Looks very yummy!!!!!

Awesome pizzas, trailrunner! I'm still buying raw dough from the refrigerator section of the grocery store but yours are very inspirational. Maybe soon....thanks for sharing!

That'a so cool! Does the crust taste different at all? Did you use a particular method or is it kind of a generic process?

Hi trailrunner, I was inspired to try capturing "wild yeast" and have something growing, lol, but how do we know if we are growing native yeast or fermenting flour? So fascinated withthis topic, LOVE san Francisco sourdough, but think it fun to see if I can collect local yeast, Bay Area and Half Moon Bay to see if they taste different?

Oh that looks yummy.

I was going to make challah today but realized I didn't have enough flour. So instead I made...

snickerdoodles for Hubby
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Wheat-Snickerdoodles-II/Detail.aspx

triple chocolate espresso cookies for me
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001408.html
(I put some turbinado sugar and a little sea salt on top. Divine!)

bran muffins (with some cinnamon and ground clove for spice)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Classic-Bran-Muffins/Detail.aspx

egg cups (my own throw together recipe)

Then I made marinated boneless pork chops and sweet potato fries for Dinner.

marinade was:
tamari
apple cider vinegar
(equal parts)
minced ginger
squirt of Sriracha
yellow curry powder
fish sauce
sesame oil
garlic
a little agave for sweetness

Dessert was vanilla bean ice cream with cookies. Yummy.

Oven really got a workout. Now it seriously needs to be cleaned.

So how often do you find your oven needs to be cleaned?

I must say that I am really loving the convection feature on my oven. I can put in three cookie sheets at a time and there's no shuffling or uneven cooking.

Here is a link that might be useful: The photographic evidence.

Thank you iris and fulrletcity ! I hope you do get started making your own dough. It is so easy . I put 2 pieces in the freezer so I am good to go for 2 more w/o any work next time.

Debbie: no the crust doesn't so much taste different as it has a much nicer texture. it was also the best for stretching the dough. I couldn't get over how much nicer it was to work with. Plus I like not having to buy yeast ! I don't leave my culture out at room temp so it is not very sour. I am not fond of real sour sourdough. You can control the yeast taste in that way. I am using the process that I learned on the web site "The Fresh Loaf". They have a really nice tutorial ,with photos of how to do the process of fermenting the water and flour. It is called "sourdough 101". Here is the link to it.

bodica: here is the link for you too ! There is a very long thread going on on this site also about the lactic acid production etc. You can use the search feature and read everything you ever wanted to know :) haha,

PB you are 'da BOMB !! Wow it all looks so yummy ! I love marinated pork...and those cookies and sweet potatoes are my fave. Have you tried using parchment paper instead of foil ? It doesn't reflect the heat like the foil does and protects the pans ...you can reuse the sheets too if they aren't messy.

I have the "Perfect Clean" coating in my Miele ovens. There are also 2 very large baking sheet/trays that can slide under a shelf in the oven...a 2 part system. I use them under anything that might make a mess.They are coated too. They don't stop the air from circulating on convection. I never clean my ovens unless I am using the rotisserie. Then I just spray the grease cutter in while the oven is warm and come back in a little while and wipe out. I don't know why yours would be getting so messy ?? Do you just mean crumbs in the bottom?

Here is a link that might be useful: starting a sourdough culture

Oh, my. I can't let DH see all of this, or he might think a fancy new range will net him meals like this! I'm drooling.

I really do enjoy cooking for my family. I'm wondering, have any of you, with your newly remodeled kitchens, experienced a renewed interest in adventurous cooking? I go through phases--sometimes I'm really into it and can come up with yummy ideas. (Tonight it is prawn and chicken coconut laksa soup noodles--my kids' favorite) But sometimes, I just wish we could all hook up to an IV feeding tube and just not deal with it. I am hoping this will happen less often once I have my snazzy new kitchen! I have never used a convection oven--oh, what I would do for a decent oven over here in China. I spend hours making a couple dozen cookies for school bake sales and kid's birthdays....

