banana cakes

Dan Lepard's banana bread recipes are pretty great (Dan Lepard is the Guardian's dreamy baker-writer); this is the first one, which is akin to a pound cake. It's very moist and has great texture. Beating melted butter, sugar and flour sounds like an odd process (and does not resemble the traditional method for pound cakes) but the result is truly wonderful.

The second recipe, a ginger banana bread, is really great. It uses whole wheat flour, muscovado (I used brown sugar instead) and candied ginger. Below is the first try; the second time I beat it a bit more which I think more fully hydrated the whole wheat flour — I also let it sit for about five minutes before going in the oven — these two things gave it a really great texture. It's a perfect afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

 

a(n anti-) celebration

Once there was a time. And I posted this. I had made the decision to become a baker. And I took it very seriously, reading Calvel, Hamelman, Kaplan; I made more bread at home, I came to have intuitive understanding of bread.

And then, this winter, I've had more respiratory illnesses and flus than I can remember in a winter. Allergies? But I can eat wheat. Allergy to yeast? Then I'd never be able to eat anything fermented. Yesterday I was preliminary diagnosed with "Baker's Asthma," wherein I have asthma somehow triggered by all the fine particulate that I inahale on a daily basis (even with a mask for the last few months). And all that comes with an inhaler that "may increase the risk of asthma-related death."

Whoa.

So I needed something (and have been craving red meat, maybe I don't eat enough kale?), and I needed to recognize the comfort of knowing — after months — what is wrong, and I need comfort in knowing that I need a major change in my life.

And there she is — Julia Child — waiting to comfort me.

Biftek sauté au beurre — Pommes Anna — Champignons sauté à la Bordelaise — Chou frisé à la vapeur

First, these beech mushrooms need to be noted. Them come white, as picture, or this beautiful mottled brown. And are just wonderful.

So, pan-broiled steak : a sirloin seared in butter (with some of the rendered fat I cut off), mushrooms sautéed and tossed with scallions, garlic, breadcrumbs and wine (so 1960, but really f—ing good), Pommes Anna, and kale, steamed and tossed with some raw red wine vinegar. Even better, I had everything except the steak (a mere 8oz) and wine (a great Syrah-Grenache for seven bucks).


And next? (anyone want to foot the capital for pickle bar?)

turnips, heat.

Fresh young white turnips are wonderful. I ate a whole bunch (5-6) upon my return from work today. They're crisp and sweet and, on a day like today, as refreshing as (if not more than) a popsicle. A little salt was all they needed.

The bakery varied from 95º - 115ºF, and even at its most extreme felt comfortable, whereas the still, humid heat of home is just oppressive. Sleeping won't be easy.

baking

I mentioned at the end of last year that I'm baking full time, as in, I'm a baker. One of three (bread bakers) at relatively small bakery, meaning that I usually only get one bread shift per week, as we do everything by hand from start to finish: no mixers, shapers, etc. (Otherwise I do muffins/cookies or laminated doughs and cakes).

With the head baker in Argentina for ten days I picked up a whole handful of shifts (in fact, I got two weeks without making muffins, which is wonderful). Doing bread once a weeks means a blunted learning curve and long days (often thirteen-and-a-half hours) with a week to forget some subtle motion of the last shift. Even working two consecutive days -- and then three consecutive days -- has led to what seems a vast improvement. My baguettes will always need improvement, and shifts in protein and moisture in the flour this week didn't help, but I'm feeling more and more comfortable in each movement. And I'm shaving off hours from my days.

...Which means, being probably a bit obsessive, more time for baking at home. I made a three-and-a-half pound miche last week that far surpasses any of the other's I've made. I used a high-extraction flour -- something between white and whole wheat, only part of the bran being taken off -- which led to a light bread for having the richness and keeping quality of whole wheat. I also used a higher amount of pre-fermented flour (more of the sourdough build) which helps in all of those regards.

And now I have two days off (otherwise I'd be in bed by 8 pm).

(N.B.: We do have a Hobart mixer, if I made it sound like we had no electric mixers. We just aren't a bread factory with people who are mixers, shapers, etc. We do shape, load, etc by hand.)

a tea cake, a miche

I adapted this from Jamie Oliver's Torta Della Giovane Sara -- adding a little water to help the yeast give it more rise and substituting blood oranges for the lemon. It makes for a wonderful tea cake sort of thing.

½ oz. yeast in 3 T water / ½c. butter, melted / 1³⁄₄c. flour. / 2 eggs. / 1c. sugar. / 2 small blood oranges (zest & juice). / pine nuts.

Add butter to water/yeast mixture. Mix it all until smooth and pour into a buttered-and-floured 7 or 8-inch springform. Let rest ten minutes. (This -- as well at the water -- help it rise just a bit more. It's still firm like a poundcake.) Bake at 325ºF for 40-45 minutes.




And I made a whole wheat miche -- it's got a stiff levain starter and some rye and white flour. It's very good, and at four pounds it keeps for a week or so. (With the long, slow fermentation it had organic acids to help it keep and the size means moisture has farther to go to leave). It's from Hamelman's Bread.

happy new year!

Happy new year to all.

I quit my old job. And I'm baking full time. I'm excited about 2008.

"...until the spatula becomes your third hand"

I've started baking two shifts at a local bakery -- first shift pastry, so baking muffins, cookies, scones and danish and preparing all but the latter for the next day. (2nd shift has the skills - and degree - for danish).

It can be a little grueling, but it feels really good. (My first two shifts took eleven hours, starting at 4 a.m.; they'll be more reasonable with time).

And they make some damn fine bread. So maybe I'll get some pointers on mine.