Sourdough and Sandwiches

Okay, so I've successfully made my first batch of sourdough bread.  It went okay.  I did a recipe I found on the fresh loaf, and I think next time I'll do a different recipe.  This one made three loaves, which is more than I need and more than my kitchen aid can handle.  Also, it's fairly wet, so doing it by hand wasn't the greatest experience ever.  Also adding to the fabulous nature of the experience was Cadance sitting on the kitchen floor bawling her eyes out because I wasn't giving her my undivided attention.  Apparently she doesn't understand that when my hands are covered in dough I'm not able to hold her. 


But, the end result tasted like sourdough bread.  I think that's one thing that I feel was a great accomplishment.  I feared that after all the work it would just taste like any other bread I made.  Not so, there was definitely a sourdough taste to it.  It wasn't too sour, but it worked.  It was weird because the recipe I used didn't have any commercial yeast added to it.  I think I'm going to add a little next time just to make it more stable.  I learned that without it time is really a factor.  It said to let proof in the fridge for 12 hours.  By the time I got to the third loaf it had been about 20.  So, it didn't rise at all. 

The one problem with sourdough is the time commitment.  I have yet to feed my started since I baked my bread.  Not that it takes that long, but I just haven't gotten to it.  

I decided, about 10 minutes ago, that I really like sandwiches.  I like their versatility.  I like that you can have a humble sandwich and also a gourmet sandwich.  I like that your personality and shows in what sandwich you order and what sandwiches you make at home.  I think I'm going to make more sandwiches, especially for summer they rock!

Sourdough

I started my first sourdough starter yesterday.  Wish me luck.  It's 1/3 C. rye flour to 1/4 C. filtered water.  I'm following the guidelines on thefreshloaf.com. 

Capstone Menu and Recipe

So I did my first test for my sun dried tomato bread.  It's interesting because I think when you own something like a recipe it's never going to be done.  I don't think I'll ever be satisfied.  Because it's mine, I can't just say, well that was good and never make it again.  This shows who I am as a baker.  This needs to be good.  It needs to be permanent. 

The menu for my capstone is okay... I think it's harder than I thought it was going to be.  I want it to be simple.  That's part of my mission: small scale.  I want it to be basic, but exciting.  It seems like there's too much to choose from but then I don't really like my choices.  Part of it is that I haven't made everything, which I think has to change.  I want to be excited about each item on my menu and know that I will be selling good product. Naming things is killer.  I don't want to say bread 10 times, so how do I made an item seem different and exciting and something I want to buy. 

Yesterday in class chef told me that I had a natural eye for putting things on a plate.  I was shocked.  It made me feel like I do have potential to actually do this.  I'm not an imposter.  It also made me want to continue more than I ever had before, and it made me want to do photography more than I ever had before. 

What's cooking in my kitchen?  I made this tortellini salad yesterday and Steve made the comment, "You always seem to make the bad stuff in large quantity."  We don't really like strong cheeses like gorgonzola in our house, but I put too much in and it overpowered and bitter.  I made my own tortilla chips for the first time tonight.  They were delicious.  Oh, and when something says tea cake you should take note that it's meant for dipping into tea and will be dry.  I'm not too excited about my dinners this week, but oh well.  And, pretty much all my baking will be for my capstone project in the next little bit.  Although, Steve bought me tart pans for my b-day and I've yet to use them and I think it's about time that I do, so I was thinking something with nuts and ricotta, berries? 

Cheesy Sun Dried Tomato Whatever

So when I made these muffins in class we were thinking about how to make them into a complete breakfast, like a breakfast sandwich.  Chef had the thought of doing them free form and crack an egg into the middle to cook.  So, I've been thinking about it.  I thought a yeast bread would be good, but maybe a danish?  I don't know.  The muffin batter isn't thick enough to do free form, but I love the idea.