Tuesdays with Dorie: Cran-Apple Crisp

This week was a quickie--the big innovation in the crisp topping was the addition of coconut, but because not everyone in my house can eat coconut I made it without--a pretty standard crisp topping, but without the coconut, I probably should have used more oats. But it was crisp. It was delicious. continue...

Daily Bread: Starry Polish Cottage Rye

That's more like it. Above is Leader's Polish Cottage Rye, a nearly perfect bread made from a combination of a rye sourdough and wheat bread flour. This loaf was everything I could have hoped for and more: crackly crust, deep flavor, and soft, moist, irregular open crumb.

The dough is wet enough to require proofing in a bowl, basket, or banneton, which will make it more difficult to do at the bakery, but I think it's worth it. This loaf proofed in a napkin-lined colander, which left an unexpected starry pattern even through the cloth.
continue...

Daily Bread: Semolina Levain with Corn Flour

Sweet golden bread, two pretty little footballs. I replaced the 1/2 cup whole wheat in the last loaf with 1/2 cup fine semolina, and the 1/4 cup rye with 1/4 cup corn flour. In response to some customer comments, I also tried upping the salt a little. Brought one loaf to Democracy Now and it vanished before the bagels on the same table. Matt found it a little dry/chewy, and I know what he meant. I think if I'd given it another half hour or hour to proof it would have had a more open crumb, but the taste is excellent and the chewiness has its own attractions.

Now I have to practice making slightly larger loaves, as the ones I made last week for the bakery felt too small. Bulk production spreadsheets upcoming. continue...

Tuesdays with Dorie: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

A few months ago, I started a Ginger Cookie Project--comparing and contrasting recipes from my books and the internet in the hunt for my perfect (spicy, crackly, chewy) ginger molasses cookie. I had several successes and some lame attempts. Over all, my favorite was the Soft Glazed Gingerbread from the Tartine cookbook. The bootleg recipe for the Black Dog ginger cookies was a dismal failure. I even went so far as to create a comparative spreadsheet for all of the recipes I tried, but haven't yet gotten around to posting it (soon, I promise).

I was reminded forcibly of  my unfinished project when Pamela of Cookies with Boys chose Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. Mine came out a little dryer than I would have liked, probably due to some slapdash measuring, but the cookies made by many other TWD participants had exactly the look I usually go for, so I think I'll be coming back to test these again. I'll probably do what I usually do; up the spices, decrease the sugar--they were a little sweet. continue...

Daily Bread: Multigrain Pain au Levain

Testing bread in earnest now.

This morning I baked two loaves of multigrain pain au levain, using Daniel Leader's formula from Local Breads. The multi grains, which soaked for eight hours while the levain fermented, were sesame seeds, flaxseeds, coarse cornmeal, and oats. The dough also contained small percentages of whole wheat and rye flours. I forgot to add the seeds until halfway through kneading, rendering the dough very wet and gloopy, so kneading was a long slow process, with frequent rests.

One of the things that I'm concentrating on now that the weekend's loaves will actually sold to people is my shaping and scoring. I consider the loaf above to be a triumph. It also tasted good, dark and moist. I took it in to the architects' office where I used to work, and they, German, English, Japanese, and American, were very complimentary. I'll be filling in at that office quite a bit in the next month, and am looking forward to re-gaining one of my more enthusiastic and knowledgeable audiences.

Compulsive baking--win friends and influence people. continue...

Going 'Pro'

Exciting news.
The week before last, I saw a sign on the door of Lily & Fig, the bakery down the block.

"Experienced Bread Baker Needed - Part Time"

Hmmm.
I'm a full time student. I work about 3/4 time at various freelance jobs. I'm a member of a theatre company.
But it looked good. Very good. And temptingly close to home. I'm baking all the time anyway, right? Why not learn more and let someone else pay for the ingredients...(All justifications, by the way--I got starry-eyed just thinking about perfecting my pain au levain, opening up the bakery in the dark dawn...I've been fantasizing about these things for years.)

I went in.

It turned out that they were indeed looking for low-volume, part-time bread, and they were willing to take a chance on me.  After one weekend, I hope they think that that chance was justified. I'm still learning, still navigating bulk production, big mixers, convection ovens, customer satisfaction, and consistency. I'll be learning a long time, slowly teaching myself with the help of bakery owner Lily, baker Karen, the books of Leader, Hamelman, et al, and weekly experience.

This is a small good new thing, a lucky chance. If you live nearby, or happen to be visiting, come try some bread--it's Franklin Avenue between Sterling and Park Place. For now, it will be challah on Fridays, and some combination of whole wheat, pain au levain, and other naturally raised breads, along with rustic Italian breads, on Saturdays and Sundays. continue...

Tuesdays with Dorie: All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake

TWD is running amok this month--any recipe can be made for any Tuesday. Admittedly, I made the majority of this month's recipes in October...but since I haven't yet made the official one for this week (hold your breath for cranberry-apple crisp), I still relish the freedom. And the part where Dorie posted on my Caramel Chestnut post. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Also warm and fuzzy, and far less complex than three layer chestnut confections was the All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake, featuring almost every flavor associated with the Thanksgiving-Christmas season. Cranberries? Check. Pumpkin? Check. (Around here it was sweet potato, but no harm done) Apple? Check. Nuts? Check. (I used almonds). Spices? Check.  Kind of gimmicky? You'd think so, but it really works. This is just a simple, really, really good cake. The kind you eat with every meal of the day until it's gone. The kind your (my) mother likes. No, really. I'd suggest making it. The recipe is here.

continue...