« July 2014 | Main | September 2014 »
Just got back from a three day look & see in California, specifically Orange County. Got to visit offline with online friends. And got the chance to eat, and eat some more. Great food! I even got to use a wood burning oven and play with dough! Southern Cal, specifically Los Angeles, reminded me of a Jim Morrison song. Like Soul Kitchen...yeah!
Fruit water yeast with a double fed formula from The Bread Bakers Guild of America newsletter, by Jeffrey Hamelman. Taking these to a friend in California. Can't wait to cut into it!
Pide can be called Turkish pizza. Here's my sourdough version, enhanced with suçuk from the best producer in Astoria, along with an egg.
Gnudi, pronounced "nu-di" with a silent "g," are a bit like dumplings or ravioli. April Bloomfield's eatery, The Spotted Pig, gave them some recent cache. My hankering for them came from this site. My mom's garden provided some nice kale and tomatoes to add to the Amish ricotta mix. Light and delicous, oh, yeah!
Went out to Redhook in Brooklyn for a bit of shopping at Fairway market, which made me think of Fany Gershon. Fany is famous for her Mexican paletas, doughnuts and books. I had the good fortune of meeting her awhile back through my friend Ruth Alegria. La Tiendita, her shop, is a cute, small hole in the wall, with Fany's cold and spicy ice creams and paleta. If in Red Hook, visit the store. If not, visit her website. Like us, you'll become quick fans.
As we move into late August, no time better for preserving some of summer's warmth when fruits are at prime. I started with cherries, then followed with Italian plums. Jam on!
Kamel Saci is a baker who grew up in Toulouse, but now lives and works in New York City, baking at Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria. Among many things for which to admire him, I love his doughs for pizza and focaccia. Basic and simple, he's posted the recipe on his website.
His focaccia fino is particularly interesting, a no-shape loaf of bread that is imbibed in olive oil and cut straight from a slab of airy dough, then baked directly to a golden sweet finish. Given my penchant for sourdough, I adapted it. There's an amazing shelf life and sweetness to this dough. Here is what I got from a mixed hybrid adaption as I ran low of yeast!
Landbrot is the quintissential country loaf, often with rye, and wheat combinations. Add in some Sauerkraut, landbrot is a hardy, moist bread for sandwiches. My latest adaption of sauerkraut bread, was switching kimchee for sauerkraut, confusion, hmm, maybe, but it's got some umami. Spicy and fermented, some barley replacing rye to add a certain Korean taste and harmony. Taste, smokey, and so moist!
Trying my buddy's Domenico's top-secret pizza flour, I had good luck with the texture and flavor on the first-go at dough. I also took two balls of dough and retarded them in the fridge overnight. Without enough time to let the dough come to temperature, I just stretched them into pizzas, baking a classic Margherita, tomato, mozz and basil. Wow, this dough is - as the expression goes - money! Even cold, it had a wonderful stretch, tasted great, and produced a nice cornicione. Domenico, gonna make another batch soon. Hurry back and open the shop!
Recent Comments