Posts Tagged ‘teleggio cheese pizza’

Brioche, Polenta Roulade’s and Chorizo Meatballs; Jan. 12th Baking

 

Even though this global warming is scary, it’s nice to get a warm Saturday to take hundreds of loaves of bread, pizza and gluten-variants from my pizzeria, Avalanche, to the Athens Farmers Market to sell to my neighbors. One of my favorite items to make is my banana brioche with Nutella and almond pudding with roasted almonds, (above.)

             

Once I knew that it was going to be a warm day, I kicked my preparation into overdrive. First was the chorizo meatballs made from 10 pounds of King Family Pork, which is local, free of chemicals and raised humanely. On tuesday, I mixed a batch of 70 percent pre-ferment made from natural yeast to 30 percent high-protein flour with a pinch of diatatic malt and salt to a 70 percent hydrated dough and it sat in cold fermentation for four days to achieve a great bread.

                              

To this stellar fresh ground pork, I added smoked paprika, garlic, onion, cilantro, basil, pepper, salt, lemon zest, little gems of La Quercia lardo, some cut-up Caputo tipo “00” pizza cornicione, (crust) soaked in paprika and egg. (above left.) I then combined the crust with mozzarella and manchego cheese, toasted almonds, fresh spinach, Stanislaus Valorosso tomatoes and cilantro for a wonderful spanish pizza, (above right.)

I also had some ancho chilies from Patterson Organics here in Athens and whipped up a tikka masala sauce to roast with onions and those chilies. I used this mix on some great schiacciata topped with green beans and cheddar with cilantro made with some ciabatta dough with high hydration, (above.)

                                 

For the breads, along with the usual suspects like Italian sausage ladder bread and “Leek-a-choke,” with leeks, artichoke and parmesan, I made use of local spelt from Shagbark Seed and Mill for a Lebanese Barbari, (above left,) with ground coriander, sesame and sea-salt and some French style couronne with dried cherry and walnut, (above right.)

            

I also made use of several pounds of local parsnips, combining them with King Family bacon, roasted garlic, lemon zest for a knotted fougasse topped with fresh cumin seed and sea salt, (above left.) The other couronne and my personal favorite is packed with kalamata olives, rosemary and roasted garlic, (above right.)

                             

Some other pizza variants are the Turkish-style pide, (Pi-DAY) with mozzarella, provolone, basil pesto, fresh spinach and cherry tomato, (above left.) I also made a really cool schiacciata with two types of swiss cheeses and pork to boot. On one half is imported pancetta, (Italian cured bacon,) and French Emmenthal and the other is Finlandia swiss and King family ham.

Now, if none of those float your boat, then get a load of this honkin’ hunk of flavor- My  mushroom pizza with porcini, portobello, shiitake, oyster and button mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano, thyme, fontina, provolone and teleggio cheeses with a sprinkle of white truffle oil and some cherry tomatoes.

Okay, here is a quick video of most of my baked stuff before the rush. It lasted about two hours before selling out…then I took a nap.

Oops almost forgot this great roulade of Shagbark polenta with ricotta and mascarpone with Reggiano, cilantro and sun-dried tomato topped with Gruyere cheese. yum.

See ya next week!

 

 

Teleggio Schiacciata with Mango and Jamaican Flower Jam

Stinky cheese. I love that term. My idea of heaven is putting a piece of cheese in my mouth and feeling it explode in sensations of cider, fermenting pineapple, hay, mountain flowers and rotton socks (in a good way.) Yum.

Teleggio is that kinda cheese.

Teleggio comes from the Valsassina, Lecco and Lobardia regions in northern Italy, where there are plenty of cows and alpine caves that offer great cheese ripening rooms with cool, soft breezes to spread the molds that grow in the rind. This is an old cheese and dates back to the 10th century. The name is a reference to Val Telaggio in the province of Begano. This area is also famous for Gorgonzola and Grana Padana.

I’ve decided to use this herbacious cheese with sweet dried mango that I’ve re-hydrated,, and the herbacious Jamaican Flower. This flower is a hibiscus used extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean for beverages such as Agua de Flor de Jamaica, a tea made from hibiscus flower and a little sugar. The Jamaican flower is famous for its bright red color and has the taste of cranberry or rosehips. It’s this taste that will be my foil for the meltingly sharp, earthy stank of the Teleggio and the sickly sweet mango.

Please forgive the lack of pictures for this recipe. I made this pizza while at Avalanche Pizza, baking massive amounts of bread.

7 dried hibiscus flowers

20 dried cherries

3 dried mango sticks for the sauce

5 dried mango sticks for topping

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 7-ounce dough ball from the Easy Dough Recipe (Place other dough ball in the freezer or double this recipe for two schiacciata.)

Place the flowers, two kinds of mango and cherries in three seperate bowls filled with 2 cups boiling or very hot water. Wait for 45 minutes or more until the dried items are limp and can be easily manipulated with your fingers. The mango may take longer, depending on thickness. Add the flowers, cherries, 3 mango strips, honey and balsamic vinegar to a food processor and blend on high. Add water from jamaican flower rehydration as needed, if the jame is too thick. Taste. It should  tart and flavorful. If you want it to be sweeter, add more honey but I don’t advise it, because the mango on the schiacciata is sweet also.

Form the dough ball into a football shape and place it on some parchment paper. (Note: Teleggio is one of those cheeses that will free-flow off of the crust and ruin a pizza stone or tray, so it is smart to use parchment.) Place six to eight ounces of Teleggio cheese on top. Place the four re-hydrated mango slices on top of the cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven on an upturned cookie sheet or pizza stone for 8 to 12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the bottom is darkened and crisp.

Drizzle the jam over the schiacciata and serve this awesome pie to your favorite friends. Then ask them, “Is that your socks, or my schiacciata?”