Jofish & Jim Eat

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/06/03/starbucks_reworking_baked_goods/

How many times does it take, to get it right?

Sure, the food biz is complicated, but come on now. I must have walked past three dozen small restaurants yesterday. They all had menus and food and customers... even the little guys seem to work it out.

I think Starbucks has a whole other set of problems not related to food.

I'm imagining this change happened only after extensive committee meetings, tastings, conference calls, lots of spreadsheets and Powerpoint decks and expert opinions, driving the latest upheaval in the "not for drinking" department down at 'bucks (is this their fifth reworking of "food" in five years? were there more?).

And this time, oh yes this time is different, they swear. They are going to get it RIGHT this time... so right that they won't have to hold another food reworking in six months, though it seems they've been on the every-six-months plan so long that it may be an unbreakable habit.

OK Starbucks, listen up:
- food isn't about committees or focus groups, NOT EVEN at your size, unless you are McDonalds, and you are not McDonalds
- try sitting down with a nice decaf latte and taking a good hard look around some of your shops
- what would make people happy? Maybe nothing. I've seen your customers.  But think.
- how about your staff? Slacker didn't work so you upgraded them to "fussy.' That only empowered the already-fussy crowd your places draw, to be even more fussy. Bad move. They can't be enjoying this constant turnover of the brand.
- and you're confusing customers with the constant flip flopping.

Back to basics, kid.

Bagel sandwiches are acts of love made at local cafes. They simply do not translate to microwaveable baggies... especially not in your stores where the customers can SEE the prepackaging. And seriously, remember those scones-in-sealed-bags? How appetizing is that? The poor things were suffocating. Don't do that again, please.

Maybe this just cannot be corporatized, averaged out, dumbed down, and made palatable to N-million customers at M-thousand stores in X-hundred distinct markets.

Go local. Let your managers source stuff down the street and let the customers know you're doing it. Let the offerings be different in different stores, to reflect the tastes of the region, or local whims. That'd be good for everyone, if you can avoid meddling from the top. Yes, it may mean constant change. That's ok. The tree outside my window looks a little different every single day, but it has probably stood there, all strong and sturdy-like, for fifty years.

- Jim

FA:
- No, you can put the dough right on the grill rack. Make sure it's real clean and maybe spray with cooking spray BEFORE LIGHTING.
- Yes, the dough should be on the sturdy side, but not crazily so. I've grilled some great thin-crust pizzas.
- Grill marks on pizza are just plain cool.

Basic concepts: Grill with lid closed = oven + bonus direct flame.

I've been grilling pizzas since last summer, but Jofish hasn't, so I was thrilled to show him something new. I'll have a charcoal (rather than propane) grill this summer / looking forward to trying a pizza on one of those. For now, these instructions assume a nice propane grill.

Process:
1. Clean the grill rack. Spray with cooking spray or brush with some olive oil if you feel like it.
2. Preheat grill nice and hot - Jofish was liking 500 degrees. The grill i used last summer had no thermometer. Anyway, HOT. 10 mins.
If you preheat with the burners all the way up, turn them down to their lowest setting when cooking the pizza.
---
3. Get the crust(s) and all toppings ready to go (they go on FAST when it's time). Crusts should not be too sticky.. toss in a little more flour if they are. I said a little. Don't dry it out, you just don't want any incidental sticking to happen.
---
4. BAKE SIDE 1: Place all the toppings and tools you may need near the grill. Open the grill. position the crust, and close the lid. You get about 10-15 seconds to rearrange things before it starts baking too much to rearrange. Use fingers. Work fast. CLOSE THE LID. stand back. no peeking.

5. Check the crust after 5 mins and use your judgment. The time to flip the crust is when the down-facing side is cooked and has nice grill marks, and separates easily.

6. BAKE SIDE 2 + TOPPINGS: When the first side is done, time to make a pizza: turn the crust over, immediately paint with olive oil (if you wish) then put all the toppings on it. Work fast since the grill is cooling fast... Close the lid and wait for the second side to cook, for the toppings to warm up and cook a little, and the cheese to melt...

