I've taken to slicing the marbled rye bread I make (a minor variation from the recipe in BBA) and freezing it, so that if I need a couple of slices for a sandwich or enough for a meal I just take them out and let them sit on the counter for a few minutes.
Covering with oil or bacon or barding a lean cut of beef to add some of the otherwise missing fat is a way to use dry methods with a lean cut of beef, but if not done thoroughly the meat can still get dried out and become tough.
A low and slow approach is another way to use dry cooking methods with a lean meat. When I make an eye of round, for example, I often start it in a hot (500F) oven for a few minutes, but then turn the temperature way down (to 250 if not lower) to let it coast for several hours. Some recipes have you turn the oven completely off, but my oven doesn't appear to be well enough insulated for that to work.
Poilâne: The secrets of the world-famous bread bakery, by Apollonia Poilâne. Hougton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.
Apollonia Poilâne is the third generation of the Poilâne family to run the Paris bakery founded by her grandfather in 1932. She had to take over the family business at the age of 18 when her parents were killed in a helicopter crash. While running the bakery she also managed to get a degree from Harvard.
The book appears to be aimed at the experienced home baker as well as the many fans of the Poilâne bakery, like me. (Yes, I've ordered a miche and had it arrive in less than 48 hours by FedEx.) I'm not sure a rank amateur baker would be very successful trying to follow the often rather sparse instructions. There are only a few bread recipes (the famous 2.3 kg Poilâne loaf or miche, of course) plus a few variants on it, such as rye bread. There's also a brioche recipe as well as recipes for both croissant and puff pastry dough. Much of the book consists of recipes for using these breads. There are more recipes for cookies, quick breads (though the author would bristle at my calling them that), cakes and a few other sweets.
While the book describes a Poilâne baker's day at length when producing a miche, it doesn't really get into the attention to selecting wheat that Poilâne is known for. It says they use a T80 flour that comes from selected wheat farmers, but for American bakers she recommends a blend of AP flour and whole wheat flour.
The Poilâne bakery uses a wood fired oven with a pot of water to add moisture. This book recommends baking the loaf in a large (12 inch) Dutch oven, with the lid on for the first 10 minutes to steam the loaf.
Home cooks as well as a professional baker or a cafe might get inspiration from a number of the recipes in this book, and the photography is excellent.
I haven't tried to make the Poilâne loaf from this book yet, but I think the instructions are probably less complete and explanatory than Peter Reinhart's instructions for a Poilâne-like loaf in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. And of course if you already have a sourdough starter, you can skip the rather limited instructions for making one using yogurt.
My guess is that the first recipe I'll try to make from this book is for their punitions, butter cookies. I'll probably get some European cultured butter for this.
I made pizza yesterday and today.
I made enough dough for 3 dinners and one lunch (smallish thin crust). I used 100 grams each of rye, whole wheat, semolina and bread flours. A teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp yeast and 270 grams of water.
On Tuesday morning, I cooked a package of Bob’s Red Mill black beans, which I had soaked overnight. I used most of the beans (3 lbs.) to make Black Bean Pumpkin Soup, a recipe from Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen. I made some minor changes, using onion rather than shallots, which I don’t have, and substituting 1 cup crushed tomatoes left over from another recipe for 1 cup drained canned tomatoes that get pureed with the beans. I deleted the salt and reduced the cumin to 1 ½ tsp., since I know my limits. I replaced butter with olive oil, and a 16 oz. can pumpkin with about 3 cups of my puree from the freezer. I had a bit of chopped ham, which I added, but I didn’t have 8 oz. I deleted toe 3-4 Tbs. of sherry vinegar, as I don’t have it, but I did add the ½ cup sherry. In place of the 4 cups beef broth, I used 2 cups boiling water with a heaping tablespoon of Penzey’s beef base, and I added 2 cups of the black bean liquid, because why waste it? It makes a lot of soup, and I had to change over to my 5 ½ quart Dutch oven from a 4 quart. I’ll be eating it this week for lunch (and may freeze a couple of servings) by myself, since my husband does not care for black beans or cumin.
I also made applesauce with some “seconds” apples that have been in the refrigerator for a while and looked it. The applesauce came out well, and I froze it for Thanksgiving, since my husband does not care for cranberries.
