tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41777450091698628422012-01-29T21:55:53.299+01:00misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.comBlogger651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-10324168167509978812011-04-16T20:59:00.000+02:002011-04-16T20:59:12.945+02:00

I used to love garlic as much as the next person, that is to say, not particularly. But it was this dish I can still remember, in an old Italian restaurant on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn that changed my mind. I was hanging out with my friend Michael in his old neighborhood. We stopped at this restaurant where he had occasionally eaten after school. It was weird because, for me, growing up, I

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-11843152904675276702011-03-05T23:13:00.000+01:002011-03-05T23:13:32.361+01:00

I often make bread in my sleep. Okay, not really, but I sometimes start the dough just before I go to bed, knead it, and do a few stretch and folds before leaving it in a cool place in the house. Then I sleep, wake at six in the morning, shape the bread, plop it in the proofing basket, turn on the oven and sleep for an additional two hours before I bake. So, in a sense, for me, baking

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-89243684754185056242010-12-22T20:47:00.000+01:002010-12-22T20:47:46.366+01:00

  So. Here we are. Shredded Asiago. I've really been dragging my feet towards the end of the challenge. Not just because I didn't want it to end, but mostly because I couldn't find Asiago in Berlin. True, I was only half-heartedly trying. The thing is, finishing the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge meant finishing a significant part of my baking

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-19706088649902762652010-11-05T21:56:00.002+01:002010-11-22T23:15:44.036+01:00

Every Saturday morning, Amy and I make a survey of whatever vegetables we have left in the house, grab our Oma Porsche (shopping trolley), and roll on out of there into the midst of a huge Turkish Market at Crelleplatz near our house. The market itself is nothing special. Half the stalls are clothing, trinkets, and other low-priced wares. The thing that disturbs me the most is a singing

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-60023296862719530692010-10-28T09:50:00.002+02:002010-11-05T00:06:33.789+01:00

Once Is Happenstance Earlier this year, I had read a German article about beekeeping on the roof of the Paris Opera. The honey was then sold at the Opera gift shop. I thought this was rather clever, but wondered what the honey would taste like. Other than a trip back to Paris, which is continually in the pre-planning stages, it was unlikely that I would be able to taste honey that came from

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-45216621945824535082010-10-13T00:15:00.000+02:002010-10-13T00:15:00.175+02:00

In case you missed part one, here's the link. I did get asked in my last post how long this vacation lasted, especially since we were trying all sorts of things. The entire trip lasted ten days, of which only nine were spent tasting beers. Of those days, these are only the beers that we had while we were out. Our friend's parent's house had a huge selection and the beers we had there were

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-41905334808558590132010-09-14T21:00:00.000+02:002010-09-14T21:00:01.328+02:00

I know. I know.I went about a month without posting a single thing in this space. But, can you blame me? Everyone in Europe takes vacation in August, and it was my first vacation this year. Well, not counting the seven days I had to take off in March to use up the vacation days I had left over from last year. The policy is, use them by 31 March or lose them forever.August turned into a stress

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-89267370188344389302010-09-04T22:13:00.000+02:002010-09-04T22:13:00.631+02:00

If White Bread is the candy of breads, then Whole Wheat Bread must be the- er- bread- of breads. It's pretty funny to make the leap from White Bread, which is known in some circles as the evil of the world, to Whole Wheat Bread, which is supposed to be the healthy bread, the one you buy out of obligation, but not because it tastes good. But such is the (alphabetical) order in Peter

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-27583987392498561372010-08-05T23:45:00.000+02:002010-08-05T23:45:00.280+02:00

As kids, we had tons of white bread. Like more than should ever been good for any child. Hamburger Buns, Hot Dog Rolls, morning toast. Well, probably not the morning toast part, but definitely anything that had to do with Sandwiches.As a child, my favorite thing was Peanut Butter and Strawberry Preserves. Actually, it wasn't so much preserved strawberries, as it was jam with chunks of

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-82827664022723105142010-07-31T16:00:00.000+02:002010-07-31T23:38:27.728+02:00

