Maybe it's my lousy Italian, but I've had it with modernist gelato and sorbetto formulas. Quite often their gummy results remind of thick, over-reduced meat reductions. They leave my mouth feeling a residue of something between margarine and glue. Blech!
I'm returning to the French formulas I first learned at hotels; simpler ratios and classic results. My latest churn was black berries and pineapple, with a pinch of rum and port. Delicious. Vive la France!
For bakers, flour is a bit like a painter's colors. Sometimes the choices lead to loaves that are great. Even masterpieces. Other times the choice ends up leaden or bird feed. Spontaneous choices are often determined by what's left in my myriad of left-over flour. Sometimes a thought or plan develops. This loaf, made with a flour of ancient grains, surpassed my expectations in taste. With an even crumb, it didn't stale as some modern wheat varieties quite often do.
The mix:
Tumminia
Rye
Spelt
Kamut
Einkorn
Whole wheat
For a long time I used a formula for muffins called Universal Muffins, which I discovered from Tightwad Gazette, a newsletter which preaches budget living and frugality. That never figured into my usage of this recipe until investigating its origins. I adapted the formula to metric scale, and introduced buckwheat as part of the mix. Overall, it made for fabulous results.
Having a bit of extra croissant dough in my kitchen, it inspired me to bake a batch of pain au chocolate. But without solid chocolate bars used to fill them, I substituted with faux Nutella for what was basically a krantz (aka babka). The activity of this dough was a stunner. I rolled it up jelly roll style, then cut and braided, loaded it into paper molds and baked...Vavoom, here's what I got with a cup of coffee.
Sıcak, sıcak!” The words heard in an Istanbul streets, for hot, hot simit. The so called bagel of Turkey, whose history and origins are as mysterious as the Topkapi palace. When I visited and tried them, I wasn't quite understanding it's cultural signifigance and importance. But after so long, I miss having them, and took a day to prepare this version, just need to buy a Turkish tea pot while sharing with cheese and olives.
Here's a levain raised in an uneven often mercurial environment, my work kitchen. The results were sliced and toasted for the first spring wine dinner...Break bread and prosper.
Kornspitz is an Austrian bread often found in bread baskets. They are similar to Stangerli or pretzels. I re-worked this batch with fantastic heritage grains and a wheat sourdough. Served with a spread of butter, ham and or cheese, mmmm.
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