7. EAT

actual photos:


-- Jim (with Jofish and Erin)

Nothing new to be learned here. I just wanted to remember a nice dinner.

It's above 40 in the evenings now, and there's still some propane in that little tank so...

I've been in need of a pretty good, not too expensive meal... in my world this counts:

2 inexpensive ribeye steaks covered on one side with rosemary, sage, and black pepper
a dozen shimp, skewered, lightly brushed with oil and a hella good shake of chili powder
caesar salad, heavy on the lemon, with homemade garlic/rosemary croutons and not too much cheese
sauteed baby bella mushrooms
a couple of glasses of a good pinot noir, found on sale and well worth the price
.... and good company to share it with

-jim

scanwiches.com : Optical scans of cross sections of sandwiches.

Why didn't I think of that?

- jim
 

My microwave oven has a button labeled "Popcorn"

When i press that button, the oven is automatically set to full power for two minutes, fifty-two seconds.

Why two minutes and fifty-two seconds?
What do they know that I don't?
Is there some fine print on the popcorn box that I've been missing for a couple of decades?


Googling "2:52" finds a few useful things...

• "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." (Luke 2:52, King James Bible)
• www.flickr.com/photos/21189400@N05/3195522237/
• www.metrolyrics.com/nah-neh-nah-252-lyrics-vaya-con-dios.html
• beemp3.com/download.php

And finally, something related directly to food:
Reason 2-52 of why eastvan is the best
(imo the opening paragraph and the very last comment, as of this writing, seal the deal):

- jim

It's a pretty good sign that the franchise is spinning well ahead of the franchisor when the necessary micromanagement, just to keep the place running consistently, means that too many people have to be retrained too many times about too many petty details that should have either been worked out in advance, or delegated to the best instincts of local management.

Starbucks has really show its weaknesses lately. That massive expansion did seem a bit suspect, particularly given the then-recent failings of Krispy Kreme and Abercrombie in their respective over-expansion binges.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008665670_starbucks24.html

One-step-forward-two-steps-back excerpts from the above article:

• Initially, Schultz said he was eliminating heated breakfast sandwiches because their smell overwhelmed the aroma of coffee. Then, Starbucks decided to keep the sandwiches because it found a way to minimize the smell (by subtracting a piece of cheese).

• Early on, Starbucks held a three-hour retraining session for store workers nationwide, showing them how to properly pour espresso and foam milk. Then, it decided that a key feature of the training — pouring espresso into a clear shot glass to check quality — was not crucial after all.

• At first, stores were allotted extra hours for a new initiative to brew freshly ground coffee each day. Then, the hours were reclaimed and stores told that the extra time was always meant to be temporary.
[ ... ]
Still, confusion and disappointment have grown among store workers who comment about their jobs at StarbucksGossip.com.

"If we don't catch a break this company is going to lose every great partner that it has," wrote one 10-year employee. "I am sick and tired of being blamed for not meeting my budget when the economy is in a recession. I used to be proud of my company ... now i [sic] am embarrassed and feel physically ill everytime [sic] I have to go to work."

(image by Alexanda Boyd, on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/igbyjones/394586888/)

update:  the individually-plastic-wrapped, Colorado-created Idaho potatoes (and also sweet potatoes) are priced at $1.50 per potato at a local large-chain grocery store. By contrast, the same store has a 10# bag of Idaho white potatoes for $4.99. Wow. "Eliminating waste" (see below) by buying some things one at a time can get expensive!

---

This entry contains the promised report concerning the latest development in food science: individual Idaho potatoes pre-wrapped in plastic by 21st century food scientists based in Colorado.

To review: The magicians behind this new food product promise that their pre-wrapped potatoes not only have the same flavor as those baked in conventional ovens, despite being designed for use in microwave ovens, but also that there is less waste, because as many or few potatoes as desired can be purchased at one time.

Experimental goal: To test the marketer's claims regarding the taste and texture of the cooked potato, or to see a potato explode in a microwave oven, or both. The manufacturer's economic claims are not tested in this experiment.

