Blog posts

It's pie month in my kitchen.   That time of year when berrries and stone fruits are the tastiest ever and a great excuse to make a pie or two.

I had my oven all heated up on a warm summer day and, didn't want to let the oven heat go to waste after my two large Sourdough Country Semonlina loaves came out.  I forgot to add the sesame seeds : / to them.  Still they are delicious and made wonderful garlic toast today for dinner. 

I don't have time to post so regularly at the moment.   I am baking lots of bread, and continuing to work hard to develop  my business.

Bread #27: Correcting for airhead tendencies produces a perfect rye. Maybe not perfect, but incredible. Helps to write directions for myself. I am now a proud parent of a thriving starter and a nice, nice bread. My dog Scout's favorite food is bread, but he prefers something else because he does not like seeds. Next up might be an ode to my starter, which is rising those doughs as well as any store-bought yeast - and so much healthier. Feel like I'm on my way to becoming a Michael Pollan groupie. http://ow.ly/mB6yj

sprouted wheat, oak smoked flour and mascarpone sourdough with longan and walnut

I have a wonerful levain, its just not tangy. So, I read and left a loaf out for 24 hours to develop its sour flavor. Alas even after that I didnt get a tangy loaf. So, I read. Call KAF and ask for Jeff. Read more and more. Funny how even some posts here that say other posts are wrong are just as wrong about developing sour. So, the last 3 days I put my new knoweledge to the test and build my levain. Tonight I baked a high percentage rye and dam'it I hope its got a sour tang. There was so little gluten that you couldnt really shape it. The surface would just tear.

Hello everyone, and  Happy Canada / Happy Cañada  Day!

This is a Spanish bread called Cañadas de Azúcar, baked for today,Canada’s national holiday.

Visiting my hometown Hamburg in May, I didn't really expect to bake anything. But our little Airbnb apartment in Schanzenviertel, Hamburg's youngest and dirtiest most colorful quarter, had a fully equipped kitchen, and I had some time on hand.

Occupied house in Schanzenviertel

My last week end’s bake was from a book I haven’t baked much from, “Crust” by Richrd Bertinet. So far, I have only baked the baguettes with a preferment and it was quite delicious. My second take on the book was: Dark Rye bread with raisins.

I had my suspicions for a high a percentage Rye leavened with commercial yeast, as all my early rye bakes flopped when baked only with commercial yeast. However, I was relatively reassured  that the overnight white biga should bring the necessary acidity to help Rye perform well.

Peering over my computer monitor I can see it is still raining. My computer lurks in the smallest room in our house with a single window that allows a narrow view through to another room and then another window before a tiny glimpse of the outside world finally emerges. My computer cave seems so removed from the country roads under expansive skies that I was travelling on the week before.