Hummus

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dry storage, Grilling, Topic, Using3 Comments

Hummus, to my mind, is like applesauce: store-bought versions are no substitute for the real deal. Fortunately, the two have many other similarities. Both are incredibly easy to make. Both only require a few, easily obtainable ingredients. And particularly when made at home, both are not just good eating but good to eat.

Although few people get excited about applesauce these days, hummus remains hugely popular. Anecdotally, I know this because I get more requests for made-from-scratch hummus than any other creation at Twice as Tasty catered events. Neil Irwin of the New York Times supports this view by ranking hummus among “foods that have generally had staying power.” When you combine it with homegrown veg or Sourdough Pita Chips and flavor it with roasted garlic, hummus is guaranteed to fly off the table.
Learn to roast garlic and make Roasted-Garlic Hummus

Winter Creations

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

These first few weeks of the year have been busy at Twice as Tasty. The first monthly newsletter just hit the inboxes of email subscribers. If you’re following this blog via email, you should have received a copy. But if you’re following via WordPress, you’ll need to sign up here. Once you do, you’ll still receive post notifications via WordPress, but you’ll also get an email once a month with a link to a downloadable and printable PDF version of the latest recipes so that they’re easy to use in your kitchen.

If you’re local, there’s still plenty of time to sign up for a sourdough or other winter workshop. I’ll also be giving a free public sourdough workshop at Free the Seeds next month. For nonlocals, keep your eye out for Twice as Tasty on Pinterest starting later this month—including links to fabulous winter creations that can be made in any kitchen.
Read more about winter creations

Sourdough Bread

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Ingredient, Using5 Comments

Sourdough Month wouldn’t be complete without talking bread. Here I share my favorite recipe. We call it Sourdough Cabin Bread because it makes my little Montana log cabin smell so good, but my young nephew has dubbed it “Auntie Julie’s Special Bread.” And it is special—whether you’re a new or experienced bread maker, you’ll likely be surprised by how easy it is to make these loaves. The techniques and tricks have two purposes: reduce effort and build flavor.

There’s a reason behind every technique given here. Using weights, instead of cups, improves accuracy. Mixing by hand, instead of with an electric mixer, prevents overmixing. Folding, rather than kneading, reduces your effort while enhancing the bread’s texture. A long fermentation allows the dough to feed, release gas, and develop flavor. The bowl in the oven captures steam and creates a crisp crust. The results are delicious, beautiful loaves that slice smoothly for sandwiches and other uses.
Learn to make Sourdough Cabin Bread and Gorgeous Grilled Cheese

Pizza

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

People may forever debate whether pizza is Italian, but there can be no doubt that it is American. One poll last year reported that “For Americans, pizza lands in the number one spot as the ultimate comfort food.” But if you were to ask, “What is pizza?” you’d get as many answers as respondents.

This, to my mind, is a good thing. It’s what makes pizza so popular. It’s also what makes pizza so easy and affordable to create from scratch at home. You don’t need a specific recipe with exact ingredients. You don’t even need a ratio with proportions of various toppings. All you need is some dough, a couple handfuls of garnishes, and a way to cook it. If you have a sourdough starter, the dough is in the bag—or should I say, jar.
Learn to make Sourdough Pizza Dough and Thin-Crust Pizza

Sourdough Pita

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Ingredient, Using3 Comments

Some form of flatbread practically defines most food cultures: pizza for Italy, naan for the Middle East, lefse for Norway, tortilla for Mexico, injera for East Africa, pita for the Mediterranean. Many are unleavened, made with a simple mix of flour, water, and salt. But some use yeast, and my favorites start with a sponge or sourdough.

Pita is one flatbread that only gets better—and easier to make—with the addition of sourdough starter. It works as well with a weak starter awakening from a long sleep as with a lively one. Plus, pitas are fun. As a kid, my mom bought pita halves to build “pocket sandwiches” for school lunches and roadtrips. If I’d known that baking pitas puff up like pillows, I would have insisted that Mom make them from scratch. My niece and nephew did just that—and then insisted on eating them whole, even though each pillow was as large as a plate. Learn to make Sourdough Pita Bread and Pita Chips

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

Potatoes

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dry storage, Ingredient, Refrigerating, Using1 Comment

Potato salads are a summer staple, whether I’m making them from jawbreaker-size potatoes stolen from row edges while checking the potato plants’ progress or full-grown spuds cut down to size. They go beautifully with summer’s green beans, cherry tomatoes, and sugar snaps. But we grow so many storage potatoes that it seems a shame to give up the salads just because the other fresh produce is long gone. This version uses stored veggies, making it a late-season or even midwinter go-to. The salad itself is quite basic, and a few unconventional techniques make it a snap. Inspired by traditional salads I ate regularly as I traveled in Russia and France—salad Olivier and salade niçoise, respectively—I’ve created two dressings that bring distinctly different flavors to the forefront; I sometimes alternate between the two salad dressings for several weeknight meals.
Learn to make Potato Salad with Russian and French Dressings

Quick Breads

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Freezing, Topic, Using1 Comment

As a kid, I loved the shape of muffins; breaking the cap from the base was my version of twisting open an Oreo. These days, I prefer quick breads for one reason: the freezer. A stack of zucchini, pumpkin, banana, and cranberry breads takes up far less space than the same four batches of muffins. Besides, toasting is the only way to reheat; a microwave is just not the tool for defrosting baked treats. If you have a toaster oven (which I recommend for many reasons), there’s no bread vs. muffin argument. But if you’re a traditional toaster owner—well, you can imagine the mess of slicing a frozen muffin to fit.

Fortunately, you can easily convert your favorite muffin recipe to a loaf: They’re the same product, just in different pans. Even better, you can base them on a ratio and change the flavors to match your mood or the season. Learn to make Ratio Quick Bread and Quick Cranberry Bread