[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. I subscribe to the WSJ so I can read it. It's pretty funny. I've brought my own food to a number of functions so I would know there was something there I could eat. I brought matzah to an Easter brunch years ago and everyone there thought it was cool and ate it. I had nothing to eat since it was all bread-ish. I mostly avoid yeast and flour. And sometime is the last few years chemical leaveners became acceptable but growing up they were forbidden.

The rules for Passover are VERY strict and obscure. Most restaurants I know shut down because it's easier and cheaper. When I lived in Seattle we had a customer coming in who needed kosher for Passover catering. None of the usual kosher places were open so the caterers asked me because I was the one Jewish person they knew. I tracked down a Chabad house that would bring in meals for them but that was it.

So if you are an Eastern European Jew corn is off limits because when you grind up corn the meal sort of resembles regular flour but this rule doesn't apply to you if you're a Mediterranean Jew. Of course never mind that Kosher for Passover flour looks identical to regular, everyday, all-purpose flour.

What makes flour kosher for Passover? It's grown in separate fields and dry-harvested and stored. If the flour gets damp or wet it may pick up some natural yeast and leaven so the rules for harvesting, storage, and transport are VERY strict. And all of this is in addition to the normal, daily rules of kosher.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike, I'm glad your son was working at home and that he is okay.

[aaronatthedoublef]

It's Passover and I had a temple meeting last night so I mad coconut macaroons. The recipe is from p. 300 of the big KAF baking book. They are just meringues with a bunch of coconut thrown in. And they take way less time to bake. I have not made them in quite some time and they needed to be baked more. But most people have only had the ones from a can so their standards are low and everyone thought they were great.

We made matzah pizza which is just what it sounds like. But instead of shredding cheese I slice it thin, put it down first and put the sauce on the cheese to keep the matzah from getting too soggy. Also I've discovered that if making peanut butter and jelly on matzah it's best to put a little peanut butter on each piece of matzah and then put the jelly on the peanut butter so it does not go through the holes. It only took me 50 years to figure out that one!

If anyone is interested in the obscure and convoluted dietary rules of Passover I found an interesting website here that does a good job of explaining.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks for the FFA tip Mike. I wish I'd found that when I was at Whole Foods. When we were growing up we would go to the stock yards in Chicago and tromp around with my dad. We learned about different types of cattle and pigs but not much about cuts of meat. If my dad's dad had been alive he might have been able to teach us as he worked at the stock yards cutting and packing meat.

Whole Foods is hit or miss. There are two in my town and there are some very knowledgeable people behind the meat counters. And then there are some people who do not know very much. Of the people who do not know much there are those that readily admit and will find you someone who knows more or there are those who just want to fill your order and move on to the next customer. I knew almost nothing when I started and would go home and study at night to do a better job. There is a fellow I am friendly with at one of the butcher counters and he worked his way up to the meat department. He started out bagging groceries and gathering carts. He's learning and he's smart but he does not have a depth of experience.

We have another meat store that I may try but they are not as convenient as Whole Foods and as long as I do some research before I buy I am usually okay.

Fish is even more complicated because there are at least two schools of thought on how to properly farm fish but that is another story.

I have chef friends here who help me. If you know some good chefs who know their stuff they will usually help. I am about to embark on making my own corned beef and pastrami. I've found some good info on the website AmazingRibs.Com. There is a lot about a lot here and it's not well organized but it seems to have some good info and it is entertaining. For example, he needs to know the difference between a blog post and a recipe!

[aaronatthedoublef]

The cowboy cookies are a lot like my oatmeal cookies. I put coconut on top which was my wife's suggestion. I first made them when we were dating and I wanted to make something special for her. Re butter and spreading, I've had good luck chilling the dough to prevent spreading.

Unfortunately Google is as ad driven as Bing. if you look at Googles sources of revenue that is where they make their money. I used to use a search called Dog Pile that was pretty close to ad free but even they have some now. I may try using them again to see. If you are not charging people for your services then you have to make money a different way. Or, as my software friends say, when the product is free you are the product.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Bagel molds!?! Gimmick! The bagels on the page don't look very good either.

Also beware of places that offer bagel holes... 😉

[aaronatthedoublef]

Most people are terrified to experiment with baking. They think if they change something even slightly it will wreck the whole dish. They don't realize that this is how new things are created. I had a mom who improvised regularly as well as working for a pastry chef who did the same. That gave me the confidence to try it myself.

That's the one thing I dislike about the whole "baking is science" movement. It scares a lot of people away.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Most people are terrified to experiment with baking. They think if they change something even slightly it will wreck the whole dish. They don't realize that this is how new things are created. I had a mom who improvised regularly as well as working for a pastry chef who did the same. That gave me the confidence to try it myself.

That's the one thing I dislike about the whole "baking is science" movement. It scares a lot of people away.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look for a bagel/bialy class.

And I am always happy to go to Chicago. Thanks for the heads up.

[aaronatthedoublef]

This reminded me of an old episode of "Friends" where Monica was trying to figure out Phoebe's secret family chocolate chip cookie recipe. Phoebe finally relented and told her and it was some weird pronunciation of "Toll House" cookies!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. I have some experimenting to do. Also I don't have a book by Ginsberg but by George Greenberg and he does have a rye starter in it. So in addition to that and what's on KAF and what you've given me here I should be able to has something out.

Thanks again

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. Thanks BA. I have a different Stanley Ginsberg book on Jewish Deli baking so I'll look in there to see what they have.

I'd like to make this a couple times a week. A few of us here are trying to start an old fashioned deli where we make our own meats and at least some of our own breads. Rye bread would be key to that. Also, no one here really makes a real rye with the right taste. The best bakery in town doesn't use starters for many breads and even their sourdoughs are very mild. If the starter is already made and already sitting and it doesn't require 12-18 hours we can produce more loaves in less time without compromising flavor.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Wow. This is amazing. I didn't know you could make pastry crosses. I haven't made hot cross buns in years.

The only yeast bread I've made with oil is challah. In that I add the water/cider mix to the yeast and mix. Then I add the eggs and mix. Then I add the oil and honey and mix. After this I add the flour and salt. I mix all of this by hand.

It does not separate out.

But lots of quick breads use oil. We make banana, pumpkin, and zucchini breads and they all use oil not butter.

But BakerAunt may be onto something with the solid elements of butter.

Don't know if this will help.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I have a 6 quart KA and while the motor could handle this it would over flow the dough hook (don't know about the spirals). It really depends on the motor size more than the size of the bowl and for a while KA was shipping different size mixers without stepping up the motor.

If you're looking for restaurant mixers you can usually find decent ones used. Restaurants go out of business so often and they usually sell their gear at a discount. There used to be special auctions but now most of this stuff is auctioned on ebay according to my bankruptcy lawyer.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I love Ottolenghi's cookbooks. They are great reads in addition to having some fantastic recipes.

We have two and while they were gifts they would have been worth the price just for the pictures and stories. He likes lots of ingredients, usually in the form of spices.

I have had a crush on Dorie Greenspan for years. I have a chocolate cookbook the she wrote with Pierre Herme' that I used to use quite a bit but not so much recently (although I've a rekindled interest in pate choux). I also have the first cookbook she wrote for herself which is a fun read but nothing earth shattering in terms of original recipes.

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