devlin

Just got his Handmade Loaf and am enjoying reading for now. I decided to start with his crusty potato bread but am wondering whether this particular formula would function well in the refrigerator overnight and then kneading and so forth as is noted the next day. It's the addition of the potatos and refrigerating I'm worried about in particular. I don't know whether anything (flavor, texture, rise, etc) will be compromised if I mix the night before and then knead, divide, shape and bake the next day.

Since, as someone notes, the lard isn't really intended to penetrate too deeply into the meat, adhering pretty narrowly to the surface, I'm wondering whether "larding" in this way is a more complicated version of wrapping a meat with what the Italians call "pork lace," or pork caul, which is a membranous network of pork fat wrapped around a meat and then simply cooked as usual. My problem here, in southern Indiana, is to explain sufficiently to anyone what pork caul is. I phoned several butchers who didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I described it briefly, referring to it as pork lace, to a friend who was born here and lived here all his life, and he said, "Oh sure, pork caul. Ask the local butcher."

I make the super thin Italian cracker-like pizza quite a bit. Have been to Italy a number of times and watched a guy in one of my favorite little pizza joints in Varese as he pats out the dough. I use all purpose flour, a somewhat soft dough, and when I pat them out, I pat them out as thin as I can get them, nearly paper thin and then dock the dough just a bit to keep it from puffing too much as it bakes. I put my oven stone on the bottom rung of the oven, preheat the oven as high as it will go for an hour before I bake. And then I use some of the standard Italian ingredients for this sort of pizza. And I never use a tomato sauce. For one, medallions of bresaola (or sopressato) arranged around the dough before it goes into the very hot oven. You'll bake for only a couple of minutes, so watch it closely. And then after it comes out of the oven, drizzle with olive oil and scatter some arugula and/or cilantro over the pizza with some freshly grated parmesano. My husband loves the same sort of thing with sopressato, cherry tomatoes, some mozzarella, arugula, olive oil, parmesano. But very lightly applied. And another absolute favorite, gorgonzola dolce with thinly sliced apple and then fresh arugula or cilantro. Arrange the sliced apple around the dough and then dot the gorgonzola all over (or a mix of whatever gorgonzola or blue cheese you can find if you can't get gorgonzola dolce and either camembert or brie to approximate the gorgonzola dolce). When it comes out of the oven just a couple of minutes later, apply either fresh arugula or cilantro. I do these in my wood-fired brick oven as well, and I really have good luck with the results in both my kitchen oven and the brick oven which, as you might imagine, gets very hot, and where I typically bake them at about 800 to 900 degrees.

I use dried garbanzo beans and aluminum foil. They work beautifully, and the beans never stink up the house or the oven. I've got some pie weights too, but really they seem nearly the same to me except the garbanzo beans of course are way cheaper.

The requirements for certification here seem nearly identical to those andiesenji outlines for California. We've put in water, we've bought the required countertops, have the appropriate storage and work space, are currently installing the required lighting, and have painted the walls according to code. It sounded like a lot on paper, but when you've got the empty space just sitting there waiting to be fleshed out, especially if it's for a product like mine which is pretty simple compared to the requirements for a full kitchen, then it's a whole nother ballgame. Up until last year or so, the regulations also called for that intermediary sort of "airlock" space andiesenji notes, but they relaxed that in the new regs. Fortunately, should that change, we actually already have a space that would conform, simply requiring the addition of a door. We'd looked at a lot of houses before this, were planning to build our own, and then when we walked through I knew in an instant the space was perfect. In other houses, we'd have had a whole lot of hurdles to jump. Halloween, about the avatar. Peruvian Paso. Click on my name and you'll also see my Arab/Paso Fino baby boy from my Paso Fino mare.... It's a long story.

As I get older, I'm increasingly wary about buying food from bake sales and the like, and the woman from the local public health department who came by to do a preliminary inspection said although she couldn't say too much specifically, we'd be appalled if we'd seen a lot of the local, domestic kitchens she's inspected over the years. She noted we were doing everything right and she was so intrigued by our space she asked if I'd do a presentation for the local ag extensions once I'm up and running. We were surprised that the actual requirements weren't as demanding as we'd feared, although it surely made a huge difference that we were already building out a separate space with outside access for health inspectors. It's also one reason we bought our house, because it had the best set-up for renovating the space for a certified kitchen. If you get that far, get somebody from the health department to come look at your place and give you feedback. Find out how you might cut some costs in equipment. I was surprised by how expensive even the used commercial sinks are and it occurred to me I might use washtubs instead. The requirement is a three-basin sink big enough to accommodate your biggest piece of washable equipment, and so I phoned to check, and yes, I can simply use washtubs. A huge savings. Things like that. Nobody said it has to be pretty. I had to drag my husband kicking and screaming through the whole thing, and have been giving my bread away for about three years now to truly rave reviews. So I know I've got a market, and I've already got clients waiting. It sounds as if you're in a similar situation yourself. My husband also wanted me to consider renting out existing space, but I knew nobody would have the equipment I wanted to make the sorts of breads I want to buy myself, and I needed a wood-fired, brick oven for that. And I wanted the freedom to be able to use the space whenever I wanted to use it and in the long run I don't want to pay that kind of overhead. Now that we're nearly finished, my husband absolutely loves the whole thing. Nothing's a sure thing, I think we all know that, but it's gotta make all the difference to have the head start knowing you've got something of a clientele, it seems to me, before investing a lot of money in leasing or building a space. Two local coffee shops opened and closed in the past year. I talked to both of them and was stunned by their business plan which basically boiled down to, "I've always thought it would be fun to open a coffee shop. How hard could it be?" Famous last words.

