Table Bread

Daring Bakers Challenge - Pizza! Pizza!

2008-10-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's almost been a year since I started this blog. I know that a lot of other bloggers usually celebrate this landmark day of continuous existence on the net through a party or some form of give away. Well, I have to say that I enter into this historic time period a bit nostalgic. One year ago huh? One year ago... One year ago I was discovering home made bread. The wonderful chore of preparing the dough and clearing my day to proof it. A decent loaf usually requires a 4 - 6 hour dedicated time frame to full maturity so there better not be much else going on. Then my good friend over at 2Ciaos told me about blogging. I remember being skeptical (something I have a natural talent for) because I always figured that blogging was for teenagers or celebrity followers. Then I got bit by the bug...the blogging bug. I found other people who were equally in love with bread and food in general. I started blogging, at first for the numbers. I was addicted to checking my stats about a gazillion times a day. Then I got addicted to this wonderful blog group: Daring Bakers. Then it happened, my dream job came true. I finally got a position overseas as a network technician in Italy. Then my time went WAY out the window. My family and I are of course having the time of our life but blogging has definitely taken a back burner to everything. Sad I know. I love baking. I love bread. I would love to have more time... In case you are one of my dedicated blogging buddies and you are wondering if I've taken the big high dive off of a bridge somewhere fear not. Currently, I am taking a full load of college work (Business Administration Major) and working 60 hours/week. Oh, did I mention I have kids? I believe it was the infamous Beastie Boys who coined the phrase "No sleep till Brooklyn". My daily schedule has me up at 4:00 am to do homework until 6:00 am and then off to work. I usually get home around 6:30pm to play with the kids and eat dinner. Tiring but fun. I had set the table as a pizza decorating all you can eat buffet!! So I told you all of that to prove to you that you can still have fun and bake (even if it's just once a month) and to make that baking a family night of shear bliss! This months Daring Bakers challenge was to make homemade pizza. How qualified can one person be?!? I enjoyed this recipe as I pretty much enjoy anything that Peter Reinhart does and of course I highly suggest you try this at home! This month's challenge is brought to you by Rosa's Yummy Yums. Be sure to check out her wonderful blog as well as the fabulous other Daring Bakers over at the Daring Bakers blogroll!

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled - FOR GF: 4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast - FOR GF use 2 tsp
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar - FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

Or

2. FOR GF: Add the oil, sugar or agave syrup and cold water, then mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

Or

8. FOR GF: On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the number of desired dough balls from the refrigerator. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a gluten free flour. Delicately press the dough into disks about ½ inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil. Lightly cover the dough round with a sheet of parchment paper and allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

Or

10. FOR GF: Press the dough into the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough).

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

Or

11. FOR GF: Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

Or

12. FOR GF: Place the garnished pizza on the parchment paper onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

Or

13. FOR GF: Follow the notes for this step.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Thanks for listening to me gab and I hope you enjoy this recipe and you will try it at home!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Lavash Crackers

2008-09-28T13:22:00.001-07:00

(I'm a day late on this one - so much for "auto post" and on top of all that it posts the wrong one! This is the correct version.)

It's September and it's time for the Daring Bakers Challenge! The challenge was brought to us by Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl. This month we have Lavash Crackers from one of my bread baking bibles The Bread Bakers Apprentice. Lavash crackers are extremely versatile and can be made savory or sweet. We were given a ton of "wiggle" room this month with more emphasis on the dip then the cracker. The lovely Mrs. Tablebread even got in on the fun and made the vegan friendly dip: Apple Butter!

Also, for some of you long time readers. This is the month that I meant to re-earn my DB stripes. I meant to come out really punching on this one to show I was back in the game but of course life happened again. Midterms and work came barging in all month so I was only able to make one batch of these crackers (Ok, two but one didn't rise because my kitchen was too cold! SHHHH).

I hope you enjoy this month's challenge and don't forget to stop over and see all the other amazing crackers - there are some truly artistic bakers going crazy out there! Check us out: Daring Bakers.

Here's a simple formula for making snappy Armenian-style crackers, perfect for breadbaskets, company and kids...It is similar to the many other Middle Eastern and Northern African flatbreads known by different names, such as mankoush or mannaeesh (Lebanese), barbari (Iranian), khoubiz or khobz (Arabian), aiysh (Egyptian), kesret and mella (Tunisian), pide or pita (Turkish), and pideh (Armenian). The main difference between these breads is either how thick or thin the dough is rolled out, or the type of oven in which they are baked (or on which they are baked, as many of these breads are cooked on stones or red-hot pans with a convex surface)...
The key to a crisp lavash,...is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.
Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers
* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings
1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
2. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
4. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).
5. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

3. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).
6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Lewis Note: Due to technical difficulties photos and Apple Butter recipe will follow in a couple of days. I thought that I had them in the post but realized at the last minute that they were there and my camera is not cooperating. Thank you for your understanding. I have to go back to pulling my hair out!

White Bread - Baguettes

2008-09-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

Are you enjoying our wonderful trip down white bread lane? Hopefully by now the idea of making homemade bread is starting to not scare you as much. Bread baking is as much about “Just Do It” as it is about getting something “right”.

Do not worry about getting your shape exactly correct or cutting your Epi perfectly (should you choose to go that route). The idea here at The Table is to always have fun and just get in the kitchen! The exhilaration, the feeling of accomplishment, the joy! GET IN THERE AND BAKE SOME BREAD!!! :)

Richard Bertinet has definitely created some keepers in his book Dough. This white bread dough is so versatile and we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what this dough can be turned into! I firmly believe that once you use this recipe it will quickly become your ‘go-to’ recipe for bread in a pinch!

(From Dough by Richard Bertinet)

To Prepare:

Line a baking tray with a lightly floured lint-free dishtowel.

To Make:

With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto a floured counter. Using the sharp side of your scraper cut it into 4 pieces (weighing about 8 ounces each) if you are making full-sized baguettes or8 (weighing about 4 ounces each) for the mini baguettes. Roll each piece into a ball and let them rest for another 5 minutes.
Lightly dust the counter with flour. To mold the baguettes, take the first ball, turn it rounded side down and then flatten it with the heel of your hand into a rough oval shape. Fold one side of your flattened dough into the middle and again use the heel of your hand, or thumb, to press it down and seal. Bring the other side over to the middle and again press down to seal. By folding and pressing in this way, you give the dough some extra strength down the spine of the baguette. Finally, fold in half lengthwise and seal the edges so you end up with a long log shape. Roll each baguette a little to shape and extend it to the length of your towel-lined baking tray. Repeat with the other balls of dough.
Lay the baguettes on the towel on your baking tray, making a pleat in the towel between each one (to stop them touching as they rise). Cover with another towel and let rise for 45-60 minutes, or until they have nearly doubled in volume.
Transfer the baguettes to a very lightly floured wooden peel or flat-edged cooking sheet. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, make 5 or 6 diagonal cuts across the top of the baguette. Make the cuts swiftly and cleanly, taking care not to drag the dough.
The crust on your baguettes will be crunchier if you bake them with a little steam, so mist the inside of the preheated oven using a water spray just before putting them in. Slide them onto your baking stone or tray in the oven. Spray again with water just before closing the door and bake for 10 – 12 minutes until the crust is a nice deep golden color. (Once you have closed the door , do not open it for the first 4-5 minutes so that you maintain the heat needed to form the crust.)

Variation: Epis

Follow the method for baguettes up to the point of laying the bread on a lightly floured flat baking tray. With a pair of scissors, held at a 45 degree angle to the dough, start at one end of the baguette and make snips (cutting three quarters of the way through the dough) at intervals all the way down the center. This will create “V” shaped points of dough which you can push to alternate sides of the bread, so that it looks like a wheat sheaf. Bake, with steam (as above), for 10 – 12 minutes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip down white bread lane. This is the first of my focused dough type trips. Stay tuned for wheat bread, wet dough, quick breads, and many more!

Do you have a special request or even a question about something you ate and really enjoyed? Do you know of a bread recipe but you’re a little timid to try it out?

Throw them at me in the comments and we will work through them together!

White Bread - Fougasse

2008-09-18T12:23:00.001-07:00

Wow - I bet you thought I forgot about that dough you have sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be shaped into wonderful loaves of deliciousness!

Your patience was well worth it; I introduce you to the Fougasse. This cut has a long and varied history. I will focus on the Italian tradition of fougasse. The old Italian bakers used to use these small cut pieces of dough to test the temperature of the bread ovens. They would determine how hot the oven is based on the time the dough took to cook.

This was my first time to make a go at the fougasse cut. This turned our white bread dough recipe into the most fabulous pretzel like texture and taste you've ever had! This definitely became a new family favorite. If you are looking for a healthy, homemade road trip safe food this is your ticket to success. The personal size of these pieces make them perfect for traveling or just sitting in front of the computer.

(from Dough by Richard Bertinet)

Instructions:

- Make up a batch of the white bread dough

- Flour the counter well. Use the rounded end of your plastic scraper to release the dough from the bowl, so that you can scoop it out easily in one piece and transfer it to the counter without stretching it. Be careful not to deflate the dough when handling it but let it spread out to cover a square of the counter. Generously flour the top of the dough, cover with a lint free dishtowel,and let rest for another 5 minutes.

- Using the flat edge of your scraper, cut the dough into two rectangles and then cut each piece again into three roughly rectangular pieces. Again handle the dough as gently as you can so that it stays as light and full of air as possible. Keep the pieces well floured.

- Take one of the pieces of dough and use the flat edge of your scraper to make a large diagonal cut across the center, making sure that you don't go right to the edges of the dough, but cut all the way through the dough onto your counter. Then make three smaller diagonal cuts fanning out on each side of the central one. Put your fingers into the slits and gently open them out of form holes.

- Lift onto a lightly floured wooden peel or flat-edged baking tray and from here, slide onto the hot baking stone or upturned tray in the preheated oven. Do this as quickly as possible to avoid letting heat out of the oven. Using a water spray, mist the inside of the oven with water just before closing the door. Turn the heat down to 450F (230C) and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Lewis Note: A flat plastic spatula works just as well as an expensive dough scraper!

What types of dips (if any) would you eat this with? Butter? Salt? Chocolate?

Tell us all about your preferences!

The Martha Blog

2008-09-16T21:02:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to drop a quick line to let everyone know that Martha Stewart just started her own blog! I looked over it and it seems pretty cool.

Stop by and check her out and then drop back in and let us know what you think!

http://www.themarthablog.com/

I look forward to hearing your reviews.

2008 James Beard Awards

2008-09-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

"To celebrate, preserve, and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence."

Below is the list of the 2008 James Beard awards. I was especially happy to see that Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor. This is one of my favorite bread books in existence. Peter Reinhart's books will take you to an all new level of bread understanding. LONG LIVE PETER REINHART! (Ok, I'm done now)

I think it's pretty obvious that there are no losers here. Each category has three nominees with the winner being awarded the James Beard medal. I have also included their pictures because sometimes it's easy for these artisans to become faceless names.

(Source: James Beard 2008 Awards List)

Baking and Desserts

A Baker's Odyssey
by Greg Patent
(John Wiley & Sons)

Award Winner
Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor
by Peter Reinhart

Pure Dessert
by Alice Medrich
(Artisan)

INTERNATIONAL

Award Winner
The Country Cooking of France
by Anne Willan
(Chronicle Books)

Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most
by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali
(Alfred A. Knopf)

Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen
by Pino Luongo and Mark Strausman
(Artisan)

WRITING ON FOOD

American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes
edited by Molly O'Neill
(The Library of America)

Award Winner
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
by Barbara Kingsolver
(HarperCollins Publishers)

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss-and the Myths and Realities of Dieting by Gina Kolata

PHOTOGRAPHY

Award Winner
The Country Cooking of France
Photographer: France Ruffenach
(Chronicle Books)

Crust
Photographer: Jean Cazals
(Kyle Books)

Egg
Photographer: Grant Symon
(Éditions Flammarion)

WEBSITE FOCUSING ON FOOD, BEVERAGE, RESTAURANT, OR NUTRITION

Chow.com
Jane Goldman

Award Winner
Epicurious.com
Tanya Steel

Starchefs.com
Antoinette F. Bruno

TELEVISION FOOD SPECIAL

Bocuse d'Or 2007
Network: Shaw Cable, Victoria, BC, Canada
Producer: Nick Versteeg

Foods of Chicago: A Delicious History
Host: Geoffrey Baer
Network: WTTW
Producer: Dan Protess

Award Winner
Top Chef Holiday Special
Hosts: Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi
Network: Bravo
Producers: Andy Cohen, Dave Serwatka, Frances Berwick, Shauna Minoprio, Dan Cutforth, and Jane Lipsitz

TELEVISION FOOD SHOW, NATIONAL AND LOCAL

The Best Recipes in the World with Mark Bittman
Host: Mark Bittman
Network: American Public Television
Producer: Charlie Pinsky

Award Winner
Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie
Network: American Public Television
Producers: Ruth Reichl, Laurie Donnelly, Lydia Tenaglia, Chris Collins, Giulio Capua, and Robert Curran

Top Chef Season 3
Hosts: Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi
Network: Bravo
Producers: Andy Cohen, Dave Serwatka, Frances Berwick, Shauna Minoprio, Dan Cutforth, and Jane Lipsitz

WEBCAST

Obsessives: Innard Workings
www.chow.com
Producers: Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin

Spatulatta
Host: Olivia Gerasole and Isabella Gerasole
www.spatulatta.com
Producers: Gaylon Emerzian and Heidi Umbhau

Award Winner
Stewards of the Land
Hosts: Jay Selman, Brian Clark and Eric Anderson

Graperadio.com

Producers: Mark Ryan and Jay Selman

OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF AWARD

Gina DePalma
Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca
NYC

Pichet Ong
P*ONG, NYC

Nicole Plue
Redd, Yountville, CA

Award Winner
Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson
Tartine Bakery
San Francisco

Mindy Segal
HotChocolate
Chicago

...and for the final category...

Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America

There were several people listed in this category but we found one to be the most interesting:

Steve Sullivan
Founder/Owner, Acme Bread Company, Berkeley, CA

The fact that a bread baker is making the "Who's Who" in the James Beard world shows how artisan bread and their creators are starting to earn their day in the spotlight.

I hope you enjoyed this rundown of the 2008 James Beard Awards. Make sure to tune in for the 2009 Awards in March!

Do you have any of these books by the awarded Chef's or Authors? Do regularly visit any of the awarded websites?

Tell us all about your experiences!

Late Night at the Table with Cakespy

2008-09-07T00:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to another edition of "Late Night at the Table". Tonight we have the pleasure of sitting down with Jessie of Cakespy.com.

Tablebread: So you like cupcakes. Why cupcakes?

Cakespy: Though I love all baked goods, cupcakes do have a special place in my heart. My mother is a wonderful baker--and her specialty is cakes. Growing up, you can imagine how torturous it was to have gorgeous cakes around and not be able to have a taste until after dinner; thus, she would always make a small batch of cupcakes in addition to the cake to tide over the hungry children til cake time. The cupcake remains, to me, a representation of this instant gratification and lovely small pleasure.

TB: Ah yes, the screaming of children for cake and you haven't even put it in the oven yet! We can respect your mother's technique. How did you start blogging about cupcakes?