Experimental setup: A standard rotary-turntable-style microwave oven of questionable origin was wiped slightly clean and prepared for cooking. A tentative subject potato was selected at random from two candidates. The tentative subject potato was examined for anomalous characteristics or asymmetry that could skew the experiment. The tentative subject potato, having been determined to represent a nominally typical example of potatoes in the experimental category, was relabeled "subject potato" and placed as received from the manufacturer, sealed in plastic, on the rotary glass turntable of the microwave.

Experiment: Following the instructions in the mini booklet affixed to the subject potato, the oven was set to "high power" and the subject potato was exposed to non-ionizing microwave-frequency radiation for 7 minutes (00:07:00.00) (Fig.1 ). The cycle was not interrupted at any time nor, despite repeated urges to do so on the part of the experimenter, was the oven door opened.

Following irradiation, the subject potato was allowed to "rest" for approximately 30.7 seconds during which time the oven door remained closed and the potato undisturbed. At the conclusion of the rest period, the oven door was opened and the subject potato was extracted from the microwave oven using two conventional oven mitts, with care taken to avoid compressing or otherwise physically altering the subject potato. When the potato had cooled slightly, the plastic was removed using an Ikea brand steak knife, taking care not to score the potato skin (unsuccessfully). The potato was placed on a standard room temperature ceramic dinner plate to cool and to release additional steam (approx. 60.62 seconds). The potato was briefly examined, then sliced open using the same Ikea dinner knife, and eaten by the experimenter.

Observations: Despite its tough plastic wrapping, the potato released considerable moisture into the air (Fig. 2, 3) which formed a heavy condensate (believed to be H2O) on the oven door upon contact with room air. At the end of irradiation, the potato was bulging against its plastic sheath (Fig. 4). Upon close examination of the basal surface, experimenters observed an unsightly bulge and eruption of the potato through the sheathing (Fig. 5), reminiscent of the so-called "muffin top" or "American tourist at the beach".

Upon removal of the plastic, experimenters noted that the potato's skin was moist, but dried quickly and developed "a hint" of the dry, crispy goodness that would characterize a potato baked by conventional means in an oven or grill. (Fig. 6). Upon bisection of the potato, experimenters observed that the potato was more-or-less evenly cooked, steamy, light, and fluffy, like a good potato should be (Fig. 7).

Conclusions: Not so bad, but I won't be going out of my way to seek these out. As someone already wrote, the potato had less of the mealy texture that can sometimes take the fun out of a microwave-heated potato, but it wasn't so much that I'd give up doing things the old way. I have no idea what these cost new (I bought mine on sale at a closeout). I'd rather have a potato baked on a grill or the old fashioned way, all things considered, but any old potato with a few fork-sticks in the nuker would also keep me happy when I'm in need of a baked potato and haven't the time to let one bake properly. Sixty seconds of additional irradiation may have yielded a more fully cooked, more tasty potato, yet remained within the 7 to 8 minute manufacturer's recommended timings for exposure to non-iodizing microwave radiation, as results may vary with different apparatus.

Future work: A double blind test would be necessary to provide fully defensible results. However, funding and patience for such additional work may be difficult to find. Further, the experimenter stands firm in his belief that he can accurately recall the qualities and taste of a conventionally-baked Idaho potato.

Figures:
Fig. 1: ready to start the experimental irradiation

Fig.2: nearing completion of irradition, note condensate inside viewing portal

Fig. 3: condensate

Fig. 4: bulging against plastic sheathing

Fig. 5: breach of sheathing on basal surface

Fig. 6: skin 'crisping up' slightly after removal of plastic sheathing

Fig. 7: post-bisection, pre-ingestion view

The food scientists and food marketers at Farm Fresh Direct LLC, Monte Vista, CO, have really accomplished the impossible this time.

First, they've managed to produce a genuine U.S. No. 1 Idaho (R) Potato... in the state of Colorado.
Second, they've come up with a way to pre-wrap individual potatoes in plastic for microwave cooking, so home cooks don't have to.

I confess I only bought these because they were on sale and the individual labels and plastic wraps looked strange. The first one's been diced and is cooking in a pan on the stove, in total defiance of the preparation instructions. Attached instructions indicate the potato will taste just like an oven-baked potato after 7 to 8 minutes in the nuker. Will test #2 according to specs in the microwave, and report all developments in this journal to invite further peer review.

