Sunlight, Seed, and Soil

by

Understanding new visions of FARMING grain There was a time when I didn’t think much about flour. Sure, it was one of those pervasive ingredients that appeared regularly, but beyond lifting it off the grocery store shelves, I didn’t ponder this silky white powder. I just measured it out and that was that. It was a backbone, but mostly I just saw it as a blank slate. It always seemed so inert in and of itself, kind of like a drab little wallflower that had some prospect for pizazz if you knew how to nudge her the right way. … Read more

Los Angeles Bakers & Millers

by

Hello, my loves. I’m back at it, firing my ovens after a weekend of excess and inspiration in LA. Besides the fact that I grew up there and kept bumping into loosened strands of the little lost kitten I once was, one who purred into the heart of her own experiences with a fervor that still lives on, I also got to eat (and eat and eat) a lot of tremendous bread. It all started when I stepped off the plane last Thursday and drove straight to the home of my childhood best friend in Culver City. Through a … Read more

Quick Breads and Mama Bread

by

I returned from Anchorage and the first thing I did when I walked through the door at home was to go tend my starter. I fed that little levain with fervor, for I’d missed having my hands in dough so badly. Alas, it would still be a few days until I could bake bread since it takes a some time to get the yeasties active again. Hence, I went on a quick-bread and/or snacking loaf kick. It started with this grapefruit snacking cake that I spotted in the April issue of Bon Apetit on the plane ride home. This … Read more

This Week- Anchorage –> Home

by

Anchorage, Alaska –> Home at the end of the week I started this week in Alaska with my family for Spring Break, which puts one more notch on my state-by-state belt. As Gregg was approaching a big birthday, people kept asking him about his “bucket list”, a term I’m not all that crazy about, but still. What I am crazy about is making things happen for people, so when he kept answering “The Northern Lights”, I started checking tickets and researching the magic that is magnetic radiation hitting our atmosphere. I had never been to Alaska and here’s what … Read more

This Week’s Adventures in Bread

by
Red Wheat Levain

Oh, how I love you, Organic Landrace Red Wheat from Camas Country Mill. I’m working my way through your 50-pound sack and each time I reach in for a new cup, I muse on how clean and plump and healthy you are. You will certainly nourish me to the core this week. What is landrace wheat? Landrace refers to a breed that has been adapted for a regional ecotype. My understanding is that within a species, there are genetic variations and some of these variations are adaptations to the specific environments where they are being bred. What seems important … Read more

+ More