As others have noted, it varies state to state. The trend, however, seems to be more regulation in this regard rather than less. Indiana just changed its regulations to include farmer's markets, requiring all baked goods to come from certified kitchens. Unfortunately for all the women who've been baking out of their home kitchens for umpteen years and selling at local eateries and farmer's markets, that doesn't mean they can simply get their home kitchens certified. In fact they can't. A home kitchen can't legally be certified. A space attached to the house can be certified if it conforms to codes, however, like a garage, for instance, but it has to be outfitted with all the required equipment and so forth. Which is what we're in the process of doing with our own garage. Call your local health department and talk to the health inspector.

Tips on how to make a fabulous Bavarian Cream? Pretty please?...

These responses are all completely wonderful and exactly what I'm after. I spent a little time browsing Amazon last night and came across several of the books noted here, wondering whether they might be worth buying, adding them to my shopping cart to go back to later. It seems to me the "Cook and Housewife's Manual" was extremely expensive, even used, but I'll have to go take another look. As usual, it appears I'm going to have an Amazon bill to explain to my husband next month. I've wondered too how many of the regional, "southern" foods around Louisville might have derived from the Scots, but the books I've picked up here and there around the area haven't gone so far as to talk about the history of the food, a thing I always look for and love in a cookbook and so I've never bought any of them. Are the fruited cakes worth exploring? Or do they fall into the category of the usual, dread Christmas fruitcake? The "fudge" sounds ghastly, and of course now I'm going to have to see whether I can reproduce it, and I'm hoping I don't like it too much. I made two batches of fudge for Christmas which I finally finished off about a week ago, and it just kept getting better and better by the week, although it was so rich I could only tolerate it in about a one-inch square at a time, and then only every other day, which, of course, is why it lasted as long as it did. It too was heavy on the condensed milk. Thanks all!

I live in a region of southern Indiana (on the border of Louisville, Kentucky) that is heavily populated with old Scots families. And although I don't know a thing about their traditional foods, I'd like to learn. Anybody have any particular desserts, cakes, cookies, breads they could share? Or book recommendations?

the spice! garlic had no place in my grandmother's kitchen.. I don't think she ever touched it ← Fabulous! Thank you. I'm doing this tomorrow, I think. But how could your grandmother have lived without garlic?!!!

Klary, a question about your braised beef with butter. It calls for 2 cloves. Just to be sure I'm not mistaking this, do you mean the spice or garlic? Thanks!

I think it was Jackal who suggested incubating at 90 degrees to get it started again, and for me that's a good technique. Lately I'd been having trouble with my own sourdough starter, having spent the past several months consumed first by hurricane Katrina and then the holidays, and then when I went back to kick start my sourdough starter, it didn't perform quite the way it had in the past, giving me quite a scare (I've had it for about four years now, and it's always been reliable). But the bulb I've used in my incubating box had died as well, and I substituted it for the only bulb I had on hand, which was 5 watts lower than usual. And nothing. Or not enough. It was puny and weak. And so when I changed the light bulb to just 5 watts higher, pushing the temp to 90%, there it was again. Worked beautifully. I increased the flour a bit as well, but I think it was a combination of both.

That reminded me that I meant to ask if there was anybody here who'd taken such classes and what the literature there might say. THAT said, does it make a difference if the roasted garlic is refrigerated immediately? edited to ask this question: Is there a book on the subject you'd recommend?

Mmmmmm, yes. I do that but with fresh-grated parmesano as well. I have to warn my husband in advance that it'll be a smelly day ahead, because I use enough garlic to be noticed a few feet in advance I'm sure. It's one of my favorite things in the world, and given a choice between that and a favorite dessert, or ice cream, it's kind of a draw.

Very fabulous info. Thank you all, and Andiesenji in particular for that lengthy response. I've roasted garlic for years and kept it refrigerated to use whenever the need arises, especially in salads and pasta and either to incorporate into baked breads or to spread on already-baked bread. It occurred to me also last night that it might be easier to liberate the cloves from the skin before I bake, since squeezing the already-roasted cloves out of the skin en masse is a sticky mess and more time consuming than peeling them raw. And Andiesenji's message pretty much confirms it'll work just as well, it seems to me.

