Alan's Bread

Corn Chowder and Rye Bread

2010-01-31T09:29:00.001-08:00

Trader Joe's had a sale on corn kernels yesterday, so this is the result; paired with a simply rye baguette I made earlier in the week, a good winter meal--

Roasted Corn Chowder

Trader Joe’s roasted corn kernels
Roasted red pepper
Yellow sweet onion
Carrots
Garlic
Thyme
Tarragon
Oregano
Basil
Ground black, red, white peppercorns
Salt
Stock: Better than Boullion (Mushroom)
Water

1/31/10

and here's the recipe for the bread:

Rye Baguettes

Bob’s Red Mill Organic Dark Rye Flour
Bob’s Red Mill Organic Rye Flour
Dos Equus lager
Soured Soy Milk
Soured Hemp Milk
Organic canola oil
Blackstrap molasses
Kosher salt
Caraway seeds
Dill seeds
Italian starter

Biga mixed 1/23/10
Baked 1/24/10

White Whole Wheat Spelt

2009-09-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

no photos; forgot to take them! But here's the recipe:

White Spelt Whole Wheat

2 cups King AArthur white whole wheat
1 cup Spectrum white spelt
1 cup Amish corn meal
1/2 cup Ground and whole flax seed
1/2 cup Ground and whole sunflower seeds
1/2 cup Ground raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup Hemp seeds
1 tbs Kosher salt
1 tbs Agave nectar
1 tbs Org. canola oil
1 cup Italian Camaldoli starter

Barm mixed 9/24/09
Baked 9/25/09

Not bread, but a terrific dish

2008-12-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Saw a review of Robin Robertson's Vegan Fire & Spice (Woodstock, VA: Vegan Heritage Press, 2008) that made it sound interesting, so got it from the library. Tried the Baked Mahogany Tempeh-- terrific!

1 lb tempeh, cut into 2 inch bars
1/4 c soy sauce
2 TBS mirin
2 TBS agave nectar or brown rice syrup
2 garlic cloves
1 tsps chopped fresh ginger
1/4 tsp grd coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
grated zest of 1 orange

Poach the tempeh in simmering water for 30 minutes. Place the tempeh in a shallow baking dish and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the marinade over the tempeh and marinate at room temperature, basting often, for 30 mintues to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake the tempeh, basting often with the marinade, until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Serves 4.

I used only 1 TBS of sweetener, and am not really convinced that's necessary. We baked for about 20 minutes, as the oven was reaching the temperature, so wasn't near the heat or time called for in the recipe. Still delicious.

Will buy the book. Other recipes look equally inventive and interesting.

Last of 08

2008-12-22T07:46:00.001-08:00

Had a query about starter, so decided to grow one of the starters to share. And the coop had Chirstmas Ale on sale. Hence, bread using the Wychwood Bah Humbug! Christmas Ale, and the San Francisco sourdough starter, officially the Last Bread of 2008!

The starter working

loaves formed, ready for rising

here's the ingredient list:

Last of ‘08

Organic whole wheat bread flour
Organic whole wheat flour
Ground flax seed
Hemp seeds
Soy powder
Amish organic cornmeal
Soured soy milk
Wychwood Bah Humbug! Christmas Ale
San Francisco Sourdough Starter
Kosher Salt
Organic canola oil
Agave syrup

the loaves baked

and the crumb

Irish Wholemeal Bread

2008-11-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

Made up loaves from a bag of King Arthur "Irish Wholemeal Flour" -- haven't tasted yet, and didn't let them rise enough since my time was limited. Here are the finished loaves:

and the dough, resting

and the San Francisco Sourdough, busily growing -- although after some nine years, it's Central Ohio Sourdough at this point!

Here's the recipe:

Irish Wholemeal Bread

KA Irish Wholemeal Flour
Amish organic cornmeal
Organic whole wheat
Organic soy powder
Al Blyth honey
Hemp seed
San Francisco sourdough starter
Soy milk
Organic canola oil
Kosher salt

Mixed 11/16/08
Baked 11/18/08

Obama Victory Bread

2008-11-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Baked this on Election Day! Since we had to be at precincts at 5:30 a.m. to be election officials, put the loaves in the oven on a timer, and baked for a shorter time than usual since I knew they'd be sitting in the warm oven all day. The formed loaves rose overnight -- made with a combination of hard and soft winter wheat that I ground coarsely in the VitaMix. Should have let the loaves rise longer, but couldn't because of the election day requirements -- so they're not quite as high as they could have been. But the coarse flour gives a great texture.

Whole Grain Whole Wheat

Coarse ground winter wheat
King Arthur First Clear flour
Organic cornmeal
Organic high gluten flour
Ground flaxseed
Hemp seed
Al Blyth's honey
Columbus Pale Ale
Sour soy milk
Kosher salt
Organic canola oil
New England starter

Mixed 11/2/08
Baked 11/4/08

Wholly Rye

2008-09-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

Some soy milk soured, so bread was the result; and since I'd just gotten some First Clear Flour from King Arthur, that suggested a rye. Here's the resulting three loaves:

And one loaf, isolated; it's brighter because it was taken with a flash.

and the recipe:

Wholly Rye

Org. Rye Flour
K.A. First Clear Flour
Soy Powder
Org. Cornmeal
Org. High Gluten Wheat Flour
Agave syrup
Kosher Salt
Hemp Seed
Ground Flax Seed
Black Sesame Seed
Whole Cumin Seed
Whole Coriander Seed
Whole Flax Seed
Sour Soy Milk
Columbus Pale Ale
Giza Sourdough Culture

Mixed 9/16/08
Baked 9/17/08

The high gluten flour was mainly used to feed the starter. Haven't tasted it yet; the aftermath of Hurricane Ike's winds on Sunday meant no power since then to Ann's studio, so we had to empty the refrigerator and freezer there, which has taken up a good part of the day!

