Hearth Bread
Spring Strawberry Galette
Feb 08, 2016Is it too early to think of Spring? The dough of this galette is gorgeously butter-centric and thus a bit tricky to work with, so I form and bake it atop a sheet of baking parchment that can easily be slid from counter to baking peel and into the oven, then back onto a peel and then a serving platter. The browned parchment paper is quite pretty, but trim or... Read More
Caramelized Garlic, Roasted Kale, and Tomato Salad Flatbread
Jan 15, 2016Correct. If followed from start to finish, this outrageously great flatbread requires a bit of time. But I like to caramelize LOTS of garlic at once (and why wouldn’t we?), so it’s always on hand for the many deserving dishes it can elevate from the mundane to the sublime. PLUS, why not roast some kale once every week or two, then hold it in an airtight container at room temperature,... Read More
Sesame seed chili flatbread
Apr 19, 2015I was digging through recipes this week craving something spicy with a little crunch and a soft chew. Deep within the stacks of my handwritten, tattered pile of unfiled recipes, I uncovered a flatbread recipe I used 20 years ago in a Mediterranean restaurant I was running. Admittedly, we baked these off in a traditional oven for the sole reason of keeping up with demand. We served this bread as... Read More
Bread Photos. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Feb 24, 2014I’ve been baking bread for years and years. It was my baking and building hobbies that led me to start Forno Bravo in the first place (those many years ago). So I am happy to say that my baking has continued to improve in the past months and that my bread oven is a lot better than it was 10 years ago. Which doesn’t mean that I still don’t make... Read More
A Bit More on Folding, Bread-Baking Technique
Feb 19, 2014Here are some fun resources on bread molding, my newest bread-baking technique. 100% Whole Wheat Bread that Doesn’t Suck I have always really liked this one. There is even a technical thread on Stack Exchange, a user group for computer programmers. Fun stuff. Stretch and Fold vs. Kneading Read More
Back to Bread; Folding-a bread baking technique
Feb 18, 2014My bread baking skills are slowly improving, which is a good thing for all — for me and the family. I have learned a handful of new skills over the past few months, including temperature control, long (24 to 48 hour) fermentation, builds and folding. On folding, I started baking when you were supposed to punch down the dough after the bulk fermentation. The idea was to push out some... Read More
Baking Bread in Someone Else’s Oven
Aug 30, 2013I’ve been baking bread in other people’s ovens for years. It’s a lot of fun. You get to experiment with flour and yeast from other countries, use different ovens, and bake entirely by feel. Forget the digital scale and baking stone, most rental apartments and houses don’t even have measuring cups. And besides, a hand-mixing dough is a lot of fun. It’s therapeutic. A couple of years ago, I even... Read More
The Ever Humbling Art of Bread Baking
Jun 17, 2013Just when you think you have seen a lot, you do something new wrong in this ever humbling art of bread baking. haha. This is a 75% hydration sourdough rye boule (the flavor was really good), where I did not use enough flour to keep the loaf from sticking to the banneton — it’s as though I am trying to find things that could go wrong. From now one I... Read More
A Sourdough Boule
Jun 04, 2013Here is the bread from my three build, four-fold sourdough rye. I think an honest assessment is that four folds worked — the bread had a solid structure and no problem with loaf height or oven spring (boing!). But the three build technique did not work as well as I had hoped. I would have liked a better final proof and a lighter, slightly less chewy crumb and a... Read More
