MEETING PETER REINHART

Posted in BBA Challenge, General by


When I learned that Peter Reinhart was teaching some classes on Artisan Bread Baking in Texas, I had to enroll. I chose the Jan 31st event at the Central Market in Plano, TX, which is normally just a couple of hours from our home. Unfortunately, fate delivered an ice storm across my path just three days beforehand, making the driving pretty scary and quite a bit longer.

Still, I left early and managed to arrive an hour early at the Central Market, where I immediately saw Mr. Reinhart talking to his associates outside the beautiful classroom. I’d brought the book with me, hoping for his signature, but at first I couldn’t muster the courage to talk to him. It often happens when I’m confronted by people whom I admire: 90% of my composure disappears, leaving me to stumble on embarrassingly short sentences that may or may not make sense.

A past event comes to mind: the day that I met Francois Jacob, the 1965 Nobel Prize winner for his incredible work on the regulation of bacterial genes. In 1994 I was in Paris working at Institut Pasteur in the lab of Dr. Maurice Hofnung, one of Jacob’s students. Maurice had himself received an award from Legion d’Honneur, and Jacob was in attendance to celebrate the occasion. I was lucky enough to be a witness!

The large dining room was filled with small, elegantly set tables, at one of which I sat and waited. Suddenly, Dr. Jacob entered the room. We all felt expectation and tension in the air, until in slow, surreal motion he approached my table and sat down right across from me! We shook hands, exchanged the mandatory “Enchante / Enchantee,” and I spent the rest of the meal as a nervous wreck. But, it was worth it!

Those memories flashed through my mind in the Plano classroom, debating if I should talk to Mr. Reinhart. I finally convinced myself: “if you survived a meal with Francois Jacob, you can make it through a conversation with Peter Reinhart…” 😉 So, I got up and tracked down my bread guru. After accidentally breaking a glass full of water and ice with my handbag, and pulling a huge handle off the glass door as I left the room (I’m a walking disaster, in finest form), I met Peter in the hallway outside.

Mr. Reinhart is a wonderful, personable man, who immediately put me at ease. He’s impressed by the BBA Challenge, and was eager to discover any breads that were particularly tricky, or failed to meet expectations. I mentioned my trauma with the infamous 100% rye, and he wasn’t much surprised by my troubles. He then talked about the method of folding the dough a few times instead of extensive kneading. In fact, that point was the focus of his lecture.

The venue was perfect: TV cameras positioned over the workspace, two flat screen TVs projecting the event on both sides of the room. Organizing and teaching the class wasn’t trivial. Mr. Reinhart worked non-stop shaping several breads, as well as baking breads that were shaped beforehand in three large ovens, each with idiosyncrasies: too hot, not hot enough, uneven heat. It was the kind of stuff that really happens, and nice to see how a professional deals with it: zero hyperventilation.

We tasted samples of each bread – starting with thumbprint jams, then French bread, crumb cake, sticky buns, challah and chocolate babka (everyone’s favorite!).

If you’re a novice bread baker, I recommend that you attend one of Peter’s classes. But, if that’s not feasible, then his new book (Artisan Breads Every Day) is a great alternative. It’s quite instructive: – clear, detailed descriptions of how to make a starter, to maintain it, and the most important thing: to get the most of your bread dough by folding it.

I was thrilled to see Mr. Reinhart explaining the method in his new book, because I’m also a huge fan of this approach, having used it in many of the BBA recipes.

The icing on the cake was meeting a bunch of wonderful people attending the event, friends I’ve met through cooking forums online (Sharon, Cindy, Amy, and Dona), and two bloggers who are also fellow BBA Challengers: TxFarmer, the outstanding baker who keeps a blog in Chinese, and Stacey, with her beautiful blog Magnifico, who traveled all the way from Arizona to be in Peter Reinhart’s class!

A fun day, worth the dreadful drive…. and yes, I got my book signed, with Peter’s legendary motto:

May your bread always rise!

