Thursday, November 29, 2007

20 and counting . . .

Add two more breads to the Reinhart tally. At this rate, I'm tempted to complete all the remaining recipes in the book after this class session is finished.

The first bread of the evening was the New York Deli Rye. Sauteed onions are added to the sponge. Yum. Chris and I decided to omit the caraway seeds, so we could taste the full rye flavor, and, as luck would have it, he doesn't care for rye bread, so I went home with both loaves. Double yum. The coarse salt on the top made it extra good.




The second bread of the evening was the Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche. This bread requires more time than our 4-hour allotment, so we fermented the dough, then shaped it and left it overnight. The early morning baker had the task of topping the loaves with the additional cheese and the roasted onions before baking. I picked up my still-hot loaves around 9:15 am, after my wine class. I would offer a recommendation on the roasted onions: slightly undercook the onions, since they will darken considerably during the baking process, hence the black onions in the photo. It does actually taste fine in spite of the crispiness.




And, at least this week's paper bag decoration wasn't X-rated.





So, this 24-hour period is finished. Only two more to go, and then another semester will be behind me. Today was particularly stressful, as I presented my business plan for my restaurant concept in my Restaurant Ownership class. It has consumed my attention for the last few weeks, and I'm greatly relieved to have it behind me. Now I can concentrate on baking and work (in that order -- priorities, by all means....)


Next week is my Practical Final Exam in artisan breads, and we get to choose whatever recipe we wish as long as it uses yeast and can be made in 4 hours or less. So, I'll spend the next few days searching for an interesting or unique bread that meets those requirements.


(Oh, and I do have more food interests than just bread, as future postings will hopefully show.)

1 comment:

sher said...

I'm drooling here!