I've roasted and stored garlic still in their skins and loosely wrapped in foil for several years now (well, I mean as a method, not that I've actually kept it for years) never giving it much thought. That is until I started reading some cautionary stuff here awhile back. So as I'm about to bake a couple loaves of bread tomorrow into which I've incorporated a head of roasted garlic that's been sitting in my refrigerator for a week now (stored as noted above), I suddenly wondered whether I might be about to kill my husband and neighbors. Is this safe? Am I worrying unnecessarily? I've done this many times before with no ill effects. Have I just been playing with fire? Do I have to throw this batch of dough out?

Hm. I use a method I've used for years and recently saw Alton Brown doing the same thing. He says, If you can smell them, they're over cooked. For me, it's just when I can start to smell them roasting that they're done to my liking. Heat the oven to about 425 or thereabouts. Spread nuts on a cookie sheet. Place sheet on middle rack of oven and set your timer for about 8 minutes. Or thereabouts. I've never burned them. I use roasted nuts routinely. In breads, pies, cookies, cakes, salads. They're a staple in my refrigerator. I've tried them on the stove in a pan too, but the oven method is just so much easier and yields the most consistent results.

I can't remember precisely who noted that although using vital wheat gluten can be very effective when you're using a weak flour (such as all-purpose, for instance, when bread flour would be better), using too much of it, or using it when it's not exactly necessary, can produce a sort of rubbery bread. And I'd second that. Maybe Nancy Silverton. Also, just as a sort of personal note about the "science" of bread making. Hmmm. Yes, but no. Bread baking is both science and art. There are too many variables going on in bread making to ever (I was going to say "elevate" bread making to science but that's giving science too much credit it seems to me) make the whole process that consistent and that consistently precise. And though I'm supposing if you're more in the science mode of thinking that would be fun, I'm also thinking that giving yourself over to the art of it might be sort of liberating as well. I've been making bread only for a short time, but in a very big way, and am building a business around artisanal hearth breads (the whole wood-fired oven breads),... about 5 years now,... and am still a rank novice. I keep reading. I practice. I make a lot of bread that I give away. I focussed on one dough in particular for three years to perfect it (in addition to trying other things as well), and am only recently pretty sure I've got what I want in just that one dough. I've got a couple of others pretty much finished to my liking, but I'm still not quite there yet. Last night I reread a section of Hamelman's book on how to handle a sourdough culture, and was relieved all over again to see he admitted that so much of bread making remains such a mystery to him. If you keep at it the way you're going, you'll make better bread before you even know it, and you'll realize (as we all finally do, I think) that "science" can take you only so far. It's doing. And doing and doing and thinking and studying and observing and practicing that will get you to the good stuff. I think you're so much on the right track, and I'm delighting in your own delight. It's a passion, isn't it.... [edited for typo]

In addition to this I also have in my electric oven (otherwise known as "my damned toy oven") a baking stone from The Baker's Catalogue/King Arthur's Flour. I put it in my oven four years ago and have never taken it out. It's wonderful. Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Methods is a fabulous resource as well. Last year at Alan Scott's bread oven conference, Monica Spiller, a chemist and bread baker, demonstrated her whole wheat barm bread that was a real revelation to us all, a beautifully light, sweet, airy bread, wholly whole wheat. I've got the formula for it somewhere, have never tried it because the instructions were at some point somewhat confusing, even after I emailed for clarification. I'll try to find it and put it up here to see if anybody can help me out with it and maybe we could all give it a shot. [edited to add link]

Your responses are sort of what I figured but it's good to hear them en masse. We get pretty good beef here as it is, so I wondered what the big deal could be with the Omaha steaks. And although we could grow our own, I refuse to allow my husband to grow food that bleeds. Especially when I know I'm the one who'll end up caring for it til it does. It's a double standard I know, but I just can't do it.

Had a guy show up at my doorstep a couple of months ago saying he used to sell the steaks to the previous owners. Left a flier. Today I got some stuff in the mail from them, but before I tossed it googled a bit. Can't really find anything much in terms of what look like reliable reviews. Anybody ever tried them? Are they any better than the best I might get at, say, Sam's Club?

Jack, can you explain how to get from percentages of flour and hydration to actual weights of each?

Sambuca is different because it's such a high proof liquor that your actually cold flambeing it. This means your burning off liquid ethanol which would obviously reduce the alcohol content compared to the unflamed sambucca. Additionally, you would also slightly heat up the drink and possibly also introduce new flavour combos (plus it looks cool to throw a flaming shot into your mouth). However, with lower proof alcohols, it is impossible to flambe them cold. You need to heat them and vaporise the alcohol before it will flame. In this case, since it is already vapour, it's essentially out of the dish anyway and flambe does nothing to remove further alcohol from the dish. ← Thanks very much for that explication. That's sort of what I surmised, but didn't have any real education in how it works. Cool!

I was thinking specifically of sambuca, and more specifically sambuca with coffee beans. Igniting it does change the flavor, and it seems to me it changed the alcohol content as well. I don't feel quite the kick I used to or the more lasting effects, which is fine by me.