Wild Yeast

Those of you who know me know that I am given to the occasional rant opinion. I’m giving you fair warning that this is one of them, and it’s only loosely on-topic at that. Please feel free to click on by if you’re not in the mood.

I had originally planned this to be a short footnote to my Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls post, but I realized I had somewhat more than a footnote’s worth to say. And I want to make it clear up front that my little tirade has nothing to do with the merits of what we bake (or cook or do), and everything to do with how we talk about what we bake (or cook or do).

First, about those rolls: I had originally been calling them “Rustic Sourdough Rolls” because I have been told by a professional baker I admire that if it’s sourdough it’s not truly ciabatta, but is more aptly termed “pane Francese” or something like that. But I decided to call them “Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls” after all, because I thought more people would understand the type of bread I made (or meant to make) with that name than with “rustic rolls” or anything else.

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What was your latest baking experiment gone right? Here’s mine:

2 pm: I remembered to take the pork out of the freezer yesterday. I remembered to start slow-cooking it early this morning. I’m starting the sandwich rolls so they’ll be fresh out of the oven when the pork is done… Doh! I’ve forgotten to make the prefermented dough.

There’s no time to make a preferment now. I have my sourdough starter, but only about 60 grams of it, not enough to make true sourdough rolls. OK, it’s not a mega-disaster in the scheme of things. With what will (hopefully) be a super-flavorful pulled pork on top of them, a straight-dough roll will be just fine. Sure to top store-bought, anyway.

But I’m feeling experimental. I’ve been saving the toss-off from a few days’ worth of sourdough feedings. I have a couple hundred grams of it in the refrigerator, waiting to be used in pancakes, or maybe destined for the compost bin. Those wild yeast have been languishing, close to death, and will not be very effective as little fermenting machines in my dough. But maybe I can use that old starter to bring some flavor and acidity to my rolls, which is what preferments do best. It’s worth a try.

7 pm: Dinner. The pulled pork is lovely, and the sour rolls provide a very nice counterpoint to its sweetness. I’m calling my experiment a success.

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When I was a young teenager, I followed professional basketball rather – and this might be a bit of an understatement – closely. I can still recite the starting lineup, with jersey numbers, of my hometown (championship, then and again!) team, the Boston Celtics. I didn’t get to many games at Boston Garden, but I faithfully listened to each one on the radio and relished the televised games even more.

Naturally, I became familiar with players on the other teams as well. Although many of those opponents’ names have vanished from my memory, there is one player I will never forget: Rick Barry of the Golden State Warriors.  He is one of the game’s greatest all-time stars, an eight-season NBA All-Star and a Hall-of-Famer. But to be honest, and intending no disrespect to his all-around achievement, what stands out most in my mind about Rick Barry is that he shot his free throws underhand.

Yes, one of the greatest (and at the time of his retirement, the best) free-throw shooters of all time threw like a girl! Or, as Red Auerbach pointed out in this Red on Roundball video (which, just to be clear, was shot way before my time!), the old way. Auerbach didn’t, but some would call it the wrong way. Shaquille O’Neal is reported to have said “I would shoot negative percentage before I shot like that.”

Perhaps people (like Shaq and – ahem – young teenagers) were laughing, and high school coaches were cringing, but Rick Barry didn’t care. He put the ball through the hoop every time.

Which brings me to my all-time, trumps-everything, supreme grand Rule #1 of bread baking (and of most things, for that matter): Do What Works For You. And Corollary #1: Don’t Do What Doesn’t Work For You.

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When I wrote about the illness of our bread-loving cat last summer, I didn’t know how much longer she would be with us. As it turned out, Stripes made quite a remarkable recovery and was almost her old self for many months — until a few weeks ago, when her chronically failing kidneys started making her sick again. This time, she didn’t bounce back, and she died today.

Farewell, my little friend. I didn’t always like you, but in the end I loved you. Wherever you are, I hope you’re dining sumptuously on mice, tuna, and a nice crusty loaf of sourdough.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom J, my mother-in-law MJ, and my sister L: three of the best mothers I know!

