STIR THE POTS

Baked

Many years ago I had a chance to exchange labor for learning at Bouley Bakery. Fridays I would leave my regular job and then spend the next 10 hours working Bouley's graveyard shift baking bread. I can't remember the name of "the boulanger." What I do remember was his generosity. Usually, professional bakers are reluctant to share their recipes. But Bouley's boulanger was kind enough to share some of his formulas. Here are some photos of recent efforts inspired by those production sheets that he gave me.

 

Exploring GF

Once again I returned to gluten free baking to maybe break the code of milled grains and legumes to finally understand its mysteries. First up a chick pea loaf with my rice levain which was buried in the back of my cold refrigerator in disuse for some time, after a few refreshments It showed signs of life. Still this first effort failed as the loaves structure shrank in its mold and its texture was tight and gummy.  The next try was a buckwheat loaf which  showed better prospects.  This formula was shared from Fariners Roca a flour company in Catalonia. As the dough crested  my mini loaf pan, it reminded me of a  pavé from the Belgian classic bike race in Roubaix. Taste wise a hint of kasha and the quality of the  crumb was soft. Just add butter and something else, salmon, cheese? Here's what I got.

Hacked

My Instagram account was hacked by a bitcoin hacker. It pisses me off. Making it worse is the lack of accountability by the site. I can't even get in to my own account now. Zuckerberg's "people" aren't people. There  are no humans to contact to help with hacked accounts. Beware, world, this could happen to you. Your face up there but the person who now claims it isn't you.

Direct Table Loaf

Here is a loaf without refrigeration processing. Instead its focus is on a simpler methodology. Forget about all those things they teach you in baking school such autolyse, folds, and retarding. This loaf is styled on old school mixing with no smoke-and-mirrors. It focuses on a simpler one-day mixed-to-bake bread. Following a simpler style is good practice. And you can get it done within five hours.

 

	TABLE LOAF (DIRECT-PROCESSING)
	THIS BREAD IS QUASI-ITALIANATE, INDEBTED TO central and northern Italy. I have found that bread in this style confuses most new-world “artisan” bakers. The loaves are not uniform or pretty or exacting. They proved seam-side-down on a bed of wheat bran, with their tops exposed. The dough is developed more during mixing than small-scale bakers might be used to. There's no folds during bulk fermentation. There's no preshaping. No autolyse. No retardation. No bells and whistles. The ingredients are mixed; fermented; cut and shaped; fermented again; and baked in a very, very hot oven. This is the style of bread I'm most attracted to, and, admittedly, it may not be for everyone. I like gnarly, wobbly loaves baked to a dark chestnut. This bread is simple. The taste is clean and fresh and wheaten, with no perceptible acid, and a thin, crisp crust. The loaves are incredibly light, in part due to the mixing regime. But this also means they will not remain as moist as long as a retarded sourdough mixed in gentler style might. Of course, this style of bread is meant to be a same-day loaf, for utility. Great sliced for lunch or dinner, perfect for toast the next morning. There is a bit of a learning curve as far as shaping is concerned, as the ideal loaf shape is a coiled tube of dough the same thickness from end-to-end. This ensures every slice of bread is approximately the same size. This style can be problematic for a production setting until those cutting and shaping the dough get used to processing bread in this manner. I find it requires a lot of “unlearning!” Thankfully, everybody at Apiece first learns to make bread in this style before all others—once mastered, it becomes a joy! All other styles of bread seem boring by comparison. I love the the fact that no two cut pieces of dough are the same shape. It requires thought and constant interaction on the baker's part to coax each slug of dough into uniform, elongated cylinders. If I had to choose just one loaf to make for the rest of my life, it'd be a variation on this one.
		PREFERMENTED FLOUR:		16.66%
		HYDRATION OF STARTER:		50.00%
		DOUGH YIELD:		2 x 800g loaves
	OVERALL FORMULA		BAKER'S %	HOME
	TOTAL FLOUR		100.00%	906.26	g
	Flour, Wheat, Roller-Milled (11.5% protein)		80.00%	725.01	g
	Flour, Whole Wheat, Stone-Ground (T-160)		10.00%	90.63	g
	Flour, Wheat, Stone-Ground (T-85)		10.00%	90.63	g
	Water		74.00%	670.63	g
	Sea Salt		1.80%	16.31	g
	Flour, Malted Barley, Freshly-Milled		0.75%	6.80	g
	TOTAL YIELD		176.55%	1,600.00	g
	DOUGH STARTER BUILD
	Flour, Wheat, Roller-Milled (11.5% protein)		100.00%	150.98	g
	Water		50.00%	75.49	g
	Stiff Starter, Previously-Fermented		10.00%	15.10	g
	TOTAL		170.00%	241.57	g
	FINAL DOUGH
	TOTAL FLOUR		100.00%	755.28	g
	Flour, Wheat, Roller-Milled (11.5% protein)		76.00%	574.02	g
	Flour, Whole Wheat, Stone-Ground (T-160)		12.00%	90.63	g
	Flour, Wheat, Stone-Ground (T-85)		12.00%	90.63	g
	Starter, From Above		29.99%	226.47	g
	Water		78.80%	595.14	g
	Sea Salt		2.16%	16.31	g
	Flour, Malted Barley, Freshly-Milled		0.90%	6.80	g
	TOTAL		211.84%	1,600.00	g
	1. DOUGH STARTER BUILD.
	Mix the dough starter 12 to 16 hours before the final dough, and leave to ferment in an air-tight, food-grade container. Desired dough temperature is 30°C.
	2. MIXING.
	For the home baker: Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and combine by squeezing them into each other with both hands. Proceed until every particle of flour is hydrated and a shaggy dough is achieved. Using a plastic scraper, remove the dough from the bowl and slap-and-fold on a hard benchtop for 10 to 12 minutes. Stop several times throughout this process to “scissor” through developing any protein strands. (To do so, form the first fingers and thumbs of each hand into an O and pinch the dough from back to front into a chain of smaller balls before continuing to slap-and-fold.) This dough in particular benefits from more development and air-incorporation upfront since it receives no folds during bulk fermentation. For the professional baker: Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a spiral mixer. Mix for 8 minutes on 1st speed and 8 minutes on 2nd speed. Desired dough temperature is 26°C in summer and 28°C in winter.
	3. BULK FERMENTATION.
	About 3h.
	4. DIVIDING AND SHAPING.
	Divide the dough into two equal portions of 800g apiece and shape either into a round or a rustic tube. Place seam-side-down atop a towel, cloth or couche generously coated with wheat bran, folding the edges over the loaf to help support it.
	5. FINAL FERMENTATION.
	2h to 3h, temperature depending.
	6. BAKING.
	With ample steam, bake at 265° to 285°C for 20 minutes, before lowering the temperture to 220°C for additional 25 to 35 minutes or until done.

