Bread enthusiast. Vegetable lover. Omnivore. If the kitchen is your happy place, you're in good company. Let's hang.
Simple Sourdough Bread {New π₯} Updated & Improved + Cauliflower Steaks, Curried Lentils, Flaky Biscuits & More
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Friends, good morning. It's shaping up to be a beautiful sunny Saturday, and I am so looking forward to it. βοΈ Let's get down to business. This week, the morning bun experiments continued, but before I post the recipe, I need to make one more batch, mostly to figure out how to actually make the buns so they emerge in the morning. I don't think it will be hard, but right now, they may as well be called evening buns. This week, I also finally updated this simple sourdough bread recipe, which has been on my site for almost a decade. It's one of those recipes, like the focaccia, that works really well for people, so I hesitate to make changes even though I know they'll improve it. I haven't changed the ingredients or quantities; I've just added a few notes. And I made a new video. The key updates include:
2. How I determine when my loaves are ready for their cold proof in the fridge. In recent months, I've sometimes found the crumb of my sourdough loaves to be a little gummy, which made me think I was underproofing them. So I experimented with letting my shaped loaves rest in the basket for 30-60 minutes before placing them in the fridge. Here is what the shaped loaf looks like upon entry into the basket: Here's what it looks like one hour later: I've been finding this extra room-temperature fermenting time has made for a lighter crumb: In the summer, the loaves might not need as much time, but it's something for you to consider if you've found yourself with denser loaves in recent weeks/months. 3. Finally, I've added my new favorite way to store bread. One of you (hi Kathleen!) introduced me to these beeswax-lined bags, and I've been really liking how well they preserve the bread: Watch the full video here: Have a wonderful weekend, Friends!
PS: Google recently introduced a feature called Preferred Sources, which lets you tell Google which websites you'd like to see featured more prominently in certain search experiences. If you enjoy my recipes, please consider adding my site "as a preferred source" in Google. It's a simple way to let Google know you'd like to see more recipes, tips, and content from me when searching. Review of the Week
ββοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈβ βInsanely Delicious Whipped Ricottaβ "Amazing! Measure with your heart on the olive oil and honey. Love this and guests canβt get enough of it. " βDC Girl 7 More Recipes to Make Right NowβCauliflower Steaks with Walnut-Caper Salsa: A hearty, delicious vegetarian entrΓ©e.
βCurried Lentils with Kale and Coconut Milk: Another hearty and delicious vegetarian entrΓ©e!
βFarro Risotto with Butternut Squash and Kale: Making this tonight. I love that when you make risotto with farro instead of Arborio rice, you can add all the liquid at once, which eliminates the need to stir and monitor constantly.
βFlaky Buttermilk Biscuits... so good with stewy, soupy dishes and great if you don't have any bread on hand:
βMy Favorite Kale Salad: Make a large batch of shallot vinaigrette, enjoy this salad for days. (Lots of kale in this week's roundup! )
βSesame-Crusted Grandma Pie with Broccoli Rabe & Hot Honey: I shared this over on my Pizza Substack a few years ago... it's inspired by a pizza served at Paulie Gee's. The sesame seeds add such a nice crunch.
βApple Orchard Muffins: a friend of mine made these recently and shared them with me... I had forgotten how delicious they are π
Farm Share Friends:
... it's here! The season of ALL the greens, herbs, radishes, and more. While I am no longer updating The Farm Share Newsletter, these posts from previous years may be helpful:
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Hi. I'm Ali.
Bread enthusiast. Vegetable lover. Omnivore. If the kitchen is your happy place, you're in good company. Let's hang.
Friends, good morning from Long Island (again!) βοΈ I hope you all had a week as glorious weather-wise as we did here in Upstate New Yorkβbright blue skies every day, crisp mornings, warm, sunny afternoons, the most perfect walking weather... I'm dreading the season's end. This week, I made progress on both the morning buns (above) and the chocolate croissants (below) using this cheater's croissant dough recipe. The overall feedback from the family on the chocolate croissants? Too much...
Friends, hello. This week, I had so hoped to make progress on the Tartine morning buns I shared last week, but I got distracted. Shortly after sending the email, one of you asked if the cheater's croissant dough could be used to make Christmas Star Bread, and shortly after that, the chocolate I ordered to make chocolate croissants arrived. So I made a double batch of dough... But that's as far as I got. The experiments will continue this week. The real distraction this week was last night's...
Hi Friends, Remember that cheater's croissant dough recipe we made in early summer? This week I used the dough to make morning buns, following the recipe from Tartine: Revised Edition, and while they didn't immediately transport me back to my favorite cafe, they turned out very well, and the children were very, very happy. The buns reheated well on multiple mornings, and with every reheat, the kitchen filled with the smell of cinnamon and orange zest. Heaven! I'm hoping to post the recipe...