Sourdough Bagels

On January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Ingredient2 Comments

Many commercial operations make soft, fluffy bagels. You can do far better at home. Get sourdough recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
My first attempt at sourdough bagels followed our backcountry adventure last summer: it was a win for its poke bowl and huckleberry sourdough pancakes but a loss in the bagel department, when I had to resort to supermarket bakery “bagels.” Our county’s only bagel shop closed years ago, so the only local option was closer to squishy rolls than chewy, dense bagels. I started testing my own version as soon as we returned home.

Some research revealed the main problem: many commercial operations steam their bagels. It’s quick, cheap, and easy to automate for massive batches, but the bagels are soft and fluffy. (I’m not even sure the supermarket went this far; more likely, they took their hamburger bun dough and poked a hole in the center.) As with soft pretzels, bagels really want to be immersed in boiling water before baking. Boiling the dough lets its starches gel, forming a firm crust that surrounds a dense interior after baking. Without this step, you’ll end up with a texture and flavor closer to a bread roll. Although some bakers swear by a water bath spiked with honey and others go au naturel, I find a soda bath, similar to the one used for Sourdough Pretzel Bites, adds flavor and color.
Learn to make Sourdough Bagels and Bagel Breakfast Sandwich

Sourdough Pretzels

On January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Topic3 Comments

Sourdough pretzel dough is straightforward, there’s a trick to the crisp “shell” and soft center. Get sourdough recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Have you ever decided to try a recipe for the first time for a party? That was our first attempt at Sourdough Pretzel Bites. Several years back, George and I volunteered to prepare a fondue-themed surprise party for a dear friend. We bought about 10 kinds of cheese and made several sweet and savory fondues: classic Emmenthaler, cheddar and beer, Gruyere and wine, gjetost, Brie and shiitake, squash and cheddar, Spanish Manchego, bagna cauda, and of course chocolate. I guess that 30, maybe 40, people passed through the house that night, poking various dippers into every fondue pot we could get our hands on.

Our first sourdough soft pretzel attempt disappeared quickly that night, but in the years since I’ve tweaked and perfected the recipe. The dough is straightforward; where opinions vary widely is in how to achieve a crisp “shell” and soft center. German soft pretzels have long been dipped in lye, an alkaline substance so caustic that it’s used to clean clogged drains and requires gloves when handling. As much as I love traditional flavors and techniques, I wasn’t ready to introduce that element into my kitchen.

The eminent Harold McGee has recommended sodium carbonate, sometimes called soda ash, as a replacement: simply bake sodium bicarbonate, also known as the common kitchen staple baking soda, at a low temperature until most of its water and carbon dioxide evaporate. On the upside, your pretzels will have that traditional bite; on the downside, this “baked soda” will still irritate your skin. So I prefer standard baking soda in my soda water bath. It may be less traditional and less flavorful, but it balances well with the sourdough tang and doesn’t eat into my hands.
Learn to make Sourdough Pretzel Bites and Beer–Cheese Dip

Sourdough Focaccia

On January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, TopicLeave a comment

Sourdough isn’t traditional for focaccia, but it’s one of the few sourdough breads you can cut and eat hot. Get focaccia recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I see all types of bread as an easy snack, but focaccia stands out among them. I’d buy it oven-hot as a street snack in Italy, and that flavor has stuck with me decades later. It’s tempting to think of focaccia as a deep-crust pizza crust or sandwich bread and load up on toppings and fillings, but it really rises best in the oven when it isn’t overloaded and shows off its heavy glug of olive oil when other flavors don’t take over.

Although sourdough isn’t traditional for focaccia, the tang pairs beautifully with silky olive oil. It also makes the dough forgiving of busy schedules; instead of having to watch to ensure it doesn’t overproof, you can slide the pan into the refrigerator and bake it at your leisure. But one of the greatest perks of sourdough focaccia is that unlike many sourdough breads, you can cut it and eat it hot. This also means it doesn’t keep as well, so I make a small loaf in a single 9- by 13-inch pan and bake often. Besides snack food, the hot bread works well with a bowl of Tomato Juice Soup or on an appetizer plate with pickles, homemade cheese, and sliced fruit.
Learn to make Savory Sourdough Focaccia and Sweet Sourdough Focaccia

3rd Annual Sourdough Giveaway

On January 2, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway4 Comments

Happy 2020 from Twice as Tasty! January is Sourdough Month here on the blog. The Sourdough Giveaway Experiment has been so successful over the last 2 years that I’ve made it an annual event. I’ll be giving away sourdough starter through January 31, 2020.

