough feels like it's ready to knead, ready to form into a loaf and ready for the oven.

My usual recipe is:

1 tsp salt

½ cup of sourdough starter (or 1 tbs yeast)

Two cups of flour (1½ cups of bread flour plus ½ cup of other flour)

Enough water to make a wet dough that is sticky to touch

When it's ready to knead I add enough flour to make the dough easy to handle.

Cooking time is usually around 25 minutes.

This makes on medium sized (20-25 cm) round loaf.

Have fun. You'll enjoy it.

This is one of the best replies I've seen to any query. Loads of information...well done