Tag: sourdough

Sourdough Breakfasts

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

When most people think of sourdough, they picture a bread loaf with a crackling crisp crust and moist, tangy interior. But when you play with sourdough, you quickly discover bread is just one of many possible creations—and not necessarily the easiest.

My sourdough adventures began a couple of years ago, when I was gifted an old starter that had been lurking in a refrigerator. It didn’t have the rising power necessary for a loaf of bread; it required strength training. As I noted last week, the process of feeding a starter works like this: Pull out some starter, replace it with flour and water, and then let it work its magic, repeating the process until it readily ferments, bubbles, and grows. But I was loath to throw away weaker starter. Fortunately, a range of low-rise treats grab all the flavor with little effort.
Learn to make Sourdough Pancakes and Sourdough Waffles

Sourdough Starter

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Topic2 Comments

Long before I started baking my own bread, I craved sourdough. But I had a lot of misconceptions about the process. So for years, I baked yeast breads. I learned along the way that a dough hook on a standup mixer might prevent sore arms but at the cost of dense, inconsistent loaves. I also discovered yeast can be quite unforgiving to overproofing: leave the house during the rise time, and you’re sure to come home to a collapsed, flat mess. But I imagined that sourdough would require daily care—and consumption.

Then I was gifted a starter and took a shot at becoming a sourdough baker. I’d also been reading about no-knead breads and was intrigued by the idea of making loaves by hand without sore fingers. A bit of research, a bit of practice, and my delusions about sourdough evaporated like the liquid in a baking loaf. Learn how to find and care for sourdough starter

Winding Down the Year

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Other1 Comment

What a fabulous first Twice as Tasty year! As 2016 ends, I want to briefly look back at what’s been done since the blog’s launch last June and even share a few of the things to come.

This is the 37th post on the blog. Twice as Tasty now includes nearly 60 recipes and some additional 20-plus pages that apply a range of techniques to preparing, storing, and eating well all year. These have been going out each Tuesday to more than 150 email subscribers and Facebook followers. The 40-plus members of the companion Facebook group have been busy asking questions about and sharing the results of their food adventures.

Offline, Twice as Tasty has been feeding concertgoers and yogis, participating in food swaps, trying new recipes and techniques, and taste-testing with friends and family. I am grateful for everyone’s support and participation. And I’m so excited to share more in the coming year. Read more about what’s in store for 2017

Broccoli

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

One of the few vegetables I always blanch is broccoli. For years I skipped blanching before freezing altogether. As I mention elsewhere on this blog, blanching affects food quality rather than food safety, and I wasn’t really tasting the difference with most vegetables. Besides, I grill corn, onions, eggplant, and most other veg before freezing, which makes a blanch step redundant.

Broccoli, I’ve learned, is a big exception. Frozen raw, it ends up tasting bitter and woody, even when you add cheese and stock to make a soup. I opt to place the chopped stems and florets in a steamer basket instead of plunging them into the boiling water. Hervé This explains in Kitchen Mysteries that hydrogen ions ultimately are responsible for cooked vegetables appearing brown instead of green. Putting vegetables directly into water only increases their contact with hydrogen. Learn to steam-blanch broccoli and make Broccoli Cheese Soup