So--do your nice ranges inspire you??!!!

i have had the same starter in my fridge since 2004... it's going strong. it was a starter made from grapes. i love it-- i'm a bit worried about feeding it during the kitchen project, but it survived a move and another kitchen reno, so i'm sure we'll be fine. i'm thinking i'll have it live at my mom's house ;o)

What memories you invoke. My grandmother, Iowa farm lady, baked bread every day. She always had an urn holding her starter yeast from which she removed as she needed, then fed it, flour I believe. Her bread was so much better but the family craft ended when she gave up baking in her 80's The yeast died along with her recipes - all from memory and by taste. She claimed the yeast dated at least to her grandmother which would have made it about a century old.

I'm a grandmother myself now but my grandchildren will never experience what a meal was all about when everything was truely natural and homemade. Nice to know some of the old traditions are beginning anew.

shanghai Mom how exciting to be in China !! My nephew is there and he got married to the librarian at his school this past week. My SIL and BIL flew over for the event. I do love working in my new kitchen way more than I did in my old one. It is easier to do what I love,,,,bake. I have always cooked and baked a lot but indeed this remodel has fired us all up with new ideas and lots of energy. When do you come back to the states?

Danielle : that is very cool. I had a starter in the 80's and let it go as I couldn't keep up with it. I now know that they don't have to be fed so often and I have recipes for the "discard" so it is easier. I know folks that get starter sitters when they travel or they take it with them in baggies in their suitcase. LOL.

fnm: that is too bad that her starter is gone. I am sure that you could start one and give your grandchildren lots of experiences...maybe a new project for 2009 ??? It is not too hard at all to make everything homemade...just planning. c

Danielle: I remember seeing a starter from grapes back in the mid-90's (Baking with Julia on PBS). I've always wanted to try it. However Hubby does not like sourdough *at all* (even a very very mild one) so I haven't fiddled with it.

shanghaimom: Yes, my shiny new stove is indeed inspiring me. But I can only imagine what kind of inspiration I could get from visiting some of your local markets. The closest I've ever been to getting outside the US is a brief trip to the Dominican Republic and due to family issues I will probably never get to travel in this lifetime. If I could spend even a week over there I'd gladly give you my stove.

trailrunner: The mess is probably due to my penchant for baking potatoes rubbed in olive oil and sea salt directly in the oven shelves (not to mention sweet potatoes and the Costco take and bake pizzas). I don't have any fancy cleaning system like your Miele has.

I do know about parchment but don't have any around. Ideally I'd like to get a bunch of silicon mats for the cookie sheets (Cost Plus has some fairly cheap) but there are several other priorities ahead of that.

pb there is no way your DH would know this was a sourdough starter...I promise. It is very mild and if he didn't see it he would never know :)
Those potatoes sound yum. I haven't done baked pot. in ages...now you've done it ! I buy the rolls of parchment at Walmart. I am going to get my DS1 to get me a case of the individual sheets that he uses at the restaurant. I know what you mean about priorities...things can get pretty tough. c

trailrunner, coming back this summer!!! We have been living here for FIVE YEARS. (I can hardly believe it.) It has been lots of fun, but we are ready, ready, ready. I can't get any kitchen remodel magazines here, so I am thrilled to have this forum. I am coming to the US for a visit later this month to find my builder for the new kitchen! (Narrowed down to three right now.) I would have been totally clueless without GW.

pbrisjar, yes, the local markets are quite, um, inspiring. Judging from your pork marinade, you are already an inspired cook. YUM.

here is some inspiration for unusual menu items. This is from an ACTUAL MENU. The translations sometimes reduce us to tears, they are so incomprehensibly funny.{{!gwi}}

Oh those are very funny ! Can't imagine how they come up with that .

Where will you be moving to in the US ? I hope you have a safe and wonderful trip. I also hope you get a great GC...after some of the stories on this site...you know . Good Luck. we will all look forward to pics. c

Thanks for the info, Caroline. I love the idea of this. I didn't even know it was possible to have your own starter that wasn't sour. I love sourdough, but it's great to be able to make non-sourdough bread this way too.

I do believe I'll have to give this a try. Of course, I'll have to call it something so that Hubby doesn't suspect that it's even remotely related to sourdough.

