Durum is a unique species of wheat, the hardest of all the species we eat (up to 17% protein). The word itself means “hard” in Latin, and in fact not only is it chock full of protein (gluten), the character of that protein is extremely firm. No wonder, then, that it’s so good for making […]
READ ONReader Bill asks: I noticed in the focaccia recipe you mentioned durum flour as an optional ingredient. Can you tell me why, and also where I might get some? Durum flour makes an excellent addition to focaccia (and many other breads) because it adds not only a more exotic flavor, but a very attractive golden […]
READ ONThis recipe is taken from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, an outstanding book that I recommend to all. This dough needs an overnight rest. Basically you mix it in the evening, rush it into the fridge until the next day, let it rise 2 to 3 hours, then shape the loaves and bake. Quite […]
READ ONFor that matter, what’s gluten? The next time you make a batch of bread or pizza dough, pinch off a little bit and work it between your fingers under the kitchen faucet for a minute. A good proportion of the dough, mostly water-soluble starch, will wash away. Yet a small rubbery ball will remain. That’s […]
READ ONGood question, since if any one ingredient can be said to be unique to Chicago pizza, it’s corn (or rather corn meal). How did it get to be that way? Well my own guess is that it started out as a peel lubricant. Like traditional Italian semolina, corn meal has a particle size big enough […]
READ ONWell it’s been a fun week making and blogging about pasta, my first official non-sweet (or baking) topic here on joepastry.com. I didn’t even come close to doing it justice, sadly, the topic is so incredibly broad. But then life is long, I’ll probably find my way back to it one day. There’s only one […]
READ ONI remember the first time I consciously sat down and ate an authentic Italian sugo. It was at a restaurant in Chicago and the menu entry said something like: Papparedelle in Meat Sauce: wide-cut semolina pasta served with our own hearty meat sugo. Sounded like just the thing on a cold Chicago night. I was […]
READ ONI hope everyone of the Christian persuasion had a terrific Easter weekend (and all others did the same but, you know, without the Easter bit). Speaking for the Pastry household, the E.B. was good to us, and spread plenty of colored eggs and candy around. Little Joan got healthy in the bargain, which was the […]
READ ONIt’s been a while since we’ve done any real pastry-case pastry here at Joe Pastry, so I figure, let’s make ourselves a classic: Napoleons I had a terrible time finding Napoleon recipes on the web. I don’t think this is an especially good or clear one. But a Napoleon is really just a combination of […]
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