Blog posts

Today, I will endeavor to create yet another iconic N.Y.C. street food. The Kinish.

I’ve never made soft pretzels before or any bread where the dough is briefly cooked in a simmering alkaline water bath.  I saw this recipe for soft pretzels in Bake from Scratch and I had time this morning to try it out.  Pretty fast since it uses commercial yeast. 

Hi All,

Thanks for stopping by, I had a "first attempt" at a new baguette recipe.... and it was tasty, but didn't rise as much as I had hoped. So while I was pondering the results, and cleaning up the mess, I absent-mindedly arranged it like this.

I don't know what I was trying to say, but it got eaten pretty quickly when I added some dips to the mix.

Anyway, I just hope you enjoyed the image. 

Ham.

I'll start with a qualification that I am not the world's best or most consistent baker. I dove deep into the world of sourdough back in 2019 (yes, I am a pre-COVID OG) and went as far down the rabbit hole as my lifestyle would allow. For example, I brought my starter and baking accoutrements on my honeymoon where I baked a very mid almost-frisbee version of the Tartine country loaf recipe. 

(My partner was not pleased, but she still loves me and we have a happy, healthy family now!)

It’s a done deal. I decreased the water 30g. Not anything else changed. It makes a whopping difference in the dough manageability. T 65 is a fussy flour. 

These are 227g each x 6 

YW was very active. Dough was extremely easy to fold etc. It rose like crazy overnight in bulk retard. And there’s where I’ll be making a very big change. It’s a pain to retard 6 baguettes but with the exponential growth overnight I had to deflate to maneuver and preshape and shape and their isn’t any way to recover the lift. 

I can’t believe it has been more than a hear since I last baked baguettes and even longer since I’ve made this formula.  I am definitely out of practice, the shaping wasn’t perfect but each successive one was better shaped than the previous.  I will need to do another bake in the nearish future to try to get the muscle memory back.  In the meantime, I’m not mad at this bake.  I particularly like the blistered and thin crisp crust.  They went very well with the Chicken Marbella Plums two ways that I made as the main course.

hello and welcome :)

This Saturday, I attempted to make the "easiest loaf of bread". I halved the recipe to make one loaf and ended up baking at 425 instead of 450 (I feel like the oven in my apartment handles 425 better). It's getting colder in the PNW, so for rising, I put the dough in the oven while the oven was turned off. I feel like the 2 hour rise time worked out pretty well. The 45 minute rise on the baking sheet afterwards was also helpful.

It had been a long time since I’ve baked a pie and we are having friends over for their birthday dinners tomorrow.  Using the rhubarb a good friend sends me each year from his country home I decided to make a rhubarb pie.  No other fruit just rhubarb.  I’ve actually never had a rhubarb only pie and thought it would be interesting to try.  The rhubarb filling is spiced with nutmeg and I’ve left it nice and tart but with a decent amount of sweetness.

Apple yeast water and sourdough equal amounts 230g each . Dough 1/2 semolina 1/2 Arrowhead Mills Organic AP. 425g each. 600 g water ( used 100g YW as part) . 21g salt, 40g EVOO, 20g Non diastatic malt . That’s it. Mix everything til thoroughly wet. Refrigerate 1 1/2- 2 days . Butter large sheets divide dough approx 1000g per pan. Press out , rest several hours til very puffy. Brush with EVOO parbake in  preheated 450° oven 15 min . Freeze one and top the other. 

Here's how to cure my depression: 45% whole rye, 10% whole spelt, 45% bread flour, 1% caraway, 1% salt.

I have to say, it was particularly tasty: nicely crisp and caramelized crust, wonderfully moist and light interior, just enough caraway to add zest without obscuring the flavor of the grains. My niece said it reminded her of bread her grandmother ate in rural Switzerland.