I've never been to Vienna. But I've been to many other European capitals since arriving here in this crazy country they call Deutschland. Aside from the obvious Berlin, Brussels was my first capital- We visited over my birthday weekend in 2007, to attend a Beer festival taking place that weekend in Sint-Niklaas.At the end of the trip, as we were leaving, my friends pulled off an exit and the

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-72254128361426514922010-07-13T23:00:00.002+02:002010-07-13T23:00:08.243+02:00

I guess this is the moment when it all went sensationally wrong, way back when.Somehow, intentionally making a salt-free bread seems to have wronged the delicate balance of the bread universe, so it had to strike back somehow. This is the bread that made me realize something was wrong with the oven.When I first started baking, I would religiously measure six cups of flour. Oh, wait. is that four

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-75564083330127021912010-06-30T23:57:00.000+02:002010-06-30T23:58:20.690+02:00

I, like many of you out there, have had a love affair with Butterscotch all my life. As a child, I used to snatch up those little Butterscotch hard candies from Brach's in the yellow wrapper that no one else liked. All buttery and- well, certainly not Scotch-y, as I later would find out.The thing is, I don't really like butter. Okay, okay, I don't like butter on bread, since the butter just

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-17104536638098004832010-06-22T22:30:00.000+02:002010-06-22T22:35:46.972+02:00

Molasses.Is impossible to find in Germany.So I exaggerate, but this is the ingredient that has given me the most grief in my short German baking career. I knew that any normal store would definitely not have this in their baking department, and yet I persisted. I asked for "Melasse" at every big supermarket, and at every Bio-laden I could find. Yet, I knew I would probably not find it. A

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-66951350280053242782010-06-09T23:45:00.001+02:002010-06-09T23:45:24.436+02:00

It now seems like a lifetime ago.I used to live in Brooklyn. Why there, and not Manhattan? The simplest and foremost reason was the sky. I grew up in California where you have nothing but sky. The highest buildings in my area were about two-stories high, and even then, they were a rarity. So Brooklyn was an obvious choice. Most buildings weren't over four stories and the sky- oh, the sky.Much to

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-75695248619872594612010-06-06T17:05:00.000+02:002010-06-06T17:05:16.164+02:00

Oof.Sometimes I think I'm running out of steam since my baking has basically halted. Part of the reason is that I want to catch up. That is- synchronize what I've baked with what I've posted in order to not forget what the breads were like.It now seems that by the time I get to the actual post, I've completely forgotten what the bread looked like, or even tasted like. Such is the case with this

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-35628182948394464112010-05-17T23:06:00.000+02:002010-05-17T23:06:25.670+02:00

No, these lovely sugar cookies aren't part of the Modern Baker Challenge. But they are some of my favorite sugar cookies ever. These bunnies were part of our Easter Monday Kaffee und Kuchen extravaganza. Kaffee und Kuchen is a German tradition and translates to "coffee and cake". The whole gist of it, which I've never understood, is that you invite people over, usually one or two, and serve them

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-16241879764674450822010-05-06T23:08:00.000+02:002010-05-06T23:08:57.186+02:00

If, for a moment, we could compare common supermarket bread here in Germany versus common supermarket bread found in the States, we would find that bread here is darker, denser, usually laden with seeds and rye, and, on occasion, nearly black. Sometimes I wish I could start a blog made up only of supermarket breads to show the huge difference between bread culture here in Germany, and in the

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-66846635585971142652010-04-22T22:23:00.005+02:002010-04-30T19:56:16.282+02:00

I don't really take recommendations from people. Well, people often give me recommendations, which I disregard, but also file away in one of the darkest corners of my brain. Which is to say, that I don't welcome ideas from others. For me, things just have to happen organically.For example, earlier this month, Smitten Kitchen featured Shakshuka. I thought it looked interesting, but didn't run to

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-90083656853317463372010-04-14T22:28:00.002+02:002010-04-14T22:35:06.021+02:00

Here is is. The bread on the cover of the Bread Baker's Apprentice.This is part three on my experiences with Pain Poilâne. The first two posts can be found here and here.Last year, after much poking about on The Fresh Loaf website, I decided to get a few bread books. Feeling intimitdated by people's comments on Hamelman's Bread, I decided to get The Bread Baker's Apprentice instead, figuring that

