STIR THE POTS

Fish wieners

I went sleeveless on my wieners today at work. And I made them with fish too. 

Frenchified comfort food was my goal. I whipped up a mousse of scallops, chopped up some fish, added herbs and spices and rolled it in tube shaped sausages.  Lightly poached in water, then cooled, we finished them in a pan with a bit of oil to lubricate the skinless wieners, and a nob of butter for flavor.

Being a bit outside, we garnished it with some "champ" potatoes, mashed spuds with cabbage and scallions (of Irish origin). We added a mix of chantrelle, beechwood, and portabella mushrooms, as well as a Burgundian shallot and parsley assaisonment. Going really old school, we poached some bay scallop, and garnished with the "old" Beurre blanc, bit of kaffir lime leaves and ginger. Delicious.

Pain au lait

Having ventured into croissants, brioche and enriched breads, I thought it was time to make some pain au lait (or milk bread). This isn't as rich as brioche, but it has its place, mostly for breakfast or with tea. I found it on an awesome French web site. Though I like to sink my teeth into crunchier loaves with multigrains, I find this a perfect bread to spread with jam, nutella or even some mild cheeses. It's great for molding or studding with raisins, or maybe a good vehicle for making schnecken or sticky buns, which I'll have to try soon!

Bagel & Lye

Reworking test formulas the other day, I put my hand to bagels, using the same one from Montreal found on The Fresh Loaf. I used a mix of spelt and rye, along with newly arrived flour from Cayuga mills. I also added in some white whole wheat. My wife had some fried shallots she'd foun, along with a mix of sesame seeds that were seasoned with dried ginger. Why not? I even added some raisins cinnamon at her request.

This batch, I allowed for a longer second rise after shaping. And instead of baking soda, I used pretzel lye to poach them for a chewier bagel. While juggling several bakes on this marathon bake, including a tartine loaf, a rye loaf with mixed grain, English muffins, cupcakes (etc, etc...) I managed to make this batch in perfect synchronization. It was a good bake!

Attempting Bonci

Instructed about Gabriele Bonci through videos on Elizabeth Minchelli's website, I finally achieved some success attempting to bake his pane casareccio. Recently I decided to return to his pizza. It's not a puffy brusciato Napoletano style pie. Rather  it's more a foccacia sort of pizza - or "taglio," and sold by the slice or rolled, fried.

Bonci is a serious wizard with dough, and until I visit Roma, my mothers ancestral paternal city, I'll be making it here in Ameriga! This is my adaption roughly of il maestro Bonci's pizza, very rustic and my first baby steps in learning this style of pizza. One important message, don't be violent with the dough!

 

My adaption of Bonci's pizza a Taglio

483g flour

309 Water

198 Starter

40g olive oil

10 salt

Mix ingredients and rise overnight in fridge. Next day bring to temperature, about two hours. Spread in an oiled sheet pan delicately, trying to press lightly without knocking out all the bubbles from the fermentation. Allow to rise,(since using levain rather then straight yeast), about 1-2 hours, till noticeably airy and you can notice bubbles.

Bake at around 400 for about 20 minutes. You can cover with tomatoes, peeled, seed and crushed. Or there are variations you can see here.

Original Bonci formula (straight dough)

1 kilo flour

700g water

40g olive oil

20 salt

7 yeast

 

 

Spelt and rye bagels

Having some amazing smoked salmon from a place called Samaki, I got ambitious and decided to make some bagels. Thinking of my  baking buddy Mick Hartley, who would wince if I used commercial yeast, I made a straight dough with just a poolish and a twist, a bagel minus wheat, but using whole white spelt, rye and a tad of leftover kamut, a bastard bagel for sure.

The poolish was a quick four hour rise.Final dough got about an hour to bulk, shape and onto a sheet pan, covered and retarded for a slow cold rise in the fridge. When my cat woke me up in the morning 5:00 am, I filled a pot with water, popped in a tablespoon of baking soda, and boiled the bagels. Then I baked them at around 400 F for about 10 minutes till they golden brown.

Overall, these bagels didn't puff as much as regular ones with just wheat. I suppose not adding more yeast in the final dough might have given these spelt and rye bagels more air rather then a healthfood store kind of pallid look, but still had great flavor and less jaw breaking chew.

Pan de guagua

Guess what. Halloween is a South American creation that dates back to ancient traditions to connect us with the dead. Is that true? I don't have a clue but Mexico's Day of the Dead sounds cooler than Halloween. Plus, the holiday makes me think of a traditional Andean-region bread called Pan de guagua. Shaped like a sleeping  infant, the name comes from Quechua Indian word for baby. Made at  home or in bakeries, they are favorite for this  Dia de los difuntos, which combines Roman Catholic and indeginous traditions to praise the ancestors. 

Here's my try at it using formula for pain au lait, not too different from the recent pan de leche I made from a traditional Ecuadorian recipe. The only difference was an egg was added to the dough. Shaping was really easy, and decoration, a bit rustic just some royal icing and some piping and a bit of imagination.

 Note; the bread is traditionally served with colada morada, or a beverage made of blackberries, fruits and purple corn and spices.