STIR THE POTS

Cioccolato Panettone

Chocolate panettone. Why not? I saw that such a bread had resulted in a prize for the Il Buco Alimentari baker Kamel Saci. I was determined to adapt his version. Mine was made with ginger, tonka bean, and no butter, just olive oil!

It's basically the same formula, I've used in the past. Only now I adjusted the flour component with some superberb Valrhona cocoa! I even made a glaze with some walnuts instead of almond meal. The flavor and crunch was nice, as suggested by my friend and fratello Michele Forgione! Felice 2014!

Talking Business - Farm To People

Michael Ray Robinov grew up as the son of a food entrepreneur, a weekly Union Square farmers market participant, and a student at a school where kids were taught out of textbooks they helped write and produce. After starting his first year of college in 2012, he left this past summer to found and run a food company, Farm To People.

A business that seems designed around Robinov's creativity, food fascination, and passion for social good, he and his founding partner sell and deliver a range of crafted products made by Northeast-based farmers. We spoke to him recently about the inspirations around Farm to People, and today's challenges of starting a food business.  

Q: What are you doing with Farm To People? 

Michael: We’re trying to create a regional hub for small producers who make things in small batches with natural ingredients, without genetically modified ingredients. We want to go back to the way things were--and should be--created.

All of our meats and cheeses come from healthful, pasture-raised animals. All of our products are crafted in small batches, by hand, with purposeful ingredients.  Our producers are really conscious of what they put in their products. We want to provide a platform for our local community of makers.

The other thing I want to achieve with Farm to People is higher transparency. Knowing where your food comes from. When you buy a can of tomatoes in a supermarket today, all you know is that the tomatoes come from Italy...or California.  With Farm to People, we want people to know exactly where the food is coming from and who is actually making it.  You can even contact the makers personally! None of our makers are huge companies from someplace where you're hitting a long chain of command and from whom you probably can't get a straight answer. Most of our producers are 1-2 employee companies where you can get right to the source.

Panettone -Tutto L'Olio d'Oliva, Senza Burro

Yet another Panettone for the holiday. The other went fast. This loaf was baked substituting olive oil for butter. No difference so far as method. Just a bit less lipids, but probably a more perfumed and healthy option. Buon Natale!

 

 

 

Lemony Rye

Oysters are in season. How about trying them with a moist rye bread? Add in bits of lemon and cracked pepper like mignonette.While playing with a formula with rye of 69% and high extraction flour at 31%, I spied a mason jar. It's a home-pickled batch of Meyer lemons in salt and Morroccan spices . I used a wheat levain and only had a bit of whole rye left and topped the rest with white rye, making it a lighter version almost medium blend. Now just got to find and shuck some oysters. 

Roscon De Reyes, 48 Hour Version

Roscon de Reyes  (translation = Kings Crown) is a typical Spanish sweet bread. Adapting my friend Javier Marca's version, I made it completely sourdough. In fact, too tired to bake after a long series of work days, I left the dough in the refrigerator for entirely two days.  The third day, I got home, shaped the very bubbly and lively dough and let if proof for another three hours.

The finished product was lovely looking. Topped with almonds and sugar,in actuality it was a frugal version of what I had made in the past. More a sourdough bread (perhaps because of the milk) citrus and cinnamon infusion permeated it, but it also offered a certain tang from the long fermentation.

Compared to my last batch, on first bite it seemed less sweet, a bit chewier, and less cakey -  maybe from my choice in bread flour. On my next batch, I may use a lower protein flour and possibly a longer final proof to let the dough spring.

Still, it is interesting how the sweet and sour combine for an almost hybrid version.

Stollen

Stollen, Christstollen,and Dresdener stollen are childhood memories from Germany. I never equated them with Christmas, the little mounds on top symbolizing the baby Jesus. Like the Büche de Noel, they also harken back to pagan tree culture. Whatever you believe, I am in tune with the tasty flavors and fun of making this fruit-and-nut studded sweet bread favorite. Here is my latest

 

 

Tartine No. 3

The recently published Tartine No.3 had been fermenting a lot of anxiety among passionate bakers, including me. So many of us have been itching for the book's publication. I ordered both a digital and hard-copy this past weekend. So far, I skimmed through the book on all my Apple devices. I like it, a lot. It makes me think of a Rick Steve's style traveler-meets-bread-geek book.

Chad Robertson's picture laden manifesto celebrates (and illustrates) so much of the craft that inspires us bread geeks; from fermentation methods to the importance of intuition, as well as sometimes stumbling into lucky mistakes!

This book is a great addition to any baker's library. It is clear, concise, and beautiful, a picture book for those already adept at baking, and something to teach those just starting. Go find it and enjoy!

 

Longer Proof Pizza

A pizza friend recommended, Pivetti Farina di grano tenero 'OO."   This Italian flour is ideal for pizza, boasting itself as such on its packaging. Given the company has been around since 1879, who am I to argue? Anyway, with a sourdough first try, I found it quite extensible. But when baked, it felt tough, and not not of great taste or look - with bleach white appearance. No robust cornicione!

I like my dough light and blistered leading to a high crust. After a second attempt yielding nothing to boast about, I decided to do a small formula of yeasted pizza, very standard dough, with the exception being a long 48 hour bulk ferment and four hour final proof. Again, it led to an ugly crisp dough. I was ready to chuck it all. But being so busy I left the dough in the fridge for a full six days. Hungry last week, I took out a piece and let it warm up. Wow! Not only did it yield a decent crust, but it was light and puffy with color!

All to say, Pivetti needs to sensitivity and improvisation, though I'm betting I'll go more local for flour the next go around. Gonna get my pizza mojo back!

 

Chestnut Bread

Chestnut bread is one I like in the fall and winter. Especially lovely is the sweet nut flavor paired with a bit of saucisson or cheese. Recently I revisited my formula for 60/40 wheat and chestnut and decided to use rye sour to ferment the loaf, as I wasn't happy with one I'd made with wheat. This time the  loaf  was sensational. The crumb while not quite holey still showed signs of aveolage. The rye imbued  a sweeter and more complex flavor, and the color was almost a purple grey hue  almost a chocolate flavor, kind of like roasted chestnuts in fact!

 

Panettone 2013

Panettone is an enriched bread that I've played with over time.  This year I got the strange notion to try a white trash version in a brown paper lunch bag. Not because I wanted to make fun of a grand sweet bread, but I didn't have molds and my dough needed a place to proof and bake! I got a half way decent version with natural leavening, but I think the texture (more like a cake crumb) had some issues with a slow ferment and the white trash bag having not enough insulation. The bottoms certainly got a bit darker then I wanted!

So I went back to the drawing board with a tested formula I'd used and got molds, the real ones! And alas a decent airy panettone fit for the season!