BBA#39: VIENNA BREAD

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by

Thirty-nine breads down, FOUR to go!   Seems like a dream, but we are getting to the end of the BBA Challenge…

After last week’s bread, which fail to please the baker, I was eager to make this one, and the ice storm that hit us was the perfect excuse to indulge in bread baking.   Peter Reinhart’s  recipe requires a pate fermentee, made the day before.  The dough is reasonably rich with butter, egg, and sugar.   Wonderful to work with!   I mixed everything together, allowed it to sit undisturbed for 20 minutes, then folded the dough a few times.  One more cycle of folds after 60 minutes, another hour of rise, and the final shaping.  Nice and easy.   The shaped loaf was sprinkled with flour and slashed right before baking (click on the image to enlarge it).

The bread had amazing oven spring, as you can see by the
enlargement of the slashed region…

It feels very light for its size, the crumb is delicate, and so is the crust…

This was one of our favorites, and quite simple to make, no need for sourdough starters to enjoy a nice loaf of Vienna bread.

Only one small problem –  bread should be allowed to sit for at least one hour before cutting.  I could not obey this rule.  After cooling for 15 minutes, my husband asked how long until he could have a slice.  “About two hours” was my answer.   His?

“You’ve got to be kidding me.  Pass me the knife, will you”?      😉

SLOW-ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS: an ICE BREAKER

Posted in Poultry, Weekend Dinners by

Ice storm. Two little words that I’ve come to respect (and fear) since the big one that hit us in December 2007. When the weather gurus forecast another this past week, we braced ourselves in preparation. Groceries, candles, firewood, cash… and indeed, it arrived. We’re now locked inside, with two happy dogs who don’t quite understand why they can stay in the house all day, snoozing in the comfort of their beds. At least, the 2010 version didn’t disrupt our power, so the fire in our fireplace is for pleasure, not necessity.

This weather calls for comfort food! For the first icy evening, I prepared a recipe from the latest Fine Cooking, described therein as “elegant enough for entertaining, but simple enough to make anytime.” It calls for a cut-up chicken, but I used packaged chicken thighs instead, which are so under-appreciated and inexpensive, but so full of flavor!

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH OLIVES AND LEMON
(adapted from Fine Cooking #103; recipe by Melissa Pellegrino)

6 chicken thighs, bone-in
2 medium lemons
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, peeled and quartered lengthwise
3/4 cup jarred brined olives, rinsed, pitted, and halved
6 fresh sage leaves
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp thyme (I used dry, could not find fresh)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350F.

Blot the chicken absolutely dry with a paper towel before you begin, then season it on all sides with salt and pepper.

Cut the ends off the lemon, stand it on one end, carefully peel it, and release the lemon segments from the membranes, dropping them in a small bowl. Cut the segments in two or three pieces.

Heat the butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, cook the chicken skin side down until golden-brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish with the browned side up. Pour off all but 2 Tbs. of the fat. Add the shallots, olives, sage, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and lemon segments, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the lemony sauce to the roasting pan; cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and increase the heat to 400F for 10 minutes to ensure the skin is crisp (alternatively, run the roasting pan under the broiler for a few minutes).

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The original recipe “pan-roasts” the chicken. That is, after browning the skin and sauteing the flavor ingredients, the chicken is returned to the pan and placed in a high temperature oven (450F) for 18-20 minutes, or until the meat reached 165F. I’ve cooked chicken this way before and was always disappointed by the results. The high heat toughens the meat, blocking the juicy texture that I enjoy, especially in the thighs. I adapted the recipe for slow-roasting, almost a braise, as covering the pan with foil created the perfect environment.


Pasta dressed with the lemony sauce from the slow-roasting was an excellent side for this dish, that made us forget the icy evening outside. This is a “Perfect Sunday Dinner“,  even if the only ice you want to melt is that of a first dinner at home with a special date.

