Archive for January, 2008
Week of Bread: Pesto Whirl
A short post today, I’m sorry to say. Really, with the upsetting news I have there normally wouldn’t be any post at all if we weren’t in the middle of SFTF’s Week of Bread. What’s going on, you ask? Sigh. I have to go to the dentist in an hour.
Yep, that’s the upsetting news. You see, I really dread the dentist. I could share with you the horror story that induced this borderline, nay, full blown phobia. But it’s kind of gross and doesn’t really belong on a blog about food. Besides, I’m sure (I hope?!) I’m not the only one that has problems with pushing open the dentist office door.
If it weren’t for that darn pretzel, I wouldn’t be in this pickle!! Who chips their front tooth on one of those skinny pretzel sticks the size of the tapered end of a chopstick? Who!?! Me, it would seem. I should have stuck with a hunk of this Pesto Whirl Bread for my pre-dinner snacking. It’s tasty, light, soft and surely not capable of busting up my teeth.
The obvious moral to this story? Anyone who doesn’t like the dentist should snack exclusively on homemade bread. D’huh!
10 comments January 31, 2008
Week of Bread: Pumpernickel
Ah, pumpernickel, bread of my boy…
D’s favorite bread is pumpernickel, but it is by far my least favorite. Or should I say it was my least favorite until I made this recipe, which I tried for D’s sake. Ironically, he doesn’t like it.
What’s this bread preference switcheroo got to do with you? I’m using my little household’s case study to prove that homemade pumpernickel may be worth trying even it you aren’t a fan of the stuff from the store. Conversely, this very tiny focus group (perhaps I should include the cats next time to bump up the credibility of my research?) serves as evidence that if you do like the stuff from the store, you might be slightly disappointed by the end results of your homemade attempts. And all of that being said, before this bread blog affair is over, I plan on trying another pumpernickel recipe that I have to determine if it’s just this recipe or homemade pumpernickel in general that bucks the store-bought-taste profile.
Did you follow all of that? You did?! Good for you!!
So what is it that I like and D dislikes about this bread? It’s not nearly as dark and heavy. Instead you can just taste the rye flour with a touch of sweetness from the molasses – making it earthy for sure but not, um, hmmm, not, hmmm… well, I can’t seem to put my finger on the right adjective (strong? bold? overpowering?) to describe what it is about typical pumpernickel that I don’t like. If you’re of a similar disposition, you’ll know what I mean.
This recipe also yields a more airily textured loaf, though denser than your average white bread. It really makes a nice sandwich or thin slice of toast with butter. Storing it only improves its tastes, and you actually shouldn’t slice into that dark crust for at least a day after baking.
This version is most definitely an “Americanized” adaptation of the more traditional German bread made exclusively with rye flour and a sourdough starter. I have a recipe for the German variety and I have another Americanized recipe that incorporates coffee and cocoa powder to give it a darker flavor. Which would you like to see me use to further test my tolerance of homemade pumpernickels?
One thing’s for sure – there’ll be no caraway seeds in either of them. That’s one element of traditional pumpernickel I’ll never be able to tolerate.
6 comments January 30, 2008
Week of Bread: Dried Tomato
If you’re like me and you’re missing the warmth of the summer sun and all the flavors that spring up in it, I’ve got a secret weapon for you. The first bread recipe for the SFTF Week of Bread event is one that harkens back to the joy of feeling the juice from a ripe heirloom tomato dribbling down your chin and the scent of basil in the air, growing perky and tall under the sun’s kind eye. Sigh…
Woops, zoned out there for a minute. Well, I may not have the summer sun warming my back right now, but I do have my stash of preserves to recall warmer days behind and ahead of us. We’ll start with some oven-dried tomatoes that I put up in September. Oh, and let’s not forget the frozen basil puree I stashed away at the end of October. Now let’s pull together a salty, crusty dough to carry the tomatoes and basil (and me) into blissful summery daydreams. Mmmm…
Snap out of it, Jennie! There’s a lesson or two to be taught still before surrendering to the flavors of the Oven-Dried Tomato Braid.