I am pleased and honored to say that Wild Yeast has been rated “E for Excellent!” And adding to my delight at my first award is the fact that it is bestowed by one of my favorite bloggers, Kelly of Sass & Veracity. If you don’t know Kelly’s blog, go there at once. You will find a fearless and accomplished cook who turns out not only one spectacular dish after another, but writes about it with laugh-out-loud wit and humor. Thanks, Kelly!

The other piece of good news is that (I think) I am now authorized to pass this award on to five others whose blogs inspire/awe/entertain/delight me. Of course the bad news is that (I think) I have to restrict my choices to five, because there are so many that I could name. But here are my heartfelt five for today; I thank all of you for your bright presence in blogdom:

Tanna of My Kitchen In Half Cups, for being a woman after my own yeasted heart whose warmth and wisdom shine through on every post.

Manuela of Baking History, for not only giving us some unique recipes but also inspiring us to learn more about the past in which they were originally brought to life or light.

Katy of sugarlaws, for dishes that are as drool-worthy as any out there, presented in such a straightforward way that she makes me believe even I could pull them off.

Jen of use real butter, for being a master both in the kitchen and behind the camera.

Zorra of 1x umrühren bitte aka Kochtopf, for BreadBakingDay and other events that welcome all and help make the world a smaller, friendlier place.

This is the bread I will be serving at Thanksgiving dinner this year. It is the same bread I made last year, and just about every year since I learned how to turn on the oven. It is the same bread you will see here next year if this blog is still around. It’s cranberry-nut bread, the recipe clipped from the back of a long-ago Ocean Spray bag.

The rest of the menu will be similarly well-worn: roast turkey with the same chestnut stuffing we’ve had since my husband and I shared our first Thanksgiving, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, squash, creamed onions, apple pie, pumpkin pie.

I may vary the sweet potato treatment a bit from year to year. I add a brussels sprout or two if I the urge strikes me. I like to try new pumpkin pie recipes from time to time. But by and large, the menu is eminently simple and predictable.

This is not because I’m not an adventurous cook (although I’m the first to admit I’m not). It is because Thanksgiving dinner is not about the Cuisine, it’s about the Food. It’s about the familiar, abundant dishes you know will always be on your plate, year after year, dishes that come together to create what my husband calls “the perfect mouthful.” These are things that would be sorely missed if they weren’t on the table. This is food that tastes good without having to fuss with it. It’s food you know you can count on.

Now that I think about it, Thanksgiving dinner is a feast that’s a lot like the family I’ll be sharing it (whether physically or in spirit) with.

So no recipes today. The bread recipe is still on the back of the cranberry bag if you need it, but I suspect you don’t. Just make what you made last year.

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Is anyone up for a game of “Connect the Facts”?

• Fact One: For reasons that are not altogether clear to me, I seem to have acquired an extra copy of Peter Reinhart’s latest book, Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor.
• Fact Two: Next week, most of us in the U.S. will be sitting down to our most important and most lavish feast of the year, but many people here and around the world will not have enough to eat.

In this game, everyone wins, even if you don’t win.

The rules are simple. All you have to do is make a donation, in any amount, to the hunger-fighting organization of your choice between now and November 30. Leave a comment here indicating what your organization is (you don’t have to say how much you donated), and you will be entered into a random drawing to win the book.

That’s all there is to it. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether you actually made a donation, so we’re on the honor/karma system here.

Here are some organizations you might consider to receive your donation (but feel free to choose a different one):

• The Hunger Project: About | Donate
• The Heifer Project: About | Donate
• America’s Second Harvest: About | Donate
  
• Action Against Hunger USA: About | Donate

How about making an online donation right now, so you don’t forget? Please be as generous as you can!

Thank you.

Today is World Bread Day. The International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners designated this day to celebrate and honor the food that is, in many phraseologies, synonymous with “food.” So it is no accident that World Bread Day was chosen to coincide with Word Food Day, October 16, the anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

The theme for World Food Day 2007 is “The Right to Food.” The FAO’s message is that regular access to sufficient, nutritious, culturally appropriate food is a basic human right that is currently denied to 850 million people worldwide.

The recipe is coming, I promise. But first:

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