New Year's Challenge
02/01/12 16:06 Filed in: Bread
I’m considering a Julie and Julia type challenge for myself this year: bake all 55 recipes in Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Bread cookbook by the end of the year. That’s about one recipe per week. Here are the first 29 breads. Am I up for the challenge? Are you?
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Rocket Oven
26/11/11 08:35 Filed in: Oven Design
A while back I read about the Green Rocket Pizza Oven, the most innovative pizza oven I've ever seen. It uses some of the wood combustion efficiency concepts developed over the past 35 years by people like Dr. Larry Winiarski. Unfortunately, it looks like the Green Rocket Pizza oven may only be available to people in the Dallas, TX area.
As I read more about rocket stoves, I came to realize how important they could be to the people in developing countries. As you may know women and children are spending many hours daily as they travel long dangerous distances trying to collect firewood. Also, millions die from the smoke pollution in their homes. The folks at Aprovecho are working hard to improve this situation around the world. While there are few stoves for sale online and even on amazon, this seems like an area for a lot of home inventors.
I've been thinking, these rocket stoves are cooking for hours using the amount of wood I might use as kindling just to start my oven. Could we redesign bread/ pizza ovens for greater efficiency? I might take this on as a project, possibly using castable refractory. Anyone have any experience with castable or rocket stoves? I'd appreciate any advice you might have.
Update 11/30/11 Thank you to those with information about rocket style ovens and stoves. One of the best was a lead I got from Kiko to Jon and his Haiti Rocket Stove Project. Great introductory video and useful photos.
As I read more about rocket stoves, I came to realize how important they could be to the people in developing countries. As you may know women and children are spending many hours daily as they travel long dangerous distances trying to collect firewood. Also, millions die from the smoke pollution in their homes. The folks at Aprovecho are working hard to improve this situation around the world. While there are few stoves for sale online and even on amazon, this seems like an area for a lot of home inventors.
I've been thinking, these rocket stoves are cooking for hours using the amount of wood I might use as kindling just to start my oven. Could we redesign bread/ pizza ovens for greater efficiency? I might take this on as a project, possibly using castable refractory. Anyone have any experience with castable or rocket stoves? I'd appreciate any advice you might have.
Update 11/30/11 Thank you to those with information about rocket style ovens and stoves. One of the best was a lead I got from Kiko to Jon and his Haiti Rocket Stove Project. Great introductory video and useful photos.
Bread blog worth reading
19/11/11 17:10 Filed in: Bread
My friend Frank wrote to me a while ago that he found a blogger who made bread like Frank would like to make. I couldn't agree more. This blogger is Phil from Brisbane, Australia and his devotion to bread is phenomenal. He writes well and provides a nice backstory to each recipe. The photographs are spectacular. His recent olive loaf had my mouth watering at the first photo and the resulting loaf blew me away.
Unfortunately for my pocketbook, Phil has introduced me to the KoMo line of grain mills which might be the most elegant and expensive grain mills Ive ever seen. Quiet strong motors are housed in beechwood cabinetry in a way only German artisans could envision. Oh, Santa? How's your cash flow this year?
Unfortunately for my pocketbook, Phil has introduced me to the KoMo line of grain mills which might be the most elegant and expensive grain mills Ive ever seen. Quiet strong motors are housed in beechwood cabinetry in a way only German artisans could envision. Oh, Santa? How's your cash flow this year?
All About Roasting: a new book from Molly Stevens
21/10/11 06:34 Filed in: Books
To cook food, uncovered, by exposure to dry heat is known as ‘roasting’. In Molly Steven’s newest book, “All About Roasting: A new approach to a classic art”. Stevens offers a comprehensive expiration of this technique and shares over 150 recipes of mostly meat dishes with a few vegetarian options as well.
The book is organized around chapters on beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and shellfish, vegetables and fruits. . The recipes include classics like Beef Tenderloin, Rack of Lamb, and Roast Chicken as well as more adventurous dishes like Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Loin with Rhubarb and Sage. Some of my favorites included Roasted Mushrooms with Pine Nuts, Mustard Crusted Potatoes and Orange and Honey Roasted Figs with Black Pepper. The chapters go far beyond these recipes as they also include choosing the best cuts of meat, roasting temperatures and methods and when to use them as well as how to carve meat properly. She unpacks the history, science and art of roasting with the same meticulous care she gave braising in her previous James Beard award winning book.
The mouthwatering photos are usually of finished dishes but the number of step by step photos is somewhat limited. Instructions are very clear and well numbered.
Five years in the making, this cookbook fully satisfies. Whether you are a beginning cook or a more experienced chef, this book has much to offer and is ideal for those of us looking to get the most from our wood fired ovens.
