Bread tastings / pairings
Wine people have tastings. Coffee people too. Beer people have flights. So why not a tasting and pairing for bread?
I baked 4 different rye breads from the Rye Baker site a few weeks ago, then sliced and froze them. I waited until Christmas day to dig into them, with my plan to sample all four with different toppings.
For me, this is very entertaining because there are lots of combinations to try, and I would get to experience a series of my bakes in different ways. I also thought it might help me decide on which bread to focus on going forward.
The lunch comprised the following:
Laid out slices from four breads:
- Borodinsky rye (with some AP and coriander)
- Auvergne rye
- Black rye
- Franconia rye (with bread spices)
Laid out 3 proteins
- smoked salmon (from Kristapson's in TO, their package of bits)
- rabbit terrine (from Distinction in TO)
- prosciutto (that I sliced inexpertly but tearing bits worked well)
Laid out small cubes of 4 cheeses
- manchego firm, white, aged sheep's milk cheese
- Beemster firm aged gouda
- Beemster firm goat's milk 4-year aged gouda
- Pacific Rock firm orange (they claim to be a Cdn take on Red Leicester... not sure about that)
The fun was trying bits of different breads with different combinations of toppings.
I was amazed at how the flavour and character of breads changed based on the toppings. Eaten on their own, Borodinsky was the hands-down winner. Other breads were ok but I wasn't enamored of spice or chew.
However, enter the toppings.... (sample haphazard notes here that I happened to take)
- Borodinsky was moist, a bit sweet and delicious on its own. It also worked with rabbit terrine, with manchego + prosciutto, and goat's milk aged gouda + prosciutto.... key here was white sheep and white goat gouda cheeses. I know from previous experience it is also great with homemade mascarpone as a spread
- Franconia has German "bread spices" of fennel, star anise, caraway, coriander and was a bit chewy but it surprised me with smoked salmon, or the Pacific Rock firm orange cheese + prosciutto
- Black rye was good with the aged gouda + prosciutto
- Can't remember our Auvergne experiences but might've been similar to black rye
Breads that weren't so interesting to me came alive with certain toppings. We look forward to round two tomorrow.
Give it a try... save up some bakes and enjoy with different toppings and see where it takes you. If you have a companion or friend, you get to enjoy comparing experiences.
I'm sure someone will mention some kind of alcohol pairing. I happened to be drinking Duchesse De Bourgogne, a curious Belgian beer that is cidery with some sour... I think it was better after eating, actually. My wife was drinking a cabernet sauvignon. But the alcohol was pretty much before and after eating. I have zero wine knowledge and leave it to the people who enjoy it.
On a domestic US flight they handed out some sour cream pretzels. I don't like sour cream at all but had been travelling a while and was starving. I also happened to have a glass of red wine so decided I'd have the pretzels and wash them down with the wine. Guess what... I actually enjoyed the sour cream pretzels. That was the first time I really appreciated how wine pairings could alter, and improve, a taste. I do love a red wine but this was the first time I had tried it with a taste I don't like and ended up liking it.
When it comes to bread 100% durum flour sourdough, aka Altamura bread, I have got to admit that alone it's nothing special and can name many other breads I prefer. However toasted then dipped into an extra virgin olive oil and it becomes so flavourful. Broa di Milho is excellent with something oily and/or salty.
Borodinsky is a difficult rye bread to beat when it is plain. It's got a lot of flavour. I tend to think of ryes going well with cured meats as a lot of them have bread spices which will compliment them.
Interesting about the flight - the perception of taste and overall flavour is actually altered there due to lower pressure (and maybe very dry air?). So nowadays airplane food is adjusted (e.g. increased salt, only very strong flavoured wine, etc) to that. But also people's preferences on board might be different from normal life (for example, I forget why, tomato juice tends to taste much better during a flight, although I just hate in general, personally). Lufthansa did a lot of research into this. So it could also be because of that!
Interesting data point about in-flight foods. Very systems oriented, which appeals to me.
I know that in my current home (23rd floor of a highrise) it's often hot and dry due to keep wondows open all year round which has certainly shifted my food preferences from sweet towards salty.
Would be interesting to think more about the system of a food experience vs. focusing on individual items.
Airplane food i'm not so sure about. Do you mean it'll taste worse at sea level? :)
Joking aside I was tired, had been travelling a while and entertainment wasn't that great so it was nice to have a wine and pretzel tasting session at 30,000 feet.
Some great points here.
I guess not coming to conclusions too quickly about something before using some kind of protocol to explore its possibilities... like a checklist almost of an oil, a salt, a sweet, a bitter, an umami to try with the bread and see what each brings out.
I read about someone's first blind date recently in the Post and was amazed how limited their experience was before they moved on. They came with expectations, made no room for experience, and left disappointed.
Great idea David, it must have been a fun thing to do on Christmas Day.
Kristapson’s smoked salmon is the best in the city isn’t it. We used to live a couple of blocks from their store in Leslieville, it was our first home. We used to get it more often, but we are now no longer in the neighborhood so seldom have it anymore.
Benny
Makes sense. I'm a bit nuts so I do walk pretty far distances and carry stuff home even when it's 25 lbs of flour or coffee beans. Must be my g-g-g-grandfather's genes. He was rumoured to have carried a sack of flour from Hamilton to Goderich in the early 1800s, or something crazy like that. Considering the roads were made of cross-wise logs (called corduroy roads) walking was probably the more comfortable choice.
A hike with a 25 pound backpack is impressive.
And I'll be even more impressed if you carry that 25 pounds up 22 flights of stairs.
I'm pretty winded going up the 21 flights (no 13th floor). I've done it double-masked during the pandemic too, out of an ornery sense of proving an overweight, out-of-shape, middle aged guy could do such a thing even in the humid summer. But never with more than a small bag of items.
Certain parts of the London Underground are very deep. Instead of using the elevator I would take the stairs. Hampstead Tube Station is 320 steps. What a great workout. Another one is Covent Garden and once on the way up I saw some paramedics seeing to woman who misjudged her fitness levels. They always advise to use the elevators but I like the exercise.
Good on ya. You got me beat on steps there!
I once thought I was pretty amazing after climbing and descending the head of the Sleeping Giant rock formations outside Thunder Bay. Then on my way back, one of the rangers was running the same trail and of course offered an easy hello to me.
Which reminds me that exercise makes any food taste amazing, even a pale lager.
We've gotta earn them. I upped my exercise at the beginning of his pandemic. Thought if i'm in lockdown i'd better not let myself go. Haven't had a rest day in over a year. Onwards and upwards.
My recent 19% rye doesn't go well with the same EVOO or seasoned oil as the WW without rye did. So... yeah, it's a thing.
I am out of butter at the moment, but it goes well with melted mozzarella
I highly recommend homemade mascarpone as a spread.
All you need is cream (like whipping cream), fresh lemon juice, and cheese cloth or something like it and patience while it drains off the whey.
It's easy and then you can freeze portions for later.