The creators of this spudly wonder point out that I bet one of these beauties would taste great with a cool glass of Tang.

- jim

This deserves more than a tweet.

I just met Alice Brock. That's Alice, as in Arlo Guthrie's classic work, Alice's Restaurant.  Yes. Yes. Yes.

She doesn't have the restaurant and no longer lives in a church nearby the restaurant. But she is making art and books in her home studio, down the street and around the corner from where I am right now.

Lobster eggs benedict for brunch, blue skies and sunshine, and now this. What a fun day.

- jim

rouge et bleu (writing in French makes it more "artful")





- jim

If you are anywhere and not subscribed to the First Vine e-mail list, you're missing out on one of the best information-mooching opportunities out there.

If you're in the DC/Virginia area and don't know about First Vine, then you're REALLY missing out so get your browser over there and sign up.

And if you don't read past here, at the least check out the website and join their mailing list:
firstvine.com/ . What you get in exchange for your e-mail address (cheap!) is a weekly newsletter that's not just fun to read, but also full of information about wine, plus a recipe for something that's delicious when paired with wine.

I met Tom, one of the owners of First Vine, a couple of months ago. When you get around to the "so what do you do" with someone and they say "wine importer" it can be a little intimidating, particularly at a dinner party where you've brought some wine, and he's brought some wine, too. But he's not just gracious with dummies like me: he's really working hard to find hidden treasures in European wineries and bring them to the US.

This is story food done right. I've ranted a lot (not on the blog - thank me someday) about marketing-driven story food (Whole Foods, Trader Joe's to lesser degree, every "fine food shoppe" inside a department store) that is long on mythology and BS, and short on (devoid of) content. What we have here is quite the opposite.

Bullet points:

- First Vine is finding high-value stuff, and "editing" so customers don't have to. It's hard work but they pull it off. Tom told me about one vineyard that doesn't have "the best grapes" but produces "the best wine" because the winemaker knows what she's doing and works it like a pro. I like stories like that.
- It's all really very well priced, high value wine.. about what you'd pay at Trader Joe's for one of their "better" wines, but this stuff is hand-picked, not coming out of the same stainless steel vat in an industrial park in Anaheim.
- pairings, pairings, pairings - the First Vine website is structured for exploration and learning, and every wine has generous notes. There are lots of ways to explore the inventory.
- If you actually /want/ some wine, First Vine delivers, but to DC and Virginia only. If you're there, you're lucky to have this resource. If you're there and liked this post, send me a bottle of Domaine Fond Croze Cuvée Romanaise in gratitude, and be sure to get one for yourself.
- The recipes in the newsletter are worth the price alone... seasonal recipes (farm market figs this week), timely, not overly fussy but not simplistic and obvious either.

I like what they're doing as a store, and I like what they're doing with their online presence too. At a time when online banking works like garbage (and is insecure - check out my papers about Bank of America), and online services go off and on, when the local grocery can barely make its coupons available on a web page and Dell tech support keeps telling people to "reboot and reinstall" it is just satisfying, and a relief, to find a sincere resource, created and maintained by people who do know what they are talking about (real substance - not some "web 3.0" poseurs), that assumes the audience has an average IQ of at least 101, and that proceeds from those premises but doesn't take itself too seriously.

Maybe wine can be fun and affordable again in a big way... and not in the highly-polished, commercial, franchised "Best Cellars" way, but on a human scale. If so, then I'd say First Vine had something to do with it, at least for their customers in Virginia and CD.

Thanks guys, from a faithful subscriber/information moocher and eventual customer. This is almost enough reason to move to DC.
 
- jim

Published over at www.instructables.com/id/Farmers_Market_Ratatouille/

I've posted a recipe for my Teh Awesome Chocolate Sauce over on Instructables. Check it, yo.

