Wednesday, May 31, 2006
marvelous marbella
Friday, May 19, 2006
Monday, May 15, 2006
ribs
My husband treated me to a special mother's day treat and wow! Best ribs I ever ate. He used the Cook's Illustrated recipe, which is members only, so I don't feel comfortable reposting it here. But I highly recommend subscribing to their website.
crust and crumb
So how should one select honey without being able to taste it? Since the bread debaucle, I've already tried four new ones, three duds and one perfectly average. The packaging is enticing, but deceptive. And price is no indication of quality. Plus, taste is subjective. Based on hazy recollections of previous favorable honey encounters, I've decided to limit my search to light colored honeys from France. I can broaden from there if necessary. Suggestions are welcome.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
pita bread
Per request, here's the recipe:
Combine 3 cups bread flour (14g protein), 1.5 TB sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 4 tsp dry yeast. Add 2 TB melted butter and 1.25 cups room-temperature water. Mix on low speed to combine then knead for 10 minutes (6-8 minutes in stand mixer with dough hook) until dough is smooth, elastic and passes the windowpane test (meaning you can stretch the dough and see through it and it doesn't break). Add flour or water if needed (try not to add flour unless it's is an absolute sticky nightmare). The dough should be tacky but not super sticky. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and turn the dough over to cover it (if not, the dough will dry out on top, restricting the rise). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double, 1-1.5 hours.
Punch down down, divide into 8 pieces, roll each into a ball. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Preheat over to 450F, preferably with pizza stone - you can alternatively use upside down baking sheet.
Roll each ball of dough into a circle, about 8 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Spray pizza stone, wait 30 seconds, then place as many dough rounds as will fit directly on the pizza stone (1 or 2 in my oven). Bake until dough puffs into a baloon, about 3 minutes, wait 30 seconds, then remove to rack to cool. If you leave the bread in the oven too long, they will not deflate to flat disks and will be brittle. Don't worry if some don't puff, they will still taste good.
It might sound harder than it is. Just try it, it's fun.