My First Brioche(TM)

This is a bread I’ve been dreaming of baking since my first loaf last year. The eggy, buttery goodness of brioche is unrivaled, in my opinion.

Working with this dough was like none other I’ve made. So soft and slippery, on account of the butter. I couldn’t help thinking that you can sometimes just feel the culture and part of the world a dough comes from as you hold it in your hands. It was as close to baking in a French kitchen as I’ve come.

I’m so happy with this loaf. It’s exactly what I had in mind.

Buns done.

Lots of dough on the rise today. Hot dog buns, brioche, and a few cinnamon buns from the leftover bun dough.

ashaikin asked: I wanna get into sour dough. Everything I've read the starter is a pain. You have to feed it everyday?

Don’t be afraid!! In the beginning i was nervous, too. It’s quite easy. I keep mine in the fridge and take it out once a week for 2 days to feed it. I sometimes go 2 weeks between feedings if I’m out of town or simply busy. Just allow it to come up to room temp before the feed, then feed again after you use it to bake. Once it’s done bubbling you can put it right back in the fridge. Loosely lidded, of course. Good luck, you can do it!

Not baking-related, but we made ice cream at home tonight in 5 minutes using a couple of ziplock bags and coarse salt! It was fun to make and tasty to eat.

Here’s the basic recipe:

1 cup cream (we used 1/2 & 1/2, but I’m sure it would be creamier with heavy cream)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Ice
1/2 cup coarse salt
Small ziplock bag (pint size)
Large ziplock bag (gallon size)

Mix cream, sugar, vanilla in the small bag. Seal tightly.

Full the large bag with the salt and enough ice to fill about half the bag.

Put the small bag into the large bag, seal tightly.

Shake for about 5 mins until the cream thickens up and has a consistency somewhere between soft-serve and hard ice cream.

Seriously, it’s that easy.

This weekend’s sourdough. Had a bit of a blow out on one side of the scoring, but I’m pleased with the overall look. Nice oven spring, too. Dough was nicely wet without being too slack. I’m hoping for nice cell structure in the crumb.

It’s rainy and my throat hurts. So, I made chocolate chunk walnut cookies.

Breakfast: whole wheat sandwich bread I made last night smeared with honey peanut butter and bananas, plus a berry smoothie.

Roasted peppers: place ripe peppers on a rimmed baking sheet in oven at 500•F, check after 18 mins, if charred and skins are starting to burst, turn oven off, crack door open, leave sheet in oven for another 15 mins. Remove sheet, let peppers cool enough to handle. Skins will slide off, remove seeds an stems, drizzle with olive oil. Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

Hot dog buns! I used the King Arthur recipe, halved it since I didn’t need 18 buns and my freezer is pretty full. They are delicious and the perfect vessel for a veggie dog. Very easy, will definitely be making these again.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/hamburger-or-hot-dog-buns-recipe

Ever see a photo of a place you have an intense emotional connection to and it feels like your heart is going to leap from your chest, leaving a gaping hole, while it finds its way to the exact spot where the photo was taken? As if to be reunited with its rightful environment?

That totally just happened to me. The photo: a bakery storefront in Paris.

Sometimes, when you build something up in your mind for your whole life to be wonderful and mind-blowingly superb, it’s a let down when you actually get to experience that something. And sometimes, that something is more magical than even your dreams dared to dream.

That’s Paris for me. There’s an element of home there. It’s the same way I felt about New York. And then I moved here. It’s been 9 years and that feeling still lingers. These are the only 2 places that make me feel this way. It’s so strange to be at home and see a photo that makes you homesick… this New Yorker has le mal du pays.

Dinner: whole wheat spaghettini with arugula, lemon, shaved parmigiano reggiano, topped with a fried egg.

Takes 15 mins to make from start to finish, tastes amazing, and is a healthier version of the heavy pasta dish you’re really craving. Win.