I hope to be posting more with cooking results in the next few months. There are several reasons for increased cooking activity:
– I finally have time and mental space to think about learning new things, now that the job hunt and the dissertation are completed.
– I'm moving into Dave's place soon and am determined to cook/bake through my refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Not that it's so hard to move these items to his place across town, but I'd like a fresh start, as it were.
– We're receiving all of these nifty and intriguing kitchen gadgets as wedding presents, and I'm really excited about learning how to use them.
– Although I consider myself "someone who knows how to cook," I'd like to be more efficient, experienced, and confident. I'd like to be the kind of person who can buy an ingredient for a recipe and know how to use up the leftovers over the course of the week. I'm sure I'll be more stressed out when my job officially starts, so now is a good time to improve my skills.
I'm a little late to the party, but I finally tried my hand at making a loaf of bread! I used the popular Jim Lahey/Sullivan Street Bakery recipe, via Mark Bittman's old Minimalist column. Baking continues to astonish me – it always seems like a minor miracle is occurring. You start with flour, salt, yeast, and water:
And progress to dough that has all these air bubbles in it!
Pop it in the oven, and then out comes this:
And when you slice it open, it's like a loaf of nice bread! It was a bit wetter in the center than I would prefer, so I might add a little less water next time. But the crumb was delicate and flavorful, and the crust had enough heft and crackle without being difficult to chew.
This bread was pretty delicious. I served it with homemade chicken soup (made with stock from the new pressure cooker). I'd definitely make it again, but would like to jazz it up next time – maybe with some cheese and herbs.
– I finally have time and mental space to think about learning new things, now that the job hunt and the dissertation are completed.
– I'm moving into Dave's place soon and am determined to cook/bake through my refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Not that it's so hard to move these items to his place across town, but I'd like a fresh start, as it were.
– We're receiving all of these nifty and intriguing kitchen gadgets as wedding presents, and I'm really excited about learning how to use them.
– Although I consider myself "someone who knows how to cook," I'd like to be more efficient, experienced, and confident. I'd like to be the kind of person who can buy an ingredient for a recipe and know how to use up the leftovers over the course of the week. I'm sure I'll be more stressed out when my job officially starts, so now is a good time to improve my skills.
I'm a little late to the party, but I finally tried my hand at making a loaf of bread! I used the popular Jim Lahey/Sullivan Street Bakery recipe, via Mark Bittman's old Minimalist column. Baking continues to astonish me – it always seems like a minor miracle is occurring. You start with flour, salt, yeast, and water:
And progress to dough that has all these air bubbles in it!
Pop it in the oven, and then out comes this:
And when you slice it open, it's like a loaf of nice bread! It was a bit wetter in the center than I would prefer, so I might add a little less water next time. But the crumb was delicate and flavorful, and the crust had enough heft and crackle without being difficult to chew.
This bread was pretty delicious. I served it with homemade chicken soup (made with stock from the new pressure cooker). I'd definitely make it again, but would like to jazz it up next time – maybe with some cheese and herbs.
If it's slightly wet in the center, do you need to add less water... or do you need to leave it in the oven for longer? Or since oven temperatures are imprecise, did your oven not get hot enough? Or, I notice your dough is more bubbly than mine is when I take it out of the bowl, so does that impact "wetness"? Not sure on all the details of baking variables, but since my loaves from this recipe were not like that, I'm also not sure less water is the answer-- or maybe our perceptions of wetness are different! At any rate, I'm glad you have enough space in your life for cooking after all the crazy busyness of the past year-- finally!!! :)
ReplyDeletehmm...i hadn't thought about all those variables! i did take it out of the oven a few minutes early, after i had taken off the lid, because i felt that the crust had browned enough. i did also let the dough rise the first time for quite a long time – maybe i "overproofed" it? (not entirely sure what that means.) it was also rather humid that day...i guess the only answer is that i have to try again! =)
DeleteI would try leaving it in for longer. I've found that it can be considerably browner than that and not taste burnt. (Not that I'm the bread expert, but I've done this recipe several times!)
Deleteokay, well i'm planning to give it another go this week. i think i will probably cut down on the initial amount of water (i've seen the recipe range from 1 5/8 cups of water to 1 1/2 cups) and also leave it in the oven longer. i know, not very scientific to alter two variables at once... ;)
DeleteDelicious bread! :)
ReplyDeletei love the technical discussion in the comments and the contrast with d's comment hehehe. D, I'm with you ;)
ReplyDelete