Rye Again

2008-08-24T17:55:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: the twenty-one year-old tofu was fine; see next entry for more details. Sorry the Cleveland Tofu Company's no longer in existence!

baked rye again, with more organic flour than usual; didn't have time to grind flour as I'd planned, so picked up some Amish organic rye flour at the Coop. Timing was off--had an errand after loaves were formed, and hoped they'd rise sufficiently for baking when I got back; they hadn't, but I had to bake anyway. So the loaves are pretty small. Haven't tasted them--they went straight to the freezer.

the barm, working away. Used the King Arthur "New England" starter that's been working for me for the past eleven years.

here's the dough.

Organic Rye
Amish org. rye flour
King Arthur First Clear Flour
King Arthur pumpernickel
King Arthur white rye
King Arthur rye blend
Org. corn meal
Org. whole wheat
Ground flax seed
Hemp seed
Caraway seed
Black sesame seed
Ground dill seed
New England starter
Kosher salt
Org. canola oil
Org. barley malt

the dough separated for four loaves

the baked loaves

Not bread, but ancient tofu

2008-08-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

No bread this week (still working on the whole wheat from last time), but came across a container of Cleveland Tofu hidden in the freezer. According to the container, it was on sale in 1987 -- for $.29! Here's the container, recovered after 21 years--

and the tofu itself, thawing. We'll try it tonight and see how it's survived all that time; the Cleveland Tofu Company no longer exists (its founder, Bob Carr, remains very active in the natural healing world and is now back in Cleveland, at the East-West Center), and it now costs a whole lot more than 29 cents for a pound!
UPDATE: Had chunks of the ancient tofu, pan fried and then added to stir fry. Still good, after all this time!

So how did the tofu remain hidden in the freezer for two decades? Tucked in a back corner. And since we get fresh tofu a couple of times a week, and it's now readily available not only at the Coop, but at Asian stores, and even at the commercial Giant Eagle and Kroger Supermarkets nearby. No longer a speciality item difficult to obtain; and it's a long, long time since we had to make our own (although we still have the pressing box).

More bread next week--and I have grain to grind for the flour this time--

Just Whole Wheat

2008-08-03T15:52:00.001-07:00

Another request from Ann: she wanted loaves of plain whole wheat, to take to a week-long workshop with Sheila Waters, a master calligrapher who lives in southern Pennsylvania. Wanted them plain since she wasn't real sure about how adventurous some of the other folks there might be. So here's the result: just plain whole wheat.

from above

and a closer view of the crumb, a bit blurry. Good taste, if a bit bland!

Whole Wheat

King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
Organic Amish Whole Wheat Flour
Organic unbleached white flour
Organic cornmeal
Ground steel-cut oats
Potato starch
Ground flax seeds
Ground hemp seeds
Organic barley malt
Organic canola oil
San Francisco Sourdough starter
Columbus Brewing Ohio Honey Wheat Pale Ale
Kosher salt

Barm mixed 7/6/08
Loaves shaped 7/8/08
Baked 7/10/08

Baked five loaves. Then Ann's plans for the workshop changed (in part due to my getting sick), so she'll be going in October. Loaves are in the freezer; we'll see if they last until October!

And an odd side note: the blogger folks notified me Friday that this blog had been identified as a potential spammer, and it was being suspended while they checked it out. The freeze of the blog ended today (perhaps obviously). No idea how that happened, or what about posting recipes for bread and photos of bread managing to trigger the 'whoops! Spammer!' response. One of the dangers, I guess, of automatic content programs.

Sprouted hard wheat loaves

2008-06-06T12:09:00.001-07:00

After Ann read about the process of a local bakery's sprouted wheat bread at our co-op, and brought home the flyer, I decided to give it a try. So here's what I came up with.

the finished loaves

the starter, bubbling away, several hours earlier

Sprouted Whole Wheat

1 cup org. hard wheat berries, sprouted
1 cup hard wheat berries
1 cup org. cornmeal
7 cups King Arthur trad. ww flour
1 cup hemp seeds
1 cup ground flax seeds
Blythe honey
Kosher salt
King Arthur “New England” starter
soy milk

Grind the wheat berries, both whole and sprouted, mix with remaining ingredients. After rising, bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees F, lowering to 375 degrees
after putting bread in over. After 20 minutes, rotate loaves. Continue baking until done, approximately 20-25 minutes more.

here are the berries, sprouted, before being ground in the VitaMix:

the stack of sprouting trays

and the sprouted wheat

The resulting dough was a bit slack; decided to leave it that way rather than add yet more flour to stiffen it. It rose in our cool kitchen for several hours before being baked. For some reason there's a vaguely lemony aftertaste to the bread. As usual, toasts well. Next time, will go for a slightly stiffer dough. Two of the loaves were backed in the Chicago Metallic loaf pans, one in a ceramic pan we picked up several years ago at Penland (it's the higher, domed loaf in the center in the photo above). Both give decent results.

Whole Wheat Rye

2008-05-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Baked another whole wheat/rye combination over the weekend, in preparation for the visit of our USNavy daughter, her USNavy (ret) husband, and their nine-month old daughter -- our granddaughter (aka the most adorable baby in the world; see www.summerprentice.blogspot.com for irrefutable proof of that unbiased statement). Here are the various steps:

6:30 p.m.,5/10/08: "New England" starter working and growing. I put New England into quote marks; I obtained the starter from King Arthur Flours in February, 1997, so I figure after it's been being used regularly in Central Ohio for eleven years, it's probably more a Central Ohio starter than a New England one.

7:23 p.m., 5/10/08: the barm formed; total of about five cups of flour in the barm

3:12 P.M., 5:11/08: the dough mixed--added a lot more whole wheat flour than I'd planned, in part because--without thinking--I added the entire bowl of starter, so there was a lot more liquid than there should have been.

