Blog posts

Early on in my baking adventures when looking for a 100% rye sourdough I stumbled across Patrick Ryan and his videos on the ilovecookingireland youtube channel. I was pleasantly surprised when when this more recent video came across my feed and though this would be a perfect way to use some of the fresh basil from the back garden. 

Red, White and almost Blue!

Really a delicious combination, and a pretty satisfying bake. The white chocolate chips mostly melt into the crumb, give an overall cocoa-buttery richness that goes well with the cherries. I guessed at amounts, next time will double the add-ins.

July 4th is also known as Independence Day here in the good ol’ US of A. The day we declared our freedom from tyranny of a different sort rather than today’s nut jobs that rule by decree  It’s celebrated with flags, parades, and picnics which must include hot dogs 🌭. Most grocery store buns are perfectly adequate for holding the tubular mystery meat and mustard but this version of a New England bun is a definite upgrade so much so that it is traditionally used for lobster rolls. I also use them for things like chicken salad and the same recipe can be used for hamburger buns.

Today's bake consists of two separate and distinct phases.

Phase #1 - The Mozzarella

Phase #2 The bake

Phase one is fresh mozzarella. This formula is 80% the ingredients going in. The other 20% boils down to (pun unintended) experience pulling/shaping the balls. My end game needs practice. Very pleased with my first crack at this!

We’re finally getting to visit our closest friends who we haven’t seen since last summer.  So we’re bringing pie and bread, of course!  I decided on trying my recipe for 50% WW 25% butter SD brioche again because it is a little bit sinful with the butter and yet has a good amount of whole wheat.  My friends prefer a soft bread so this should be perfect. 

I had almost enough T65 flour for one last try.  

Starter was refreshed on Tuesday. I meant to feed it before going to bed but forgot! Wednesday morning I gave it 1:3:3 feed hoping to mix mid afternoon. It was cold that day and things slowed.  As I had to go out about 5 pm I put it in the fridge until yesterday morning. Pulled it out first thing and left it to warm up.   Baguettes were the 2nd dough to be mixed so it was late morning before I was ready.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon these puffy soft bagels called açma/acma while learning how to braid strands of dough. But I never got around to studying about their ingredients. They are so easy and fun to make. Unlike simit with its crispy crust, açma is soft and bun-like. I turned the doughs into different kinds of twists and rolls. The ones above were topped with chopped walnuts, brown sugar and maple butterscotch glaze.


Topped with cheddar and sesame seeds

Trying to get into baking 2 times a week to get some practice in, hence this loaf!

Almost the same process as the first one, but with the following inclusions/ steps:

- 4% Miso
- Alot more furikake. Almost emptied the packet out
- Added these 2 ingredients at the final mix before bulk fermentation (as per benny's suggestion)

The crumb seems a little tighter compared to the first loaf, and not as open as benny's.

 I have not made Bialys in a long time.  The last time I made these I used Spelt so this time I decided to use some freshly ground high extraction whole wheat.

For the filling most of them used the traditional mixture of poppy seeds, onions and oil but I didn’t make enough so I used some shredded aged Vermont white cheddar.  You can’t go wrong with adding cheese to about anything in my humble opinion :).