Is it just me…?
Or is Michael Chiarello the new, male, West Coast Martha Stewart? The sensibilities, the smile, the temperament all seem the same to me.
READ ONAuthor: joepastry
Time as an Ingredient
If you’ve had a moment to look over the sourdough recipe from this week, you were probably struck by how much time this recipe takes. Up to 15 hours to ripen the dough in the refrigerator, plus another 6 or more in the shaping, proofing and baking stages. Such is the price that has to […]
READ ONFor the Week of June 19th, 2006
I got so busy gabbing I almost forgot this week’s recipes. Blueberries are out in force here in Kentucky/Indiana, which means it’s preserving time! Jam recipes are fairly uniform, what I like about this link is that it’ll help you find a pick-your-own farm if you don’t know where to go: Blueberry Jam And you […]
READ ONLocal Delicacy
Funny how things come together all at one time. No sooner than I start talking about salt rising bread than some just about falls in my lap. You may remember from previous posts that salt rising bread is a peculiar hill country foodstuff leavened with a pathogenic bacteria called clostridium perfringens. Well, since it’s on […]
READ ONGone too far
How do you know when your starter has over-bubbled? It can do that you know, when all the food in the bowl has been consumed, in which case it falls and all its liquid runs out in a yellow, stanky pool. A perfectly ready-to-go sponge or starter looks like, well, a sponge. It has a […]
READ ONChocolate Croissant Debrief
My outlaws were in from Chicago for the weekend, which seemed like an excellent time to roll out some chocolate croissants. Doing so, I realized that not at one point last week did I talk specifically about chocolate croissants. Dough yes. Chocolate no. That admission made, I should say that a chocolate croissant is far […]
READ ONChololate Liquor
Did you know that the utility of our good friend scaccharomyces cerevisiae isn’t just limited to bread, beer and wine? Indeed it plays a critical role in chocolate production. Cocoa beans, you see, are a pretty bland and flavorless thing at the time of harvest. In order to become “chocolate” they have to undergo a […]
READ ONDreaming of an All-Chocolate World
Every so often a special type of person comes along, a visionary you might say, a dreamer, who sees the world not for what it is, but for what it could be. Whose vision for the world, while it isn’t heaven, nudges us just a little closer to it. One of those people is French […]
READ ONVive La Butterfat
Of course, it would be just plain irresponsible if I were to discuss croissants and not talk about butter. What is a croissant after all, other than a butter delivery system? There are croissant recipes out there that are fully half butter (too much even for Joe). This week’s is one-third butter, which is about […]
READ ONCroissant at Home
I know, I know, laminated dough-making seems impossible. I felt the same way myself the first time I was asked to make it — 11 pounds at a time, rolled out in a giant sheet that covered an entire work table (the rolling pin was as long as my arm!). Yet a little moxie is […]
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