7:56 a.m., 5/12/08: the dough, risen after overnight in the refrigerator. I'll insert the recipe here:

Whole Wheat Rye

Stutzman Farms Whole Wheat
King Arthur Whole Wheat
King Arthur First Clear Flour
King Arthur White Rye Flour
King Arthur Organic Pumpernickel
Stutzman Farms Corn Meal
Soy milk
Ground Flax Seed
Barley Malt
Kosher Salt
Organic Canola Oil
New England Starter

8:21 a/m/ 5/12: the loaves formed, ready for the second rise; I used the basic overnight rise method that Peter Reinhart used in his wonderful whole grains bread book; the ingredients minus starter mixed, then refrigerated overnight, while the starter is fed and expanded. Then on the next day (or the day after, for that matter), after the refrigerated barm is brought to room temperature (usually about three hours), the dough is mixed with the starter, then allowed to rise, loaves formed, risen, and then baked.

1:47 p.m., 5/12/08: risen and ready (if not over ready) for the oven). I had to run some errands and midday was the only time that could happen; when I got home, Ann was cleaning the oven. So the second rise was longer than it really should have been; indeed, you can see that the second loaf from the left (the one in the ceramic pan that we got at Penland several years ago) has begun to fall a bit. The two loaves on the right are rising in Chicago Metallic Pans, while the one on the right is in a long banneton, so it'll go on the ceramic baking sheet directly on a little corn meal base.

3;00 p.m., 5/12/08: the loaves baked--oven preheated to 450 degrees F, then lowered to 350 degrees F when loaves placed in oven. Baked for a total of 50 minutes, until internal temperature reached 200 degree F. Routinely use a ceramic baking pad.

Observations: the dough was slacker than I usually make, and the freestanding loaf flattened out a bit. Ann actually sees that as a plus; better for slicing at the table, she says. Not sure I agree, but there we are. Haven't tasted it yet, so will have to update once we've actually cut into one of the loaves! It'll be the freestanding one; the three baked in pans are already in the freezer.

Whole Wheat Olive Pesto

2008-05-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

no time to bake, what with some involvement at the Clintonville Community Market whose Board I've been elected to, and staffing a polling place for elections to the Clintonville Area Commission. So here's a recipe from the past:

Whole Wheat Olive Pesto

3 cups King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat flour
1 cup Barley Flour
1 cup Millet Flour
1 cup Teff Flour
1 cup Org. corn meal
1 cup Chopped burgundy olives
1 cup Grasmere pesto
1/2 cup Ground flax seed
1/2 cup Whole hemp seed
2 TBS Org. canola oil
1 TBS Succanat
3 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup "New England" sourdough starter
1-2 cups milk

mix dry ingredients. Add oil, starter, milk. Knead until smooth. Let rise until doubled in bulk, which will be several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Punch down, shape into loaves, let rise again. Preheat over to 450 degrees. When loaves are ready, place in oven, and reduce temperature to 350. Bake twenty minutes, then rotate loaves, and continue baking until done (about 20-30 minutes) and internal temperature is at 200 degrees. Remove from oven, cover with cloth towels, and let cool.

Whole Wheat -- and a terrific Indian restaurant, Banana Leaf

2008-04-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Baked some rather plain whole wheat loaves over the weekend; no photos, and they're meant as basic sandwich loaves:

Whole Wheat

King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat
Daily Grind Corn Meal
Soy Powder
Ground flax seed
Organic unbleached white flour
Blyth honey
Kosher salt
Giza sourdough

Mixed 4/3/08
Baked 4/4/08

Far more exciting was the discovery of a southern India vegetarian restaurant on Bethel Road, Banana Leaf. More about them at http://www.bananaleafofcolumbus.com/

Because of a Calligraphy workshop, we had visitors from out of town--Ann's first teacher and calligraphy mentor, Lisa Rogers, now of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, and Sandy Wagner of Indianapolis. So I searched for vegetarian restaurants on the web, and had a couple of options. They went for Indian, so we went to Banana Leaf. And thought we'd died and gone to culinary heaven. Buffet, with a fixed menu. And wonderful, wonderful food. Served dish by dish by the proprietor, who explained in detail what the food was, what the ingredients were, and how it was prepared. We've found a new standard place! So between the world-class Dragon Fly NeoV, the comfort food Whole World, and the downhome Benevolence, we can now add spicy and terrific southern Indian food at Banana Leaf. Yahoo!

Great food from Whole World

2008-02-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

Still eating rye bread, so no baking this week. And we're busy with the primary approaching in any event. So we ate out, at a favorate local place--

Whole World Restaurant and Bakery is one of the vegan glories of Clintonville, now celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. Happy to say we've been regular customers since Dan and Kim Otanicar opened the joint. Stopped by yesterday for soup (Ann had the minestrone, I had the tomato-peanut--both terrific, as usual). Brought home a couple of other dishes for later. Here's the nachos, on blue corn chips with black beans, avocado, tomatoes, onions, and a bit of soy cheese

and here's the Moroccan Stew--flavorfilled and terrific

The vegegarian meetup group is planning to eat there on March 22nd--unhappily, we'll be out of town, and so will have to miss. Too bad!

2008-02-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

Did a large batch of pumpernickel bread this past weekend; mixed the barm on Friday, mixed the dough on Saturday, combined the two on Sunday, then formed the loaves and baked on Monday. Rich taste; recipe follows the two photos of the loaves, already in plastic bags on their way to the freezer!