There’s even more reason to get your free starter this year: later this month, I’ll be launching a Twice as Tasty Challenge for newsletter subscribers. All you have to do to participate in the challenge is to subscribe here to the monthly newsletter. Details on the challenge will be sent to you later this month. And although you don’t have to be baking with sourdough to participate, you’ll have more fun and be more involved in this food community if you do!
Keep reading to get in on the 3rd Annual Sourdough Giveaway

Winding Down Year 4

On December 26, 2019December 26, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn OtherLeave a comment

Twice as Tasty will officially turn 4 next June, but the approaching end of 2019 has me reflecting on the past year and pondering the directions to take the blog and Twice as Tasty Live in the year to come. It seems that this past year was all about settling in: The blog has found its rhythm, and the models I’ve developed for workshops and other live events keep them running smoothly. (Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.) Things are running so smoothly that I’m tossing around ideas that will put more on the 2020 table. (Skip down the page to read about the year to come.)
Read more about what to expect in 2020

Holiday Cheers

On December 19, 2019December 25, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Refrigerating, TopicLeave a comment

Choose a simple shaken eggnog for a cozy evening in or tom and jerry batter to mix once and pour often. Get cocktail recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Every year, when nights start to crackle with cold and I’m cozying up to the woodstove, my alcohol tastes shift. Instead of a gin and tonic, I order an old-fashioned. We buy more bottles of whiskey and fewer bottles of tequila. And I even find space for the occasional rich milk-and-egg drinks like eggnog and its warm cousin, tom and jerry.

I’ve made many variations on eggnog over the years before settling on a quick recipe that makes a pair of drinks at a time, perfect for an evening in. You’ll note it uses raw egg. I always recommend fresh eggs from a well-kept flock, but I became even more confident in the recipe when I learned that a scientist at Rockefeller University found bacteria can’t stand up to a mixture of raw eggs and 20 percent alcohol.
Learn to make Homemade Eggnog and Homemade Tom & Jerry

Gingerbread

On December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic3 Comments

Get a healthy dose of ginger and find out why some baking old-time techniques still work. Get gingerbread recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I may not have red hair, but in the kitchen I’m definitely a ginger. You’ve probably spotted this from the regular appearance of ginger on the blog—ginger-flavored syrups and marmalades, ginger-spiked beverages, Pickled Ginger, Gingerbread Pancakes, and for the ultimate hit, Triple Gingersnaps and Triple Ginger Cake. So it seemed highly appropriate to add two more traditional ginger recipes to the lineup this month: gingerbread in cookie and loaf forms.

When I went digging for family variations of these recipes, I found some surprising ingredients and techniques. I decided to pick apart one of my grandmother’s well-used recipes, from her 1930 Fruit and Flower Mission Cookbook. What is the purpose of the vinegar? Why is the baking soda dissolved in water? Why do only some of the recipes in her book call for egg? I had to know more. Find out what I learned in the recipe and its tips and tricks.
Learn to make Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies and Gingerbread Loaf

Gifting Food

On December 5, 2019December 5, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Canning, Dehydrating, Freezing, Refrigerating, Topic3 Comments

With a little thought, you can make your food gifts the highlight of someone’s holiday season—and of yours. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
With the holiday season on your doorstep, you’re likely planning meals and buying and making gifts. If you’re like me, you’re preparing to give the gift of food. It may not sound as sexy as an Apple AirPod or gravity blanket, but when you’ve taken the time to make it, package it, and set it aside with a specific person in mind, it carries far more love.

Still, giving and receiving food has its challenges. I’m not talking about the effort you put into preparing it, which you’ve likely already planned into your schedule and budget. I’m talking about ensuring your hard work will truly be appreciated by the receiver—and about how you, when you’re the receiver, can value what’s been created for you. With a little thought, you can make your food gifts the highlight of someone’s holiday season—and of yours.
Read more about gifting food

Mashers

On November 28, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dry storage, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Everyone has a favorite mash, but you can please them all with 5 or fewer ingredients. Get mashed potato recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully your kitchen smells warm and spicy and you have many hands at work preparing the day’s spread. This foodie holiday holds many memories for me—from family gathered around Grandma Tiny’s table to “orphans” meals with friends to today’s version with family and friends and the hope that snow will be in the air. It’s been 25 years since I’ve eaten the main attraction of the table, but it remains a celebration—probably because I easily fill a plate before the turkey passes by.

I rarely think of mashing potatoes outside the holiday season (unless I want to use up yogurt whey). Instead, I bake them, roast them, and braise them; I turn them into salad, soup, curry, and gnocchi. Perhaps it’s the cranberries—a dollop sits so beautifully in a pile of mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. So when these tart berries are in season, the potato masher comes out to play.
Learn to make Tangy Potato Mashers and Sweet Potato Mashers with Coconut Milk

Fall Beverages

On November 21, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dry storage, Topic, Using4 Comments

Need cold and hot nonalcoholic beverages for your next gathering? Look no further than Golden Milk and Switchel. Get beverage recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I first tasted golden milk at a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. Who knew that a warm beverage would be so delicious in that hot, tropical climate? But it was the perfect drink to follow an intense day of working our bodies.

When I moved from just writing about good food on the Twice as Tasty blog to making it for live events, I needed cold and hot beverages, alcoholic and nonalcoholic, to fit every season and occasion. Golden milk immediately came to mind as a warm, alcohol-free brew. I enjoyed it under the hot sun, but it’s just as delicious for fall holiday family gatherings and parties when snow is coming down. For home use, I make just the paste and keep it on hand so that I can make a mug or two at a time. For a gathering, you can prepare a full batch; place it on the table next to a chilled switchel, and you’ll find people happily swapping between the two.
Learn to make Golden Milk and Switchel