CS: When I started the site, the goal was to combine several of my interests (writing, illustrating, and baked goods!) into one outlet. It's interesting, because it formed the platform for me to start a company through which to sell my artwork--rather than having been the other way around, ie starting a blog to support an already-existing company.

TB: Cakespy.com just turned One! How do you and Cuppie feel about that?

CS: It's pretty awesome! It's funny, in some ways it seems like Cakespy just started yesterday--yet at the same time, it feels odd to think that there was ever a time that I wasn't doing this. Of course, Cuppie would like to add that though only a year old, he feels wise beyond his years. (it's true--just look at all the adventures the little guy has had this year!)

TB: That's true! Cuppie has been through a lot. We just love to read that little guys adventures! So, speaking about Cuppie, we see you like to draw. In your opinion which came first - "Cuppie" or "Cupcake" (drawing or baking)?

CS: I've always had a thing for drawing cupcakes (in fact--recently I found a very rough cupcake character sketch in a sketchbook I had several years ago--shall we call this Cuppie's Beta version?), but the whole personality of the character wasn't really realized until I started the site. So I suppose Cupcake came before Cuppie!

TB: So you grew up in New Jersey but you live in Seattle.Did you take a wrong turn on the turnpike?

CS: Ha! True, Seattle is a long way from Exit 98 on the Jersey Shore. After high school I went to college and subsequently lived in New York City for several years. I love the city dearly, but I did not love my 100 square foot apartment dearly. I had always had a long distance crush on the city of Seattle--it seemed like a cool, artistic and affordable city. I took a weekend trip to check it out, found an apartment and a few bakeries I liked, and made the move about 2 weeks later. On my first week in Seattle, I met Danny who later became my husband (AKA Mr. Cakespy). That was four years ago. All the same I'd like to move back to the East Coast one day.

TB: You are a very busy girl! You blog over at cakespy.com, you blog for the SeattlePI, AND you're married!!! How do you manage your time so well - we go nuts just waiting for bread to proof!

CS: It can be hard! I tend to make a lot of lists--lists of things to feature, lists of things I have to do during the day, and try to keep up with a schedule of posting 2-3 times a week on each site. And I make a big effort to take breaks during the day--I will usually take a long walk every day just to get out of the house and think--it makes it easier to focus and work effeciently later! As for the married part, Mr. Cakespy is my biggest supporter--and most avid taste tester. I believe that to him, there is nothing finer than coming home from work and having the "job" of tasting several types of cookies or cupcakes.

TB: You painted a representation of "Late Night at the Table" which we were very excited to get and love the outcome. Are you always available for artwork requests or was this because of our super cool blog (and a little begging)? :)

CS: Lately I have had to take a slight break from custom requests, because I recently found myself with a bit of a backup (30 active requests at once!). I am slowly working through those requests but should be able to take more custom orders next month. However I do have a supply of original artwork, t-shirts and notecards at jessieoleson.etsy.com.

TB: Wow! That a 30 day backlog?!? You are busier than we thought! What is your dream outcome in life?

CS: Hopefully it doesn't sound too cheesy, but I really do feel like I am living my dream right now. I am working really hard--I definitely work more hours per week than I did when I had a "day job"-- but I don't mind because I feel like I am doing something I love. Of course, you did say dream outcome, so how about we say, what I'm doing now, but with a prewar apartment on Central Park West and a second home in Paris?

TB: Ah, an apartment in Paris...that would be a dream outcome! What does the future hold for "Cuppie" and cakespy.com?

CS: When I was younger and first learning how to draw, I took a lot of inspiration from books like "Abel's Island" and Roald Dahl's books with Quentin Blake illustrations, and from cartoon shows like "Doug" and "Rocco's Modern Life"--I'd love to someday create books or translate my character into a show like those that inspired me when I was younger!

TB: A cupcake heroin? We will love you but the ADA (American Dental Association) might cringe ;)

Thank you so much for joining us tonight! We invite you to check out Jessie's beautiful artwork over at jessieoleson.etsy.com and don't forget to keep a good eye on her baking at cakespy.com! Thank you again Jessie for taking the time out of your busy schedule to stop in and say hi and we welcome any and all questions about this interview or others in the comments section!

Do you have an interesting story to tell? Do you like to bake or cook? Are you just a downright foodie at heart with a unique experience you want to share? Drop me a line at tablebread {at} gmail {dot} com and you could be on the next episode of "Late Night at the Table"!

White Bread - 4 ingredients to amazing bread

2008-09-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Simple. Calm. Relaxing.

White bread. 4 ingredients can bring you to new levels of meditation within the kitchen. No bigas (not that they're hard), no fancy ingredients (not that those are bad), no sourdough growth (not bad either). Just you, the quiet of the oven pre-heating, and some flour.

Simple. Calm. Relaxing.

Richard Bertinet is one of my favorite bread baking authors. One of his first books, Dough, slowly introduces the would be artisan baker to the world of bread by showing how several different breads can be made with the same dough. My intent is to introduce you to the same. I want to illustrate to you the wonders of the bread baking world as brought to you by Mr. Bertinet. His simplistic approach yields amazing results. I also have to warn you that you will enter into a zen like state when making these various breads. They are amazingly easy and the results are professional.

We will begin our White Bread series with the basic white bread formula. Most of the recipes that are created use only this basic mix. Nothing more; nothing less. Simple.

Please enjoy the beginnings of an experience that will hold you in disbelief. You will wonder what I have mixed in and didn't tell you. You will shake your head, you will be in denial, YOU WILL...read on and see what you are capable of.

White Bread Dough (from Dough - Simple Contemporary Bread by Richard Bertinet)

Ingredients:

1/3 ounce

Fresh yeast (preferably) or 1/4 ounce envelope active dry yeast (1 1/2 tsp)

18 ounces

White bread flour (about 3 3/4 - 3 7/8 cups)

2 teaspoons

Fine grain salt

12 1/2 ounces

water (13 fl oz in a glass but weighing is preferred

Directions:

- Rub the yeast into the flour using your fingertips as if making a crumble

- Add the salt and water

- Hold the bowl with one hand and mix the ingredients around with the other (or use the rounded end of your scraper) for 2 - 3 minutes until the dough starts to form.

- With the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto the counter.

- DO NOT ADD ANY FLOUR TO THE COUNTER! The dough will be wet and sticky.

- Continue to knead the dough until it becomes soft and pliable. This will create an airier dough.

Lewis note: I use the dough hook on my mixer. I know this doesn't sound like the actions of a purist but it makes it easier to make a lot of batches at once. If you do wish to use your mixer Bertinet gives these instructions:

Using a mixer with a dough hook

- Put the flour into your mixer bowl and rub in the yeast. Switch the mixer onto the slowest speed and mix for another 6 - 7 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Remove the dough from the bowl, transfer to a lightly floured counter and mold into a ball.

Stay tuned for the creations that you can make with this basic dough. You will see that the end results are far from basic!

Italian Bread using a biga starter

2008-09-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Oh Italian Bread, how you have such a bad name in America. (sigh) Sitting there on the store bakers shelf all pre-made and inflated. Oh how we thought you were the best. "How would I ever get mine that airy, light, and BIG!?" we asked ourselves. We almost did not try...BUT THEN...we pulled out our biga, pulled up our socks (my pants are fine thank you very much!) and got to work and that's when we discovered that the store bread...well, frankly, IT SUCKS! After we finished and tasted the end product we found character in the bread we didn't know could exist. We found depths of flavor unexplored prior to now! "But how does it hold up to the dreaded, overused, GARLIC POWDER?!?!" Well, for my money it was the best dang garlic bread I've ever tasted!

...but as my childhood hero Lavar Burton used to say: "Don't take my word for it!"

This is a wonderful use of our biga from the other day. The biga gives a wonderful rustic flavor to the bread and makes it taste like you bought it at a master artisan baker's store! (Be sure to brag about your ability to bake this kind of bread often - you've earned it!)

(From none other that the master himself Peter Reinhart's The Bread Bakers Apprentice)

Makes two 1-pound loaves or 9 torpedo (hoagie) rolls:

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) biga

2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1 2/3 (.41 ounce) salt

1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) sugar

1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast

1 teaspoon (.17 ounce) diastatic barley malt powder (optional)

1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) olive oil, vegetable oil, or shortening

3/4 cup to 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 to 8 ounces) water (or milk if making torpedo rolls), lukewarm (90 to 100 degrees F)

Lewis note: if you do use milk in the recipe it would be a "Pane de leche" or literally Milk Bread.

Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Instructions:

1. Remove the biga from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.

2. Stir together the flour, salt, yeast, and malt powder (if used) in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the biga pieces, olive oil, and 3/4 cup water and stir together (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until a ball forms, adjusting the water or flour according to need. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft, but not batter like or very sticky. If the dough feels tough and stiff, add more water to soften (it is better to have the dough too soft than too stiff at this point).

3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead (or mix) for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed, until the dough is tacky, but not sticky, and supple. The dough should register 77 to 81 degrees F inside. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

4. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

5. Gently divide the dough into 2 equal pieces of about 18 ounces each, or into 9 pieces of about 4 ounces each (for torpedo rolls). Carefully form the pieces into batards, or rolls, degassing the dough as little as possible. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rest for 5 minutes. Then complete the shaping, extending the loaves to about 12 inches in length or shaping the torpedo rolls. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and dust with semolina flour or cornmeal. Place the loaves on the pan and lightly mist with spray oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

6. Proof at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until the loaves or rolls have grown to about 1 1/2 times their original size.

7. Put an empty pan in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Score the breads with 2 parallel, diagonal slashes or 1 long slash.

8. Rolls can be baked directly on the sheet pan. For loaves, generously dust a peel or the bake of a sheet pan with semolina flour cornmeal and very gently transfer the loaves to the peel or pan. Transfer the dough to the baking stone (or bake on the sheet pan). Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds, spray the walls of the oven with water and close the door. Repeat once more after another 30 seconds. After the final spray lower the oven setting to 450F (or 400F if and cook it longer if you want a crunchier crust) and bake until done, rotating 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. It should take about 20 minutes for loaves and 15 minutes for rolls. The loaves and rolls should be golden brown and register at least 200 degrees F at the center.

9. Transfer the rolls or loaves to a cooling rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

Sorry about the darkness of the photos. I was night baking without a light :) I hope you do try this bread out at home. It is definitely an easy way to look like a master artisan baker :) The crust and crumb were perfect for spreads and cheeses. As I've stated before I'm more of a cheese man myself but you can see the lovely Mrs. T and the children have an obvious winner.

Have you used a biga before? Did you enjoy the experience? If you've been overly intimidated by what may be perceived as advanced, will you try now?

Chef Robert Irvine - Dinner Impossible 'Tablebread' style

2008-08-29T11:36:00.001-07:00

So this post is kind of late but as I have stated before I am finally starting to catch my blog up with what has been going on here in Italy. When I got to Italy I got the shock of a lifetime! I had the opportunity to meet Chef Robert Irvine! Chef Irvine was in Naples doing a Mission Impossible episode for the military and was available for autographs. Since his show is not aired on Italian TV not many people really knew who he was (gasp) so I had his exclusive attention for a good 20 minutes.

I realize too that this is also the first glimpse of the man behind the dough :) I know what you're thinking..."He works out" and you would be correct. Chef Irvine talks about how much he works out in his book ;) as for me well, I like bread, enough said. In case you have ever watched his show and really did wonder if he was a work out fanatic then let me answer that for you - YES HE IS!!! He was massive! In his book he discusses how he likes to cook and workout as a stress reliever. Now if only I could get on board with that plan!

Chef Irvine was my first "celebrity" chef to meet and I have to say that he was the nicest guy you could imagine. He was completely approachable and amazingly friendly to talk to. We talked about his show and the things that had happened with the Food Network. he said that the Food Network had apologized to him for overreacting to a misunderstanding about his credentials. I asked him what he was going to do now. He said that although he couldn't go into details about it he was in talks with a major network and taking his show prime-time.

Before leaving Chef Irvine autographed his latest cookbook for me with some very kind words.

The book (Mission: Cook!) is more of an autobiography of Chef Irvine's life than a cookbook. The recipes that he shares are from his present day life and his childhood. Chef Irvine was a cook in the Royal Navy and he shares stories from that part of his life as well.

In his cookbook you will get recipes ranging from Black Angus Beef Tartare with Toasted Brioche and Fried Quail Egg (I can't imagine ever putting this in front of my children who still balk at meatloaf) to Chicken Vindaloo (I love Vindaloo!! Now if I only I could get it to love me...). The wide range of recipes speaks to the amazing life this Chef has had.

Well, I certainly can't wait to see what shows he comes up with! There have been many celebrity chefs do well on prime-time TV in America. Especially the British type. I am a personal fan of Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen. I've never really gotten into Jamie Oliver but I'm not saying I wouldn't give it a try later in life.

I would like leave you dear Reader, with my opinion of the ton of negative articles about Chef Irvine; I have to say that unless you have met him in person and seen what kind of guy he really is you shouldn't believe everything you read. I'm a life long fan. Also, in case you are wondering if I am 'celebrity prone' I can't ever imagine meeting Rachel Ray or Paula Deen and writing this same review. (Yes, dear Reader, that was a slam.)

Tell us about your experiences:

Have you met any "celebrities"? Chef or otherwise?

Ciabatta bread - The Italian 'Slipper'

2008-08-28T12:36:00.001-07:00

(Correction: This bread DOES NOT use a biga. That line accidentally made it past the editors before they had their coffee. That line has been removed.)

Ciabatta is an Italian bread which literally translated stands for "slipper". Legend has it that the bread got this name because of the odd shape of the bread. No one actually knows where this bread originated in Italy but every region has their own version. Here in Naples, the ciabatta is usually meant for sandwiches or "panini". One of the things I like about baking this type of loaf is there is no defined shape. What you get is what you get. There is no right or wrong answer so absolutely have fun with this one!

This recipe comes from A Bakers Tour by Nick Malgieri.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees

Olive oil for the bowl

Cornmeal for the sliding pan

Baking stone or 2 jelly-roll pans that fit side by side in the oven, plus a cooking sheet with no sides or a piece of stiff cardboard to slide the loaves into the oven.

Instructions:

1. Stir together the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk the yeast into the water. Then stir the yeast mixture into the flour.

2. Fit the mixer with the paddle and mix the dough for about 1 minute on lowest speed.

3. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

4. Beat the dough again on medium speed, until smooth and elastic, about 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Oil a 3-quart bowl and scrape the dough into it. Turn the dough over so that the top is also oiled. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the dough and let the dough rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

6. About 30 minutes before you are ready to bake the dough, place the baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees If you are using pans instead of the stone, invert the two pans side by side on the middle rack of the oven and preheat at the same temperature.

7. To form the loaves, scrape the dough onto a floured work surface, deflating it as little as possible. Gently pat the dough into an 8-inch square. Cut in half to make 2 rectangles.

8. Sprinkle the cookie sheet or cardboard with cornmeal and arrange one of the pieces of dough at the far end, stretching the dough very slightly as you place it on the pan. open the oven and slide the loaf onto the stone or one of the inverted jelly-roll pans, quickly jerking away the cookie sheet or cardboard. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.

9. Bake the ciabattas until they are very dark golden and read an internal temperature of about 200 degrees, about 25 minutes.