Pumpernickel Rye

King Arthur First Clear Flour
King Arthur Pumpernickel Flour
Daily Grind Corn Meal
King Arthur White Rye Flour
Oat Flour
Mashed Potatoes
Ground Flax Seed
Hemp Seed
Caraway Seed
Cumin Seed
Sesame Seed
Kosher Salt
Organic Barley Malt
Molasses
Soy Milk
Budweiser Beer

Rice mixture

2008-01-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

been experimenting with various kinds of rices lately, after years (literally) of only brown rice, organic brown rice, or basmati brown rice. So here's a photo of the newest batch, a mixture of black, red, and brown (darker than before) rice. We're grateful for Japanese groceries locally, a byproduct of the Honda plant in the northwest quadrant of the Greater Columbus area, and the demand for Japanese food products from the management and worker teams brought in from Japan.

there's a bit of a bitter aftertaste; we're trying to isolate what it might be from. Tried a small amount of black rice cooked separately, and that wasn't it. So will try the red rice next-----

Double Rye

2008-01-21T16:34:00.001-08:00

Having gotten a shipment from King Arthur, made up a variation of their version of Peasant Rye:

Double Rye Bread

King Arthur Organic Pumpernickel Flour
King Arthur First Clear Flour
Daily Grind Cornmeal
Oat flour
Organic gluten
Mashed potato
Caramel color
Ground flaxseed
Hemp seed
Caraway seed
Chopped dried onion
Chopped burgandy olives
Solar salt
Soy milk
Potato water
Barley malt
instant yeast
Organic canola oil

decided not to use any of the sourdoughs I have; will see how the loaves taste with regular yeast--it's been a long time since I baked any breads without a sourdough starter, so it feels a little odd--but today is the only day I had available, and the rest of the week will be packed, so there really won't be time to do the whole aging process. Expediency seems to be necessary this time around--

the dough after mixing

after the first rise

in the pans, ready for the second rise

and the loaves, after baking--

Butternut Squash!

2008-01-14T21:25:00.001-08:00

A six pound butternut squash demanded attention; here was the result: a casserole with tofu, green beans, onions, garlic and almonds, adapted from a recipe found on the web

and a soup, adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Soups cookbook, which is supposed to be garnished with seared radicchio and pumpkin seed oil--tried the soup a couple of months ago--the pumpkin seed oil was a nice finishing touch, the seared racicchio seemed a bit precious--

Mostly Whole Wheat

2008-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

The most recent loaf--last of 2007!

(Mostly) Whole Wheat Bread
Org. Whole Wheat Bread Flour
Stuzman Farms Org. Whole Wheat Flour
Daily Grind Cornmeal
Soy Milk
Columbus Pale Ale
Ground Flax Seeds
Hemp Seeds
Org. unbleached flour
Honey
Org. Canola Oil
Kosher Salt
Giza Starter
12/29/07 Baked 12/30/07

This batch really had oven spring, as you can tell from the Brobdingnagian growth on the loaf; wasn't rising much, so I put it in the oven and baked. This was the result! Used both soy milk and ale because I ran out of soy milk and didn't want to open a new quart--the Giza starter is from Sourdoughs International, while the honey is from Kentucky, the gift of a visiting Kentucky playwright (thanks, Nancy!)

More Rye-Whole Wheat

2007-12-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Made this up starting Friday, so aged the barm 48 hours before mixing the dough and baking--

Rye/Whole Wheat

Org. Rye flour
Org. whole wheat flour
Org. whole wheat bread flour
Daily Grind cornmeal
Oat flour
Soy powder
Ground flax seeds
Ground sunflower seeds
Hemp seeds
Org. gluten
Soy milk
Blyth Honey
kosher salt
San Francisco starter

12/1/07

and made another squash soup--this time from Eric Turner's Millenium cookbook--squash with star anise, topped with sesame seed/star anise cream. So wonderfully delicious that there was none to put away--

oh, and a first! Cleveland playwright Faye Sholitan tells me that she used details from this blog in the draft of a play that was given a staged reading just before Thanksgiving at the Cleveland Public Theatre--and that 'agave nectar' got a laugh! Should I ask for royalties?

On soup and other things

2007-11-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

haven't had to make bread for the last couple of weeks--still Struan in the freezer, as well as an informal whole wheat rye I put together shortly afterwards, when Ann said she really wanted a sandwich loaf. Fairly simple:

Whole Wheat/Rye

Org. Rye flour
Org. whole wheat flour
Daily Grind cornmeal
Soy milk
Honey
Org. sea salt
King Arthur “New England” starter

11/12/07

We spent the Thanksgiving weekend cooking--mainly soups, using our new crockpot, which we then canned.

Ann did potato/leek, a favorite adapted by Mollie Katzan, then her own Verde, inspired by a green soup from Whole World Restaurant here in Columbus, but made of whatever greens are in season. I did a couple of squash soups, since there was a great buy on squash locally last week, so I got a couple. Made a Butternut/pear/ginger soup, from a recipe in Deborah Madison's soup cookbook, a winter stew with Delicata and Kambocha squash with red lentils, from a recipe found on an animal rights' organization flyer, and Mollie Katzan's Firecracker Chili, slightly modified. Put up fifteen quarts of soup among us, and Ann got to try out the new 7 quart slow cooker that we charged out on Black Friday to get cheaply. Kitchen smelled fantastically by the time we were done!

Multi Grain Struan--again

2007-10-30T20:12:00.001-07:00

another multi-grain struan, from Peter Reinhart's whole wheat recipe. Had to hurry these a bit, as it was getting very late at night--so the rise not as complete as it might have been, and not quite as browned as the last batch. Ah, well. Taste still splendid--

the ingredients in this particular iteration:

Whole Wheat Struan

Whole grains:
Barley
Millet
Steel cut oats
Oat flakes
Wheat flakes
Hops
(soaked overnight, then added to the biga
King Arthur Whole Wheat
Ground flax seed
Soy Milk
Kosher Salt
Agave nectar
Organic canola oil
King Arthur “New England” Starter

Rye pumpernickel

2007-10-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

spent the morning at a rally for Barack Obama; he gave an inspiring speech.

photo by Ann Alaia Woods

Therefore, no new loaf this week--so here's a recipe from last year:

Rye-Pumpernickel

Org. whole wheat flour
First clear flour
Org. pumpernickel flour
Rye Blend flour
Corn meal
Millet flour
Barley flour
Teff flour
Ground flax seed
Hemp seed
Barley malt
New England starter
Canola oil
Kosher salt

--and here's Obama coming in for a handshake; photo by Ann Alaia Woods, who did also get to shake his hand--

Multi Grain Struan

2007-10-21T14:14:00.001-07:00

Finally got to try baking from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads;
tried the multi-grain struan, Reinhart's signature bread.

