Posts Tagged ‘athens farmers market’

Summertime Baking 2011

                         

                                      This pizza features Chesterhill peaches and Danish blue cheese with a fig balsamic reduction.

This summer has been a great time for breads. Besides the usual suspects, I’ve been able to create alot of local flatbreads and some “schmartizan” stuff as well.

               Spanish Manchego, basil and the first heirloom tomatos of the summer round out this thin crusted “La Mancha” pizza.

I start baking at 10 p.m. and bake until 9 a.m. so these videos never turn out like I envision. I tend to leave out alot of information because of an overtaxed (and already small) brain cavity. Flours here include local spelt, local corn flour with raw sweet corn, rye and a mish-mash of organic all-purp. and all trumps (high gluten.) I use a natural starter on all my breads and a 70 percent levain on big breads and mostly a 65 to 80 percent hydration and 3 day retardation on all.

               How can anyone go wrong with such a great summer bounty for schiacciata (left) and Foccocia al Siciliana (right)

Here are some July breads and pizzas and stuff.

Late April Superbaking

                                     

Patty Nally is the brains behind our whole baking operation. She has mastered the art of baking and makes practically all our schiacciata, fougasse and specialty stuffed breads.

Dag! The worse thing about having a blog and making alot of food is being too busy (and thus too forgetful) to document all the processes, recipes and drama that happpens in baking.

                                       

Above is my “Scaletta,” an Asiago-stuffed slim ciabatta with black and green Cerignola olives, Molinari pepperoni and roasted garlic.

This year, I’m trying to commit myself to document some the righteous, bodacious, delicious and downright wierd stuff we bake here at Avalanche. Luckily, I’ve got a grat guy named Keith Mc Carthy to help with photo’s. Otherwise, I’ll  stop, was my hands, grab the camera and snap away.

                                           

Here is my King Family Farm chorizo and peppered bacon meatballs on a schiacciata with Bellweather Farms Crescenza from Sonoma County, fresh mozzarella, Stanislaus Alt Cucina tomatoes, fresh basil and Calabrian chili’s. (do I even havta say ‘yum’)

                    

I love making these Boule’s or what the French call “Bowls.” I use an organic levain made with spelt flour and knead these three times over a period of 2 days while they are retarding in my walk-in, this makes for a tight but consistant crumb perfect for sandwiches or bowling. “Steeeee-rike”

Here is a video of what we baked for this weeks Farmers Market. Please try to overlook the fact that my brain is fried from baking for 12 hours straight. (I mis identify the large loaf which is actually what I call a “Flintstone Wheel” or a Tortanno-type of large bread.)