The first shot at sourdough pizza crust was a success. This is based on my everyday pizza dough recipe, but uses the sourdough starter and adds rosemary. Unlike the regular recipe which makes a pretty sturdy, heavy dough (that's not a complaint, by the way), this yielded a light dough that was superbly soft, more like bread or naan, and that made a chewy rather than crispy thin crust, just what i wanted...

this makes one largeish thin crust that will puff up nicely in a hot oven or on a grill (where i made a margherita pizza with it)...

mix together:
2/3 c. proofed sourdough starter
2 T fine cornmeal
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t crushed black peppercorns
1 t dried rosemary, crushed (if fresh, chop and smash it)
1 T olive oil

then add:
1 c all purpose unbleached flour

mix well, then knead 5-10 minutes
1st rise: 6 hours in a warm place covered with a hot, wet towel (refresh it once or twice)
knead 5 mins and add a LITTLE flour but do not dry out this dough, at this point it'll be getting very even and soft
2nd rise: 4 hours in a warm place covered with a hot, wet towel (refresh it once)

Now it's late and you're tired so scoop up the dough, bag it, and put it in the fridge for a day or two later

To bake, get it out of the fridge, leave it bagged, and let it warm up for about an hour before handling.

- jim

note grill marks:

(I will try not to write about sourdough for a while, but i just nailed it).

And we have a winner. It warm. It's sweet. You should be crying because you're not having some with me.

It's the recently-discovered molasses-sourdough plus cinnamon and ginger-coated raisins, and some process improvement.

proof starter overnight, >= 11-1/2 hours (details elsewhere)

then, combine with love:
2 1/2 c. proofed starter
1 T canola oil
2 T honey
2 t salt
just under 1/2 c molasses

next, mix in:
1 c rye flour
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
up to 1c unbleached general purpose flour (always last, only as much as needed, and never more than 1 c)

if more flour is needed after 1c general purpose flour has been added, use the rye flour.

the dough will be, and should be, sticky, but don't be shy about sifting 1-2 T of rye flour at a time over it to tame it when you're kneading it

knead 5-7 minutes until it's homogeneous and well-worked...

FIRST RISE: 6 hours
Place in a large bowl, and cover the bowl with a towel soaked in hot water. Put away in a warm place for 6 hours

PREP WORK JUST BEFORE 2nd RISE
at about the 5.75 hour mark, soak 1c golden raisins in hot water in a small bowl
before starting the 2nd rise work, drain the water from the raisins
into the raisin-bowl add 2T cinnamon and about 1/2 dried ground ginger
shake the everloving hell out of it to coat the raisins with cinnamon and ginger

SECOND RISE: 6 1/2 hours
shake some rye flour over the risen dough
pour the cinnamon/ginger-coated raisins into the bowl with the dough
knead it all together for 5 mins, adding rye flour as needed to keep it from becoming too sticky
move it around quite a bit to get the raisins evenly distributed
form the kneaded dough into a round loaf
place the loaf on a cornmeal-covered pan
cover with a cloth soaked in very hot water and then wrung out
put the cloth, dough and pan in a warm place (90-100 degree oven)
periodically refresh the hot cloth and re-warm the oven (with the dough NOT in it), maybe 2-3 times, your schedule permitting

BAKE
350 degrees, 32 minutes (small convection oven)

eat

- jim

Some friends of mine are throwing a party late this afternoon, and there was a call for Iron Chef entries along the theme of the three sisters -- corn, beans and squash. I figured I'd give myself another limitation to make it more interesting, and so I wanted to figure out how to make three different breads based on those three themes. Here's what I came up with. Note all of these are double recipes.

First the corn. I bought half a dozen ears picked this morning at the farmers market, and I wanted a cornbread recipe that actually used fresh corn rather than just cornmeal. I went through two Southern cookbooks which I thought would help -- Mama Dips and The Gift of Southern Cooking -- but everything was just cornmeal, or else not bread. Best Recipe and Joy were similarly no help at all. But I found a nice if a bit dated recipe in Beard on Bread. Here's what I went with, based on "Helen Evans Brown's Corn Chili Bread":

