Text 27416, 80 rader
Skriven 2012-07-22 15:33:39 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 27379 av Jared Quinn (198.cooking)
Ärende: Hello
=============
Hi Jared,

 JQ> > I alternate between that and what I grew up with: country farm
 JQ> > English, Scottish, Irish and German, with the odd foray into
 JQ> > Canadian-Italian (as opposed to authentic Italian).

 JQ> Canadian-Italian?  How does that differ from authentic Italian?

Probably because he does it in Canada, not Italy. (G)


 JQ> >  JQ> I'm on a baking trip at the moment - I decided to master the
 JQ> art of >  JQ> hand crafted breads (no machines, just me, flour and the
 JQ> oven... plenty >  JQ> of elbow grease and patience).  I've been caring
 JQ> for a sour dough >  JQ> starter for around a month now with plans to
 JQ> attempt a spelt sour dough >  JQ> in the next few weeks (when I feel
 JQ> my starter is mature enough). >

We had a whole wheat sourdough starter going for several years back in
the 80s. It was dried out and then reactivated a couple of times
(military moves) but when we moved to Germany in 86, I gave it away.
There were a few more short lived starters but none in the past few
years. Since we will probably be moving again in the next few months,
I'll wait until we resettle to get another one going.

 JQ> > I've been making about 90% of the bread I eat for several years now.
 JQ> > If making a small batch, I like using a bread machine for the mixing
 JQ> and > proofing part but always turn it out, knead it an extra time and
 JQ> > form loaves for baking in the oven. I have yet to find a machine
 JQ> > that bakes properly.

I've been baking bread (with a few years out) for the past 35 years or
so. We've had 3 bread machines in the last 18 years but the current one
is used mostly for making pizza or roll doughs. I have a Kitchen Aid
Professional model mixer where I can mix 2 loaves worth of dough at
once. That'll last a good while since it's just me and my husband to eat
it 99.9% of the time.

 JQ> I generally only bake one or two loaves at a time...  I'm starting to
 JQ> explore some other bread making methods (as I mentioned my sour dough
 JQ> starter before) and also using a poolish to make traditional
 JQ> baguettes.  It's amazing how much depth of flavour and texture you can
 JQ> achieve
 JQ> simply by allowing some fermentation or encouraging or retarding the
 JQ> yeast (or other leavening agent).

There's a book out, I have a copy but it's at home (and I'm away for a
few more days) called "Bread Alone" put out by the bakery of the same
name. They're based about 20 miles from where my parents live in NY
State; we stop there almost every time we visit. They use the same
technique of using a poolish. Anyway, I'll look up the information on it
when I get back to North Carolina. Their bread is as good as any we had
in the time we lived in Germany.

 JQ> > ... I fervently believe veggie patties are best ignored or
 JQ> forgotten.

 JQ> Even as a vegetarian I have to agree with you here...   what's even
 JQ> worse than veggie patties is the "meat-like" veggie products that try
 JQ> to resemble sausages or other meats.  I'm comfortable not eating much
 JQ> meat, I don't need my soy, tofu or vegetables to look like meat.

We go semi-sorta vegitarian every once in a while. We eat a lot more
vegetables than meat, especially when we can get them fresh at the local
farmer's market. The market has quite a variety; it's fun coming up with
different ways to cook them. One of our favorite ways is to slice
zucchini and yellow squash, toss them with a bit of olive oil, salt &
pepper and then grill them. Sometimes I'll add some herbs like oregano
to them as well.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


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