10. Cool the breads directly on a rack.

Serving: Cut the loaf into thick vertical slices to serve it with a meal. To use the loaves for sandwiches, split them horizontally.

Mise en place

Do not let your water get too hot or it will kill the yeast!

Lewis Note: I like to let the yeast rest in the water to properly hydrate for about 2 or 3 minutes before adding the mixture to the flour. This gives the yeast time to get going before you put them to work!

The dough should be sticky but not too wet

Do not over mix! When the dough comes together stop the mixer!

Lewis Note: OIL THE TOP OF THE PLASTIC WRAP!!!! You WILL hate yourself if you don't when you try to pull it off...you've been warned.

...a little corn dusting...

Lewis Note: Spray your knife with a little oil and the dough will not stick to the knife.

...The Crust...

...The Crumb...

Give us your opinion:

My family loves this bread. I like to eat it plain with cheese on top. My lovely wife likes to toast the bread and put peanut butter on top. I think anything would go great on this lovely bread!

What is your favorite way to eat a sandwich or "panini"?

Biga - The no excuse way to 'start' the week

2008-08-25T13:01:00.001-07:00

Well, as my official 'I'm back' posting I thought I would start things back off with a starter. :) Pun intended.

The Biga is an Italian technique for creating a pre-ferment. One of the reasons you would want to use a pre-ferment or 'biga', is to give the bread you are baking a deeper flavor and add a little more complexity to the end loaf.

I use this method as a way to make it seem like I've spent all day in the kitchen baking bread. You can make this up to three days ahead of when you want to use it. Just mix as directed and put in the refrigerator in a covered bowl. You can also freeze the biga for up to three months. If you decide to do either of the above, just remove the biga and let it come to room temperature before using - usually about an hour.

I like to make this biga on a Saturday or Sunday when I'm just laying about and preserve it for use on Monday or Tuesday. This gives me fresh bread during the week when I have very little time to bake.

Stay tuned for different ways to use the biga to create amazing breads that make it taste like you've been baking all day!

(from The Bread Bakers Apprentice by Peter Reinhart)

Makes about 18 ounces

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounces) instant yeast

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 to 8 ounces) water, at room temperature

Directions:

1. Stir together the flour and yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the water, stirring until everything comes together and makes a coarse ball (or mix on low speed for 1 minute with the paddle attachment). Adjust the flour or water, according to need, so that the dough is neither too sticky nor too stiff. (It is better to err on the sticky side, as you can adjust easier during kneading. It is harder to add water once the dough firms up.)

2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for 4 to 6 minutes (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook for 4 minutes), or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. The internal temperature should be 77 to 81 degrees F.

3. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, or until it nearly doubles in size.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead it lightly to degas, and return it to the bowl, covering the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Authors note:

Biga will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.

To help demonstrate the simplicity of this recipe I requested the assistance of the beautiful Ms. A. Of course if you decide to ask the kids to help (and I suggest you do!) always provide good supervision. What you don't see is me a foot behind her ready to "pull the plug" in that something goes wrong.

Mix the ingredients

The dough should come together in a ball but will still be very "wet"

Let it rest. This dough takes about 4 hours to fully rise.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.

You can put this in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for 3 months. Don't be afraid if this dough rises a little - that's where the flavor comes from!

- Do you bake on the weekdays?

- What are some of the items you create?

- What are some of the time saving techniques that you use when you are under a time crunch?

I'm back for real this time! (no really, for real this time!)

2008-08-22T07:37:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I admit that I may have underestimated this whole moving overseas and starting a new job thing. It turned out to be, as Willie Wonka would put it, a wang-doozler of a task. In short I have been terribly absent from the kitchen since February. I have missed Daring Bakers Challenges, I've missed all sorts of new baking books, AND I've missed reading all of your blogs.

Hopefully we can get things back on track here...

I will admit that I had a bit of a crisis of content. What do I blog about? There are already so many good bread sites out there. Very informative bread sites at that. Ones with shiny forums and friendly administrators. Just because I moved to Italy I didn't want to become a travel blog - frankly, there's enough of those out there to cure any travel question you may have. What does one blog about? Am I so one-dimensional as to only bake bread? (By the way THAT'S NOT A BAD THING!) It is definitely on the top three list of things I like to smell in the oven. (Bread, cake, and herb chicken) I do enjoy the whole process - mixing, kneading, forming, baking, and the history of each loaf. Hmm, so what's a boy to do?

Well, I think we may have to broaden our horizons. I blame the Daring Bakers for this crisis of conscience. I never would have believed that I could pull off some of the desserts that we did in the past. (Yule Log anyone?) That experience gave me the confidence to move forward with new things - to be 'Daring'.

One of my fantasies has always been to become a pastry chef. Julie over at One-Wall Kitchen is currently living that experience and I can only imagine the kind of fun she's having! I invite you to see the beautiful things she creates over there.

So, in closing, I am going to explore the hidden pastry chef inside of me and that will more often then not include bread :) but also many, many other treats!

To all of my constant readers who stuck around during my transition - sorry for that absence, your constant visits warmed my heart. Now let me see if I can repay you in beautiful treats.

What have you all been up to? What treats have you been baking? Please stop in and catch me up!

Pane! Pane! Pane! He's gone Italiano!

2008-05-19T12:41:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness! Has it already been 4 months?!? Where did the months go? What did I do with them? Has anyone seen my hat?

What a crazy ride this has been. Thank you all who have been sending supportive emails and posts. They truly meant a lot and help me through some of the tough times lately. Don't think for a moment I wasn't at least trying to read everyone's blogs. Can you tell I fell behind a little?

We have had such an incredibly challenging time getting things done in our new Italian home! I will tell you all about the nitty-gritty details later on but here is a spoiler about how long it takes to get things done in bella Italia:

Electricity - 2 weeks (my landlord knew a guy who knew a guy)
Phone - 6 weeks (apparently he didn't know this guy)
Internet - 7 weeks
Washer/Dryer/Refrigerator - bought in March was told it would arrive in May and now they are saying June - 'nuff said (we have learned to like the coin laundry and line drying)
Our Furniture and other belongings - we were told a month. It's been two - I'm losing hope...

Of course living abroad isn't all bad. As it happens (and you will find this absolutely hilarious) My landlord is the following:

Cousin to a baker (yes folks, you read that correctly - a BAKER!) Fortune loves my blog :)
A natural born farmer and grows many things in our 'Villa'

two Cherry trees
a lemon orchard (seriously there's like five or six trees - that's an orchard in my book!)
several Apricot trees
several Fig trees
Grape vines like crazy (no self respecting Italian family would go without these)
Orange trees
Tomatoes out the wazoo
and several items I only pretended to understand when I was being told in Italian (shh don't tell my landlords!)

and finally is married to one of the best cooks I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing in action. She makes a MEAN pasta and does it so effortlessly you sit amazed while shoveling pasta in your mouth.

But I must go now this was a quick 'I'm back' to let all of my blogger friends know I survived the move, well, mostly anyhow. I have so much to talk about, show you, and experience so stick around folks - THE FUN IS JUST BEGINNING!!!!

You don't think I would let you go that easy did you? Here's a shot of some bread we stumbled across in the little town of Vietri off the Amalfi Coast:

...more about this place later...

February Daring Bakers Challenge

2008-02-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

Well, as you all know dear readers, I am still in the process of shifting countries so this is yet another month without a successful Daring Bakers Challenge. I will be back though, I promise! Just as soon as I have a kitchen again!

Please go check out all of my other Daring Bakers buddies who did successfully bake their daring hearts out this month. The challenge was french bread Julia style (I know I should have been able to do this in my sleep - SHHH! you!) and I really think you will enjoy the outcome.

Late Night at The Table with The Whole Grains Council

2008-02-22T14:58:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone! I had the amazing opportunity to interview one of the most influential leaders of the whole wheat movement in Northern America this week. Cynthia Harriman the Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies for Oldways and The Whole Grains Council sat down with us this week and shared some of her knowledge and thoughts about whole grains:

Tablebread: Welcome Cynthia! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your position, and your organization?

Thanks Lewis. The Whole Grains Council (WGC) is an Oldways’ educational program helping consumers achieve better health by increasing their consumption of quick, easy, and delicious whole grains.

The WGC’s many initiatives help individuals and families to find whole grain foods and to understand their health benefits; help the media to write accurate, compelling stories about whole grains; and help manufacturers to create a wide variety of appealing whole grain products.

The WGC was originated in 2003 by Oldways, the non-profit food issues think tank that creates and organizes a wide variety of programs and materials about healthy eating, drinking and lifestyles, and the traditional pleasures of the table. Its educational programs are for consumers, scientists, the food industry, health professionals, chefs, journalists and policy makers. You can learn more about the Whole Grains Council at www.wholegrainscouncil.org.

I’m Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies for Oldways and the WGC – a job I love because it lets me spend my time thinking up innovative ways to communicate on health issues with both consumers and manufacturers.

TB: When did you first see major national attention turn towards whole grains?

This was one of those “perfect storm” things, where several elements came together at the same time, about the beginning of 2005. At that point we had seen the worst excesses of low-carb mania come and go, which ironically helped. Both the Atkins diet and South Beach pretty much said, “Avoid carbs, but if one should cross your lips, at least make sure it’s a whole grain.” Somehow (for once!) we kept the baby and threw out the bath water. When the low-carb tide subsided, a certain level of knowledge about whole grains survived above the high-water mark.

Then in January 2005 the new Dietary Guidelines were released by our government, with the first-ever recommendation to “make half your grains whole” – recommending at least three servings a day of whole grains. A week later we introduced the Whole Grain Stamp, which we’d already been developing for over a year. Interestingly, many manufacturers tell us that the low-carb fad taught them a lot about different options for making grain foods, and left them ready to capitalize on the new interest in whole grains. After all, if you can formulate a low-carb bread or muffin so it’s at all palatable, creating one from real whole grains seems easy afterwards!

TB: The Whole Grains Council won the 2006 Packaging Innovation of the Year for the Whole Grain Stamp and the 100% Whole Grain Stamp. Can you give us an idea of the thought that went behind this and what kind of impact the introduction of the Stamp has had on introducing whole grains into the American diet?

We worked on the Whole Grain Stamp for almost a year and a half before its January 2005 introduction. In its finished form it seems so simple and logical that that may be hard to believe, but starting from scratch we had to answer questions such as, Would the Stamp signify a certain percentage of whole grain, or a certain amount? What would our process be for verifying compliance? What would the graphic look like? And of course we had to test it with consumers, and get legal and regulatory opinions and so on and so on.

Our big goal — which we achieved — was to develop a way for consumers and manufactures to get “partial credit” for whole grains. Before the advent of the Stamp, only products that were 100% whole grain or very close to it could say anything on their packaging. But just as most people don’t switch from whole milk directly to skim – they adjust their palate slowly, with 2% milk then 1% – people need a way to find whole grains at a range of levels, while their palates adjust to the fuller, nuttier taste of whole grains. And manufacturers can similarly learn as they go, adding more and more whole grain to their most popular products and getting credit for each step.

The result? Whole grain product introductions and sales are up markedly. You can buy whole grain English muffins in any grocery, where they used to just be at the health food store. People even know how to pronounce quinoa! We’ve come a long way. In good part, this is because the Whole Grain Stamp is now on about 1,700 products.

TB: We see that The Whole Grains Council has worked to get the Stamp on Canadian products. Do you see The Whole Grains Council as a possible world wide institution?

In February 2008 we just announced a two-fold expansion of the Whole Grain Stamp. We now have a bilingual version of the Stamp for use in Canada, and a new Whole Grain Menu Symbol for use in restaurants and foodservice. Already, six of our members are based in Europe, and there’s interest from them in using the Stamp on their products overseas as well as in North America. We’re exploring regulatory questions and looking into the possibility of a universal international version of the Whole Grain Stamp, as the interest is definitely there – and the health benefits of whole grains are the same worldwide!

TB: What advice do you have for everyone reading my blog?

I would love to invite everyone to visit our website at WholeGrainsCouncil.org, where you can learn what a whole grain is, what the health benefits of whole grains are, how to find them in stores and in restaurants, and so much more.

There are so many quick, easy, delicious whole grain foods available today that there’s something for every taste. When whole grains taste good and they’re good for you, why would you not go for it?

TB: Here are some further sources of whole grain baking and cooking:

How are you adding whole grains into your life? Do you have a special recipe that you use to sneak whole grains into your family? Stop by and leave a comment and share with us how you are using whole grains in your diet!

Paying up on the Pay It Forward

2008-02-22T13:13:00.001-08:00

If you will recall back in December I had a Pay It Forward post. I asked for three comments and got two (HEY! I was just starting out give me a break!). I called that a win because they will pay it forward to some one else and keep the good spirit going!

So Bumblevee of Teas and Scones and Julie of One Wall Kitchen contact me with your mailing info so I can kick off a season of bread love and culinary caring :)

(tablebread {at} gmail {dot} com)

I won't tell you what it is (of course it has to do with bread) but I will say this:

Borders guy - you were cool would have loved to stay and talk but I was in a hurry. So if you did manage to remember the name of my blog and stopped in to see what all this was about be sure to say hi in the comments.

I'm not dead...just dizzy.

2008-02-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

WOW! Where has all the time gone? For all those who haven't found out I took a position that will require me to relocate to Naples, Italy! I am excited but BUSY!!! The paperwork to live overseas is horrendous!

I'm not freaking out though but I am getting anxious. I have lived in Italy before and both loved and hated it. Here's the inside scoop: American customer service only exists in America. That's not to say Italy doesn't have it's charms. It is my personal opinion that there is no finer place to get a Nutella crepe in the world than Italy :) Also, I can't wait to show you all the open air markets and miles of fresh pastries!

You will be happy to know, dear readers, that although I haven't been able to bake anything lately (or at least document said baking) I have been busy on the interview trail. I am excited to report that there will soon be a very cool guest at the Table. I will keep you posted on that.

So thank you all for your support as I continue to swim in paperwork and visa applications. I may be out of the kitchen but not away from the Table!

Blog of the Day Award

2008-02-12T10:52:00.001-08:00

WOW! I am having quite a month! First, Bumblevee over at Tea and Scones awards me with The Daily Dose award because she likes to visit my blog daily. Then I got news I was moving to Italy where I am sure I will expand my culinary repertoire. THEN I get the news that I was voted Blog of the Day by the folks over at Blog of the Day (BOTD)!

Thank you all so much for making me feel so welcomed here in the blogosphere. Again, I only hope that I make you all feel as great about your food and blogs as you make me feel about mine.

The contest that never was...

2008-02-08T08:32:00.001-08:00

Well, I guess it's time to let the recipe contest out of the bag. I am both sad and glad. I am sad because this felt within my reach. Something I was truly going to enjoy. I am glad because the reason I cannot enter is because I will not be here to attend the finale should I be fortunate enough to win.

The contest: National Cornbread Festival is hosting the Martha White and Lodge Cast Iron Equipment to find the best cornbread based meal. I am not really a big fan of box mixes. I mean, honestly, homemade cornbread is about the easiest thing you can produce out of your kitchen in under 3o mins. However, I am a huge fan of Lodge iron skillets. One of the great things about my Texas heritage is the cooking legacy's left behind by the cowboys and frontiersmen. The old wagon trails used to be dominated by iron skillets and iron dutch ovens sitting atop campfires full of beans and stews. Mmmmmm. I'm hungry now :)

There is still plenty of time for anyone to join up for this cool looking contest. If you decide to try your hand at this recipe contest be sure to stop in and let us know how you do! I will repost your recipe here!

