April 2006 Archives

Today I'm in the process of making my second loaf of bread, but here's my first one. I have to admit that while I was watching it bake it looked kind of funny, too round and ball-like and kind of shiney. It also seemed to be getting too dark too fast, but the crust wasn't really crusty. And when I cut into it the crumb was really fine and sort of dense, more like a sandwich bread. I realized it was because I used unbleached all-purpose flour instead of bread flour (which my store didn't have), but also the recipe I used, from The Bread Bible, was for a finer crumb and a softer crust (due, I assume, to the moisture in the oven while baking).

After I got over my initial disappointment, I really enjoyed this bread for what it was, and decided that maybe the whole crusty-crust, big-holed bread thing was overrated. It was so nice to toast this up and spread butter and jam on it, or make an open-face sandwich with it. That's why I'm making it again. I'm baking it in a loaf pan this time, though, just to change things up a bit.

It turned out to be pretty easy, spread out over a few hours but only requiring a couple minutes of attention at a time. I used the kitchen scale for all the measurements except the honey, yeast and salt, and I think that helped, too. Maybe if I get ambitious I'll post the recipe, but now my next loaf calls.

Today I'm in the process of making my second loaf of bread, but here's my first one. I have to admit that while I was watching it bake it looked kind of funny, too round and ball-like and kind of shiney. It also seemed to be getting too dark too fast, but the crust wasn't really crusty. And when I cut into it the crumb was really fine and sort of dense, more like a sandwich bread. I realized it was because I used unbleached all-purpose flour instead of bread flour (which my store didn't have), but also the recipe I used, from The Bread Bible, was for a finer crumb and a softer crust (due, I assume, to the moisture in the oven while baking).

After I got over my initial disappointment, I really enjoyed this bread for what it was, and decided that maybe the whole crusty-crust, big-holed bread thing was overrated. It was so nice to toast this up and spread butter and jam on it, or make an open-face sandwich with it. That's why I'm making it again. I'm baking it in a loaf pan this time, though, just to change things up a bit.

It turned out to be pretty easy, spread out over a few hours but only requiring a couple minutes of attention at a time. I used the kitchen scale for all the measurements except the honey, yeast and salt, and I think that helped, too. Maybe if I get ambitious I'll post the recipe, but now my next loaf calls.

I mentioned this recipe a while back and promised to write about it but never did. Someone's reminded me of my promise, so here it is:

It's from New American Cooking by Joan Nathan, which I've really grown to like. I made it for my in-laws one morning while they were helping me pack up the apartment to move. The four of us (in-laws, me and August) devoured the whole pan (the recipe below is for half a recipe, which is what I made). We needed the sustenance for all that packing!

Melt half a stick of butter with 6 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon maple syrup in a pan. You're supposed to bring it to a boil and let it boil for 2 minutes without stirring but I have to admit that frightened me so I may have fiddled with it with a wooden spoon a little (or a lot). Pour into a 8 x 8 inch pan and coat the bottom with it. Then arrange 2 sliced bananas over the top, then layer on three 1 1/2-inch-thick slices challah.

Mix 3/4 cup half-and-half with 3 large eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and pour that over the top. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, take the casserole out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When it's heated, pop in the casserole and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, then cool 10 minutes and eat. I unmolded it onto a platter so the pretty banana layer was on top.

The last time a taste of ice cream hit me with such a unique, clean flavor I was at the Biltmore Room and my mouth was tingling from their ginger ice cream. This time it was the grassy taste of fresh mint, nothing like that sharp, peppermint stick flavor that other ice creams pass off as mint. I almost expected to find rough, chewy mint leaves in the ice cream (I didn't, of course).

I've been picking up Ciao Bella's gelatos at my local natural food store, and I have to admit I was kind of disappointed by the ingredients list, but the texture is so nice, really creamy and thick. We had a chocolate hazelnut that wasn't quite chocolaty enough for me, but Todd really liked it. This one, called fresh mint" on the package, has dark chocolate chunks in this great mint ice cream. Hello new favorite.

If you ate some of the chocolate cookies Todd took to the office on Monday you may want to look away. This is the baby "helping." We started by mixing dry ingredients in a bowl: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, and 1/4 teaspoon each baking soda and salt. This picture is him tasting that mixture. He would put the spoonful in his mouth, make a horrible face, then go back to it.

Then we beat 6 tablespoons room-temperature butter, then mixed in 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mixed in 3 tablespoons milk, then the flour mixture. Now that was the goods. The boy got ahold of that dough-covered beater and would not let it go. I rolled the dough into a log, wrapped it in wax paper, stuck it in the fridge, then hauled him off to the laundry room to strip him down and throw his cocoa-covered clothes in.

I've been slicing and baking off a few at a time since. 350 degrees for about 11 minutes. Cookies fresh from the oven - yum.

Eggs are my favorite fallback food for August. Unless he's feeling really low (which he was last week) he'll eat them all up, and they're so good for him. But I don't like cooking for him in my nonstick pans (another neurotic mommy taboo of mine), so I've been kind of stuck. In the stainless steel pans the eggs make a big mess unless I use huge quantities of oil, which is my new favored technique. But I can't make a frittata or omelette in a straight-sided pan, so yesterday I used my Pyrex pie plate.

I stuck the plate, with about a teaspoon of butter in it, in the oven, then heated the oven to 350 degrees. While that was heating up I mixed four eggs with about 2 cups of stuff: diced Swiss cheese, diced cooked asparagus and fingerling potatoes, salt and pepper. When the oven was heated, I poured in the egg mixture and cooked it until the center was set, about 25 minutes. August was sleeping when it was done so we ate it at room temperature later. I liked the firm texture, like a Spanish tortilla.

Eggs are my favorite fallback food for August. Unless he's feeling really low (which he was last week) he'll eat them all up, and they're so good for him. But I don't like cooking for him in my nonstick pans (another neurotic mommy taboo of mine), so I've been kind of stuck. In the stainless steel pans the eggs make a big mess unless I use huge quantities of oil, which is my new favored technique. But I can't make a frittata or omelette in a straight-sided pan, so yesterday I used my Pyrex pie plate.

I stuck the plate, with about a teaspoon of butter in it, in the oven, then heated the oven to 350 degrees. While that was heating up I mixed four eggs with about 2 cups of stuff: diced Swiss cheese, diced cooked asparagus and fingerling potatoes, salt and pepper. When the oven was heated, I poured in the egg mixture and cooked it until the center was set, about 25 minutes. August was sleeping when it was done so we ate it at room temperature later. I liked the firm texture, like a Spanish tortilla.