Thanks, shanghaimom, those translations are hilarious.

pb and Debbie. YOu can take the starter and convert it to a firm starter. Then just sub 25% of the weight of rhe flour in the recipe with that amount of firm starter. You really don't have to alter anything else...a tiny bit more salt is all. I have been doing it today with my bagel recipe and so far it is working very well. You can go as high as 40% with the firm starter. To make a firm starter take 4oz of the liquid starter and add 8oz bottled water and 12 oz unbleached flour. You can see the proportions 4/8/12. Kee p in fridge. It will never go bad. To increase the amount just use those proportions again. If you use whole wheat or rye increase the water to 9 oz. Keeps forever. Good luck ! c

Shanghaimom - thanks for the trip down memory lane!

My husband and I were completely befuddled by the signs directing us to the "small careful animals club" at the Beijing Zoo on our first trip to China. It turned out to be a petting zoo.

One of my favorites was a sign that said "Beware of your belongings." We took a picture of my husband being "attacked" by his camera case with the sign in the background.

The menu ones were always priceless, but I don't think we saw any as odd as your "Russian/whistle" one above. ;o) That one just makes me scratch my head...

I love Shanghai. One of our daughters is from Shanghai, and I could have spent weeks there. I loved The Bund, Nanjing Road, the museums, the restaurants - everything! If I were in your shoes and couldn't get a kitchen magazine there or had to spend hours making a couple dozen cookies, however, that would be BAD! I can understand why you're excited about your new kitchen-to-be!

Sorry for the hi-jack. Trailrunner - I can't wait to be making my own dough again!

C - I used to collect wild yeast when I had a screened porch: just put the flour and water out there and it did its own thing. Needless to say, not a winter activity. But I haven't done it in years because we have a deck and I don't want to leave the bowl uncovered.

hugs,
R.

HEY Rayna...how was FL?? I hope you had a great time and lots of good workshops.

I don't leave it uncovered. They say that the yeast is on the whole grain flour and if you leave it uncovered it draws bugs...especially fruit flies...actually it makes a good fruit fly trap. haha

What kinds of things did you make with your starter? I have bagels going tonight and also a French sourdough bagette dough. On its 2nd levain. So I am having a great time. Let me hear from you...miss you .. c

raynag, you could put one of those food umbrellas over starter, or pies, or whatever, while they're on the deck. I've seen them dome shaped and floppy, which you set up like a tent.

Caroline, what's the purpose of the firm starter?

This reminds me -- have any of you heard of, or know of a source for, malthouse flour? I had some homemade bread in England, which had a wonderful grainy texture, and I asked for the recipe. It included malthouse flour. I googled it, but only found it at British websites. It seems to be a mixture of malted barley and other grains.

small, careful animals club... hilarious.

Well, when warm weather comes again I'll bite! Caroline - I used to bake bread when I was young and energetic and home with the kids - used the wild yeast for every kind of bread - and if I recall, for sourdough pancakes, the recipe for which I have lost. But whoever told me about wild yeast said it floats by in the air and you need to have the stuff uncovered. Oh, well.

Foodandart - food umbrellas? what a funny image! I guess I'll just use saran wrap - but not THIS month.

Fla was a balmy high 60's- mid 70's and everybody was whining about how cold it was. Meantime, blizzards in NJ.

Yesterday was in the 50's and tonight the snow plows have been out all evening.
xo
R.

Debbie the firm starter just means you don't have to alter the reg. recipe when you add it since it is the same consistency as the finall dough you are making. A lot of folks though put the chunk of firm starter into the warm water and let it soften. Just like you do the yeast. Then they pour this onto the dry ingred. and turn on the KA. It works very well to get it mixed in.

Also there is some data out there that says the firm starter ages differently than the liquid. They say it gets more sour. So far mine is only 2 weeks old but I have not noticed that yet. All of mine stay in the fridge in saran covered containers. I only leave them out at room temp after I add flour and water to rejuvinate then when they are growing visibly I tuck them away again.

Raayna, great to hear from you !! I am so glad you had nice weather. Cat-mom said it was snowing all day and this evening. She has to drive to NJ tomorrow for work so I worry. I miss all my NYC buds. Won't be too long before we will be meeting for lunch at Union Square !!!! c