What's that you say? Why won't I be here to attend the finale? Ewww, great question! I will give you a hint: I'm moving somewhere really cool! Feel free to guess in the comments! (No guessing if you know me personally and already know the answer!) I will definitely be posting about it later on.

A moment with Dr. Seuss...

2008-02-03T19:19:00.001-08:00

So my job has kept me out of the kitchen for over a week now and it's driving me crazy! Despite not being able to cook I always try to make time for my family. Tonight I was reading a bed time story to my two wonderful little princesses when we came across this page in Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish:

We took a look.
We saw a Nook.
On his head
he had a hook.
On his hook
he had a book.
On his book
was "How to Cook."

We saw him sit
and try to cook.
He took a look
at the book on the hook.

But a Nook can't read,
so a Nook can't cook.
SO...
what good to a Nook is hook cook book?

~Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

About the time I got these two pages out of my mouth my 3 year old shot up out of bed and said, "Like Daddy's cook books!" and my 5 year old followed directly after with a "Yeah, like all of Daddy's cookbooks! You have a lot of cook books like a Nook Daddy!". Well, what can I say, I blushed and we all giggled. Of course I hope they are referencing the first stanza about a Nook having a book and not the third one where a Nook can't cook :) We love you even more now Dr. Seuss :)

Kids do say the funniest things and always when you least expect it. It's always fun to step out of the kitchen and enjoy the life around you.

What funny bedtime stories do you have? Either reading or being read to?

Recipe Contests

2008-01-29T07:16:00.001-08:00

So the other day I was reading through a food website and I came across a recipe contest. Normally I wouldn't think twice about this. I mean there are just sooo many recipes out there that I couldn't imagine thinking of a new one. However, this one actually seemed within my reach.

So I am looking for any experiences that you may have had with a recipe contest.

Have you ever entered a recipe contest?
Did you win?
What was the experience like?
Would you do it again?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us! And we are definitely looking forward to your answers.

The Daily Dose - a blogger award

2008-01-29T06:08:00.001-08:00

(Blush) Well folks, I'm a little broken up here...seriously. This is my first blogger award and you always remember your first ;)

Bumblevee over at the Bearister Bookcase awarded me the "Daily Dose Award". This award is given to those blogs you just have to read everyday. I'm shocked, I'm honored, I'm....nervous! Do I give a speech? Do I hold up the statue and thank my mom for all those meals she made that I loved as a kid? What do I do?!? Well, I guess I'll do a little of everything.

Hi mom! Now, I admittedly don't crank out the number of posts that some other mainstream blogs do. I just can't bring myself to find a photo on Flickr then post an article about it here, I'm sorry, I just can't. If you see a photo it's mine or a fellow blogger with several links to their blogs. That's how I roll. I believe in quality not quantity. I am your country store with the baked apple pie, the fresh loaf of bread, and a fresh cup of coffee :) always by hand and always with a smile.

So Bumblevee, you've made my day! Thanks :)

Daring Bakers - Lemon Meringue Pie

2008-01-28T13:04:00.001-08:00

Well, this month caught my procrastination in full force. Christmas came and went and then I got that pesky little cheesecake book that I am still trying to digest :) Projects just kept piling up on me and so the deadline for my Lemon Meringue Pie came and went and left me in my chair without a photo to submit.

So, with all of my excuses out there I do want to highlight some of the now over 400 members of the Daring Bakers.

Must Sees':

Big Boys Oven

Use Real Butter

A Cat in the Kitchen

Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Dessert First

Cakespy

Honorable Mention:

Of course this list is not meant to be complete. There are always some late posters and some who I just haven't had the opportunity to meet yet. So don't forget about the whole group: Daring Bakers Blogroll. It would be impossible for me to keep up with all of them but you should still try :)

Until next time.

Do you blog or not? Poll Results

2008-01-26T08:26:00.001-08:00

Recently I conducted a poll to find out what you all are blogging about. First, thanks to all of you who voted.

So What did we discover? WE ARE A BIG BUNCH OF FOODIES!!!! :)

I love the little community that we all are a part of. Perhaps we can encourage a deeper relationship with the food we consume and discover new recipes for our family and friends to enjoy.

Cheesecake Week Part II: Junior's Little Fella Chocolate Swirls

2008-01-25T15:53:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Part II and the final entry for Cheesecake week.

I was wondering what to do with the final bit of cream cheese that my little Oompa Loompas were dancing around with and then came inspiration and a reason. The inspiration continued to come from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-Die-For Recipes for New York-Style Cheesecake. The reason came from Fun and Food. Fun and Food hosts an event: Game Night Party Recipes. The idea here is to come up with simple and easy to make recipes that would make an at home game night easy and fun. Personally I did not grow up in a sports house. There were no football Sundays or Cricket Saturdays in my home so I guess that's why I never developed the need to rearrange a day around kick off. That being said, I still love game nights just with a different twist. My friends and I have board game nights or more recently added Wii nights. The tennis game on Wii has proven to bring out the competitive side in everyone!

So my contribution to Game Nigh t are these delicious little chocolate cheesecakes once again brought to you buy Junior's. I am certain this is not the last you have heard from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook. They are well written and although at times can be pretty complex; they are very easy to make. Please enjoy these 'little fellas'.

Junior's Little Fella Chocolate Swirls

Ingredients (makes 1 dozen):

2 8oz packages cream cheese (use only full fat), at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs

1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 recipe Chocolate Curls

1 12oz jar hot fudge ice cream topping (optional) warm

Construction:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with silicone, foil, parchment, or paper liners.
Put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl a few times. Blend in the remaining package of cream cheese. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Beat in the cream just until it's completely blended. Be careful not to over mix! Remove 3/4 cup of the batter and stir in the cocoa.
Divide the white batter among the 12 muffin cups. Drop a heaping teaspoon of chocolate batter in the center of each, pushing it down slightly. Using a small knife, cut through the batter just until dark swirls appear.
Place the muffin tin in a large shallow pan and add hot water until it comes about 1 inch up the sides of the tin. Bake the cakes until set and slightly puffy, about 45 minutes. Remove the cakes from the water bath, transfer the tin to a wore rack, and let cool for 2 hours. Cover the cakes with plastic wrap (do not remove from the tin) and put in the freezer until cold, at least 1 hour.
To remove the cakes, lift them out with your hands and peel off the liners. Place the cakes, top side up, on a serving platter or individual desserts plates. Top with the chocolate curls if you wish and refrigerate. Serve drizzled with the hot fudge sauce, if you wish. If there are any cakes left, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

Lewis Notes on Little Fella Chocolate Swirls:

I had to bend my foil roasting pan to fit my muffin pan. Just another reason why these foil pans are perfect for cheesecake baking.
This is a very easy recipe to make. Again though, as is common with Junior's recipes, you need to do a little pre-planning. Total time from idea to completion: 4 Hours. (give or take the distance from your chair to your mixer) So make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get these made before everyone shows up for the game!

These wonderfully delicious little fellas are served with a little chocolate sauce. I keep trying to give them away so they aren't staring at me, calling to me, "Eat me!!!"

Thanks again to Fun and Food for the Game Night party idea and I hope you all enjoy these wonderful little delights and to Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook for the recipe.

Ingredients:

Try not to cry when your sugar bowl slips from your hand:

Plain filling & Chocolate filling:

Filling the cups:

Coming out of the oven: (don't worry they go down)

Chocolate Shavings for the top:

Final Product:

My lovely, beautiful wife always gets the 'picture plate'. Her review: "OH MY GOD!!!" She described the textured as that of a typical cheesecake: very dense, creamy, and chocolaty.

Cheesecake Week Part I: Juniors New York Style Cheesecake

2008-01-23T07:23:00.001-08:00

It's cheesecake season! Actually, I got a little over zealous about wanting to make cheesecake during Christmas and our local grocery store often runs a "10 for 10" sell. 10 items for $10. Cream cheese happen to be one of those items so I ended up with 10 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese. Fast forward to January and there sat all this cream cheese.

Staring at me...Taunting me...

It was like a nightmare scene from Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Little Oompa Lumpas dancing in my refrigerator holding up 8 ounce packages of cream cheese singing a limerick about my procrastination....

"What do you get with a ton of cream cheese,
Where do you go when creativity leaves?"

AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh sorry, I drifted off again. Ok, I'm back. Whew.

Lucky for me cream cheese last about 5 months in the refrigerator but time was definitely running out. Then came inspiration in the form of a book. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Junior's Cheesecakes (I had never heard of them) they apparently make REALLY good cheesecakes. So much so that they wrote a book about it Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-Die-For Recipes for New York-Style Cheesecake.

I began flipping through what appeared to be just about the best collection of tasty cheesecakes in one volume. I was overwhelmed. First off, I am a cheesecake virgin. At least the cooked variety. I had mixed up some unbaked cheesecakes in the past and always thought that cheesecake was made in a pie pan and refrigerated little did I know those crazy northerners were up there baking them! So anyhow, the big decision was to decide which cheesecake to make first. I figured I should probably start at the beginning of the cheesecake world and just make an Original New York Style Cheesecake with a Junior's twist.

Junior's special way of making a cheesecake is to have a genoise style cake on the bottom as a crust instead of a graham cracker style crust. This actually does make a big difference. The cake at the bottom adds a sweet finish to the airy cheesecake.

So without further ado I give you Junior's New York Style Cheesecake:

Junior's Sponge cake crust

The ingredients (9 inch cake crust):

1/3 cup sifted cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

2 extra-large eggs, separated (yolk and whites)

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

The assembly:

butter the sides and bottoms of a 9 inch spring-form pan, wrap the outside with aluminum foil extending all the way to the top.
sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together
beat the egg yolks in with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes. With the mixer still running, slowly add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and beat until thick light yellow ribbons form, about 5 minutes more. Beat in the extracts
Sift the flour mixture over the batter and stir it in by hand, just until no more white flecks appear. Now, blend in the melted butter.
Thoroughly was the mixing bowl and attachment. IF ANY FAT REMAINS ANYWHERE IN THE BOWL THE WHITES WILL NOT WHIP! Put the egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl and beat with the mixer on high until frothy. Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the whites into the batter, then the remaining whites. Don't worry if you still see a few white specks, as they'll disappear during baking.
Gently spread out the batter over the bottom of the pan, and bake just until set and golden (not wet or sticky), about 10 minutes. Touch the cake gently in the center. If it springs back, it's done. Watch carefully and don't let the top brown. Leave the crust in the pan and place on a wire rack to cool. Leave the oven on while you prepare the batter.

Junior's Way

Bake the cheesecake crust in the same spring-form pan you're using for the cheesecake. Watch the crust closely; since it's so thin, it needs only 10 - 12 minutes to bake.

Lewis Notes on Junior's Sponge Cake Crust

Junior's way is to leave the entire cake on top of the bottom part of the spring form pan. This means you are without a 9 inch spring form pan until either all the cake is gone or is finally eaten up to a point where you can safely transfer it. My way is to put a layer of parchment paper around the bottom so I can slip the cake off and get my pan back!
Make sure you cook the crust long enough! I was a little paranoid about over cooking as the book emphasized this point many times and I think I may have undercooked it. It still came out great just ensure it is completely cooked.

Junior's Cheesecake

The ingredients (9 inch cake):

1 recipe 9-inch Junior's Sponge Cake Crust (above)

Four 8-ounce packages cream cheese (use only full fat), at room temperature

1 2/3 cups sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs

3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream

The assembly:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Wrap the outside with aluminum foil, covering the bottom and extending all the way up the sides. Make and bake the cake crust and leave it in the pan. Keep the oven on.
Put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the blow several times. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, scraping down the bowl after each one.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Beat in the cream just until completely blended. Be careful not to over mix! Gently spoon the batter over the crust.
Place the cake in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1 inch up the sides of the spring form. Bake until the edges are light golden brown and the top is slightly golden tan, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove the cheese-cake from the water bath, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 2 hours. Then, leave the cake in the pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely cold, preferably overnight or for at least 4 hours.
To serve, release and remove the sides of the spring form, leaving the cake on the bottom of the pan. Place on a cake plate. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice the cold cake with a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated one. Cover any leftover cake and refrigerate or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

Junior's Way

Master Baker Michael Goodman says: "Always bake the cheesecake in a water bath, as we do here at Junior's. It keeps the heat in the oven moist and helps the cake bake slowly, gently, and evenly. This helps ensure that your cheesecake comes out of the oven with a smooth top and no large cracks."

Lewis Notes on Junior's Cheesecake

I used a disposable aluminum turkey roasting pan for the cheesecake water bath and it worked perfect.
Again, and I say it twice because I am still a little bitter about it, find some way to cover the bottom of the cheesecake prior to making the crust. Next time I will use parchment paper...You've been warned.

Final remarks:

I will be honest. You are not going to get the craving for this cheesecake at 4:00 pm and serve it after dinner. This masterpiece takes time but it is time well invested. I believe it took me something to the tune of 2 hours to complete the assembly process. Then the cake has to cool for 2 hours and then at least 4 hours more in the refrigerator. Overnight is suggested but 4 will do. So even if you go for the bare minimum time you are still looking at 8 hours total so make sure you plan ahead for when you will need it.

The final verdict on Junior's Cheesecake: AMAZING!!!! This is the first non-store bought baked cheesecake I have ever had that wasn't in a restaurant. Truly restaurant quality! If you want to feel like you are a master baker then bake this! You will look like you have been making master cheesecakes for years. The only drawback is the attack of request for more :)

Crust Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:

Mixing up the Crust:

Finished crust ready for the oven:

Baking the Cheesecake:

The Finished Product:

Do you blog or not? Stop by and let us know!

2008-01-19T06:52:00.000-08:00

Do you have a blog or online journal?
Do you read and contribute to others blogs?
Are you a 'techie' who just loves to read about food but blog about electronics?

Let us know in the poll!

Then stop by in the comments and tell us a little bit about yourself!

How to spot an Alton Brown fan - Commercial

2008-01-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this! My wife just shakes her head every time AB comes on TV - CLEAR THE ROOM! (and don't ask me about yeast! - those fun little belching sock puppets...)

Alton Brown's Banana Bread using the Muffin Method

2008-01-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my first round with Alton Brown: I'm just here for MORE FOOD This is AB's book on baking. In this volume he describes baking as having six main construction methods. These methods are:

The Muffin Method
The Biscuit Method
The Creaming Method
The Straight Dough Method
The Egg Foam Method
The Custards

Today we will be exploring the MUFFIN method. The MUFFIN method basically breaks down like this - mix all the wet ingredients (eggs, water, butter, milk, etc.) and separately mix all the dry ingredients (flour, leavening agents, salt, etc.). After the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients are mixed in their own bowls THEN you mix them together. AB cautions us repeatedly not to over mix. AB makes this distinction by showing you that a good muffin is light and airy and a dense muffin is a cake. You don't want a cake here you want a muffin.

The muffin method is also used for several other quick breads and of course muffins. What AB wants to get across to us is that the name does not necessarily denote the product so much as the process.

So back to our banana bread. I personally prefer a banana nut muffin over a slice of banana nut bread. Call it a personal preference of delivery structures but I like just being able to pop into the kitchen and grab a muffin and run!