7 comments January 29, 2008
Week of Bread: The Basics
So, how does one follow up a fun and highly successful blog event like SFTF’s Week of Soup? With an SFTF Week of Bread, of course! Only this time I suspect this particular theme is going to span well beyond a mere week. I can’t seem to help myself. The more I explore the many bread recipes in my two favorite baking books, the more I want to try. What a shame, right?
But before I tempt you with such doughy delights as oven-dried tomato braids, pita pockets, sage soda bread, classic sourdough, quirky pumpernickel, a pesto whirl, oatmeal, rosemary olive oil, cracked grains, and several more, let’s talk about the basics of bread making. I’ve been told bread can be a daunting undertaking if one wasn’t fortunate enough to have some tutelage from a seasoned baker. As you can see, I got my training pretty early on.
As I thought about the basics steps of making bread and the technique used, it was funny how difficult it was for me to break out the process in my head. It would seem that over time, the bread baker’s brain goes on autopilot and it’s no easy task to put it back in manual drive. So this outline might be a bit rough, but I think it’ll dispel some concerns of the absolute beginner. If you have tried baking your own bread and had a few flops that got you discouraged, feel free to fire away with any specific questions that might not be addressed in this beginner’s tutorial.
16 comments January 28, 2008
Earning It
I’d like to think I’m a fairly dedicated soul when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle. I eat lots of vegetables, snack mostly on nuts and pretzels instead of junk, and ride my bike a lot. I also try to go to the gym over my lunch break every day. I’m not a fan of the corporate culture, but I do have to say I love having a company gym that makes winter workouts convenient. But even with the treadmill a mere 15 steps from my cozy cube space, the “convenience” just wasn’t making an impression on me yesterday. Fridays are always a tough day for discipline, aren’t they? Instead of hitting the gym, I found myself daydreaming about dessert. Woops.
I couldn’t dispel the daydream all afternoon and found my feet shuffling towards the grocery store (instead of the gym) after work in search of ingredients for a recipe I’ve been concocting in my head all week. Little did I know I wouldn’t need the gym to get my workout in the end…
Ever since my parsnip soup post’s discussion about this underrated vegetable’s sweetness, I’ve been thinking about how to use them in a dessert. I was thinking maybe scones or a quick bread. But then I was struck by the idea of carrot-turned-parsnip cake. I mean, it seemed so obvious that these two root vegetables could be used interchangeably. So that was my plan. Until Friday night’s cold walk to the grocery store, during which I decided I wasn’t in the mood for a carrot cake knock-off, at least not entirely.
Make your own cupcake/muffin liners using squares of wax paper
Wandering the aisles, narrowly missing first a baby stroller and then another shopper’s cart, I mulled over my options. I definitely liked the idea of cake. But gym-shirker that I was, I didn’t want anything too guilt-inducing. I saw some ginger and the idea ball started rolling from there. I decided to put together a relatively airy and warmly spiced batter to transport my parsnip into cupcakes (portion control, my friends, is what it’s all about) that I’d then top with a lighter version of cream cheese frosting accented by fresh ginger. I think I had just uttered “eureka” in my head when literally I tripped over the shelf holding the raw sugar, which turned out to be the perfect decoration for these homespun treats.
Wondering yet how it is that I got my workout? It wasn’t terribly long, but it was demanding. I’d never grated a parsnip before and if these cupcakes hadn’t turned out so darn delicious, I never would again. Those things are tough!! But the cupcakes are amazing, so it was worth the grueling upper body workout to get the couple cups of grated parsnip that I needed. If you have that glorious luxury called a food processor, I’d advise using it.
So that’s the story about how I got my workout and felt justified in satisfying my Friday night sweet tooth with a cupcake.
22 comments January 26, 2008
