by Janice on March 10, 2010
Is it wrong to love one Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge bread so much more than all the others? To play favorites, when there are so many really amazing breads? Well, if lovin’ this one above all others is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right. (Yeah, I know, that was bad.)
This manna from heaven is made from the method that Peter Reinhart learned when he visited the “most famous bread baker in the world,” Lionel Poilâne in France. And, of course, the method had to be adapted to home kitchens in order for it to work for those of us who do not have wood-burning bread ovens at our disposal. Clearly, I am the most ignorant bread-head in the world, having never even heard of Lionel. That’s right, never. I’ve been in France once, thirty years ago, and believe you me, every single bite of food I ate was so amazing to this then-young woman from Southern California that I didn’t care who made the breads I was eating. (And, to be perfectly honest, Italy had my heart, so the breads of Italy were the ones that inspired my adulation.)
Therefore, except for all the hype about Poilâne in the book, I had no idea what I was in for when I made this bread. I knew it was the loaf featured on the cover of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, which should have given me a clue. The ingredients pleased me: sourdough starter, whole-wheat flour, salt and water. But I couldn’t figure out where to procure the “medium-grain whole-wheat flour” or a sifter that was fine enough to strain out the bran particles in that type of flour. Luckily, Peter gives the alternative of using half whole-wheat and half bread flour. Lacking the right flour and strainer, however, I thought I was starting from such a compromised place that the bread would only be okay.
I was so wrong. This bread rocked my world. It’s sour. It’s wheaty. It’s chewy and wholesome without being too dense. It lasts forever on the counter; I ate it every day for over a week. Sandwiches, toast with homemade apricot jam, croutons from torn pieces tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, bread crumbs from the last precious bits – the flavor transitioned with each treatment and the passage of time, evoking the essence of toasted walnuts and crème fraîche. Obviously, I’m totally infatuated. When I’m finished with the challenge, it will be on regular rotation here, and I may try harder to find the perfect flour and sieve. Because there are worse things in life than falling in love with a bread, right?
Tweet This Post
by Janice on March 6, 2010
When life gives you lemons, you can do a whole lot more than make lemonade. With our tiny backyard tree drooping from the weight of these gems, I’m acting like a kid in a candy store. Neener, neener, ha, ha! I have Meyer lemons!! Especially since rain and clouds haunt us, and all seems grey most days, their vibrant, intense yellow color brightens our tabletop as surely as the missing sun.
So it was with delight that I found a recipe that turned them into a modern version of pudding-cake. Do you remember those? You put together some ingredients, throw them all in a baking dish, and out comes a sweet cake with a pudding sauce. I hadn’t thought of one in years. But this is like the pudding-cake’s grown-up cousin: tart, tangy, with a lighter than air texture that melts in your mouth. Find some Meyer lemons, get out your ramekins, and start whipping those egg whites. You, too, could be walking on sunshine.
Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes
(from Bon Appétit)
Makes 8
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel
Whipped crème fraîche (I would have preferred a tiny dollop of whipped cream instead.)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Whisk 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar, flour, and pinch of salt in medium bowl to blend. Combine milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon peel in large bowl; whisk until blended. Add flour mixture to yolk mixture and whisk custard until blended.
With an electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar to whites and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into custard. Fold remaining whites into custard in 2 additions (custard will be runny).
Divide custard equally among prepared ramekins. Place ramekins in large roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven. Carefully pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake custard cakes until set on top (custard cakes will be slightly soft in center), about 30 minutes. Chill custard cakes uncovered until cold, at least 4 hours, then cover and keep refrigerated.
Run small knife around each custard cake to loosen. Invert each cake onto plate. Place dollop of crème fraîche on cakes and serve. (The flavor of whipped cream would be far preferable to me, as the lemon is already tangy and the cream would be a gentle counterpoint.)
Tweet This Post