Before we jump into the recipe I also want to add that AB likes to distinguish the ingredients as: WET WORKS and DRY WORKS. If more than one exists than they get numbered: WET WORKS 1, WET WORKS 2... So the recipe will say 'Combine Wet Works 1 with Wet Works 2, then combine Wet Works with Dry works' - get it? Very simple. So here we go:

BANANA BREAD - ALTON BROWN STYLE:

WET WORKS 1

Ingredient	Weight	Volume	Count	Prep
Overripe bananas	340 g		3 - 4
Sugar	210 g	1 cup

DRY GOODS

Ingredient	Weight	Volume	Count	Prep
AP Flour	220 g	1 2/3 cup
Oat Flour	35 g	1/3 cup
Baking Soda	6 g	1 tsp
Salt	6 g	1 tsp

WET WORKS 2

Ingredient	Weight	Volume	Count	Prep
Unsalted Butter	113 g	8 tbs	1 stick	melted and cooled
Eggs	100 g		2 large
Almond Extract	6 g	1 tsp

THE OPTIONS

Ingredient	Weight	Volume	Count	Prep
Nuts (walnuts,pecans, or almonds)		1 cup		chopped

Preheat oven to 350F
Grease a loaf pan and line with wax paper
Combine the bananas and sugar and mix with a potato masher until smooth
Combine the WET WORKS 1 and the WET WORKS 2 in separate bowls, then combine them together.
Combine the DRY GOODS with the WET WORKS
If using THE OPTIONS then fold them into the batter now
Pour batter into the pan
Bake for 50 minutes - 1 hour or until center registers 210F and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool on stove top for 15 minutes then remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
Tightly wrapped the bread will keep at room temp for about 5 days.

MUFFIN VARIATION

Prepare a standard 12 hole muffin pan use a scooper to fill the holes. Bake for 30 minutes (210F inside) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove immediately to a cooling rack.

LEWIS NOTES ON THE MUFFIN VARIATION:

I overfilled the muffin tin to get big muffins (who wants wimpy muffins?) so I actually only yielded about 10 muffins and they were wonderful!

LEWIS NOTES ON AB'S BANANA BREAD/MUFFINS:

I made two batches of this recipe. On the first batch I made muffins and was out of Almond Extract so I just skipped this. IMHO they were better without it. (Please AB don't hate me for this but by God they were better without it!)
I made the loaf form for the second batch with the Almond extract and it was still pretty darn good but the muffins were better
I used pecans in both versions
I used my mixer with the paddle attachment to mix the WET WORKS 1 this not only made it easier than a potato masher but let's face it - it was just plain easier.
I almost made this bread several times because I was worried about how safe the bananas would be. They were looking pretty rough but I stayed strong and it paid off. The bananas, although VERY BLACK, were perfectly fine when I peeled them open - so STAY STRONG!

My bananas:

Banana Bread Loaf:

Banana Nut Muffins (sorry there aren't more but well, what can I say they were good...):

Of course I am already a huge AB fan, let's face he's the best, but I LOVE the way he writes his books. I cannot tell you how many times I hear a "Chef" or cookbook author say over and over and over to weigh everything and then all the recipes are in cups and tablespoons. Not a weight to be found. SO ANNOYING! AB gives you all the weights AND the cups/tablespoons just in case you don't have scale (but you should get one it will truly change your life! Well, maybe not your life but it's cool.)

Introducing the Blogroll at TableBread

2008-01-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

So you may have noticed that I have added a blogroll to the right side of the page. This brings a couple of questions to mind. I will try to answer them here:

Who makes it on your list Lewis?

Blogs or sites that are food related that have great step-by-step directions. I believe in focusing on technique and recipe for the benefit of learning. If all your site has is a bunch of photos from the $3,000 camera you got for Christmas, well that might make for good reading and viewing but not learning and I want to re-enforce learning.

How do I get on? or I thought we were friends! Where is my name at?

I am still building my list and it grows and shrinks all the time! If you don't see your name or if I haven't discovered your blog just drop by and leave a comment with a link to your blog and we'll talk :)

What if I am not a food blog?

I have SEVERAL interests! I have created a 'non-foodie' blogroll as well. Just drop by with a comment and I'll check you out!

And remember, we always need some love at the Table as well :) and I appreciate any blogrolls I am currently listed on.

So stop by and say HI!!!!

Pate Choux de Cordon Bleu

2008-01-11T07:20:00.001-08:00

So as a part of my new years resolution I decide to try some pastry making. My first attempt comes from one of the most recognized names in the pastry world: Le Cordon Bleu: Dessert Techniques.

This volume focuses on teaching pastry design techniques and recipes. You will see a lot of the recipes out of this book in the future because of the amazing way in which it describes each process step-by-step. The glossy color photos are amazing and really makes you understand the result you are looking for before you even step into the kitchen!

A couple of months ago I tried to make éclairs from the King Arthur: Whole Grains Baking book, of course I hyped them up prior to making them. This was a lesson learned :/ Cook before you announce! After two days of saying, "Wait until you taste my caramel éclairs..." the family almost threw me out onto the street after they flopped. I had misread an ingredient in the recipe and they didn't turn out - my fault, not King Arthur's. So I felt I needed to really redeem myself on this one so the first recipe up to bat was the Pate Choux (pronounced like 'shoe'). This is the base for several variations on the éclair's.

CHOUX PASTE:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup water or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk

4 eggs, beaten

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a separate mixing bowl.
Pour the water and butter in a medium sauce pan. Heat just enough to melt the butter. Then turn the heat up and bring it to a boil.
Remove the boiling water from the heat and pour in the flour mixture.
Mix just long enough for the dough to come away from the sides.

Caution! Do not use a paddle attachment to do this! Mixing in this way will over work the dough and make it oily

Set aside for about 15 minutes to cool.
Gradually pour in a little egg at a time and mix into the dough until the all the ingredients are smooth and glossy.

Caution! It is very crucial at this stage to ensure the mixture has cooled off otherwise the eggs will cook inside the dough so, DON'T RUSH!!!!

LEWIS NOTES ON THE MAKING OF PATE CHOUX: (that aren't already in italics)

This whole process actually only takes about 20 minutes. It's the piping that will kill you.
When you're mixing the eggs in you REALLY want to make sure the mixture is cooled off but not cold.
While mixing in the eggs you are going to feel like your arm is about to fall off - KEEP GOING!!! This dough looks like it will never come together then - BAM! It does and looks beautiful - literally.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Put all of the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a nozel of your choice.
On a non-stick pan or silicon mat pipe out the desired shapes

Traditional shapes: Rings, fingers (éclairs), and buns

Bake at 425F for 10 minutes then at 350F for 5-10 minutes for smaller shapes and 15 minutes for larger ones.
Cool on a wire rack completely
Fill with your favorite Chantilly cream or mousse or get really crazy and fill with seasonal fruit and top with chocolate - you are the limit :)

LEWIS NOTES ON PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Make sure if you make all the various designs BIG. The insides will cook in such a way that a cavity is left inside of them. That is what makes this special and ready to receive a filling. If you don't make the shape big enough the cavity will not be vary large and almost impossible to fill. I encountered this with the ring design - oops!
You really can't have too big of a pastry bag. I had to go and purchase a 21" pastry bag especially for this project! I had previously been using disposable 9" and they were just overwhelmed by the dough - so invest wisely.
I used the Chantilly cream (very basic recipe) next time I will use chocolate to mimic a more traditional éclair I encourage you to explore! Either way they taste great!

MIXING THE INGREDIENTS:

MY PROFESSIONAL PIPING SKILLS:

THE DELICIOUS FINISHED PRODUCT:

I hope you enjoy these delicious treats as much as my family and I enjoyed them! I can't encourage you enough to try many different fillings. I truly feel vindicated after my initial failure with this lovely dessert.

Have you ever attempted to make a dessert and failed horribly? Have a vindicating tale of success about a baking project? Stop in and tell us all about it!

Adventures with The Chocolate Tree

2008-01-10T14:47:00.001-08:00

What an amazing weekend we had recently! The Dallas Arboretum was hosting an event about The Chocolate Tree. My four year would later be disappointed to find out that the tree wasn't actually made of chocolate but she admits she still had a great time.

The entire arboretum was set up in stations. You begin with first learning that chocolate comes from a bean. Said bean comes from a tree that only grows in the equatorial region of the world.

We also learned about some of the tools that the Aztecs and Spaniards developed to work the coco bean into a chocolate paste or liquor. (sorry about the flash it was sooo sunny that day and it was wreaking havoc on my digital camera!)

As we progressed through the various learning centers we encountered the coolest thing ever! They had these little craft centers set up to demonstrate to the kids everything they could do with chocolate:

You can color with chocolate:

You can paint or make playdough with chocolate (they made plain playdough and were letting all the kids mix coco powder into that and play with it - you can imagine it was quite a hit!) :

They also threw in a little history lesson for the parents and older kids:

As I was saying this event covered the entire 6 acres of the center. One of my favorite stations happens to also be the one my wife and I couldn't stop laughing about:

This was supposed to be a coco seed and the above hanging bits were supposed to be the coco itself. Well, I might have chosen a different angle :)

To point you in the right direction there were signs showing which way to go. These signs were standing in chocolate mulch. Chocolate mulch is the seed shell which is a byproduct of the coco seed. As a part of processing fresh coco they dry them out and crack the shell and the chocolate is inside.

The great thing about chocolate mulch is that it smells, well, like chocolate. So when you dig your hands in it they smell like chocolate afterwards! We all really enjoyed this experience! It's not everyday you are encouraged to smell like chocolate :) When you were done touring everything you got a sample of Dove Chocolate to complete the cycle of growth to production. All of the volunteers were wearing aprons that said: 'You don't know the truffles I've seen'. I thought that was clever.

So in the end we were well tired out from running around the still blooming flowers of the many gardens and from learning all about The Chocolate Tree and where everybody's favorite dessert comes from.

Oh, and it still took me two more days to convince my oldest daughter that we didn't lie to her - it was "The Chocolate Tree" not "A Tree Made Out Of Chocolate"!

Alton Brown set for three more years on Food Network

2008-01-04T14:40:00.000-08:00

YEAH!!!! There is much celebrating at the Table today. Alton Brown, one of the only Food Network personalities we can stand here, has just signed on for another three years!

More can be found here: Alton Brown

There is also word flying around about a show he is going to do in the style of Feasting On Asphalt which will be aptly named "Feasting on Waves". Where he will focus on seafood delights.

Alton will also continue to host Iron Chef America in addition to Good Eats.

So, Alton if you are listening, we have an open post invitation for an interview with you! Come in for a coffee at the Table!

What Food Network personalities do you love? Which ones do you hate? (Be nice!!!) Let us know in the comments!

Dresden Stollen controversy

2008-01-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

There is a huge uproar in the German baking world today. Reinhard Lämmel a chef and cook book author insists that the famous Dresden Stollen isn't actually from Dresden. Chef Lämmel states that there is data proving the famous Christmas treat originated in a nearby village Torgau in 1457. The famous Chef continued by adding that Dresden bakers did not invent the Stollen however they did perfect the process.
Of course the nearby town of Torgau is excited to capitalize on this news. The community director for Torgau stated that they were going to immediately add this news to their tourist board. The article pointed out that the only other claim to fame the town had was for being a stop over for the advancing Russian and U.S. forces during World War II.

Read the whole story here: Stollen Controversy

What do you think?

Is this a valid argument or simply an attempt to grab the presses attention?
Do you know of any historical facts linking the stollen to Dresden or to Torgau?
Have you personally visited either town and eaten this famous cake there?

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Happy New Years from the Table!

2007-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years fellow bloggers,bakers,readers,and eaters! This year has definitely seen a change in this baker. I went from a desire to cook and bake to actually doing it. If you would have asked me in April 2007 what I thought about blogging, well, the response would have been a bit unkind. Then a friend got me turned onto it and here I am hopelessly addicted to baking and blogging. The support has been endless and the creative outlet has been welcomed!

So play safe, bake well and here's to a great 2008!

Cheers!

Pastry books and a New Year's resolution

2007-12-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope everyone had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. Here at the Table we were able to finally give everyone the Christmas we had always hoped to give. For the first year in a very long time we were able to get everyone in our family something we were anxious for them to open. I was also able to really bake up some real goodies that everyone enjoyed.

However, all of this baking cookies and individual Oreo Cream Cheese's gave me a bit of an identity crisis. I mean I love baking bread and bread related products, but wow! What a rush when I am putting together various pastry items! The rush of creativity when it all comes together!

So I bring my search to you, loyal reader.

What pastry books or pastry resources guide you?
Which ones have you learned the most from?
Do you have any special resources that would inspire me?

Let me know so I can decide whether I am just drunk from all the baking of Christmas or if I've discovered a new dimension to my baking skills.

December Daring Bakers - Yule Log

2007-12-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another edition of the Daring Bakers! If this is your first experience with this "daring" group then check us out at the Daring Baker's Blog roll. All are welcomed - no experience necessary. One of the reasons why I joined was to challenge myself in other forms of baking besides bread. Everyone in the group is extremely supportive and there is no such thing as ugly!

Well, this month several things happened. I will itemize them for you:

I made a Genoise cake for the first time and was spoiled because it came out great
I made a jelly roll cake and it rolled! (It didn't crack)
Marzipan mushrooms are now in my arsenal of techniques
Meringue mushrooms are now in my arsenal of techniques
(and I say this shamefully) Buttercream frosting is now within grasp!

As you can tell there were a lot of this months components that I had never tried before and so this months challenge was especially so! Some of the items turned out perfectly - others, well, they're not going to win any beauty contests any time soon :) So without further adieu I give you Daring Bakers December Challenge - The Yule Log: (keep an eye out for 'Lewis notes')

Thank you Ivonne & Lisa for this months challenge!

Yule Log
(from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri and The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert)
Daring Bakers Challenge #14: December 2007

Recipe Quantity: Serves 12

Cake should be stored in a cool, dry place. Leftovers should be refrigerated

Additional Information about the Recipe:
If you are not going to use the coffee buttercream to fill your log, be sure to have the filling ready once the genoise comes out of the oven. If you do fill your Yule Log with fruit or with something other than buttercream, please note that you may not be able to freeze the Log because the filling may not last.

Recipes:

Plain Genoise:

(Lewis note: DON'T FEAR THE GENOISE! This is so easy! If you try nothing else - try this! It will truly change your mind on jelly roll cakes!)

(Lewis note #2: ALWAYS CHECK THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE BEFORE PUTTING CAKE IN THE OVEN!!!!)

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)
¼ cup cornstarch

one (1) 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.

3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).

4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.

6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.

7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.

9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

(Lewis note: Do not refrigerate this! I mistakenly put the frosting in the refrigerator while the cake was cooling and it stiffened up. To loosen the frosting back up I whipped it for a couple of minutes but it was still not as smooth as it could have been.)

Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.

2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.

3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

Marzipan Mushrooms:

(Lewis note: unless you are going to decorate a TON OF LOGS!!! you could safely cut this recipe in half.)

8 ounces almond paste
2 cups icing sugar
3 to 5 tablespoons light corn syrup
Cocoa powder

1.To make the marzipan combine the almond paste and 1 cup of the icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on low speed until sugar is almost absorbed.

