Blog posts

Hi there!

Today, I would like to talk about my favorite bread ---- Baguettes!

I love baking/eating baguettes...

I was into baguettes so much and I tried many recipes. I baked with a lot of different methods and finally I found the perfect one which worked in my kitchen, with my oven :-) 

-----

The other day, I baked baguettes with my favorite method for the first time in a long time, and...

Ok, I will be honest here.

With a chuckle I like to describe myself as a "nerd". I love new, electronic gadgets, and often find entertainment involving a computer or video game console. My favorite TV shows include "Doctor Who" and "Top Gear". I'm more likely to read or watch a fantasy or science fiction novel or movie than any other genre. While in college I studied Biology in a laboratory dedicated to research with arachnids (spiders, scorpions, etc), and now stay up-to-date with research related to that subject. If I were forced to describe my fashion style in one word it would be practical.

I made some quick sourdough dinner rolls for my stew last night, I know there is a little bit of yeast in it so not a "true" sourdough but tasty.

And I got my starter a new home for being so nice to me.

Cheers,

Wingnut

I made another batch with 2 T of Arugala Walnut pesto added, me likey.

I am continuing to practice my baguettes.  This latest iteration shows some promise .  It seems my oven bakes slow.  I turned up the heat to 480F on the second batch and got some better results.  I also steamed and steamed for the first 10 minutes of the bake, then switched to convection bake, hoping the increased air flow would help to vent the steam.  One other thing I did was use 10% whole wheat flour in the formula from Txfarmer for straight baguette dough.  I also let the loaves proof a bit longer.  I will continue my quest.  I've ordered a good

There have been a lot of English Muffin recipes posted all over the web. While I yearned for a homemade muffin, I didn’t relish the steps to make them. I don’t have a griddle and cooking them in batches in a frying pan seemed problematic.

Visiting the arts & crafts store with my wife and daughter I picked up a stencil and on the second try got a design that I was quite happy with.:

The Ciril Hitz video that gave me the idea and illustrates the method is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZt1WWSAj6M. I spritzed the dough with water before stencilling and I think that helped, but I still found myself hold the stencil in place with one hand.

My love for bread, cooking in general, and gardening centers around one, important person in my life. I am fully willing to admit that, at least when it comes to Mamo (my maternal grandmother), my memory may be a tad biased. With that said, if I were to describe Mamo (pronounced "ma'am-moe"), I would certainly include the words intelligent, beautiful, capable, and even superhero. She sewed, gardened, baked, cooked, and cleaned in her spare time. She worked as a secretary for an incredibly successful real estate broker in my hometown of Arlington, TX.

Si, si, si per favore!!  I have to say these little beauties (in general) are gorgeous and so easy to make .

The ones in Venezia are sublime, especially the ones with the pastry creme in them.

Heavenly.

I have seen other variations throughout Italy but i didn't take much notice at the time:(  They were selling something similar at night in Siena at the odd stall around the city.

Not at Palio time, in winter.......

So this my Frittelle friends, is what we are aiming for!!

We had a can of pumpkin puree kicking around. I'm tired of the usual pumpkin quick bread and wanted something lighter.  Some time ago our paper had a braided yeast-raised pumpkin bread, originally from King Arthur. I started there and somehow ended up here:

Sorry, no crumb shot; the good light was gone by the time I sliced it.

I'm going to try another spin, this time with a preferment to punch it up a bit; then I think this one will be done.