Blog posts

I chanced upon this recipe for wholemeal rolls on Abel Sierra's wordpress blog. I liked the look of them and thought I would give them a try.

Sadly, Abel's blog no longer exists, but it can still be accessed via The Wayback Machine.

Here is a screenshot with my English translation of the ingredient list:

I decided to do a classic English 4hr sponge:

440g BF 13%

389g H2O

3.1g diastatic malt flour

2.65g IDY

DT 26C

This is one of my favorite breads. I used freshly ground Durum flour and bumped up the % along with a slightly higher % of fresh whole wheat.

I cooked the grits and added some butter and grated cheddar cheese just because that’s the way grits should be eaten!

I was very happy with how this one came out. I love the softness the ricotta cheese adds to the crumb and the flavor the grits impart. It’s an excellent bread to grill with some good olive oil and throw on a fresh garden tomato with some mozzarella and your good to go :).

I received a wonderful surprise this week when I opened an unexpected package sent to me by Anita’s Organic Mill.  They were kind enough to send me the flours, cereal and swag in this photo.

The Tartine book has an interesting variation on the semolina bread called "Golden Raisin, Fennel Seed, and Orange Zest." I've got a friend who makes this bread, but substitutes the raisins for cranberries and calls this her "Christmas bread."

I used a 100g bag of cranberries which were presoaked in boiling water (120g after drainage).

I'm definitely starting to get into a regular baking routine. Is this even normal behavior? 🤣

It was time to try replacing all the water in the main dough with beer. I looked for a locally made lighter tasting golden beer. And of course, this is another porridge bread. The porridge is made with water, butter and honey. I blame Ian for getting me hooked on porridge breads! 

This morning i had porridge left over from breakfast and i wanted to do something a little different so i decided to sort out the cupboard a bit and ended up with these 3 lovely loaves that would be ideal company for a cheese board its ended up being Apricot and Porridge Oat Bread with 26% Wholemeal Spelt. 3 X 510g loaves. it was going to be 2 x 750g loaves but thought 3 x 500g was easier for sharing.

I think ciabattas have been my kryptonite LOL.  Mostly the problem has been dough sticking to the couche.  I now have a 100% flax linen couche.  I used it once previously after seasoning it by rubbing flour into it and then baking baguettes and there was no sticking.  With that experience it was time to bake ciabattas again.  Using the same recipe but trying out Alan’s shaping as per his youtube video.  I needed a bit more flour on the counter but other than that the shaping went well.

I haven’t had the time or reliable internet service to do much commenting or posting here because we recently sold our house and are in the process of relocating. We are temporarily staying in a small bunkhouse on a ranch for the summer. It has a small propane gas stove and that is the focus of this tale.

I've been salivating over producing this delicacy that hearkens back to my NYC youth for quite sometime. I cannot tell a lie - this is NOT my first attempt. I tried, and failed spectacularly, about a month ago. The doomed pair literally came out of the oven like a chocolate boat anchor - heavier, even!! The big difference between this Yotam Ottolenghi (Jerusalem Cookbook) Babka and a NY style babka is the citrus inclusion in the dough, and the overnight cold retard. This is also known in Israel as a chocolate Krantz Cake.