For Tuesday dinner, I made a stir-fry using leftover rotisserie chicken, soba noodles, green onion, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and broccoli.
Mike, what a great way to contribute to a meal! Several years ago I did that for a large family gathering in the summer, a barbeque. I brought two huge basket/trays of rolls and breads - plain, sweet, savory, in all different shapes. I made things such as garlic knots, pain de epi, breadsticks, focaccia, cheese-olive, herbed, zuchinni, soft white dinner rolls, rye, whole grain, small (3 x 5") sliced breads, etc. My goal was to impress relatives with tasty and interesting shapes - to show off my baking skills! This hit the Wow! factor. And I had a blast.
I made Ina's lamb with spring vegetables, but with beef (chuck). It was a 2 hour process but it was worth it. We recently moved and we now have an additional market to shop at. I discovered that their beef is so much better than the supposedly "choice" at our previous (and currently here also) market. I feel that I have been denied for years. I haven't tried their chicken so i made my peppered chicken thighs with Perdue chicken.
I baked potato sourdough bread. The recipe ( can find in the archives) makes 3 loaves that freeze well and can be warmed after defrosting.
A cup of raw cranberries (100 grams) contains how many carbs?
[See the full post at: Daily Quiz for November 5, 2019]
We will be hosting three friends for Thanksgiving dinner. They came to our rescue last year when we were in the midst of moving into our apt. before the start of renovation and didn't have the energy to mount a regular Thanksgiving dinner. This year, their chief cook and baker, is dealing with a continuing leg injury and cannot stand for long periods of time, so I invited her, her husband, and their son to celebrate Thanksgiving in our re-done house.
She will bring a special cranberry-apple relish she makes, as well as canned cranberries for their son. My husband will roast the turkey (probably using the apt. oven). I'll do the blue bag Pepperidge farm dressing, and since there will be five of us, I will add mashed potatoes and gravy. I'm not sure what to do for a green vegetable. I will bake two different kinds of rolls--probably Ellen's (Moomie's) and maybe Stella Parks' maple pumpkin rolls again (she gives directions for converting it from a bread). I'll bake my adaptation of my mother's pumpkin pie, which probably started its life on the back of a Libby's or an evaporated milk can. Apple cider would be nice, as well, perhaps hot with spices.
I also use an overnight method for my steel-cut oats. I bring a cup of water to boil in a sauce pan, add 1/4 cup steel-cut oats (Bob's Red Mill, of course), cover, and turn off the heat. The next morning, I add 1/4 cup milk and 1 Tbs. dates. I then bring it to a low boil and cook until it's the thickness I like. I cover it and allow it to sit while I make my French press coffee. Then I put it in a bowl and add 1/4 tsp. maple sugar and some chopped walnuts on top.
Joan, next time you make pizza dough early in the day, consider reducing the yeast (by a lot), that way you won't have to watch it and punch it down. When I make pizza dough, I only use a rounded 1/4 teaspoon. I also use cold water. Not only won't you have to punch it down, the crust won't bubble up when it's baking. This is a technique I got from America's Test Kitchen when they were doing NY style pizza.
I finally had a chance to use my 2 inch half sheet pan. I roasted a spatchcock chicken with veggies. I was undecided whether or not to use a rack so I went on Youtube to see how some of them do it. I decided against the rack and put Brussels Sprouts and carrots in the pan. I made a compound butter using my homegrown sage and rosemary, a little salt and olive oil. I stuffed some of it under the breast skin and rubbed the rest over the chicken. I roasted it at 425 degrees for about an hour, which was a little longer than necessary but I prefer a little overdone than underdone (about 45 minutes was the recommended time). I loosely covered the veggies with foil after about 40 minutes. The veggies turned out a little soft but otherwise delicious. The chicken was delicious as well. Had it with some rice.
To accompany a rotisserie chicken for Sunday dinner, I made a stir-fry with leftover mixed rice and some bulgur. The vegetables were green onion, celery, the last red bell pepper from our garden, an eggplant, sliced mushrooms, and the rest of the bag of broccoli, carrots, and snow peas, and some kale. I sautéed the vegetables in some grapeseed oil, added the chicken drippings (about 1 Tbs.) and a little bit of water.
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This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by
BakerAunt.
We've got theatre tickets to see Phantom of the Opera (again), so dinner will probably be whatever we decide to pick up.
