Food In Many Forms

I love it when I stumble on something so easy and good. This recipe is adapted from two different sources, and serves 2 hungry people. Depending on how big a fillet you use, you may have a bit leftover for lunch the next day. I paired it with steamed french green beans and brown rice, but it could go with pretty much any kind of vegetable/ grain combo. The nutrition profile looks a little crazy, but keep in mind that there is going to be marinade left in the baking dish. Hopefully, you are probably not drinking the remaining marinade, but it's still good to know what the worst-case scenario is. INGREDIENTS 1/2-2/3 pound salmon fillets 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed 3 Tbsp soy sauce 3 Tbsp cup brown sugar 3 Tbsp cup water 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 lemon's juice DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 400 degrees. with a rack in the center. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved.  Place fish in a l...

Now that I've made a few loaves, watched way too many Youtube videos and read a few blogs, here is what I've gleaned about sourdough so far: - The water in recipes is more of a suggestion than a rule - judgment and feel is everything - Add some of the water, and keep the rest to the side, adjust as needed - Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, allowing for more gluten development - Whole wheat flour decreases gluten development, and should be used in combination with other flours - A levain can be the starter itself, or it can refer to the step where you soak flour, water, and starter together for a period of time prior to adding the rest of the ingredients - The autolyze step can range from 30 minutes to 4 hours - The dough should be sticky and wet in the initial phase - Proof the dough at room temperature for more sour bread, and at 80-90 degrees for less sour flavor - When proofing overnight in the fridge, make sure to lock in the mois...

On Monday, I said I would make another attempt at a loaf. After much debate on technique, we ultimately decided to try the "baking with babish" technique of using a levain but it kind of veered off of the recipe pretty quickly from there. After being refrigerated overnight, and multiple rounds of folding, we proofed half of the dough in the oven like America's test kitchen, and the other half we stuck in the fridge to make the next day. The first loaf came out short, but super airy, with a nice crunch - perfect for bruschetta, dipping in soup, with slices of cheese or tapenade. The second loaf was taller, and had the beautifully darkened crust, and sour flavor, but had fewer, smaller air pockets - more like a sandwich bread.

I waited about 8 1/2 days for my sourdough to ripen. From Saturday until 2 Mondays later, I analyzed every bubble, and the consistency of every discard. Although the bubbles started after 24 hours, and persisted for the first 7 days, the loaf we attempted on Day 7 was a bit flat. After proofing overnight, the second half of that batch showed some small holes that were not visible before. I knew we were close. Today when fed the yeast at noon, I can finally say that it is doubling in size and bubbling not only on top but also throughout the container. Success! Meanwhile, I have been working hard to use up the leftover starter. - Last Wednesday, I made date walnut bread - minus the fresh cranberries ( https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-date-nut-cranberry-muffins-recipe ) - Then Thursday I made another loaf to give away - Friday we made homemade pizza crust with just flour, water, salt and olive oil ( https://www.food.com/recipe/sourdough-pizza-crust-987...