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-76787904566261843162010-03-31T23:40:00.001+02:002010-03-31T23:42:50.668+02:00

This is the second of a three-part series on my experiences with Poilâne bread. You can find the first part here.A short while after we got back from Paris, I was poking around the Poilâne website checking the price of shipping a loaf to Berlin (about 36€, shipping included), when I noticed that Galeries Lafayette on Friedrichstrasse was one of their international distributors. Almost immediately

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-90361170520383145872010-03-23T20:56:00.004+01:002010-03-31T23:42:37.612+02:00

We almost didn't make it.I had ticked off the Poilâne bakery on Rue Cherche-Midi as one of the stops on our Paris trip last August, but it looked like the list of things we wanted to see and do would outweigh the list of things we would actually do. The only thing that was a must-see on my list was La Défense, the big modern complex outside of the Paris Peripherique with the humongous Grand Arch

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-27562214252322938042010-03-19T22:00:00.000+01:002010-03-20T14:22:01.731+01:00

I hadn't intended on making Brioche. But one day I woke up and was craving it so much that I had to have it. Instead of cracking open a recipe, I decided to just find it. After all, I just wanted a piece, no?The bakery in my street has pretty amazing bread, but their brioche is, well, not-so-amazing. It's made in muffin tins and, even though it has the tête, it's just not what I wanted. I wanted

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-983644673020054272010-03-12T22:00:00.000+01:002010-03-12T22:08:36.571+01:00

Rye. Again.I thought this was the sourdough section.I think I'd taken my bias against rye a bit too far. I mean, I see a fair number of okay rye loaves here in Germany, since everyone seems to eat it it like it was- well, like it was wheat. The thing is that rye has this tanginess that I tend not to like. The reason?When I first moved here I had a limited vocabulary. I had the grammar pretty much

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-50545774076982948172010-03-01T23:23:00.000+01:002010-03-01T23:23:25.240+01:00

Rye and I have never been best of friends. I never really ate rye bread during my time in the States. It simply wasn't available. When it was, it was laden with those tricky caraway seeds that were just too strong tasting and smelling. For me, rye bread was simply bread with caraway seeds.I never gave much thought to the actual rye part of the bread because for me, the two were inseparable.

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-26355658078417255062010-02-27T23:45:00.001+01:002010-02-27T23:45:10.326+01:00

For some unexplained reason, Germans claim that they make the best Tiramisu. The person uttering the claim never says that he or she makes the best Tiramisu, but, rather, that their grandmother, or their spouse, or their mother, or their father makes the best Tiramisu. I'm not saying every German does this, but I have heard this more times than I have fingers and toes, so I'm going to safely say

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-76783777565442628302010-02-03T23:11:00.000+01:002010-02-03T23:11:05.801+01:00

In the beer world, there are a bunch of beers around the Belgian area known as Payottenland, or, less formally, Lambic land. Lambic is essentially a beer that is fermented by the yeasts that grow wild in the air around a brewery. Old lambic is mixed with new lambic to make the drink called Gueuze.The resulting beer is sour like vinegar with a complex aroma and taste. It's akin to some of the most

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-75857548506929171722010-02-01T21:35:00.000+01:002010-02-01T23:02:27.203+01:00

The second batch of non-BBA dough this year was this one, baked about ago, but only posted now. Buying a half-loaf of bread weighing 1,7kg sort of derailed my bread plans since then, so you'll have to wait a while for more posts from My Bread Year.So. One morning just before I left for work, I realized I hadn't made any bread and had way too much starter on hand. I usually build up my starters so

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-18322364228139703302010-01-27T23:59:00.001+01:002010-01-28T00:12:59.636+01:00

So my dealings with Canadians up until a few years ago had been of disbelief. What? Canada? That's a completely different world. Of course, I never said this, but rather, "You're Canadian? Really?" Until I began to work with them, and my whole perception changed. Canadians are awesome. I am just going to repeat that in case you skipped over that sentence. Canadians are awesome.One of my favorite

