Blog posts

Sorry for the delay in posting but it's been a crazy past couple of weeks.  First we were away for the entire week of Thanksgiving and then as soon as we got home the Monday after I had to drive to PA to start my new job.  I just got home last night after basically being away for 2 weeks so it's nice to sleep in my own bed and see my kitties and my wife of course.

For some reason, I always think of that song when I think of Venice:)

It is one of the most requested songs for Gondaliers to sing ......

Mmmm Veneziana

Yet it is a Neapolitan song.

But this lovely beauty is all Venetian!! It's a Veneziana.

A Venetian version of Pandoro perhaps or a Panettone, as the dough is similar but without the fruits.

Well I started off trying to recreate this great looking white spelt bread from "Tartine Bread Experiment" but I took some twists and turns on the way. It ended up pretty darn good considering there was a whole lot of improvising going on.

ha ha ,, just kidding:)

They sure puff up heaps for a flat bread.

Mmmmm Flatbreads

For a recipe with bugger all in it, they taste scrummy.

I have to say that dipped in Olive oil and lightly salted would be sublime.

Mmmm and it is a fabulous, fabulous base recipe to make many other weird and wonderful flat bread/ stuffed bread recipes.

I had thought that, when I retired, I would tackle more complex breads and pastries. So far, my inclinations have been otherwise. I have been working on simpler recipes that can produce good breads with lesser time demands. Go figure.

I stumbled on an unfamiliar flour at a Wholefoods before Thanksgiving:  One Degree Organic Foods (ODOF) Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour (Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with ODOF and am just a new and satisfied customer).  I was intrigued by the "sprouted" part, impressed with the packaging and bought a 5#

and they didn't murmur a word!!

It is a DIRTY word in our house.....

gobble them up!!

he he he...crafty me !!

Those naughty greedyboys LOVE the Florentine rosemary and raisin buns....

My yeasty mojo is back, I think!!

Should that be I hope?

pane al latte

What with Sundays cunning slipping in of the wholemeal and todays yummy little morsels....

 I have even started looking at the "Must try " list again...

Think its a definite!!

This is my first go with Maggie Glezer's Pandoro (from Artisan Baking), and all things considered I'm quite pleased with it.  There are two amazing things about this bread.  The first is how something with that much sugar and butter can be so light and ethereal-  I'm stunned by the texture.  The second is the balance of flavors.  It doesn't come across as too eggy, it doesn't taste only of butter or vanilla, and it isn't obviously a sourdough.

Got it right, at last!

Berliner Landbrot -

70% Dove's Farm light rye

30% Bacheldre Organic Stoneground Strong White Flour

During his apprenticeship the baker Tom Roetz investigated the behaviour of machine-prepared rye preferments vs hand-prepared rye preferments using  a standard "Berliner Landbrot" formula.

My version of "Berliner Landbrot" is adapted from his paper, which is available online:

http://www.lefa-berlin.de/downloads/TA-Roetz.pdf