Wild Yeast

Notes from my kitchen, in which I bake bread and raise a few other matters

Things Fall Apart

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a pièce montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

We know I often find the Daring Bakers challenges true to their name. I think this is the first time, however, that I actually cried.

It started well enough. The mixing and piping of the pâte à choux was not hard, after all the practice I got in school. The little puffs did their thing and puffed. I filled them with a raspberry diplomat cream I was pretty happy with (diplomat cream is a blend of pastry cream and whipped cream; the recipe follows).

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Ciabatta del Giorno

I made today’s ciabatta with a little more water than usual. I expected this would result in a more open texture, but it didn’t, perhaps because I mixed it a little too long. Take-home #1: all other thing being equal, higher hydration leads to a more open crumb. Take-home #2: all other things being equal, more mixing leads to a finer, more closed crumb. (You can see this effect dramatically in these baguettes.) Take-home #3: all other things are never equal.

I will say, however, that however open or not open the crumb, it made a pretty good sandwich with prosciutto, sopressata, mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar.

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Las Enchiladas de los Cocineros Atrevidos

¡Hola! from the land of Daring Cooks. Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce, was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

I made mine beef instead of chicken, because that’s what my freezer presented me with. Other than that, everything was per the recipe, and it was quite good. I’m rather embarrassed to say that the homemade tortillas were the hardest part; mine turned out pretty dry but were saved by drenching in copious amounts of sauce. Served with roasted corn and black bean salad and flan for dessert, for the full “better-stay-the-hell-out-of-Arizona-with-this-dinner” effect.

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Sourdough with a Twist

A good sturdy sourdough is fabulous on its own, but it also serves nicely if you happen to be in a twisted frame of mind. Flavor twists such as olives, roasted garlic, or herbs are easy and keep things interesting. And then there are the simple twists of shape that add even more excitement to your life. Well, they add excitement to my life. It could be that I need to get out more.

For these crusty, twisty rolls, I tossed a bit of chopped fresh rosemary into a batch of Norwich Sourdough. With this pungent herb, about two or three tablespoons (4 – 5 grams) per kilogram of dough is enough to provide a distinct rosemary  flavor without overpowering.

The twist shape (tordu, if you’re feeling French) is a bit time-consuming, but this can be a good thing if, like me, you cherish hands-on time with your dough (did I mention I might need to get out more?).

Read on for shaping tutorial…

Amuse Brunch Giveaway

Attention Bay Area brunchistas:

In case you weren’t lucky enough to score tickets for Amuse Brunch, next Sunday’s SF Food Wars tournament of tiny tastes, don’t despair. I have a pair of tickets that may have your name on them.

If dishes like Amuse Brioche (yeah, that’s me), Green Veggs and Ham, Pork in the Hole, Dosa Rox My Lox, and Hare of the Benny intrigue you, read on and keep your fingers crossed.

— Update: the drawing is now closed. Congratulations to Ellen Burchett! —

Get the scoop on how to enter…

Sourdough for Health

In 2009, Dan Buettner’s invesitgation of “blue zones” — regions whose inhabitants have much-longer-than-average lifespans — took him to the Greek island of Ikaria, where one in three people lives past the age of 90. Buettner identified 13 lifestyle factors that may contribute to the Ikarians’ longevity. Not surprisingly, more than half of these relate to diet. What may surprise you is that one of the dietary elements Buettner claims can contribute to a long and healthy life is sourdough bread.

This is a sound assertion; scientific research on sourdough offers several reasons why sourdough can be health-enhancing. These benefits are probably primarily derived from the acids produced by the lactobacillus bacteria that are an integral component of a sourdough starter and give the bread its sour flavor:

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