2.Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

3.Add half the corn syrup, then continue mixing until a bit of the marzipan holds together when squeezed, adding additional corn syrup a little at a time, as necessary: the marzipan in the bowl will still appear crumbly.

4.Transfer the marzipan to a work surface and knead until smooth.

5.Roll one-third of the marzipan into a 6 inches long cylinder and cut into 1-inch lengths.

6.Roll half the lengths into balls. Press the remaining cylindrical lengths (stems) into the balls (caps) to make mushrooms.

7.Smudge with cocoa powder.

Assembling the Yule Log:

(Lewis note: the result of too hot of an oven:

You will notice that it is really easy to cover up this mistake. Just use this as the inside of the roll!

Now the only person that knows is you :) )

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.

2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.

3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.

4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).

5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.

6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.

7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.

8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.

9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.

10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

The finished product! I hope you have enjoyed another trip down the Daring Bakers road, I hope to see you at next months meeting and don't forget - To view is great - TO COMMENT IS DIVINE :)

HELP! (get this letter to the outside....)

2007-12-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

This is an emergency message to all who can read it. I am Lewis of TableBread and this is my partner in baking - Susy Q. We are being held hostage against our will by a Queen and her two Princesses. They are forcing us to make cookies, brownies, and other 'for our friends and classmates' baked treats. We are drowning in royal icing, chocolate chips, and empty jars of peanut butter. The speed at which they desire these goodies is so fast we are not even able to document evidence of our abuse!

If you can read this: DON'T BE A HERO! SAVE YOURSELF! We tried to escape but were busted by the armed guards on the other side of the fence. So, we will continue baking cookies, cakes, and puddings (sob) but no bread for a couple more days (sob). I fear it may be longer...(sob)

...save yourselves...(sob)

Pay It Forward - Bread style

2007-12-17T07:26:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time and this time always puts us in a social minded mood. I was chosen by Elle of Feeding my enthusiasms as a recipient of a blogger movement "Paying It Forward". You will remember this from a while back here's the deal:

The first three people to make a comment on this post will be the recipient of a bread making related product. Maybe not this week or the next but guaranteed within the next 364 days. All that is asked of the recipient is that you "pay it forward". More directly, that you yourself return the favor to 3 other strangers within the next 364 days by giving a homemade gift or something special to you.

Elle chose to make this gift homemade which means she is much more crafty than I am :) I wanted to give this gift more of a bread touch. Bread making and baking in general has meant so much to me that I wanted to pass on that gift.

So comment on loyal readers and become a part of a better world by giving happiness to total strangers!

Late Night at the Table with Eric of Breadtopia.com

2007-12-08T14:21:00.001-08:00

Welcome everyone back to another edition of Late Night at the Table! This week I had the fortunate ability to interview someone that I feel is really making a contribution to the world of bread and bread baking. Eric of Breadtopia.com creates unique videos of bread baking and demonstrates several techniques to help the homebaker. Eric is a huge supporter of the "no-knead" bread baking process and also demonstrates several creative ways to bake bread. Well, enough introduction! Here is an exclusive interview with Eric:

TableBread: Thank you Eric for joining us here at the Table. First off why don’t you fill us all in on how long you have been baking bread and also, how long you’ve been blogging about various bread topics.

Eric: My pleasure, Lewis.

My interest in bread baking goes back about 30 years when I acquired a sourdough starter from a friend’s grandmother. I think it’s kind of funny that I’m not really into cooking that much, but I’ve always loved bread baking.

Breadtopia.com is celebrating its first birthday this month.

TB: Wonderful, congratulations on your first year! What gave you the inspiration to start making videos about baking bread? Why not just write about the process?

Eric: I don’t remember really. It just seemed like a good idea. A way to add value to the site. I’m really glad I’ve gone that route, a lot of people have expressed their appreciation.

TB: Since starting your site what has been your most memorable moment?

Eric: It’s really the sum total of all the wonderful feedback and encouragement I’ve received from a lot of great people. It must be that bread bakers are just the upper crust of humanity. Sorry. [That’s ok, we laughed :)]

An amazing thing happened just a couple days ago. I received an order from someone in Maine who’s somewhat uncommon family name was the same as a husband and wife couple I knew growing up in California. These were really special people. It turns out the fellow in Maine is their great grandson. Yesterday I ordered the lady’s autobiography from Amazon. It’s entitled Life on Two Levels, by Josephine Duveneck.

TB: Wow, that is amazing!

Recently there has been a real explosion of foodie sites in the blogosphere, especially with bread. How do you think this is helping/hurting the bread industry or the “breadosphere” as you have put it?

Eric: One of the things I was hoping to contribute to, in however a small way, is the growing trend towards home cooking and do-it-yourself projects. The commercial bread industry is very aware of demand for more healthy and wholesome breads. Wonder Bread production has folded in some major US markets and now you see the words “whole grain” on just about every bread wrapper. With the passing of the anti carb diet fad and the growing awareness of the benefits of whole grains, I think the entire bread industry is thriving. I would think that the small artisan bakeries are really doing particularly well.

TB: As a small independent baker, are you happy to see large chain retailers and grocers baking their own versions of artisan bread or do you feel this hurts the ability of the independent baker to survive an already small niche market?

Eric: There’s always going to be enough people with discerning taste buds and an appreciation for the craft of truly hand made bread to keep a skilled baker busy. Panera bread is an enormously popular and successful franchise but at the same time we see quality artisan bakeries thriving like never before. I guess the whole pie is just getting larger. Plenty of room for everyone in the brick and mortar world and breadosphere too.

TB: We noticed that your wife, Denyce, has done some baking herself. Do you guys ever have family “Bake-Offs” or do you specialize in making the breads and she specializes in pies?

Eric: I guess you saw the reference to Denyce owning her own bakery. She can do it all. Between my bread baking and her awesome pies, cakes, cookies and pastries, we don’t suffer. I love it when “the kids” come to visit as they will this holiday season, she really cranks it out.

TB: Ok, enough about the technical stuff let’s get onto the bread!

I’ve noticed that you really enjoy a no-knead process. Do you personally prefer this method for its ease or because you feel it will appeal to readers who may be a little skittish still about jumping into the world of bread?

Eric: Both. It’s a great way to get started (get hooked is more like it), but you can create some amazingly good bread with it.

TB: The no-knead process is definitely ideal for a busy work week! In your opinion does a no-knead process produce superior bread in comparison to a more “labor intensive” kneading process?

Eric: My absolute favorite breads are the more labor intensive ones but I love the fact that no matter how busy things get, I can always take a few minutes to whip together a no knead bread for the next day. I think I’ve baked about four no knead loaves in the past week around a kind of hectic schedule. Four no kneads and one Peter Reinhart whole grain from his latest book. I’m sold on his whole wheat “broom” bread. It’s a regular now for me.

TB: You’ve mentioned several times on your site and you also did a complete episode on the topic of how difficult it is to kill a sourdough starter. You have made us believers after watching your video; however, we would simply enjoy getting to the step of actually having a starter to kill!

What advice do you have for people out there still struggling to create their first starter?

Eric: If one is really struggling with it, I would suggest getting some from somebody else.

TB: One of the techniques that you introduce on your site is using an outdoor grill to make bread as an option to heating up the house during the summer. I personally bake less because of that very problem. Could you talk about some of the successes or failures that you have had with this technique?

Eric: What’s that saying about desperate times require desperate measures? That’s sort of where the motivation came from. It took a few tries to get familiar with the baking characteristics of my grill. I charred the bottom of the first loaf because it was too close to the heat. The thermometer on the grill can only be used as a rough gauge so I just had to keep close tabs on the bread with an instant read thermometer until I had a decent feel for what worked. The learning curve wasn’t that long, and it was worth the effort. I grill pizzas a lot in the summer so it’s not much extra time or effort to turn out a loaf of bread while I’m at it. One weekend I baked some focaccia on the pizza stone after it had cooled some. It was a hit.

TB: What is your favorite bread not just to make but to eat?

Eric: It changes all the time. But the first bread that comes to mind is a recipe from Nancy Silverton’s book, La Brea Bakery. It’s called George’s Seeded Sour. I adapted the recipe to a no-knead method for my site which I think is almost as good and way easier. I still don’t think many have tried it because it requires a lot of ingredients.

TB: So is there anyway we can entice you to reveal a new recipe? Perhaps a debut of something you haven’t let out of your kitchen yet?

Eric: Here’s an awesome no knead recipe created by a Breadtopia reader Ed Pillitteri who lives in the Seattle area. It’s on the top of my list to add to my site and do a video on. It’s simple but excellent and unique. The only challenge is finding Durum flour. It’s not even that common in health food grocers. I milled my own out of its courser cousin, semolina flour. Then I tried chapatti flour which is made from Durum flour and that worked just as well.

No Knead Sicilian Style Bread

300gr. Durum flour (not semolina for pasta)

120gr. White bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

¼ tsp Instant Yeast

1 ½ cup Purified Water

1 tblsp. Barley Malt Syrup

1 tblsp. EV Olive Oil

¼ cup Sesame Seeds

Mix the two flours, salt and yeast in a bowl. In a separate container (2 cup measuring cup works well) measure out the water then add the malt and stir until combined. Add the olive oil and pour it all into the flour mixture. The mixture may seem too dry but don’t add more water. The Durum flour takes a bit longer to absorb the water so cover for 10 minutes after mixing then mix again, briefly.

Place the bowl in plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 18 hours.

On a well floured surface, flatten dough and fold into three (like a letter) then in half. Cover with plastic or a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

Preparing the proofing basket. No oil spray or bran this time. Instead, brush the inside of the basket liberally with good olive oil. While standing over the sink (to avoid a mess), sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly inside the bowl, pressing them in the grooves with you fingers.

Depending on the container (proofing basket) to be used, shape the dough into a ball or log, Place dough in the basket, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 ½ hours.

At least 30 minutes before baking, heat a large Dutch oven, including lid, or La Cloche Baker ( highly recommended) in the oven at 475 degrees. Remove the lid, invert the loaf into the La Cloche, replace lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more – be careful not to burn. Finished loaf should be a deep golden color.

Cool to room temperature on a rack before eating – no cheating. Buon Appetito .

TB: Well, Eric thank you so much for joining us tonight and sharing with us your passion for bread and for the wonderful No-Knead Sicilian Style Bread! We really enjoyed having you and I welcome all of my readers to take advantage of the high quality baking videos that Eric has to offer over at Breadtopia.com.

We will see you next week for another session of Late Night at the Table!

Good Baking and Good Night.

What's in your oven?

2007-12-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

So dear Readers, I come to you today not with delightful stories of black crusted bread that was supposed to have been golden brown, no not today. Today, I come to you to ask you - dear Reader, What is in your oven for the holiday season?

Do you have a traditional family favorite that you bake every year?

Is there a certain baked good that only you can create correctly?

Please join us in our exploration of the various items that you make for your family during the winter months. Write you favorite family culinary concoction that you are responsible for every year and if you have a memorable story we are always in for a good smile :) (If you have a recipe as well, maybe we can all try them out!)

Culinary Meme

2007-12-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you Julie of One-Wall Kitchen for including me on your meme's. This is the equivalent of a blogger chain letter or questionnaire but it's fun and let's my readers know a little more about me. So here goes:

What were you cooking/baking ten years ago?

Well, 10 years ago I wasn’t really concerned with silly things like sodium, calories, and generally anything that was in the item I was consuming. All that being said I was mostly creating new and inventive ways to liven up Ramen Noodle which at that time you could get a case (about 15 – 20 bags) for about $9 or $10 U.S. Dollars. I believe I was famous for my Egg Drop Ramen with slices of Ham lunch meat Julienned onto the top (you have to really try this with the beef flavored kind).

What were you cooking/baking one year ago?

Fresh pasta. It was about two years ago that a good friend of mine introduced me to the fine art of making my own ravioli. Now, as you can imagine this is a lengthy process but lets face it, anytime you can have fresh Spinach Parmesan Reggiano stuffed Ravioli from scratch you take it!

Five snacks you enjoy:

Oatmeal Pies
Pecan Pie from a home style café with coffee
Almond Joy candy bars
Tortilla chips with salsa (fresh salsa if you can get it)
Coffee (I like this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack)

Five recipes you know by heart:

Well, to be honest I don't really memorize recipes. Here are a few that I don't have to look more than twice :)

Lemon Chicken Alfredo with fettuccini noodles (by heart)
Southern style Cornbread
Buttermilk Biscuits
Buttermilk Pancakes
Scones (several flavors)

Five culinary luxuries you would indulge in if you were a millionaire:

Attend the Culinary Institute of America
Attend the Le Cordon Bleu in France (after hiring my personal interpreter – I mean I am a millionaire)
Travel France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Germany BAKING!! I would try learning and doing as much as I could.
Buy a house with a kitchen that faces an ocean, something in the Northwest like Oregon or Washington. Of course the kitchen would have a double-decker oven (top and bottom) and a gas range stove with an indoor grill. OH! My ovens would have the steam capabilities so that I could make amazing bread in them.
Since you have to do more than eat bread (I know shocking) I would spend a few months possibly a year with a Sushi master in Japan learning the fine art of sushi.

Five foods you love to cook/bake:

Rye breads
Quick breads (cornbread, scones, and muffins)
Challah bread
Whole Wheat breads
Sourdough Bread (I would love to bake this but I'm still perfecting the method. Act II is currently underway. Stay tuned for that progress.)

Five things you cannot/will not eat:

Beluga (Whale Fat)
The rotten duck egg with the duck fetus from the Philippines (name?)
The rotten cabbage from Japan (name?)
Liver (I just don’t understand why you would eat the filtration system of an animal)
Chilled monkey brains (kudos to Indiana Jones for achieving this - wait I think he ran with the girl before they ate. Smart man!)

Five favorite culinary toys:

My Kitchen Aid mixer (we’re getting married in the Fall)
Lime hand held squeezer
Rolling pen
big 2x4 cutting board
Cookie Cutters

Five dishes on your “last meal” menu:

Well, since it's my last meal calories or health issues isn't a concern we can just go nuts!

Pasta (ravioli or fettuccine)
Gnocchi
Pizza (Neopolitano Quatro Formaggio or Stagioni)
Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken
Several selections of sushi

Name five happy food memories:

1. Baking cookies with my two daughters. (Type is irrelevant)

2. Scooping the seeds out of pumpkins with my two beautiful daughters. One is afraid of the seeds and the other can’t get enough of them.

3. Baking scones for the family and having them be genuinely blown away by them

4. My wife and I were on holiday with some good friends at a Bed & Breakfast in Northern Italy when the local Chef brought out a Sage and Parmigianino cheese stuffed ravioli in a cream sauce (the sage was grown on a local farm). The conversation was light, the day was nice (shopped away the day in a local town and went horseback riding at a local horse farm), and the food was amazing, it was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

5. Eating pecan pie and drinking coffee with my dad at a greasy spoon.

Well, I don't have many blogger friends so I will choose some that I have been reading and enjoying: Ariela, Susan, Baking Soda, and to one of my friends who has a travel blog: Alex. Of course this is all voluntary and Alex - feel free to change these questions to reflect your love of traveling! I can't wait to read all of your answers!

Toy Recalls

2007-11-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

Hi wonderful readers. Normally I stick to the antics that occur in my kitchen and with my dough but this is some serious business that I would like to put out to every reader of this blog especially with Christmas right around the corner.