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-6682442161135409352010-01-26T21:20:00.000+01:002010-01-26T21:19:09.699+01:00

I never did get to say good-bye to 2009, particularly since we were flying when the time changed over. We had no party on the plane, drinks were not handed out, and the pilot barely announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now 12:06 in Frankfurt" as we speeded over the Atlantic. When we landed, all of our suitcases were with us, and after two layovers, we were completely beat. Still, we attempted

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-53952626476624135762010-01-19T22:35:00.001+01:002010-01-19T22:39:10.087+01:00

Possibly the most humbling thing about baking, or even cooking, in someone else's kitchen is that nothing is where it should be. Rather, everything is somewhere else- The flour is in the pantry, but on a different shelf, and even the pantry is on the wrong side of the kitchen.Last Thanksgiving was a whirlwind marathon of cooking. It's one of the few holidays I enjoy, mostly because I get to cook

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-26198362967068921752010-01-12T22:10:00.000+01:002010-01-12T22:10:19.643+01:00

I never experienced "Hawaiian Bread" growing up. For us it was either the store-brand loaf of soft white bread, or it was the long family-size loaf of brownish bread. Every now and then, however, my father would buy a loaf of wheat bread with a split down the top which promised to have been brushed with butter. Though I always bit off that part of the bread first, it never really fulfilled its

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-1996557599481814842010-01-07T23:59:00.000+01:002010-01-08T00:00:00.158+01:00

This year I have decided to blog every bread I make, even if I have to double up on the breads per post, post breads multiple times or even just post only pictures as proof. Why you ask? Why not, I say. Though I really don't have time for the endeavor, I want to prove to myself that the failures (and there are always failures) are as instructive as the successes.We begin with the first success:

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-64988207587467671622010-01-04T00:00:00.002+01:002010-01-04T00:10:47.280+01:00

First of all, I'm apologizing for the gap inbetween posts. I began this post in early December, and tried to finish it the week before we left for vacation, but the week became too busy. I did manage to write it on the airplane on the way over thanks to the Apple MagSafe Airplane Adapter and seatguru.com's advice. However, I was sick for about 12 of those 14 vacation days and am still now

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-65627368826004591342009-12-07T22:49:00.000+01:002009-12-07T22:51:28.634+01:00

When I was in College, or, as I am now accustomed to say, in University, I worked at one of the University-run snack bars. I worked Friday Nights because I really had no social life, and working allowed me to talk to random strangers while their food was cooking. While I enjoyed working the grill and making omelettes for very cute women, my true love was making pizzas. The only drawback was that

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-59905328900463426152009-11-29T20:31:00.005+01:002009-11-29T23:00:39.845+01:00

Me and Panettone go way back. Well, sort of.When I was living in Brooklyn, I would often come across these gigantic boxes of Panettone that had been imported directly from Italy. I dreamt of one day buying one of these boxes, taking it home, opening it up, oh-so-carefully, slicing myself a huge slice, and biting into sweet, sweet heaven.My dreams were always dashed by the $16.99 price tag.

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-89307891271424847002009-11-17T22:45:00.001+01:002009-11-17T22:49:25.754+01:00

There's this word in German, lassen. You may recognize it from its similarity to laissez in the word laissez faire, which, incidentally, comes from the French, and in turn, probably from some old Latin word. So, the word is usually used in the sense of when you have someone else do something for you. When you say Ich habe das backen lassen, you are saying "I had that baked". When you say Ich habe

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-73599382108347971532009-11-11T21:00:00.000+01:002009-11-12T21:20:34.483+01:00

Every Sunday, on ARD, they show the longest-running series show in the history of German television. It's called Tatort, which roughly translates to "Scene of the Crime". It is shown in a 90 minute stretch, without commercials and otherwise uninterrupted starting at exactly 20:15. It's actually somewhat of a joke with us, as we tell people that we can't do anything on Sunday evenings during

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-9310030996095997502009-11-05T19:30:00.004+01:002009-11-07T10:39:34.569+01:00