Whole Wheat Struan

Whole grains:
Barley
Millet
Quinoa
Oat flakes
Wheat flakes
Hemp seed
King Arthur Whole Wheat
Ground flax seed
Saranac Pale Ale
Soy Milk
Skim Milk
Kosher Salt
Sorghum
Organic canola oil
King Arthur “New England” Starter

the mixed dough

the dough formed, after first rising

a loaf formed and sliced, before second rising

second loaf formed

the 'turban loaf' baked and cooling

the crumb

loaves are terrific--and Peter's method simple to follow. Thanks!

Barley Honey Bread of Lesbos, sort of . . .

2007-10-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

wanted to recreate bread from ancient Greece for a graduate seminar I'm currently teaching in Greek, Roman, and Medieval theatre. A fourth century BCE Sicilian-Greek gourmet, Archestratos of Gela, praised the honey-sweetened barley bread of Lesbos in his book, Hedypatheia (Life of Luxury). According to legend, the bread of Lesbos was so famed that Hermes regularly got bread there for the other gods. There are, of course, no recipes. Herewith a reconstruction, entirely guesswork, in the absence of anything like firm records:

the loaf version

Desi Indian Barley flour, in a three to one ratio with
King Arthur Traditional whole wheat flour
Wildflower honey, from a beekeeper in NE Franklin county
Sea salt
Olive oil
Giza sourdough

and a flatbread of the same dough

There was no dry yeast in antiquity, of course; the sourdough used here was collected in the ancient Egyptian site of Giza and obtained from Sourdoughs International. Barley flour was used by the Greeks for everyday bread; Solon at one point says that leavened bread was only used on feast days; in Peace, Aristophanes has a character refer to eating only barley bread, with the sense being that of a diet of bread and water. Also obviously, no refined or enriched bleached (or unbleached, for that matter) white flour would have been available. I also added a bit of wheat gluten to help there be a rise, even for a flat bread—which, again, would have been pretty much the norm for everyday use. The Egyptians of the period (and much earlier) used conical earthenware pots to bake loaves of bread in; I’m not aware of any similar ware in classical Athens.

Basil Olive Whole Wheat

2007-09-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Basil Olive Whole Wheat loaf, with San Francisco Sourdough starter

the crumb of a smaller loaf

the dough, after overnight rise in the refrigerator

and formed into the loaf

the loaf, risen

and the ingredients:

Whole Wheat Basil Olive

King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
Amish Cornmeal
Quinoa Flour
Oat Flour
Ground Flax seed
Hemp seed
Org. Barley Malt
Org. Canola Oil
Kosher salt
Chopped fresh basil
Chopped green olives w/garlic

Mixed 9/21/07
Baked 9/23/07

not bread, but other good stuff--

2007-09-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Starting bread, which will get baked in the next day or so; in the meantime:

A bread recipe from last year:

Multi Grain

King Arthur Rye Blend
KA Whole Wheat
Org. Rye
Millet flour
Org. unbleached white
Org. corn meal
Ground flax seed
Mashed sweet potato
Org. Milk
Potato water
Sea salt
Org. barley malt
Org. canola oil
Org. gluten

while the poolish is slowly rising in the refrigerator, some images from recent meals. First, black rice cakes topped with oyster mushrooms, inspired by a dish we had a couple of weeks ago at Eric Tucker's Millenium restaurant in San Francisco--couldn't begin to match his tamarind sauce

and here's the pizza we had tonight; a pesto laced crust, topped with Japanese eggplant rounds, onions, garlic and garlic stuffed olives, Ann's own tomato sauce, and other goodies---

and some spicy tofu dishes from Chi Thai, a restaurant from the east side of Columbus; great and fiery spices--

San Francisco Sourdough

2007-09-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

A year or so after buying the San Francisco starter from Ed Wood at Sourdough International (www.sourdo.com), finally got around to activating it and making bread! Took three days to activate, following Wood's directions; made two sets: baguettes, and a no-knead loaf (again following his directions). Photos of the results below. Terrific San Francisco taste--and having just been in San Francisco last week, and had the real thing, this is either identical or so close that our jaded tastebuds can't tell the difference!

dough formed

no-knead loaf shaped and in the cast iron pot

the loaves baked; should have let them brown a few more minutes, although the look is purely cosmetic--taste still good!

no-knead baked; should have let it rise more, but it was 1:00 a.m., and I wanted to get some sleep--

no-knead crumb

and the crumb of the baguettes, resting on the other loaf

Whole Spelt Bread

2007-09-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Mixed and baked today.

Whole Spelt Loaf

4 cups organic whole spelt flour
1 cup Amish cornmeal
1 cup organic teff flour
1 cup quinoa flour
½ cup oat flour
½ cup ground flax seed
1 Tablespoon organic barley malt
2 teaspoons kosher salt
12 oz Saranac Pilsner Ale
KA “New England” sourdough starter

Kneaded, shaped into two loaves after first rise; topped with seeds; baked in 425F oven 14 minutes, then lowered to 375F until done, additional 35-40 minutes. Not much of a rise once shaped, but good crumb and taste.

and as a bonus: a salad Ann put together for supper; red peppers, yellow peppers, carrots, beets, and kolrabi disks.

With a vinegrette and herbs, a welcome addition to a modest supper after a long day of baking/gardening/yard care/recuperating from much air travel.

No Knead Bread I

2007-09-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

Finally had the opportunity (and time) to try to much-discussed no-knead bread, published in November, 2006, in the New York Times by Mark Bittman, adapted from Jim Lahey's method at the Sullivan Street Bakery. Followed the recipe from the Times closely in terms of technique and timing (full 18 hours slow first rise), although I did substitute a half cup of whole wheat flour for part of the white flour. And had to use Gold Medal all purpose flour, since that's what's available here in Japan--no high gluten or boosts of any sort.

Dough performed as predicted. Rose slowly, bubbles formed on surface on schedule. Preheated oven, with a soaked Roemertopf clay baker, into which I plopped the loose dough.

