While in the past, I've written how easy it is to produce a slow levain, recently my boasting turned flat. Concretely, I found it wasn't so easy. Goes to show this crazy passion is equal measures craft, science, and luck. Anyway, pumping up the ferment, the results were awesome. Back to boasts, or just sharing photos of a great bread.
Zopf is something between challah and brioche, main difference, it's less enriched or sweet, and it's from Switzerland. Sundays were the days we'd enjoy zopf at my sisters along with gipfeli (croissant). Generally it's a yeasted loaf and so I had the notion of making it with a sweet sourdough, and I'm pleased to say it worked! Just add some jam, butter and your fine.
After a five-hour winding road trip up the California coast to San Francisco, I went to lunch at Pim Techamuavivit's Khin Khao. The flavors were clean and unique. I ordered the pork bowl, which was divine. Pim Techamuavivit is a restauranteur and chef who commands well-earned respect. Here's a link to an article about her. And here's what I enjoyed at Khin Khao.
Arriving home from visiting my sister in Basel, a few days later I was nostalgic for Swiss bread. Adapting a recipe from a book produced by the baking school Richemont, I used a sourdough which had previously laid dormant for three weeks while I vacationed in Europe. Here are the results for Pain Lucernois (Luzern bread) I made. The flour I used was from Bakers Field Flour, Prosper was the variety of high extraction bread flour.
Zencancook. Actually Stephane, the wonderful guy who runs that blog, can cook. Unfortunately, he's no longer blogging, but lucky for the world, he left it up. So periodically I return for some of his recipes, most recently for his take on pickles. I made a batch with Kirby and Persian cucumbers. Delicious.
Visting my brother in California, my first stop was to baker Pascal Rigo's La Boulagerie de San Francisco. Actually, I had initially tried Chad Robertson's Tartine, but it was closed for a staff party. Interesting aside about Pascal Rigo; a few years ago, Starbucks invested in his bakeries, after which he left to reorganize a series of bakeries in France. Anyway, we had a good visit to his La Boulangerie.
While wandering through Long Island City this past summer, luck led me to discover Chef Keizo Shimamoto's pop-up ramen noodle shop. Though it lacked a quickly visible menu, I took my chance and entered. Good decision. Among the treats, ramen burgers as well as delicious noodles and broth. Every slurp was enjoyed. If you're in the New York area, head out to Long Island City and try this great place, just over the Queensborough Bridge.
Pain Baloise (Baseler brot) comes from my sister's region of Switzerland. While visiting her a few summer's ago, I enjoyed a loaf baked by our friend Daniel. It's made with a half-white flour known as "Bise" Feeling nostalgic, I adapted this loaf from the Richemont bread book. It's great with cheese, toasted or slathered with butter!
Kannelbullensdag is a Swedish holiday for celebrating a type of bread. Actually a bun I learned about it via Javier Marca of Panic and Johanna Kinvall, She put together a workshop at Archestratus, a small cafe books shop in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood. That day she put together these Swedish cinnamon buns. So delicious. Here's to demystifying a Swedish classic to go along with some coffee (Fika).
Socca, is a childhood memory passed to me from my mother. She brought these delicious chickpea crepes from Provence. Though our loved ones pass, they stay with us forever, no? All to say, remembering her led me to make a batch at work. Using a very thin batter of chickpea flour, oil, and water applied to warm pan and working them like pancakes, I then filled them with bitter wilted lettuces and roasted peppers, along with a loin of monkfish wrapped in prosciutto. They sold out. All to say, my mother would have been happy. And proud.
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