Alex, over at 2ciaos posted about the dangerous recalls that have been happening in the States. Now I'm not saying "Don't buy toys from here" or "Don't buy toys from there" - you dear readers are the only ones who can decide that for yourselves. However, I do believe in making an informed decision.

So, I am asking that you stop over and give her list a thorough read through before you run off and buy some toys for your kids, grandkids, and other relatives.

Thank you and try to be safe this holiday season.

Late Night at the Table with Ginger-Root

2007-11-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

TableBread: Welcome everyone to our first edition of Late Night at the Table. This is where we will interview some of our favorite and unique ingredients in and around the kitchen. First up tonight is Mr. Ginger-Root. Welcome Mr. Ginger-Root and thank you for joining us tonight.

Ginger-Root: Oh please just call me Ginger my father’s name is Mr. Ginger-Root.

TableBread: No problem, Ginger. So tell us a little about yourself.

Ginger-Root: Well, I like to travel. I have cousins all over the world! My cousin in Greece, Ziggiberis, is funny and loves to talk philosophy. My other cousin in Jamaica is super hyper and perky, people usually like him the best out of all my other family members. I was born in Southern Asia and I look absolutely FABULOUS beside sushi!

TableBread: Wait a minute, hold the ladle! I thought you were just a dry spice, what is all this world travel and how does all this end up in a cookie?!?

Ginger-Root: {shaking head} I am not surprised that you feel this way but don’t feel bad a lot of people believe that we are so one-dimensional. I wish I knew the root that started all of this I would LOVE to rebury him!

Here’s the thing, we can spice up almost any dish but since you love baking we’ll focus on that. I know I learn better when you show me something so let’s do that. You can just call me the “Show me Root” {snicker} here is a breakfast treat that your family will surely enjoy:

Gingerbread Scones:
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup cold unsalted butter
Zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries
½ cup buttermilk
2 ½ tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla extract Egg wash: 1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or cream
Maple Glaze:½ cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 – 2 teaspoons milk or cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest and dried cranberries, if using. In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, molasses and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with some rolled oats.

Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To Glaze: Mix together the glaze ingredients, adding more sugar or milk until you get the desired consistency. It needs to be thin enough that it can be drizzled over the tops of the cooled scones. With a spoon drizzle the glaze over the tops of the scones and let dry.

Makes 6 scones.

TableBread: WOW! Those tasted GREAT! Those cranberries really added a kick to the rolled oats!

Ginger-Root: Hey pal don’t forget the main star of that recipe! Jeez, but I’m glad you liked them. So you see, that is just one example. Do you like cakes?

TableBread: Do we like cakes?!? Of course, we love cakes! We enjoy them especially around the holidays when we’re searching for something quick to bring to party's or get-together.

Ginger-Root: Well, if you want something quick that looks great and tastes amazing then check out this cake recipe:

Gingerbread Cake:
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup 113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (108 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup (120 ml) unsulphured molasses
1 cup (240 ml) milk

Lemon Icing:
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar
2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Garnish: (optional)

Whole toasted walnuts

Note: To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non stick vegetable spray (like Pam).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 9 inch (23 cm) cake pan with 2 inch (5 cm) sides. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves). Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and molasses and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and milk, alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan. Let cool completely and frost with Lemon Icing. Garnish with whole toasted walnuts, if desired.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan.
(Tip: I use a springform pan when I can. This gives me the flexibility to get most of the cake out of the hot pan quickly so the cake doesn't steam itself on the sides and bottom and make it soggy. Using a springform pan also cools the cake faster in case you're in a hurry.)
Let cool completely and frost with Lemon Icing. Garnish with whole toasted walnuts, if desired.

For Lemon Icing: Mix together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. (The icing should be thick but still spreadable.) Pour the icing onto the center of the cake and spread with an offset spatula. Some of the icing will drip down the sides of the cake.

This cake will keep for several days at room temperature. Can serve with softly whipped cream, lemon curd, or sauteed apples

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake.

TableBread: WOW AGAIN!!! Ginger you are just blowing us away with the complexities of the flavors. This cake is amazing and it looks like it took us a long time but really only about 30 minutes (not including cooking time of course).

Ginger-Root: Are you starting to understand now? We Ginger-Roots’ are about more than just little gingerbread men once a year. We can be used for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just to have a nice spicy treat. I haven’t even scratched the surface of everything that’s available, I highly suggest you explore my family tree and see what you find.

TableBread: Ginger-Root thank you for joining us today and really educating us on your other family members and the versatility of your capabilities.

Ginger-Root: No problem I enjoyed being here but I know you all have one more question and your just afraid to ask so I will just give it to you. Here is a recipe for gingerbread men, check it out:

Gingerbread Men:

3 cups (420 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
2/3 cup (160 ml) unsulphured molasses
Note: To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non stick vegetable spray (like Pam).

Confectioners Frosting:

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons milk or light cream
Assorted food colors (if desired)

Gingerbread Men: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart. If you are hanging the cookies or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of the cookies with a straw or end of a wooden skewer.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If desired, you can press raisins, currants, or candies into the dough for eyes and buttons while the cookies are still warm. Otherwise, confectioners frosting can be used to decorate the cookies. You can also use the icing as a glue to attach candies, raisins, and sprinkles.

Confectioners Frosting: In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk if too dry. Place the frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and decorate the gingerbread men as desired.

Tint portions of frosting with desired food color (I use the paste food coloring that is available at cake decorating stores and party stores).

Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used.

Store in an airtight container.

TableBread: We are sold, you are truly amazing and generous! My kids will love decorating these with different colored icings and we even cut some of them up into little trees. You know we are just going to HAVE to try to make a house with this.

Ginger-Root: Well, you’re on your own with the house, I was never really the organized architect, and I prefer just growing anyway that feels right.

TableBread: Ok, again Ginger thanks for joining us, and to our audience we thank you for stopping by and listening to our conversation with Ginger and seeing many of the versatile recipes that you too can make in a jiffy or with a little time on your hands. If you would like to see more recipes like these or explore more baking recipes in general pop on over to Joy of Baking.com and see what you can discover. Be sure to stop by and let us know how your experience with Ginger goes and join us next time where we will interview another commonly misunderstood kitchen resident.

Good night and good baking!

Santa brought a mixer!!! (a little early...)

2007-11-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

SANTA BROUGHT A KITCHEN AID MIXER!!!!!!!!!!! I have been wanting one of these for a VERY long time!!!
My beautiful wonderful wife let me in on a Black Friday sale that was going on and told me that this was probably a gift she was going to give me anyway and we might as well save a ton of money at the same time. (I also have my suspicions about her motives - two days later I was given a 'wish list' - hmmm)

What she didn't tell me was what time I was going to have to wake up:

So, as you can see the line behind me is long, what you don't see is that the door is about 40 feet to the left and the line doesn't end until about 20 feet to the right. It got even longer before the door opened. Did I mention it was raining?

As my wife will tell you her baking man earned his Christmas this year and the whole family is now enjoying wonderful foods at a faster rate :)

Keep an eye out on my Gingerbread expose' to see action clips of my new mixer hard at work!

November Daring Bakers Challenge - Potato Breads

2007-11-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

This was my first Daring Bakers Challenge. I was a little worried about adding a starchy thing like potatoes to an already thick sounding bread but this really turned out amazing!!! I actually baked the focaccia for our Thanksgiving meal and came back with rave reviews!!

Below is the recipe as it was provided to me. I have added some "Lewis" notes (as did Tanya - the author). Follow them if you wish but as we Daring Bakers like to encourage - EXPERIMENT!!!!

If you haven't heard of the Daring Bakers we are an organization that encourages you to push your boundaries of baking knowledge. So if you are willing to venture out a little from your ordinary baking recipes come on over and join our circle! Visit The Daring Bakers - no experience necessary just have some fun learning new things and meeting other people with similar interests.

Tender Potato Bread

(from Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid; who also wrote Hot Sour Salty Sweet)

Host: Tanna (My Kitchen in Half Cups)

Makes 1 large tender-crumbed pan loaf AND something more; one 10X15 inch crusty yet tender foccacia, 12 soft dinner rolls, or a small pan loaf .

Suggested Toppings:

For Loaves and Rolls: melted butter (optional)

For Focaccia: olive oil, coarse salt, and rosemary leaves (optional; also see variation)

For Anchovy-Onion Focaccia: Instead of oil, salt, and rosemary, top with onions slow-cooked in olive oil or bacon fat, a scattering of chopped anchovy fillets, and flat-leafed parsley leaves.

Potatoes and potato water give this bread wonderful flavor and texture. The dough is very soft and moist and might feel a little scary if you’ve never handled soft dough before. But don’t worry: Leaving it on parchment or wax paper to proof and to bake makes it easy to handle.

Once baked, the crumb is tender and airy, with tiny soft pieces of potato in it and a fine flecking of whole wheat. The loaves have a fabulous crisp texture on the outside and a slightly flat-topped shape. They make great toast and tender yet strong sliced bread for sandwiches. The dinner rolls are soft and inviting, and the focaccia is memorable.

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large floury (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks.

Tanna Note: For the beginner bread baker I suggest no more than 8 ounces of potato (about ½ pound); for the more advanced no more than 16 ounces (about 1 pound). The variety of potatoes you might want to use would include Idaho, Russet & Yukon gold, there are others.

4 cups(950 ml) water, reserve cooking water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 ½ cups to 8 ½ cups (1 kg to 1350g) unbleached all-purpose
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (130g) whole wheat flour

Making the Dough (Directions will be for making by hand):

Put the potatoes and 4 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook, half covered, until the potatoes are very tender.

Drain the potatoes, SAVE THE POTATO WATER, and mash the potatoes well. Tanna Note: I have a food mill I will run my potatoes through to mash them.

Measure out 3 cups(750ml) of the reserved potato water. Add extra water if needed to make 3 cups. Place the water and mashed potatoes in the bowl you plan to mix the bread dough in. Let cool to lukewarm (70-80°F/21 - 29°C) – stir well before testing the temperature – it should feel barely warm to your hand. You should be able to submerge you hand in the mix and not be uncomfortable.

Add yeast to 2 cups all-purpose flour and whisk. Add yeast and flour to the cooled mashed potatoes & water and mix well. Allow to rest/sit 5 minutes.

Note about Adding Yeast: If using Active Dry Yeast or Fresh yeast, mix & stir yeast into cooled water and mashed potatoes & water and let stand 5 minutes. Then add 2 cups of flour to the yeast mix and allow to rest several minutes. If using Instant Dry Yeast, add yeast to 2 cups all-purpose flour and whisk. Add yeast and flour to the cooled mashed potatoes & water and mix well. Allow to rest/sit 5 minutes.

Sprinkle in the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter; mix well. Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour, stir briefly.

Add 2 cups of the unbleached all-purpose flour and stir until all the flour has been incorporated.

Tanna Note: At this point you have used 4 cups of the possible 8 ½ cups suggested by the recipe.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, incorporating flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will be very sticky to begin with, but as it takes up more flour from the kneading surface, it will become easier to handle; use a dough scraper to keep your surface clean. The kneaded dough will still be very soft. Place the dough in a large clean bowl or your rising container of choice, cover with plastic wrap or lid, and let rise about 2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead gently several minutes. It will be moist and a little sticky.

Forming the Bread:

Divide the dough into 2 unequal pieces in a proportion of one-third and two-thirds (one will be twice as large as the other). Place the smaller piece to one side and cover loosely.

To shape the large loaf:

Butter a 9 x 5 x 2.5 inch loaf/bread pan. Flatten the larger piece of dough on the floured surface to an approximate 12 x 8 inch oval, then roll it up from a narrow end to form a loaf. Pinch the seam closed and gently place seam side down in the buttered pan. The dough should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled in volume.

To make a small loaf with the remainder:

Butter an 8x4X2 inch bread pan. Shape and proof the loaf the same way as the large loaf.

To make rolls:

Butter a 13 x 9 inch sheet cake pan or a shallow cake pan. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball under the palm of your floured hand and place on the baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch between the balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 35 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled.

(Lewis note: these came out HUGE for me! They were still delicious but the consistency of this dough just didn't allow these to hold a shape. In my humble opinion this dough is best served as a focaccia or loaf.)

To make focaccia: (Lewis note: I used slices of potato and rosemary)

Flatten out the dough to a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches with your palms and fingertips. Tear off a piece of parchment paper or wax paper a little longer than the dough and dust it generously with flour. Transfer the focaccia to the paper. Brush the top of the dough generously with olive oil, sprinkle on a little coarse sea salt, as well as some rosemary leaves, if you wish and then finally dimple all over with your fingertips. Cover with plastic and let rise for 20 minutes.

Baking the bread(s):

Note about baking order: bake the flat-bread before you bake the loaf; bake the rolls at the same time as the loaf.

Note about Baking Temps: (Lewis note) Remember the size of you bread! Rolls will bake at around 400F for 30 minutes, but larger bread will take about 40 – 50 minutes or until brown on top.

Note about cooling times: Let all the breads cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Rolls can be served warm or at room temperature.

For loaves and rolls:

Dust risen loaves and rolls with a little all-purpose flour or lightly brush the tops with a little melted butter or olive oil (the butter will give a golden/browned crust). Slash loaves crosswise two or three times with a razor blade or very sharp knife and immediately place on the stone, tiles or baking sheet in the oven. Place the rolls next to the loaf in the oven.

Bake rolls until golden, about 30 minutes. Bake the small loaf for about 40 minutes. Bake the large loaf for about 50 minutes.

Transfer the rolls to a rack when done to cool. When the loaf or loaves have baked for the specified time, remove from the pans and place back on the stone, tiles or baking sheet for another 5 to 10 minutes. The corners should be firm when pinched and the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

For focaccia:

Place a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles, if you have them, if not use a no edged baking/sheet (you want to be able to slide the shaped dough on the parchment paper onto the stone or baking sheet and an edge complicates things). Place the stone or cookie sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C.

If making foccacia, just before baking, dimple the bread all over again with your fingertips. Leaving it on the paper, transfer to the hot baking stone, tiles or baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack (remove paper) and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Scones for breakfast

2007-11-14T06:40:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like my family breakfast time seems like a trip down the autobahn. Fast, fast, and fast. Time for breakfast? Heck, we barely have time for coffee! Kids need to be awaken, dressed, “No, put that down”, hair combed, “We have to get the tangles out!”, and into the car, "SIT DOWN!". So breakfast quickly becomes a banana for one, an apple for the other, and a coffee in a to go cup for everyone else.

Add to that my desire to get more whole wheat and fiber into my family’s diet and the challenge can quickly become overwhelming.

My attempt to create a solution was to pick up a copy of King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains. This is an amazing book of whole grain recipes. The volume includes cakes, pancakes, waffles, scones (presented here), and many other delicious recipes. In a lot of the recipes the author actually warns you if the end result is going to have a heavy grain taste to it. These tips are helpful in deciding what to make for the adults and what to make for the kids. So if you are struggling with getting the required fiber and whole grains into your busy family’s belly, I suggest you grab a copy of this book and a bag of whole grain flour and get ready to change the way you do baking!

Are you ready to change your morning routine?