Finished loaf was indeed crusty, and delicious. Once we get home, I plan to try the King Arthur variation. But Lahey's loaf fulfilled all expectations.

I still expect to knead loaves in future, however, except for the occasional no-knead loaf. Too many therapeutic benefits!

good texture!

Misawa Stir Fry

2007-09-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

Cooked stir-fry for daughter and son-in-law in their kitchen on the Misawa Air Force Base in northern Japan. Had to improvise a lot, although with the base commissary, American products are available. No wok, no peanut oil, etc. But this is what we wound up with:

1 large white onion, chopped
4 gloves of garlic, chopped
2 10 oz. packages baked tofu, cubed
1/2 large carrot, chopped
1 small summer squash, chopped
1/2 small eggplant, chopped
1/2 can water chestnuts, chopped
1/2 can bamboo shoots
3 handfuls spinach, chopped
6 button mushrooms, chopped
3 oyster mushrooms
2 tablespoons capers
small dried red pepper, to taste

stir fry in canola/olive oil mixture, adding each ingredient in order

add sauce made of 1 tablespoon corn starch dissolved in 2 cups of water; cook over low heat about five minutes. Add additional water as needed, and dissolve half of one packet S&H Golden Curry (hot). Simmer an additional five minutes. Serve over rice/grain mixture

Rice/Grain mixture

2 cups brown rice
1 cup couscous
1 cup pearl barley

cook couscous according to package directions. Mix rice and barley. Sautee a handful of chopped onion and garlic in oil, add rice/barley mixture, stir to coat. Add water to barely cover. Bring pot to slow boil, cover, reduce heat, cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand without removing cover for 15 more minutes. Combine with cooked couscous.

As is visible in the photos, this was served with a mixed salad.

And was devoured by the four adults at the table.

While doing all the chopping and preparation, kept hearing more news about Senator Craig's resignation; another conservative closet case. Seems to be a pattern: the most rabid anti-gay, 'family values' politicians turn out to be self-hating repressed gays. And in a public toilet, to boot! Couldn't have been more archetypal.

Potato Leek Pie

2007-08-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

I'd promised to make potato-leek soup here in Japan for our daughter & son-in-law; brand new grandaughter not up to anything other than mother's milk right now. And on a trip we discovered beautiful leeks at a roadside market. But it's been very warm in Misawa, so hot soup didn't seem the greatest idea in the world. I decided tp put together a pie instead, using the same ingredients and drawing on a bunch of sources (listed below) for inspiration. This was the result:

Leek/Potato/Carrot Pie

6 fist sized white potatoes, scrubbed, roughly cut up, boiled
1 large carrot, diced
3 large leeks, scrubbed and chopped, both white and green
4 large cloves of garlic, diced
2 blocks tofu, cut up
1/2 cup olives, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
soy milk
oregano
salt
pepper
thyme
rosemary
pine nuts, toasted

sautee leeks and garlic in olive oil.
preheat oven to 425 degrees F
mash together potatoes and tofu, adding a little soy milk as needed (I leave potato skins in the mash, but that's optional)

Combine potato/tofu mash with leeks and garlic
add carrots, olives and seasonings (to taste)
spoon mixture into polenta crust. Top with toasted pine nuts.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F.
Bake until browned, another 35-40 minutes or so.

I used commercially prepared polenta, softed with a bit of water and spread over a large pie pan. It was ok. A good Polenta Pie recipe is at Mollie Katzen's website, from the Moosewood Cookbook; http://www.molliekatzen.com. Her Leek and Potato soup from the same book is our standard. Next time I'll use her recipe for the pie crust as well.

on the table

The recipe was adapted from various sources, including:

"Tofu, Leek and Potato Pie" by Derek & Rhian Jones, Wales,
and
"Carrot, Leek and Olive Stew" from the Vegetarian REsource Center of Boston, Mass., both from from the International Vegetarian Union, http://www.ivu.org/recipes/

tomatoes!

2007-08-29T03:34:00.001-07:00

The tomatoes of summer, all canned. Both red and yellow--the green jars are a verde soup, adapted from the wonderful soup at Whole World all natural restaurant in Columbus, Ohio

Baked Potato Bread from The Fresh Loaf

2007-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Currently in Japan, visiting the Most Adorable Grandchild in the Universe (for details, see http://summerprentice.blogspot.com), and so having to improvise ingredients and processes.

Baked this earlier this week; the basic concept is from The Fresh Loaf (thefreshloaf.com), by Floyd Mann, the guru there; my adjustments were because I'm in Japan at the moment, and don't have access to some ingredients (no chives, for example); and no bacon because we're vegan. My variation first, followed by Floyd's original

1/2 cup mashed potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped green onions (green stems only)

mix ingredients and knead, adding all-purpose or whole wheat flour alternatively to get to a soft loaf. I used a Kitchen Aid mixer for the kneading, doing a bit of hand kneading at the end. Let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes here in an un-airconditioned kitchen in Japan with temperatures in the upper 90sF outside); shape into loaves (I placed the shaped loaves into loaf pans greased generously with olive oil, since I knew we'd need sandwich bread for picnics, etc. Otherwise would have shaped into round loaves or -- if at home -- would have used a basket), let rise until doubled (another 45 minutes); while rising, preheat over to 425 degrees F. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, lower temperature to 375 degrees F, bake until done (in this US military issue oven, which is not entirely accurate, about 45 minutes). Cool.

I add cornmeal to most recipes; adds a nice crunch to the finished bread, and doesn't change the taste that I can tell, although a less jaded palate than mine might well notice.

and the original recipe (and see http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bakedpotatobread for the method, directions, and some mouthwatering photographs):

1/2 cup mashed potatoes
3 to 4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (ambiguity in original)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cooked bacon
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

Darfur, Paris, and Bread

2007-08-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

originally posted 7/07 elsewhere--but a recipe this time!