This bread. This is my absolute most favorite bread from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Mark my words, the beast that is Casatiello comes in at a close second, but this bread is probably the best bread I've ever baked. Back before this challenge was a just a gleam in Nicole's eye, I was on The Fresh Loaf, devouring everything I could about baking. And the book- the cover that kept popping

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-39313181402219038422009-11-02T21:24:00.000+01:002009-11-02T21:24:53.433+01:00

When I lived in Brooklyn, there was this small cafe on Graham Avenue called Phoebe's. It took me a while this morning to remember what it was called, but I was able to somehow cull it from the inner reaches of my brain. I remember eating there every now and again, and often having lunch there on Tuesdays or Thursdays. It was odd. I would plan my days off to match so that I always had the

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-90889402085991333842009-10-28T21:43:00.000+01:002009-10-28T21:43:18.103+01:00

I never saw the movie. You know, the one with the rat. Now, I'm a fan of Pixar, but I just wasn't attracted to the story. Rat wants to be a cook. Right. I did, however, find joy in thinking about all of those children who, when they got home, begged their parents to make Ratatouille. Only to find out that it is a stew made entirely of vegetables. As a kid, I never liked veggies. The problem

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-38025356374025505612009-10-23T00:30:00.004+02:002009-10-23T00:33:26.322+02:00

So, I've actually been baking bread for about 12 years now. My first loaf was in high school. Imagine that! I was not even 18 and already baking bread. Unfortunately, that loaf didn't come out at all. In fact, it didn't even rise, as I had no idea what I was doing, and the yeast I used was more than two years expired. Still, I soldered on, and by the time sophomore year of college rolled around

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-42603383991520304932009-10-15T09:27:00.001+02:002009-10-15T09:33:51.112+02:00

So I'm not going to make excuses and say that my life got in the way of blogging. Of course, from the frequency of my blogs anyone could have figured it out. I would love to be able to cook and blog every day, but alas, I have to run reports and ship packages most days, and either cook or meet friends. I know, I have it hard.Living in Germany, though, does have its drawbacks. Although I'm

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-76736558366294561792009-10-07T22:50:00.000+02:002009-10-07T23:29:37.895+02:00

Do you see it? Do you? Up there at the top of the photo is my very own flour wand! Many thanks to L. for bringing it for me from the States!I actually wasn't too thrilled about making these. Crackers. Great. Who wants to make crackers? While I'm still not convinced about these, and am not sure that I will make them again, they were pretty tasty considering.I made these the same day I made the

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-12587760667798082122009-09-30T23:11:00.001+02:002009-09-30T23:12:03.464+02:00

Here in Germany, Kaiser Rolls do not exist. Well, sort of not. Kaiserbrötchen are usually found in southern Germany, extending down to Switzerland. But that does not mean that the ordinary person has ever heard of them. Most people in the north have also never heard of O'batzda either, even though is one of my favorite German foods.So, to most Germans, they do not exist. But they still have

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-62820694107711989792009-09-23T23:00:00.000+02:002009-09-23T23:42:51.491+02:00

The summer before eight grade, my mother and sisters and I spent a summer in Juanchorrey, Mexico. It's a small town near Tepetongo, which, in turn, is near Jerez, which is near Zacatecas in the state of Zacatecas. If you're guessing it was in the middle of nothing, you would probably be right.I remember many things about that summer, particularly the heat, as well as swimming in the rivers there.

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-31251436457082918352009-09-15T09:05:00.013+02:002009-09-15T11:16:33.289+02:00

So, I have to confess something.I made this recipe in the same week as the French Bread when we got back from Paris. And it was. Well. I don't know how to say it. I sort of goofed.Now, we all have our moments when we are distracted or doing other stuff or just plum waiting for the bread to rise and bake so we can leave the house and do other things.These are not the times to bake. Baking requires

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-21019276093025443482009-08-31T23:00:00.000+02:002009-08-31T23:00:01.235+02:00

Well, technically not ice cream, but delicious nonetheless.It all started with a re-tweet by princess_misia, one of the participants in The Nutella Challenge, hosted by Paula from bell'alimento. It stated: RT @thekitchn: How to make ice cream with only one ingredient (and no ice cream maker) - http://tr.im/simpleicecream.Of course I was curious, so I clicked on the post. I wondered what the

