This post is to document a technique (or the realization of the lack of it, rather) that became apparent to me while I was making the bread below (the first one). I subsequently applied it in making the second bread below with good result and would like to share my experience.
Recently, I was thinking why there are more famous Master Chefs in the world than there are Master Bakers. A Michelin-starred restaurant cannot have poor quality bread to be earning a Michelin star. No way. But the issue here for me is: Can bread be a stand-alone meal, complete in all its nutrition, but more importantly, in its artistry and flair, technique, and satisfaction, such that once you have it, your body and mind do not desire other food?
What do you do when you bought the wrong grapes and your children and house guests don't eat them? I don't mind the odd seeds in the grapes; I chew them and swallow them. They are good for you. Plenty of anti-oxidant in the grape seeds! But do you think I can get my family to eat these beautiful grapes?
My daughter left today for Belgium to start a six week (French speaking) holiday and visiting our family friends over there. A couple of days ago I asked if there's anything she'd like me to make before she goes. She said, "Something familiar." I can take the hint. Recently, I have been experimenting with rye flour and my family are not very impressed with the result.
I read in MC's beautiful blog, [b][color=red]farine-mc.com[/color][/b], that Miche is not her favorite bread but that she can understand how someone can go wild about it. She said, "It is a majestic bread ... rich with the lore and fervor of the old days." That is exactly how I feel about Miche! "... rich with the lore and fervor of [color=red][b]the old days[/b][/color]."
The 40-year old Swedish chef-owner, Mathias Dahlgren, has two Michelin-starred restaurants, Bon Lloc and Matsalen, the latter in Stockholm. His style of cuisine is Swedish traditional as well as innovational (a fusion of Scandinavian, Tuscan, Californian and Oriental dishes).
We started our annual beach holiday this year without much preparation, unlike previous years. It has been a very busy year, and so when we arrived at the North Folk Island Pine Tree-lined boulevard right next to the beach front, looking for our holiday unit, we were exhausted. There was a feel of South of France here at this little north facing beach in the south of Queensland, bordering New South Wales.
After a quick lunch, it was time to be [b]off[/b] to the beach ....
Since my last post of Chocolate & Praline Almond Sourdough, I have done two posts at Sourdough Companion:
A Taste of Italy - Chilies, Sundried Tomatoes & Butternut Pumpkin Sourdough Baguette, and
It was my son's birthday last week. We threw him a surprise party (the ribbons in the pictures below were from his party). When I made my daughter's [b]17th birthday cake[/b], I had a feeling that the next time when a birthday comes around, I would not want to make another sponge cake.
