April 29, 2012 - 4:38am
Some random bakes
Hi everyone,
It's been a long time since I've been able to contribute anything to the community here at TFL. Clinic and hospital visits (as a patient) most weekends, some overtime work at my main job and a lot of editing work up until the end of the fiscal year here in Japan have kept me too busy to post anything.
I remember cursing my inability, last year, to make a respectable pain au levain without blow-out on the sides and/or the bottom of the loaves. I was really inspired by the wonderful advice that the folks at TFL offered. I did thank them, but never showed them why I was so happy with their excellent guidance. This photo is of my most beautiful P-A-L, which also tasted great.
Crumb shot follows:
Adam
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This formula was based 'fairly closely' on one of Hamelman's PAL formulae...I noticed someone on the 'net who had a problem with the "125% hydration rye starter" that JH specified, while many of us use 100%. I followed the poster's advice, rather than Hamelman's timing, but baked this in a COLD, cast-iron dutch oven in a VERY HOT [250°C] gas oven.
I was delighted with the result.
Best wishes to all,
Adam
I had some left-over biga from my regular bread-baking and decided to make pizza with it, just adding APF to the rye/BF biga. I could not control the dough as much as I would have liked. It came out very "bready" and rose in the oven much more than I had expected. It was delicious, though, so I can't complain.
Adam,
Good to see you posting. Not having time to bake is like an itch that can't be scratched. I can almost smell the pizza.
Bake away old friend, Jim
I've really missed 'chewing the fat' with you over the past few months. You're so right about "the itch".
Wishing you all the best, sir!
Adam
This was a 'lucky accident'—I don't really know much about how to make thin-crust pizzas (Not on purpose, anyway!) My wife is Japanese and Japanese people all seem to think that a 'thin crust' is good, so...I rolled the dough out to about 1/8" (3mm) and it only doubled in thickness in the oven. Good!
I'd used some 100% rye starter (or biga?) and a bit of mixed BF and APF. I was also super lucky to have found some mozzarella di bufala at half-price, as it was near the "use-by date".
This pizza is not so 'photogenic'. The cheese seemed to swell and surround the few toppings used. It was topped with smoked bacon, green peppers (piman) and black olives.
The taste was absolutely...um...well...indescribably GOOD, especially after we smothered it in fresh basil. Probably the second-best pizza I've ever eaten. I recommend that all pizza lovers have a try of the buffalo mozzarella. I made 2 large (30cm/12") pizzas, using about 120g (4oz) of mozza di bufala.
Best wishes to all,
Adam
Nice pain au levain Adam. Pizza looks great! Wishing you good health.
Syd
and I mean the pizza and the bread. Wonderful to see you have made so much progress. Ditto on good health wishes. -Varda
Hope you'll get well soon. Nice bakes! The pizza is especially mouthwatering. Do you still maintain an aquarium while living in Japan? I've become a very competent fish mama, no more lethal incidents :-) My guppy population is flourishing, 68 all together. It must have been either the 8th or the 9th generation now, I've lost track. 68 is a lucky number for Cantonese, and I need that good Feng Shui! Take care.
Yippee
Thank you very much, Syd, Varda and Yippee and all the others who have contacted me, for the compliments and your good wishes. It's really appreciated!
I consulted one of the the finest lung doctors in Japan, a Professor at the Japan Medical University about a suspected lung condition. He confirmed the initial diagnosis of COPD (emphysema) and told me that I was also asthmatic. Nice double-whammy—two lung diseases with one diagnosis! However, the good news is that the Prof doesn't want to see me again—I have only a mild case of COPD and he deals exclusively with VERY sick patients. Apparently, I've had asthma all my life, yet I hardly noticed the fact, so I'm a very lucky guy! I also have a few dozen allergies, of which I was also unaware. I really liked the Professor for his frankness, his sense of humor and his English skills, but I'm glad I don't have to meet him again!
My condition is chronic and incurable, which means it can only get worse, but never better (unless stem-cell therapy is developed further...hmmm...) I can do everything I want and need to do, except for running up stairs or escalators to catch a train. I'm still in baking-mode, anyway...not as adventurous as before, but trying to perfect some favorites.
Thank you all, my dear, but distant, friends!
Adam
PS: Yippee, I really miss my aquarium hobby, especially the 'live-bearers' such as guppies, swordtails and mollies. However, we haven't got the space for any fish-tanks these days. I have 5 grandchildren, now—only the first three ever experienced the joy of "watching the fish at grandpa's place". Congratulations on being the 'matriarch' of so many generations of those beautiful fish. Well done! copyu
Your pizzas and pain au levain look amazing! Sending lots of good health wishes your way.