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-64960200624861526222009-08-29T17:00:00.000+02:002009-08-29T17:06:21.024+02:00

I have to confess that I was looking forward to this bread until we went to Paris.And then we went to Paris.While some of the bread was passable, other was heavenly, and the half loaf of Poilâne Miche we got was absolutely divine. I wanted to eat it by itself, but it also tasted so good with the cheese and the Eggplant Caviar. Here's a picture of the picnic we had on a well-worn bench.We had

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-12482831783244754172009-08-22T23:40:00.000+02:002009-08-22T23:42:50.848+02:00

So I have to admit something. I am now spoiled on bread. I used to love the Kürbiskernbrot (Pumpkin Seed Bread) from the bakery across the street, and would buy it on an almost weekly basis. I still love their bread. In fact, I get a Rosinenbrötchen (Raisin Roll) there too many mornings than I care to count. Of course, this replaced my Nuss-Nougat Croissant habit. Think of a croissant full of

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-77762731332302173282009-08-17T18:43:00.008+02:002009-08-17T19:58:38.241+02:00

Although I made these English Muffins quite a while ago, I am only now getting to them. Forgive me, dearest Readers, as I meant to do a short write-up about them before our visitors came, but I just ran out of time. Once they left, however, we were preparing for Paris, and the English Muffins were pushed to the wayside. So much for me keeping up with the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge, eh?I

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-7113747809516716302009-07-29T22:21:00.010+02:002009-08-02T23:29:48.274+02:00

Wow.I don't really feel like writing anything even though this bread was one of my favorites so far. Call it "Saturday two weeks after making the bread blues." In any case, this is the eleventh(!) bread in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge.So we'll just skip to the bread. Here goes nothing.So, the first thing I do when I make a recipe is convert all of the weight measurements to metric. I

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-16062562212766039452009-07-27T20:17:00.007+02:002009-07-27T22:28:13.617+02:00

Corn Bread!Sweet, sweet corn bread.This. This is one of my favorite things of all time. Corn Bread. Whenever I make corn bread I have a tried and true recipe from the New Joy of Cooking. Now, I'm not going to go and say it is the best cookbook ever, but it is one of my go-to cookbooks, and one of the few I brought over with me. The reason? It simply has everything in it. Plus I love the lentil

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-49492987495299144912009-07-24T19:46:00.006+02:002009-07-27T20:16:56.380+02:00

So.I had already deemed the Ciabatta a failure in the post about it, and it was only after the fact that I realized that I had not even bothered to take pictures of the crumb.I wasn't going to do it again, but the bakery across the street has beautiful Ciabatta and with olives, and I was determined to make it this time.So the night before, I started the biga. It was a no biga deal, but I decided

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-38041915739724739712009-07-15T21:51:00.008+02:002009-07-19T23:43:19.424+02:00

Somehow, when you start baking bread, you end up having to give most of it away to keep yourself sane and/or thin. However, once you start to do that, people's eyes get all wide and they want more.I made this bread on 4 July, just before a company picnic, so I was under a bit of time pressure, so I decided to skip the cinnamon swirl on the loaf. Oh, by the way, this post is brought to you by the

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-66760171249788925072009-07-13T21:18:00.010+02:002009-07-23T22:08:52.452+02:00

So, Amy and I have been trying to lose weight since January. Which is all well and good except that I decided to join this Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge hosted by Nicole of Pinch My Salt. So I am still trying, but it has definitely been slow going. I have given lots of bread away, but lately that has been very hard, as the bread is so good that I just want to keep it.For the next recipe from

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-70177530683689942852009-07-04T14:10:00.002+02:002009-07-04T15:10:07.477+02:00

Now, there are some BBA Challenge participants that are reporting that the poolish Ciabatta did not come out as hole-y as they had hoped. I am going to be fully honest here, and say that mine was also not at all hole-y, but, even though I went by the book, I still ended up with something that was not very good.I decided to go the poolish route.Here you see the initial mix with my King Arthur

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-44777396799378797912009-06-28T23:38:00.007+02:002009-06-30T21:01:13.541+02:00

