So let me get this straight…
Trans fats are so dangerous we need a law to keep people from ingesting even a gram. But a little thujone, well now that never hurt anybody. I tell you…New York.
READ ONThe Straight Story
I could spend quite a long time expounding on the microbiology of yeast breads (and in fact I often do that, as long-time readers of joepastry.com know). But if the Straight Dough Method had to be reduced to any one thing, that thing would be gluten. For bread making is all about gluten. And why […]
READ ONThe Straight Dough Method
The last stop on our tour of the Big Five Mixing Methods is what is known as the Straight Dough Method. It is the method by which nearly all bread in the world is made. And if you’ve ever tried making your own bread before, you’ll be familiar with it. It goes like this: a) […]
READ ONFig Tart
All I can say is: thank the Lord for frozen puff pastry dough, which makes so many things possible. And if you make it yourself, so much the better. I freeze mine in whatever size slabs come off the work table. It can be inconvenient, since virtually every printed recipe that calls for puff pastry […]
READ ONAlways with the criticism…
Got a short, terse email from a reader over the weekend saying she was glad I was “happy that the rest of the world is now poisoning itself with Western junk food”. This in reference to the Pass the Empanadas post I wrote Friday. That of course is nowhere near the point I was trying […]
READ ONFig Newtons & Milk
That post on ancient history made me hungry for Fig Newtons, which as it happens also employ the creaming method. The cookie dough is akin to a sablée crust (French for “sandy” or “crumbly”) which means it’s rich, delectable, and slightly hard to work with. Being very buttery it goes soft fast after chilling, and […]
READ ONPass the Empanadas
You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a commercial pilot here in Louisville, a factor of UPS having built its hub here. They’re simply everywhere, maddeningly handsome in their uniforms (the women too), and brimming with tales of visits to exotic locales (which have a way of making you ruminate at length on how […]
READ ONFig-Related Threats of the Classical World
Of the countless fig-related threats and insults that military leaders have hurled at one another over the course of human history, there’s one that really stands out for me. It was spoken by Xerxes the First, emperor of Persia, in about 480 BC, and was directed at the Athenians. It goes like this: I shan’t […]
READ ONEh, It’s Extra Protein…
The world of fruit is divided up into nice friendly categories: stone fruits, pome fruits, berries, citrus fruits, ect.. And pretty much all the fruits we know and love find a happy home in one of them. Except for the fig, which exists on the margins of fruit society in the category known as “other”. […]
READ ONFig + Cake = Fig Cake
Nifty how that works, isn’t it? And it just so happened there was a recipe for one in the very nifty Baking: From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Not shown is the honey, port wine & lemon sauce the recipe calls for, though I did in fact make it (as I understand, it […]
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