Beebox

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts Two weeks ago, I flew to Columbus/Ohio, to visit my daughter. In my carry-on I had a freezer bag with sourdough, hoping it wouldn't cause suspicion and confiscation at the airport security. Valerie had asked me to show her and her co-workers at " Two Caterers ", how to bake a high hydration bread à la Chad Robertson of Tartine fame. "Tartine"-breads are known for their "holyness", and their excellent taste. They are great favorites of mine, and I bake them in all possible variations ( Brewer's Bread , Acorn Levain ) The next day I walked to a nearby "Giant Eagle"-supermarket to look for ingredients. I wanted to bake a porridge bread (the grain mush makes it especially moist). And it should have nuts in it. The fancy salad bowl was barely big enough for mixing the flours The different flours I needed were easy to find, and, also, rolled oats for the porridge. For the nuts I opted for a...

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts When I heard about breads made with spent grains - leftovers from beer brewing - I was fascinated. How interesting! But, where on earth, could you come by those mashed grains, unless you worked at a brewery? We have two micro-breweries in Bar Harbor, so I left a message, asking whether I could purchase a small amount of their spent grains. The sobering answer: the mash goes to the dogs  hogs. All sold to pig farms - sorry! So I gave up on the idea. Then, two years ago, I found a Groupon in my emails with a real bargain on a small brewing kit. A beer drinker, and always curious, I ordered it  - but then the bulky package ended up in the basement, with other rarely used kitchen equipment, like the lobster pot. It's alive! My beer is bubbling away The best of all husbands needs some quality solitude now and then, playing his guitar and recording his music. Left to my devices, I unearthed beer kit and lobster pot (just the right size...

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts Last September, William Rubel challenged Facebook group members of "Bread History & Practice" to gather acorns, and use them for bread baking. I was intrigued - the huge European oaks in our neighborhood had produced a bumper crop of acorns this year. Shelling acorns - as easy as cracking nuts Squirrels and pigs love the fat kernels, but acorns are too bitter for human consumption, unless the tannins are leached out of them. This process, as described in "Acorns: The Inside Story" , is easy. Soaking ground acorns in cold water (instead of boiling them) works best for bread making, since the meal retains it binding qualities. I gathered a bag full of acorns, and left them for several weeks on our porch to dry - the kernels shrink a bit, and are easier to remove from the shells. With a nutcracker, the acorns could be cracked like hazelnuts, and I ended up with about half a pound of kernels. The acorn are gro...