Baking Some Favorites for Family and Friends

I have been baking some of my favorite recipes lately, mostly for family and friends.  While I was in the Midwest, I made a classic sourdough and Tartine sourdough with olives, lemon zest and herbes de provence (2). (my updated recipe links are below)

I was a bit concerned when I got home that my California sourdough starter was tired and flat, so I worked for a few days to get it back to normal.  It seems to be OK now, as I baked some bread for us today and for friends on Saturday.

While in the Midwest, I baked the Tartine olive bread for my friend, Theresa, and she sent me these crumb shots.  I also baked the same loaf for my friends, Tim and Barb.  I made the dough and then split it, shaping the first loaf for baking one day and then saved the second half for a longer bulk ferment, shaping it later and then baking it the next day.  I have to say that the second day bake was better than the first. This second bake produced one of the best loaves I have ever baked as it had great height, crumb and taste (as reported to me by my friend). The starter I have in the Midwest is the "baby" of my California starter.

I made this classic sourdough (below) in the Midwest for my friend, Carole.

When I got back to California, I used the same recipe to make a Classic sourdough for our friends, Sandy and Chris (above).  They loved it, and sent me the crumb shot below.

I baked the loaf below for us today.  I am on a classic sourdough kick!

The crumb was quite even. My husband likes it that way, but I am always looking for a more open crumb.  It tasted really good, quite sour as I left it to bulk ferment for 72 hours and then shaped it and let it proof overnight in the banneton. I'll have to get back to some multi-grain bakes next.

We grilled outside last night, and I wanted to suggest a wonderful and light dessert, grilled peaches with Greek yogurt and rosemary-infused honey.  The recipe is below.  There are lots of peaches around now, and we can use the rosemary from the garden.  We aren't big dessert people, but we love this simple recipe.  You can scale it down for fewer people.  We used one large peach for both of us.

GRILLED PEACHES WITH YOGURT & ROSEMARY HONEY

 From Carla Hall, cohost of "The Chew"

Ingredients

4 firm but ripe peaches

sprig of rosemary

grapeseed or olive oil

1/2 cup honey

2 cups greek style yogurt

Directions

1. Prepare the grill and heat to medium

2. Cut the peaches in half and pit them.  If desired, cut the peaches into quarters. (Note: they do not have to be peeled). Brush the cut sides of the peaches with oil.  Carefully place the peach pieces onto the hot grate and grill, turning once, until grill marks show and the peaches are tender but not falling apart, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. While the peaches are grilling place the rosemary sprig and the honey into a microwavable bowl and heat for about 1 minute.  The honey should be runny and warm.

4. To serve:  Put 1/4 cup yogurt into each of the 4 cups or bowls and then top with several peach slices, warm or at room temperature and another 1/4 cup yogurt and the remaining peaches.  Drizzle with the rosemary infused honey.

We also made smoky tilapia tacos with simmered pinto beans with chipotle sour cream.  Quite good!

The bread recipes I used are below:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/39435/new-twist-classic-sourdough

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/39505/tartine-sourdough-olives-lemon-zest-and-herbes-de-provence