Corn from six ears of fresh corn
2 cups yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons salt
5 teapsoons double-acting baking powder
2 cups plain yogurt (needless to say, this was "sour cream" in the recipe)
1 cup butter (1 1/2 in the recipe) [EDIT 1/2 cup]
hefty splash of EVOO (to make up for the rest of the butter; peanut oil would be more in keeping...) [EDIT: lose it]
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 pound cheese: a mixture of cheddar and one of those parmesan-like cheeses
one large a pretty big habenero, chopped real small (was canned)
two cloves garlic

Put into an oiled pan and bake at 350 for an hour. [EDIT 300 would be better]

Next, the beans. Well, first off, I cheated. I did get a few pounds of green beans at the market, but nothing inspired me. But I had a full yogurt pot of sprouted lentils, and I figured I'd go with legumes in general. I made pretty much my standard bread recipe nowadays, but using two cups of sprouted lentils as a substitute for some of the flours.

4 tsp dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
start with 2 cups of warm water, and add more as necessary
1ish tablespoon salt
2 cups sprouted lentils
2 cups bread flour
2 cups brown flour
2 cups oatmeal
about 1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten
hefty shake of EVOO
good shake of dried chili peppers

knead, adding water as necessary. rise, punch down, rise again, form into baguettes, slash the tops, rise again. Cook at about 425 for about 45 minutes.

Finally, the squash. I figured some kind of quickbread, ala zucchini bread. But Joy had nothing, ditto Best Recipe. Nothing from the Southerners, either. Beard on Bread has one quickbread with zucchini and one yeast bread with squash, but the quickbread was just too 1970s to feel like updating (3 cups of white sugar, 1/2 cup zucchini...). But a look at a local copy of the SOAR ("Searchable Online Archive of Recipes") I had on my laptop brought up a few candidates. (I just wasn't in the mood to go and search around in the internet. Sometimes less is more. I started from a recipe labelled "ZUCCHINI BREAD (The best ever!). Source: Family Circle, June 1991". Here's how it ended up.

4 egg whites whipped to soft peaks
6 eggs just mixed along with those 4 egg yolks. (Ok, the original recipe had six eggs... but everything was mixed together. Now in my book if you're making a quickbread, and particularly one in which you're sticking a stack of vegetable matter, you want air and fluff and lightness. So having put all six in and mixed, I realized that the people who wrote this were morons, put the mixed ones aside and then whipped up 4 eggwhites. I think, ideally, you'd run with just 6 eggs, but with the whites whipped to soft-to-hard peaks.)

4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
2-3 tbsp cinnamon
2-3 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp black pepper (I think it really brings out the spices)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
one shredded zucchini; one shredded summer squash. Total about 8 cups.
1 cup walnut flour (wanted to use it up!)
1 1/2 cups raisins.
3 c. shredded zucchini

Mix, bake about 1 hour at 300-350. [EDIT 300]

And since I was going to turn the oven on for the first time for ages, I also threw together another batch of pretty standard bread for freezing/eating/not bringing to the party:

4 tsp dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
start with 2 cups of warm water, and add more as necessary
1ish tablespoon salt
2 cups walnut flour
2 cups bread flour
2 cups brown flour
2 cups oatmeal
about 1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten
hefty shake of EVOO
good shake of dried chili peppers

Well, they're sitting around now and I'll bake them after a nap to give the yeasty breads a chance to rise. I'll report back later on how it all goes.

UPDATE:

The corn bread is awesome. I had two offers of marriage. I think I'd cut the butter and oil down a bit -- but it really is awe-inspiring. The fresh corn really comes through.

The sprouted lentil bread is excellent. Great texture. I'll definitely do this again.

The zucchini bread is a bit more flobby. It's alright, but nothing special.

Loaf #6, aka "Whole wheat, rye, molasses loaf #2" was spot-on:

proof starter overnight (10 1/2 hours) in small warmish space, in covered pan. Don't mess with it.