Variations to try: we felt that mushrooms will nicely complement the dish, so next time I’m definitely adding some.  Reducing the amount of olives and substituting some capers could work too.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by

For someone who doesn’t much care for desserts, I’ve posted quite a few lately. Probably part of it was the holidays that just kept on coming: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, with Valentine’s Day around the corner.    All of these special occasions call for a sweet closure, often with chocolate written all over it. 😉

To get in this proper dessert spirit, I’ll share my favorite recipe for  flourless chocolate cake.  Even someone as cake-challenged  as myself can make this scrumptious dessert, as I have since I saw it on “Taste”, with David Rosengarten (back when the FoodTV Network was worth watching).  I didn’t miss many of David’s shows, that I taped on my old VCR, and still have the box of those tapes.  VCRs are a thing of the past, but one day I’ll digitize those shows on DVDs (…one happy day… right after I organize my recipes in beautiful, indexed folders).

David Rosengarten’s flourless chocolate cake is special.  I mean, who doesn’t like a pony?  Even if you’re not a chocoholic, this dessert might be for you, but if you love chocolate, then don’t let this recipe pass you by.  It’s dreamy with a little whipped cream on the side, that slightly mellows its potent chocolate kick.   Please, use the best chocolate that you can find, because here quality makes a difference:  the chocolate is all that you will taste.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
(from David Rosengarten show Taste)

7 oz extra bittersweet chocolate
14 Tbs unsalted butter  (1 + 3/4 sticks)
5 large eggs, separated
1 Tbs vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan.

Combine the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water, heating until fully melted and smooth.  Transfer to a bowl, let it cool slightly for a few minutes, and whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla.  Sift in the sugar, salt, and cocoa powder, while constantly stirring.

Whip the egg whites to soft peaks.  Gently mix about one third of them into the chocolate mixture, fold the remaining whites trying to deflate them as little as possible. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.  Place in the lower rack of the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes.

Remove the cake to a rack and immediately loosen the sides of the pan. Allow the cake to cool before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here




Comments: Some people, including my husband, can’t conceive of a cake without icing (irony of all ironies, he married the “Anti-Cake”).  Yet, this cake won his heart (though he  insists it will still improve with a thin chocolate glaze).  Years ago I baked it in a heart-shaped pan for our Valentine’s dinner.  OK, it was a little  cheesy,  but it doesn’t hurt to travel that route every once in a while…  😉

David’s original recipe instructed to press the cake down with a plate or other appropriate flat object right after removing the ring, to compress it and release a bit of the air produced by the whipped egg whites.   In his opinion, the cake is all about a fudgy, dense, chocolaty texture.  I’ve tried it both ways, and prefer to skip the compression, allowing it to naturally cool and deflate.

For the fans of his show, those who certainly still remember his closing line….

” Life is a matter of taste.” (David Rosengarten)

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BBA #38: TUSCAN BREAD

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by

Before starting the BBA Challenge I browsed the book to see what  I was getting into. Two breads seemed most intimidating: Poilane, for obvious reasons, and Tuscan, for less obvious, but still relevant reasons.   Tuscan bread is a traditional Italian loaf made without salt. Yes, that’s it, no salt whatsoever.  The idea is downright scary.  If you ever baked a bread and forgot to add the salt, then you know what I’m talking about.

As far as its looks are concerned, the Tuscan loaf did not disappoint.

The recipe required a flour paste (flour plus boiling water) that sat overnight at room temperature, and looked like this…

The flour paste was used as part of the dough on the next day, together with bread flour, olive oil, and instant yeast. The dough more than doubled in size after 2 hours at room temperature…

The crumb was tighter than I expected for a dough that rose  so well, and felt airy to the touch…

Now, for the taste….

I don’t know how to soften it, so here’s my verdict: this bread was tasteless.  I tried it with olive oil + salt, with butter + salt, and with jam, and I didn’t enjoy it either way.  On the other hand, my husband, who’s not a salt addict, actually liked the bread quite a bit in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  His comment was that the strong flavor of the peanut butter was good with the sweetness of the bread.

Maybe in Italy the flour is different, or maybe if you grow up eating this bread you learn to love it, but the lesson I took from this recipe was “the fact that you can make a bread without salt, doesn’t mean you should” 😉

You can read about Phyl’s take on Tuscan bread by clicking here…

and for a very informative post on saltless bread, please visit Susan’s website by clicking here

Next…. Vienna bread….  I look forward to this one!  Stay tuned…