An interesting day. A friend sent a link to the new Amnesty International website devoted to the tragedy in Darfur, with satellite photos, eyewitness reports, and enormous amounts of information detailing the tragedy. The evidence remains overwhelming of systematic destruction, murder, rapes, all apparently with the support of the Sudanese government. Yet the United States stands by, distracted by our military follies in the Middle East and by the celebrity culture that blindsides most of us (Paris Hilton released from jail today! Will she go be sent back by an intolerant judge?--or so screams the headlines online, as we lurch from triviality to triviality, breathlessly seduced by the antics of incredibly trivial people). But we need to pay attention to Darfur, before we're pulled into yet another military debacle--or, worse, ignore what's happening as we did in Ruwanda. People need to look at http://eyesondarfur.org/index.html -- if they do, one hopes they'll be moved to action.

Meanwhile, in Germany, the G8 issues a call to slow down global warming, but with no real recommendations, due to the United States blocking German chancellor Angela Merkel's original proposal to cut global emissions by 50% by 2050--too harsh on American business, apparently.
Merkel looks unhappy--Bush grins

Although Merkel and other leaders are calling the watered down statement a good beginning, at least one environmentalist says it's not, according to Claudia Kemmer of the Associated Pres, who writes today

“I know Chancellor Merkel is declaring victory, but in fact President Bush has shut the door in the faces of the other seven leaders at the table," said Philip Clapp, president of the U.S.-based National Environmental Trust, pointing to the "seriously consider" phrase.

"That is a far cry from the United States having signed up to any such reductions," he said.

Clapp said the agreement showed progress among the other countries in reaching a consensus that could be taken up by the next U.S. president after Bush leaves office in January 2009.

So again we're stymied by Bush and his crew. How long will it take us to undo the damage this bunch has done, both to the United States's reputation, as well as to the disasters, both natural and military, that they've either created or allowed to become disasters? It'll be years--

So what do I, as an involved citizen, politically and socially active, do in the face of these continuing disasters? It should be obvious: I bake bread. Herewith today's mostly whole wheat; mixed up the starter and basic dough on Sunday, aged for four days in the refrigerator, and baked early this morning.

Here's the recipe; made five loaves, so was able to use a lot of different flours (four loaves now in the freezer); great crumb, and terrific taste. And, as always, kneading the dough works out a lot of frustrations and anger at world events. Very therapeutic, a lot cheaper than psychoanalysis, much more rewarding that firing off yet another letter of protest, and you get something good to eat at the end!

Mostly Whole Wheat

Org whole wheat flour
King Arthur traditional whole wheat flour
Org rye flour
Org teff flour
Org quinoa flour
Org cornmeal
Org spelt bran
Org wheat germ
Oat flour
Chickpea flour
Millet flour
Ground sunflower seeds
Ground flax seed
Hemp seeds
Ground golden lentils
Kosher salt
Agave nectar
Org canola oil

Com Fest, politics, and still more bread

2007-08-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

originally posted on another blog, June, 2006. and a note: I was testing recipes for Peter Reinhart at this point, so can't post his recipes. Will add some of my own later on, when I'm not in Japan, and have access to my files in Ohio!

A busy week. This was the 34th annual Community Festival in Columbus, an event begun in 1972 as a university area, radical student event. It's grown and moved to Goodale Park just north of downtown Columbus a number of years ago. Although it retains its radical, post-hippie sensibilities. Lots of craft artists, leftist and progressive political groups, environmentalists, animal rights folks, and so forth. And several hundred thousand others. We usually wind up volunteering at community or political booths. This year, we were to be at the booth sponsored by the Coalition of Democratic and Progressive Organizations of Central Ohio (grand name, no?), groups that grew out of the 2004 election campaign efforts and decided to continue on after the disappointing results of that election (about which more later). (The Coalition's activities are at www.coalitioncentralohio.org ) That was for Sunday afternoon. But since Ann thought she might put some of her 'Some Women Are Born Leaders' tee-shirts at the booth for sale, we went down late Saturday morning.

The booth was too busy with various groups (including our own Uptown Progressives) and representatives for candidates to put out the shirts. But we ran into the formation of the Pride Parade, about to start at Goodale Park, the ComFest site.

A church group heads down State Street

The Marching Flaggots of Central Ohio

We wound up marching with the Kilroy for Congress group.

Which meant a long walk as part of the march, and an even longer walk back to the car. But there's nothing quite so exhilarating as rounding a corner from a side street onto the main north/south artery and finding some 80,000 cheering people lining the sidewalks.

the kelly green shirts are for Kilroy

The march was logical, since we'd hosted a fundraiser for Mary Jo the night before, sort of! We'd worked with the campaign to set up a house party, invited a bunch of folks over, cleaned the house, bought food and wine, and then had the event cancelled--Mary Jo couldn't make it. We had the party anyway, although it was no longer a fundraiser. But we had a great time, and had a lot of terrific conversations about politics, both secular and religious (the Episcopal Church had just finished their convention in Columbus, and a couple of gay Episcopalian activists were with us).

Here's the group on the deck

Sunday we were back at ComFest, at the Coalition booth. Good conversations again, and very reinforcing to be with like-minded folks.

And more bread on the testing circuit; this time all rye. With decent results. The bread testing is fun, although the freezer is filling up with loaves; will have to start giving some away soon!

More hypocrisy--and more bread

2007-08-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

originally posted 4/30/06 on another blog

With gas prices at the pump going higher and higher, and the primary elections on Tuesday, the political rhetoric is flying fast and furious--and watching politicians suddenly posturing about alternatives and talking about needing to investigate the oil companies to see if they might be profiteering (!!!! I guess that 49% rise in profits announced last week for Chevron, and the record 8.4 billion dollars in profit for Exxon Mobile, were both purely accidental)--and this from people like Senator Frist who saw no need to explore how energy companies coordinated prices or even to question the administration's energy policies only a few months ago, and who've taken record contributions from energy companies and their lobbyists. And, of course, much of this is to distract us all from the spectacle of an Administration adrift on all fronts, led by a man who can barely keep his eyes open at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last night--
probably not hearing Stephen Colbert
But the best political hypocrisy of the week (at least on a national level--the battle for the Republican nomination for the Ohio governor's race has had both major candidates, J. Kenneth Blackwell and Jim Petro, labelling each other hypocrites in a barrage of television commercials all week. And, of course, they're both right) goes to House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Who this week made a pitch for hydrogen powered vehicles in Washington. Here he is riding in one:

And here he is, thinking he's out of camera range, leaving the hydrogen-powered car and getting into his SUV--his gas-guzzling SUV, provided by the government--to be taken the several blocks back to the Capitol.