Then follow standard directions, but replace 3c general purpose flour with:
1 c rye flour
and 1 c whole wheat pastry flour
and 1 c unbleached general purpose flour (Add last, and only as much as needed)

plus about 1/2 c molasses

knead 10 minutes
1st rise: 6 hours in a bowl in a warm place, under a hot, wet cloth

knead 5 min, form into loaf, seal bottom...
2nd rise, on cornmeal-dusted baking sheet: 9 hours in a warm, cozy place under a hot, wet cloth

before baking, notch the top with a knife (deeper than you think)
bake 350, 38 min (convection oven), no preheat

eat

Well, not exactly. I'm still trying to get the sourdough sorted out.

Still not enough 'lift' from the yeast. I need to coddle them a bit more, and maybe increase the rise times  again (this time around it was a 7 hour overnight proof, 5 hour first rise, 8 hour 2nd rise) - but i had some pastry flour that i really needed to use, so I know i did handicap the process a bit. details below.

but let's talk about flavor

This made an interesting (to me), dense bread that picks up all kinds of crisp, carmelized goodness when toasted:
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (as i said, i had to use it up somewhere)
poppy seeds (on top)
1/3 cup molasses

The result has all the notes of an excellent beer, but in a more portable form. I think it'd be great with a smoky, dark beer. Looking for suggestions about a bright and light small nibble to serve with it, to cut the heaviness of the solid and liquid beers.

Start with your own yeast, to make sourdough that's unlike any other...

S. John Ross makes it crystal clear.

Notes after getting far enough along to create a decent loaf of "local sourdough":
1. OMFG it works :)


BOOTSTRAPPING THE STARTER
Takes longer than you might think (mine took about a week to really get going). Don't dump out and replace half of it every day, as Ross suggests. Do feed it some sugar (I like to use honey). Warmth helped a lot. Mine really got going when I heated the oven just for 60 seconds then turned it off and put the covered bowl of starter in ("covered bowl = pyrex 2 cup glass container w/ plastic wrap over 80% of the top)... did this repeatedly any time I was passing by and noticing it had cooled and it'd been a couple of hours since the last visit (REMOVE starter, heat oven, put starter back in oven - if oven floor/rack is hot, place starter on something cool so you don't cook it!). Do add some more flour, or warm water, and give it a big stir, if it seems to be slowing down. Only add sugar when adding flour and water. Do not worry about lumps - the yeasts will take care of those. If you don't get enough "lift" from your first attempt, don't throw it away... put in some more flour, water and sugar and keep at it. Increase the warmth (I think about 80-100 degrees might be the best range and most houses aren't that temp so you need to help it along), don't make it too soupy, and don't be afraid to stir it up. Once it gets going, it will keep going and the rate of improvement just gets faster and faster as the starter develops. Don't overdo the sugar: 1 tsp per 1/2 cup of flour, max, and don't add it every time.

PROOFING THE STARTER
I think mine will "Speed up" over time, but for the starter-proofing stage, I mixed up the very foamy bootstrap-starter with a cup each of flour and water and let it proof in the warmed oven for a couple of hours, until it was convincingly bubbly (that is, even after stirring it all up, the bubbles came back immediately and stayed frothy and light)

BAKING
Knead it very well, 10 minutes by hand, and keep adding flour until the dough is soft. When it gets too sticky while kneading, throw in some more flour.
First rise was 4 HOURS under a hot, wet cloth in the warm oven (re-dampened the cloth a few times, and reheated the oven a few times)
After the first rise, I kneaded it again (added a few shakes of flour to keep it from sticking to me), formed the loaf, notched the top, and gave it another 4 hour rise as the first time. At htis point it was sufficiently loaf-like and I was sufficiently bored with the process, that I wanted bread... so, removed the warm cloth and turned on the oven: 350 degrees, 30 minutes in a convection oven. Baking times in a conventional would be longer, of course. I need to experiment with times and temps in the future.

Good results. Toasted with homemade rhubarb marmalade and some coffee = excellent way to start a Sunday morning.

- jim
 

(an ongoing list)

- Charles Shaw wine

- Boxed mac and cheese except the original Kraft brand

- Ramen packs of "artificial beef" that would retail for 6/$1.00 or less (on the theory that the lead content probably exceeds the beef content)

- Anything based on a manufacturer's "serving suggestion" or recipe from about 1940s through the late 1970s.


- jim