These scones are so easy to make. I assembled them the night before and put them in the oven while I was still half asleep the next morning. One of the changes I made was instead of raisins or currants I used craisins, which are dried cranberries. My beautiful wife doesn't really care for raisins and this was a sweet/tart compromise.

Oat and Craisin Scones

Ingredients:
Yield: 1 dozen scones
Baking Temperature: 375 F
Baking time: 22 to 25 minutes
¾ cup (3 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
¾ cup (3 1/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 5/8 ounces) oat flour
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup (1 ¾ ounces) currants or raisins (Lewis note: I used Craisins)
1/3 cup (1 1/8 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 large egg
½ cup (4 ounces) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk or cream for brushing the tops
Coarse sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

(Lewis note: If you haven’t yet made the jump to silicon liners you’re missing out. These things will save you a mountain of money in parchment paper. Although they aren’t meant for high temp bread baking – where temperatures regularly go above 450 – 500 degrees F, they are perfect for this kind of thing.)

Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles bread crumbs.
(Separation of salt and yeast - VERY IMPORTANT!!!!)

Add the currants (raisins or Craisins for a twist) and oats, and stir with a fork just to mix them in: you don’t want to crush them more than necessary.

Whisk together the egg, buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl or large measuring cup. Add, all at once, to the dry ingredients, and stir lightly and quickly with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead two or three times. Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a circle about ½ inch thick and 6 inches in diameter. Use a baker’s knife to divide each circle into 6 wedges.

Transfer the scones to a baking sheet, leaving an inch of space bwtween them. Brush the tops with milk (or cream) and sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar. Bake until the scones are puffed and golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes.

Serve warm.

Variations:

Maple-Walnut scones: Substitute maple sugar for the granulated sugar in the recipe, and replace the currants with chopped walnuts. Add ¼ teaspoon maple flavoring with the vanilla, and sprinkle the tops with maple sugar.

Cinnamon-Pecan Scones: Substitute chopped toasted pecans for the currants in the recipe, and add 1/3 cup cinnamon-flavored chips to the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with cinnamon-sugar before baking.

Cherry-Almond Scones: Substitute 1/3 cup dried cherries for currants in the recipe, and add ¼ teaspoon almond extract with the vanilla. Add 1/3 cup slivered almonds to the dough before cutting.

Pineapple-orange Scones: Substitute 1/3 cup diced dried pineapple for the currants in the recipe. Replace ¼ cup of the buttermilk with ¼ cup of the buttermilk with ¼ cup orange juice; add 1 tablespoon grated orange zest with the vanilla.

Time Saver Note:

You can freeze these scones up to a month! Just make the batch like normal and after you have cut the slices put them between two pieces of saran wrap and freeze. Then when you want to have scones just pull them out preheat the oven and go. Now don’t worry about the scones being frozen – they will defrost enough while the oven is preheating to cook thoroughly.

I will tell on myself. I have never actually had a scone before making them. Because of that I was a little unsure of how to portion them - this is a common theme for me here in the kitchen for all of you who remember my homemade oreos. My beautiful wife informed me that if I made scones of this size in London I would be the talk of the town!

I hope you give these a try for something new at breakfast time and don't forget to let all of us know how it goes!

Cornsheaf Loaf / Harvest Loaf

2007-11-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

Harvest Festival used to be celebrated at the beginning of the Harvest season on 1 August and was called Lammas, meaning 'loaf Mass'. This was known as the feast of Saint Michaelmas; another name for Saint Michael the Archangel. (He’s the one who hurled Satan/Lucifer into Hell from Heaven for his treachery) This festival, as many of them did, started life as a Pagan Harvest festival and was converted to a Catholic Saint harvest as a way of integrating the Pagan festivals into the Church.

Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their local church. They were then used as the Communion bread during a special mass thanking God for the harvest.

For all of you English History buffs this custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church (that whole “we don’t divorce” thing reared it’s ugly head – thanks Anne B.), and nowadays we have harvest festivals at the end of the season.

As with most things that I bake I try to learn something new. Whether that new thing is a technique (steaming in a home oven) or a lesson of history about my faith (I’m Catholic). Without exception this experience with the Cornsheaf Loaf has been one of my greatest with bread. I raised my tolerance for rolling out thin rolls of dough (next time I promise to make it to 30) and I saw the beauty of possibilities that my poor little oven can produce. After a long business trip and some stressful life experiences that I am still very much caught up in, this was a much needed refreshing break.

The recipe (100 Great Breads - Paul Hollywood)

5 1/2 Cups white bread flour (plus extra for dusting)

3 tbsp of salt (Lewis note: I use fine ground sea salt)

2 cakes fresh yeast (Lewis note: I used 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 3/4 cups water (Lewis note: I ended up having to use about 2 cups)

1 egg beaten for egg wash

Put the flour in a bowl 12 inches in diameter and then add the salt to the left and the yeast to the right (these two aren’t buddies so don’t let them meet right away)
Add the olive oil and slowly start to add the water. (Lewis/Author's note: for all of you EVO fanatics out there – that stuff doesn’t matter here. First, this isn’t meant to be eaten only stared at; Second, most of the flavor of the olive oil will bake out anyway.)
Begin squeezing the mixture together in your hands. The main idea here is to get all the flour up and out of the bowl and end up with pliable dough.
Now shape the dough into a ball and tip out onto a lightly floured surface
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until well mixed (experienced bakers will knead faster) Now is not the time for vanity, this is NOT a pretty ball of dough and therefore WILL NOT be as pretty as your usual balls of dough for other bread.
Place the dough back into the bowl and let rest for about an hour. You are not really looking for the dough to rise, you’re just letting the dough rest and the yeast activate.
Tear off about a quarter of the dough and roll it out to make an 18 inch rectangle at about 1/2 inch thick.
With a knife, cut out a keyhole, or Cornsheaf, shape from the dough about 18inches long and 8 inches across the top.
Using the dough trimmings and scraps roll out 20 – 30/ 8 inch strands
Braid three strands and place them under the keyhole dough on the baking pan; push down on the dough to flatten out the bulge that will be produced by having the braid run under the keyhole shape.
Brush the keyhole outline with a little water.
Place the hand-rolled strands lengthwise along the bottom to resemble a cornstalk.
Next, rip off small pieces of dough and roll into balls, then slightly elongate them. Brush the round head of the dough with a little water. Place a row of balls to just overlap the top edge of the strips on the straight length. Place the balls all around the edge and then fill in the center.
Let the Cornsheaf rest for about an hour to let the dough rise a little.
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C
Brush the Cornsheaf with the egg wash and bake for 30 minutes
Lower the temperature to 300F/150C and bake for 30 minutes more
Cool on a wire rack.

Just like the directions this took a LONG TIME!!! I am a veteran of 3 day bread proofing and this was by far the hardest task I have attempted. As you can tell by my photo I only managed to squeeze out about 10 or 15 “stalks”. I think overall the end result is beautiful.

I believe the final count on time to completion came in at just around 3 hours. 1 Hour mixing/proofing, 1 Hour assembly, 1 Hour baking(30 min 400F, 30 min 300F). PLAN AHEAD! My hands were killing me after shaping all of the 'stalks' and as I said I didn’t even make it to the halfway point! Of course now that I have succeeded in completing one I will definitely do this again with all of the new lessons learned.

I hope my attempt encourages you to try this new and different challenge in time for the holiday season. Whether you’re celebrating the American Thanksgiving holiday or a Harvest celebration – this creation will be a conversation piece.

Happy Veteran's Day!

2007-11-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

Just a shoutout to all of my fellow veterans today.

Our wonderful country is built on the sacrifice of common men. Not in a single extraordinary act but in a long drawn out commitment to the idea of freedom. I served nine years in the U.S. Submarine Navy and although at times I couldn't imagine a worse environment I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.

The insignia that we wear to designate our submarine status is above.

Happy Veterans Day!

P.S.
Have you kissed a Vet today?

Pre-Heating the oven

2007-11-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

To all of my fellow bloggers, readers, and foodies. I am finally back from a trip that took longer than expected. For all of you who know the details hopefully that business trip will turn into a relocation agreement to an overseas location...keep your fingers crossed!

In the meantime I am trying to get caught up in the kitchen. I have a Daring Bakers recipe to get to. I am really excited about this month (can't disclose why) but it's right up my alley!

So, I will be baking up a storm this week and getting back into the swing of things and for all of you who have had to step away for a while you know how exciting it is to get back into it.

Stay tuned my fellow foodies, I'm mixing up some love right now!

I'll show you mine if you show me yours

2007-10-28T02:59:00.000-07:00

I was just wondering what kind of bread YOU eat daily. Tell me about it in detail!
Here is the kind we eat in Naples, Italy. It is called Casareccia and it is a salted sourdough bread with a hearty crust (in Northern Italy the bread is generally unsalted). Just about everyone has a favorite baker for this type of bread. Ours is right down the street and it is made in a modified home kitchen -small production really. I think in America you call this type of bread a farmer's country bread? Here is a picture (with the requisite homemade wine).

Secrets of Great Pizza Dough (baby not included)

2007-10-18T03:09:00.000-07:00

Looks like I'll be posting a little until our favorite baker is back. I live in Napoli, Italy and here there is a great pride in LA VERA PIZZ A (the real pizza) and in keeping the tradition alive. There are people who are dedicated to the making and perfecting it their entire lives. We call them pizzaioli (pizzaiolo in the singular) and boy do they have a lot of secrets!

Recently, I was able to pry a few secrets away from a pizzaiolo who is a Native Napoletano and who had spent 20 years in NYC with his own pizzeria. Joe tells me the key is in the dough. A perfect pizza has a wonderful soft light dough (not hard and cracker like). You get this consistency by kneading it then letting it rest and kneading it again, being careful not to overwork it. Every time it rises it should be approximately twice its original size. The yeast used must be a fresh bakers yeast that is mixed with the salt and warm water. By the time you are ready to put the condiments on the pizza it should be, "softer than a baby's culo.*"

The edges of the pizza is called the cornice (or frame in English -as in a frame of a painting). Typically, this part is not eaten. However, if you are a good at making the dough just right then your guest's highest compliment would be if the frame is eaten as well. So, buon appetito and my your cornice be eaten!

*kind of rude way to say bottom

The oven is off and the Baker is moving

2007-10-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well all of my fellow bakers I am both happy and sad to make this announcement. I have accepted a position in Italy with a wonderful new company. This will require about a three month dislocation.
I am especially sad to report that I was unable to participate in my first Daring Bakers Blogroll. Perhaps next time.

So my fellow bakers and bloggers I bid you farewell for now, I will return, Italian phrase book in hand and Italian bread recipes in the oven.

Recipe Decision Time or Jumping off a cliff with a safety net

2007-10-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you Alex for a wonderful description of our rights. This does appear to be somewhat of a tightrope that we walk as food bloggers.

The results so far of our poll on this topic reveals that everyone seems to be in agreement that if you simply credit the author for the recipe than all is ok.

I believe we have a wonderful craft in baking and cooking. This wonderful art involves more loving people than those worried about their “secret recipe” getting out. In regards to this site I will credit the author and not give overly specific (verbatim) directions on how the author instructs us on how to bake – this is where I will paraphrase. (This is of course my own interpretation of this law and should not be used in place of your own opinion – can you tell whom I’ve been talking to :) )

Now back to baking!

Today I will be trying to recreate something that I have been wanting for a while now. You will notice that with my 1-pound Oreo cookie recreations earlier that I was under the impression they were going to be a lot like oatmeal cookies. Although they were wonderful they were nothing like the oatmeal variety.

So, as I enter the kitchen, tester recipes in hand, I tip my newspaper made chef’s toke in everyone’s directions and bid you a week of good baking.

Copyright & Patent Buns of Steal?

2007-10-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks Lewis for the great intro! I’ll try to keep this answer as simple and easy to understand as possible. Oh, and by the way my advice is not to be taken in place of a hired personal attorney it is meant only as a general guideline (boy, you can't tell I've had lawyer training huh?).

Copyright Cocktail?

Here are my recipes for a frothy Copyright Danger Cocktail

copying ingredients is ok however
+ substantially similar and involved directions (verbatum)=
possible copyright infringement

copying recipes directly from a cookbook (including the order as long as it isn’t alphabetical)= possible copyright infringement

Other than these examples it is pretty hard to be sued for Mr. Bam's Pork Belly Fricassé.

Patent Buns?

Now as far as a patent goes you could patent a recipe. However, the requirements are difficult for food because it would have to be something new and not obvious. Changing Grandma Sally's recipe from apple to orange pie doesn't count as not obvious. Let’s take for example Dippin’ Dots this “ice cream of the future” is ice cream mix that has been flash frozen with liquid nitrogen then formed into tiny beads. Pretty novel huh? Well it was anyway. They had a patent until February of 07 (that is now on appeal).

So the bar is pretty high and can be taken away from you too. Also, you have to remember that a patent runs out in 17 years then it is public information -do you really want everyone to know how you bake Aunt Maude’s Squirrel Surprise in the back of your Gremlin? To keep your recipe truly unique and to yourself just keep it as a trade secret like Coca-Cola has done for many generations.

For more info visit the U.S. Copyright Office. Or ask away (limited time offer, void where prohibited)!

2007-10-05T06:05:00.000-07:00

A cookie and a friend…

To start off I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful and constructive comments regarding the question of re-printing recipes on Blogs. This is obviously one of those topics that hasn't really been addressed in the blog world.

I agree to an extent with some of the comments made. I agree that proving you pioneered "1/2 tsp Sugar" would be a difficult thing indeed. Now for me all of this is really a pointless thing to argue. I am a book junkie. I just have to own the book itself. The question here pertains to what our behavior should be when we share our finished products. There is still a couple of more days left to vote so if you haven’t gotten your opinion in yet do so quickly before the poll closes!

Ok, now back to baking.

I was “blog browsing” the other day and came across this posting from Pietown . As soon as I saw the pictures of these wonderful cookies (which to me looked like a chocolate version of a Little Debbie’s Oatmeal cookie) I knew I had to try my hand at them. This recipe is actually from SmittenKitchen.

If you take the time to read the recipe comments you will find everyone commenting on how sweet these are. Let me correct their description somewhat. These are AMAZINGLY, CRAZY, DON’T EAT ONE BEFORE BED SWEET!!!!!!!!!!! I even left out a ½ cup of sugar as one of the other bakers suggested. Of course that doesn’t make them bad snacks with a cup of coffee!

As you can see I made them kind of big. I didn’t realize that the cookie part would actually come out the consistency of a cookie. (silly me) From the pictures I figured they would be a little softer so I made them big. I also didn’t realize how sweet they were. Did I mention the cavity I got from these? Despite the sweetness these cookies are AMAZING and I will definitely make these again. The recipe states that the batter will produce 25 - 30 cookies. I got about 10. Obviously if I would have made them smaller I could have probably made about 20.

…but I digress…

I have the pleasure of inviting one of my dearest friends to join us for our topic on reprinting recipes. Alex of 2Ciaos is a Fabulous IP lawyer who will educate us on the actual legal aspects of this question. This will perhaps give a more concise guideline on how we should be crediting the originators of our crafts and ultimately decide on how we here at TableBread post our efforts.

I hope you will all give a warm welcome to Alex as she joins us at the table for our discussion.

Grab a cookie, a cup of coffee, and your listening ears and give a warm welcome to Alex of 2Ciaos as she educates us on this sticky question.