STIR THE POTS

Time for Ice Cream

Summer is here. At work, that means churning our own in-house ice creams. One issue with which I struggle is balancing larger health concerns with the the high amount of sugar many recipes require. To address it, we avoid all gels, use only fresh fruits, and prepare smaller batches. While it keeps my cooks busy, it makes for a fresher and cleaner tasting product. Here's one we made the other day, an  adapted chocolate sorbet from David Lebovitz and a passion fruit sorbet adapted from Leonardo di Carlo's evolution book..

The Key to Great Hydration

One lesson regarding hydration was considering the feel or softness of ones ear Visiting Istanbul's great baker Gökhan Sokmen, he advised me to gauge hydration by the dough's softness, equating it with the texture of the touch of an earlobe. I remember him offering such coaching while baking pide (pita) shaped like small rolls. Over the years, his ear-based advice has stayed in my head. Recently it led to exceptional results, almost an epiphany. Here's some photos of the results, a special little bread (akin to a mini-focaccia) that started with feeling for hydration via the softeness of an ear. 

 

Thomas Teffri-Chambelland Offers Great Guidance

I recently purchased one of the books from EIDB's Thomas Teffri-Chambelland. It inspired some fantastic loaves. Best of all, his coaching has led me to make sure my levain is fed daily and my oven is my proofer, too! My work place baking has me feeling a lot more adventurous, even with our minimized setup in terms of baking equipment.Here are some of the loaves including: Baguette, Brioche, Campagne and Metéil...

 

This Old dough

Since putting on a baker's hat at work I've noticed that it's impacted baking at home, namely leading to a smaller size of roll. Maybe it's the demands. At work there's so much hand work focused on the multiple serving batches, with lots of cutting, shaping and loading the oven. Then there is the fermentation. Sometimes I'll stick to sourdough but lately have included yeast and sponges. With each day I get more confident, only to be reminded I have to put my chefs mantle on too... 

 

 

 

Pizza fermentation with sponges

Poolish (or sponges) is made from equal parts flour and water, along with variable amount of either yeast or sourdough. Lately I've started using it for breads and pizza. It's worked particularly well for pizza. I took cues from Salvatore Kosta at Foorn. I also tried a Nancy Silverton formula. With a vast array of pre-ferments at hand, let them get into your world of mixes and bake!

 

Pita Pocket Filled With Falafel

Preparing staff meals, I made some pita with falafel for dinner, adding my own home-made shawarma spice to some chicken. The pita bloomed in the oven nicely. And the staff loved it. Nothing wrong with street food for many!

 

 

Pozole

Pozole with pork is a classic Mexican dish. Recently I decided to make it for the staff meal. Pork is a hard sell for some of the crew. But I did have some satisfied Mexicano's on staff who came back for seconds. I used my old pressure cooker for cooking the hominy and the pork. I garnished the posole with radishes, limes, lettuce, crema, and some crisp tostadas. It's the first time in years that the crew asked for seconds (and then thirds) and even left with "thank you!" 

 

Remembrance Of Things Past

Thinking a lot during the lock down and the slow re-opening has been interesting. It's sort of like restocking the brain. Besides giving me an opportunity to think through and refine skills, it's elicited multiple kitchen memories, especially around my mom. Looking at the weathered moulds she left me after her death, well, they brought back visions of Petite Madelines. I can't quite remember whether she actually baked them or just spoke about them. Perhaps she simply asked me to bake a batch for her. And so, on this Mother's Day that launches a spring where we start to emerge from sadness and fear, I made a batch for you, mom. May these photos start to share the love you gave me and the world.