It's so patently more of the same practice perfected by President Bush and his Rovian band of merry men: do the photo op suggesting one thing, then once the cameras are gone, revert to your old practice--assuming the image is more important than the actuality.

So it was a relief to get back to the actuality of bread--and at least the bread worked this time--a mixed grain whole wheat for the baker for whom I am one of a couple of hundred volunteer recipe testers. This is a multi-grain; last time I tried it, it was far too soft. Still a softer bread than we normally like, but good flavor, and pretty good development. Almost entirely whole wheat flour, with a little bit of cornmeal, oats, and (in this try) some barley flour.
a low loaf, but with a slight dome
it makes good sandwiches and toast

and has a decent crumb

Divas, local politics, and bread again

2007-08-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

originally posted elsewhere in March, 2006

Three events over the weekend: divas, politics, and bread. First: the divas. Old friend Luke Yankee came in to do his one-person show, Diva Dish, as a benefit for the Eileen Heckart Scholarship Fund at Ohio State. Luke's mother was Eileen Heckart,

Eileen Heckart

the celebrated Broadway actress, winner of Oscar, Tony, Emmies, more awards than can listed, and a central Ohio native and Ohio State alumna. Luke's put together a warm tribute show, telling the many (and wonderful) stories he heard and witnessed growing up as her son.

Eileen and Luke

He performed three times, to enthusiastic crowds, and Ann and I were able to spend some time with him at lunch, and at a reception following the Saturday night show. Luke's also published a book that puts the stories into literary form, Just Outside the Spotlight; it's terrific reading.

More about the show, the book, and Luke himself at http://www.divadish.net/ and at www.lukeyankee.com Eileen was a wonderful actress and great to know, and Luke's terrific in his own right.

Also got to spend a little time with our neighbor, Jan Fleming, now a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives; see http://www.janfleming.com/ We knew Jan by sight from seeing her running down the street, but really met her through the Kerry campaign and the organization of Uptown Progressives in the past year. She'll make a wonderful state rep, with her background in both higher education and in banking--what a combination! Here's me and Jan at her campaign kickoff party earlier this year:

Alan and Jan schmooze

Then I also continued on my bread recipe testing experiments, following Peter Reinhart's recipes as he develops a new book on whole wheat braed (and there's a great deal more about that whole process at his blog, http://peterreinhart.typepad.com/ Here are some photos of yesterday's bread, a multi-grain loaf. Far too soft, as you can see from the 'shaped' loaf. But a great tasting bread, even if it remained moist (all right, wet) in the middle. Will try again, with more flour and less than the original recipe calls for.

the shaped loaf in the pan: very soft!

it was so soft it stuck to the pan

too moist!

Ah well. All good events, good people, and good (tasting) bread that's now terrific bruschetta. A welcome distraction from the leak follies happening in Washington!!

Easter--and bread

2007-08-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

originally posted elsewhere 2006
Now it's Easter Monday. The Christian holiday always makes me think of the sharp distinction between the message in the Christian New Testament, and what contemporary American 'Christians' say and do. Perhaps very well expressed in a post on Daily Kos on Saturday, http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/15/6556/58209
that I recommend. And the news of the translation and publication of the 'Gospel of Judas' -- along with the earlier 'gospels' of Thomas and Mary Magdalene -- is a reminder of just have politically and historically determined are both the content and structure of the Christian Scriptures. Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne has an interesting column on the Judas 'Gospel'--see it at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3795204.html
And how those same Scriptures are used to justify intolerance, injustice, wars, torture, and so forth--all the things that the Jesus portrayed in the Scriptures spoke against. Mark Twain's savage satire of a war prayer still, sadly, remains all too apt. For the full text of Twain's satire, go to http://www.libertystory.net/LSDOCTWAINWARPRAYER.htm

Easter also brings thoughts of bread. And since I'm baking these days to test recipes for a forthcoming book of whole wheat bread (I'm one of some 250 testers, so it's hardly very special!), here are some photos of the most recent experiment: entirely whole wheat flour. Great taste!
cooling on the rack

in profile; didn't dome as well as it could have

and great crumb!

The First Bread

2007-08-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

A contest on the Year in Bread blog (http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/) asks for our favorite bread stories; here's mine:

I first started baking bread when we were poor graduate students; it made sense financially, and also psychologically--kneading (make that pounding) the dough took out a lot of frustrations built up from classes with conservative professors (this was the late 1960s). After doing ok with white bread, I decided to move on to whole wheat. Without Peter Reinhard to guide me, or Bernard Clayton, or King Arthur, I plowed ahead, making a dough of whole wheat flour rather than white. Only whole wheat. It never occured to me that some mixture of white and whole wheat would be a good idea. And, of course, I was using Gold Medal off the shelf. Really a rank, rank beginner.

I baked the bread. I had two loaves of small, grey, bricks. Heavy, solid. And essentially unedible. My loving bride took one taste and said, diplomatically, "I'm sure you'll do better next time." I took one taste and contemplated throwing out my loaf pans and breaking my rolling pin across my knees.

Luckily, at that point, two neighbors arrived, along with another graduate student. They'd all been drinking, and perhaps something else as well, it being the late 1960s, and were giddy. And hungry. I offered the bread. They devoured it, both loaves, among three people, in less than an hour.

And I learned a basic lesson, both for baking and for life: no matter how much you screw something up, there will always be people who think it's terrific. You just need to find them.