 

 

 

 

Gai-lan

I have always loved green vegetables, like  Gai-lan, a type of Chinese broccoli found in Asian food markets. It works wonderfully in scrumptious preparations steamed or stir fried. Whereas spinach also a native of Asia goes simply in a dish like Goma Ae, a Japanese salad of cold spinach simply seasoned with soy, mirin and sesame.

Below are photos of a mix of gai-lan and spinach in a dish inspired by chef and author Ixta Belfrage. This version was flavored with ginger and rice wine vinegar. I also added sesame oil punched up with some fresh sesame seeds. I upped the ante by adding coconut liquid aminos and fried garlic chips. It led to a flavor-packed punch melding of pure umami. Low intensity preparation and easy clean up didn't hurt.

 

Spring Flinged

Each year the private club where I am chef holds their "Spring Fling." It's a great excuse for a colorful spread. This year's was 15 hours over a simple spread. Honestly, more often the crowd here is about drinking, not eating. Regardless, here's what we did. 

Poolish Pizza Pies

It's time for my kitchen's annual spring Spring Fling. This year we'll feature pizza. Previously, I have focused on sourdough pizza crusts. This time I am trying a poolish-based cannoto style dough. It makes for a shortens the window, cutting out minutes from all the steps, from 16-hours for the dough pre-fermentation to the 2-4 hours to actually finalize pizza production. More simply, it makes baking pizza easier without sacrificing for texture or taste.

Pot au feu

Pot au feu is a French  classic peasant  dish that's wonderful for winter. Or for early spring. It consists of secondary cuts of  beef and cartilaginous marrow bones. You slow cook them with carrots, leeks, onion and spices. To perfect it, avoid al dente cooked vegetables. And the broth should be full of gelatin. When perfected, it makes for a deeply satisfying meal. 

Recently I put my hand to it, this time using an Instant Pot. Two day's of pressure cooking, clearing stock, cutting the base vegetables and reduction of juice, I filled my terrine molds and pressed. Delicious.