charalito

Resurrecting this lovely thread I haven't baked in over 5 years. A sin! My father wanted sourdough quick, so I experimented with Professor Calvel's starter, with some modifications. I only did half the recommended amounts and since I didn't have malt extract available, used malted milk, 2 gr instead of the 1.5 gr it called for. Followed the schedule given for that starter, but the 2nd 7hr feeding wasn't very succesful (suspect my father had too much nicotine on his hands), so I left the starter out without food for 6 more hours, than resumed the schedule once things got bubbly again. A miracle! We got a pretty decent starter after only 3 days (instead of the weeks it took my all natural flour/water). Fed it equal parts in weight of flour and water to try to reach 100% hydration, since the original mixture was way dough-y. Tested the starter with some Sourdough English Muffins and it was ready for use. I followed jackal10's method, converting the amounts to grams, as follows: Prefement: 200 gr sourdough starter 150 gr white all purpose flour (only had regular 10% flour, so that's the one I used) 225 gr water Left for 5 hours on the counter. Dough: 200 gr refreshed sourdough starter 450 gr white all purpose flour (again, regular 10% flour) 225 gr water 9 gr salt (added later) I roughly mixed the ingredients and left for 15 minutes, then came back and kneaded by hand for 5 minutes. Left for amylisation 30 minutes and then added salt. Kneaded for another 10 minutes. Rested the dough for an hour, then gently folded using Dan Lepard's technique. Repeated the folding operation every hour 3 more times. Shaped the dough into a ball and put it in my makeshift banetton (wicker basket covered with cotton cloth, rubbed generously with rice flour). Left the shaped dough 40 minutes at room temperature, then put it in the fridge to retard overnight (11 hours) The next morning I preheated the oven to 250 C for one hour. Put some brick tiles in the middle of the oven and a tray in the bottom. Took the dough out of the fridge and put the dough in the floured peel (rice flour) and slashed it badly. Need more practice in the slashing department: Turned down the heat to 230C and slid the dough into the stones with a little too much force (expected it to stick a bit but it didn't), then fiddled with it to try to put it properly on the stones, elongated the shape doing this Put 3 icecubes in the tray at the bottom and set the timer for 48 minutes. Got a lovely boule with a crisp crust Sliced the bread after a 3 hour wait. Yum! Crumb holes are ok-ish for a 10% protein flour I guess, but I want a better, bigger-hole crumb. Just got my hands on 12% flour, so next time I will be using that. Flavor is really good for a young starter, I expect it to become more complex with time. What other tips and tricks do you recommend? Thanks so much for your feedback!

New holiday acquisitions for my pantry that beg to be used: Ras el hanout and long pepper. As part of my new year resolutions, I'm trying one new thing each month. This month was quinoa. Surprisingly easy, nutritious and a great healthier substitute for couscous. Cheers!

I have a himalayan salt plate on my wishlist. You can cook, bake or grill with it and bring it to the table for presentation.

I did a little home experimenting of my own: went to Costco and bought one big chunk of New York Strip steak (1.2kg). Cleaned out the botton shelve of my fridge (it doesn't get opened very often as I live alone and spent most of the time out), put a cooling rack to provide with some form of ventilation, wraped the beef in cheesecloth and left it there. The next day I changed the dressings and noticed very little blood stains, put the beef in a different position over the rack. Over the next days I didn't change the dressings daily, rather every 2 or 3 days. By the end of 10 days, the weight of the steak was 0.9kg, the fat had a yellowish color and there was a dry crust on the beef. No mold, fungus or any kind of nasties. I cut out the fat and dried crust (fed it to the very appreciative dogs) and divided the chunk into 2 steaks (forgoto to weigh the resulting steaks, but they were generous portions for 2 people). Cooked them according to Julia Child's steak au poivre and went to heaven! The meat had lost the metallic/blood taste of fresh bought beef and insted there were the most amazing, complex and interesting flavors. I'm definitely doind this again! Just went to Costo for 1.2kg of ribeye, planning on aging them for 20 days, see what happens

hey guys! last week I went to Puerto Vallarta to take classes with chef Thierry Blouet (photos soon) and while learning I met a chef from my hometown, she was my team mate. I am only a foodie completing a basic program (housewifey) in culinary school, but it seems like I'm not all that bad, since I got offered a gig back home!!! Well, I just finished my second day with no cuts or burns or broken anything! Yay me! The rest of the staff is actually being very nice, sparing me from their regular jokes (smearing hot chile to your drinks and such) and giving me useful tips. Any advice for this newbie in the big kitchen? Is it considered ultra corny if I bring some food for the rest of the staff as a thank-you-for-not-killing-me gift? thanks!

resurrecting an old topic: marvelous marrow bones. In Mexico marrow bones are boiled as part of the Puchero beef stew (and I think in Colombia they are part of Ajiaco aswell). When you are lucky enough to have a piece of bone with marrow in your stew/soup, you take a fresh tortilla, spread the "tuétano" (marrow) and add some salt! Heaven! And since the marrow bones are usually coveted and we don't want to cause family troubles, you can buy extra bones to add to the stew, one for each family member!

I usually crave tomatoes! Pasta with a big helping of tomato sauce or pizza hit the spot. Buffalo wings and beer! I have a male friend that actually calls me every month to ask if it is "that" time of the month already so we can go to Hooters (he won't go by himself!!!)