Ehrlich gesagt, hätte jemand mir gesagt dass ich- ich- Butter machen könnte, würde ich nur lachen. Butter ist etwas das man bei allen Läden kaufen kann. Überall.Also, ich hatte einmal versehentlich Butter gemacht. Ich wollte Sahne schlagen, aber ich hatte es zu lange geschlagen und die wurde zu Butter geworden. Naturlich war ich sauer, aber, naja, was kann man tun. Das war eigentlich vor fast

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-26493338124225838592009-06-28T14:52:00.010+02:002009-06-28T23:30:09.472+02:00

I made Challah last weekend. Having lived in New York a hundred years ago, I have had good and bad Challah, but strangely enough, never homemade Challah. Unless it was at a restaurant, but even if the restaurant advertised it as homemade Challah, it really is more like "restaurant made".I do have to note that the Challah at B&H Dairy on Second Avenue in New York was spectacular and really stands

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-36914151390015097352009-06-11T20:22:00.000+02:002009-06-11T20:45:50.738+02:00

So here we are once again.I just want to plug Nicole's Site: Pinch My Salt, which was the origin of this Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge as I am trying to remember how I came to join the challenge.It all started with a quest for good pizza. I checked out Jeff Varasano's Pizza page, which led me to the Electrolux Assistent DLX/N26/AKM4110W. From there, I got interested in making bread, which

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-55741589873699014402009-06-11T16:54:00.000+02:002009-06-19T11:09:55.287+02:00

I know, I know. I'm late. You see, I had a vacation last week, and even though I was home the entire time, I did almost nothing relaxing. I did set aside some time to make the Casatiello last Tuesday, about nine days ago, but had no time (cough, cough) to blog about it.Okay, okay. I just got lazy. I did want to blog about it and even had a "I am going to sit down now and blog the Casatiello" but

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-5196117569883218292009-06-06T17:06:00.000+02:002009-06-06T18:42:30.615+02:00

One of the strangest things about working in Metric is that you come across the strangest things. Butter in Germany is sold in 250g packages (two sticks in the States, plus a tablespoon, about). Milk is sold in liters. Flour and sugar kilogram packages. Although, yes, that is a bit of packaging, it sure beats lugging home 5lb. bags of flour. Then again, when you are lugging 4,5kg of flour, it

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-68252982670492333982009-06-06T15:08:00.000+02:002009-06-06T17:06:14.805+02:00

Although I am probably not going to blog every day, I do want to showcase some of the things I cook and bake with, in case others are interested.I first encountered these bowls at Pot and Pepper, a kitchen store in Steglitz. I saw a couple of the 4L bowls stacked on the floor and immediately wanted the orange one. A few days later, I paid a visit to the Küchenladen in Charlottenburg. Alas, they

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-13921141899325660192009-05-29T22:58:00.000+02:002009-05-30T00:45:29.618+02:00

Having lived in Brooklyn, I guess I am supposed to know what a true NY bagel is. However, I encountered all sorts of bagels there. I used to get a coffee and a bagel with cream cheese from one of those seemingly self contained street carts. The coffee was served with a heavy hand with the sugar, and the bagels were filled with the most sour cream cheese ever. However, these bagels were not chewy

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-65101766956609153372009-05-20T19:37:00.000+02:002009-05-20T21:04:46.344+02:00

Last week I pulled out Fred, my sourdough starter for the second recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I fed him and then fed him again for a whopping 1440g of starter. I ended up using very little for the Christopsomos, and made a loaf of plain sourdough from the leftover starter minus the bit I put back in the fridge.Because the DLX works by harnessing the awesome power of

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4177745009169862842.post-81132839579065192212009-05-12T21:21:00.000+02:002009-05-12T22:09:05.979+02:00

As many readers will be aware, I am participating in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge set up by pinchmysaltOn 8-10 May, I completed the first recipe in Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It was Andama Bread.I made the cornmeal soaker on Friday, and this is what it looked like:I made the dough on Saturday night and stuck it in the fridge for Sunday morning. I woke up at 6:30,

misterrioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13592448795429871681noreply@blogger.com2