Give me 40 acres…
My pride and joy…and I’ll be even prouder and more joyous if I can ever figure out how to use it! What was wrong with my Maytag again?
READ ONAuthor: joepastry
Slow Starter
What do I do if my starter won’t grow? It happens sometimes. You use distilled water, you feed regularly, but you can’t seem to reach that ultra-bubbly critical mass. As long as it looks good, smells good and you’re seeing at least a few pea-sized bubbles every day, you’re probably on the right track. The […]
READ ONOn Moisture
One of the big variables in the world of bread starter recipes is moisture. Some can be extremely wet, up to 60% water, others somewhat dry, in the realm of 35% water. Is there any practical difference between them? For the purpose of getting a starter culture going, the answer is no. Though I’ve had […]
READ ONWhat about fruit starters?
There are a lot of well-meaning bakers out there who publish elaborate recipes for exotic-sounding starters, many of which are based on organic fruit. Why? Because as I mentioned previously, many types of fruit are covered in naturally occurring yeasts. Grapes, plums, blueberries, cherries, blackberries, mulberries, elderberries…all are awash in fermenting fungi. Not by coincidence, […]
READ ONNon-Starter
If you’re wondering what I meant when I said that I generally let my starter ferment for five days to make sure I “clear all the suckers out” it’s because starter bowls can occasionally grow some funky stuff. Actually, maybe I should take part of that back. They always grow some funky stuff, but occasionally […]
READ ONAre all commercial yeasts the same?
A good friend from the ol’ hometown, Chef Tim, writes in to ask: Are all commercial yeasts the same, meaning will they not only act the same but produce the same flavors? Is there anything on the market that bridges the gap between the simple convenience of commercially made yeast and the flavor-producing goodness of […]
READ ONWhere Pastry and Pizza Meet
At Papa John’s it seems. The chain, which is based here in Louisville, has announced that it’ll be adding chocolate puff pastries to its product line. In related news, a London pizza joint has taken the concept a step further and is putting sweets like ice cream directly on top of their pizza…at least for […]
READ ONWhat is a “starter”?
A starter is a home-grown yeast culture. One which, by virtue of the way it’s made, contains a much higher proportion of acid-producing bacteria than a commercially-acquired yeast culture (one of those little packets). It’s the addition of these bacteria that give home-grown starters their complex flavors, which vary markedly from location to location, since […]
READ ONBack to basics
I’m going to have a short week this week, as an opportunity has come up for the wife and I to head off on a rare mid-week getaway. Thus I won’t be doing a whole lot of baking. However I have been experimenting with bread starters quite a bit the last few weeks. My oven-firing […]
READ ONThe problem with clothing-optional restaurants…
…is that naked people tend to show up. And while on the face of it that might sound like a good thing, it really isn’t, at least based on the photos I’ve seen accompanying the stories on New York City’s clothing optional restaurant craze. (www.nypost.com/seven/07212008/news/regionalnews/the_naked_city_120845.htm). It isn’t the Jessica Albas and Matt Damons that populate […]
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