Molly Stevens 
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
The book is organized around chapters on beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and shellfish, vegetables and fruits. . The recipes include classics like Beef Tenderloin, Rack of Lamb, and Roast Chicken as well as more adventurous dishes like Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Loin with Rhubarb and Sage. Some of my favorites included Roasted Mushrooms with Pine Nuts, Mustard Crusted Potatoes and Orange and Honey Roasted Figs with Black Pepper. The chapters go far beyond these recipes as they also include choosing the best cuts of meat, roasting temperatures and methods and when to use them as well as how to carve meat properly. She unpacks the history, science and art of roasting with the same meticulous care she gave braising in her previous James Beard award winning book.
The mouthwatering photos are usually of finished dishes but the number of step by step photos is somewhat limited. Instructions are very clear and well numbered.
Five years in the making, this cookbook fully satisfies. Whether you are a beginning cook or a more experienced chef, this book has much to offer and is ideal for those of us looking to get the most from our wood fired ovens.
Molly Stevens Roasted Brussel SproutsRoad trip
19/07/11 08:45 Filed in: Pizzerias | Other people's ovens.
I just got back from a two week vacation traveling by car down the entire length of California. Along the way I had some terrific pizzas.
While I was really looking forward to eating at Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali’s new restaurant Mozza, it seems calling for reservations 3 weeks in advance isn’t enough to see this L.A. hot spot. Even settling for take out requires 24 hours notice.
So, does the pizza justify this kind of hype? Well, it is good; very good pizza. The most obvious thing is bread expert Nancy Silverton’s dedication to the crust which had a thin onion skin type crackle exterior that gave way to a creamy, chewy interior.
We especially enjoyed the artichoke, lemon, stracchino, olive pizza as well as the squash blossom and burrata pizza.
At various other restaurants, I had some delicious pies as well. For example, the pizza al taglio or Roman style pizza that I had at the Uva Bar near Disneyland was delightful.
This surprising pie was nearly 2 feet long with a crisp cracker crust, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic dressing and fresh arugula. Superb.
While not the best pizza, the restaurant Kin in Windsor has fun with their kids pizzas. They bring bring out the dough (pre-stretched), a container of sauce and cheese for the child to prepare at the table. When the masterpiece is constructed, the waiter takes the pie away to be baked in the woodstone oven. My son enjoyed this process but didn’t love the resulting pizza.
After two weeks on the road tasting some delicious and sometimes slightly pretentious pizzas, nothing satisfied my family more than the home cooking of my friend Frank Giovanni of fgpizza.com. I have recommended Frank’s products for the home cook for years but this was the first time he and his family shared their home and oven with me directly.
You know Frank likes you when he feeds you. We enjoyed pizzas, salads, fried squash blossoms and superb drinks. One recipe I don’t think he would mind if I shared is for a dessert pizza that far exceeded my expectations: Limone Dolci.
Prepare a thin crust pizza, top with thin slices of uncooked lemons (remove all seeds) and bake. Remove from the oven, top with dabs of butter and return to the oven so the butter bakes in. Remove from the oven again and top with copious powdered sugar. I would guess Frank used 1/2 cup or more of powdered sugar here. You really can’t overdo the sugar. Unlike some chocolate pizzas, this dessert is a light and refreshing end of the meal treat.
While I was really looking forward to eating at Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali’s new restaurant Mozza, it seems calling for reservations 3 weeks in advance isn’t enough to see this L.A. hot spot. Even settling for take out requires 24 hours notice.
So, does the pizza justify this kind of hype? Well, it is good; very good pizza. The most obvious thing is bread expert Nancy Silverton’s dedication to the crust which had a thin onion skin type crackle exterior that gave way to a creamy, chewy interior.
We especially enjoyed the artichoke, lemon, stracchino, olive pizza as well as the squash blossom and burrata pizza.
At various other restaurants, I had some delicious pies as well. For example, the pizza al taglio or Roman style pizza that I had at the Uva Bar near Disneyland was delightful.
This surprising pie was nearly 2 feet long with a crisp cracker crust, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic dressing and fresh arugula. Superb.
While not the best pizza, the restaurant Kin in Windsor has fun with their kids pizzas. They bring bring out the dough (pre-stretched), a container of sauce and cheese for the child to prepare at the table. When the masterpiece is constructed, the waiter takes the pie away to be baked in the woodstone oven. My son enjoyed this process but didn’t love the resulting pizza.
After two weeks on the road tasting some delicious and sometimes slightly pretentious pizzas, nothing satisfied my family more than the home cooking of my friend Frank Giovanni of fgpizza.com. I have recommended Frank’s products for the home cook for years but this was the first time he and his family shared their home and oven with me directly.
You know Frank likes you when he feeds you. We enjoyed pizzas, salads, fried squash blossoms and superb drinks. One recipe I don’t think he would mind if I shared is for a dessert pizza that far exceeded my expectations: Limone Dolci.
Prepare a thin crust pizza, top with thin slices of uncooked lemons (remove all seeds) and bake. Remove from the oven, top with dabs of butter and return to the oven so the butter bakes in. Remove from the oven again and top with copious powdered sugar. I would guess Frank used 1/2 cup or more of powdered sugar here. You really can’t overdo the sugar. Unlike some chocolate pizzas, this dessert is a light and refreshing end of the meal treat.