MONTEREY WEEKLY JULY 21 2022

https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/food_wine/a-baker-uses-ancient-grains-to-push-back-against-the-food-industrial-complex/article_87a883f2-084e-11ed-9fce-fb4089e31cbd.html

MEXICAN BOLILLOS, CRUSTY OVAL ROLLS…

so we all know about the French Baguette right? The lightness, the crust, the holes, the slightly sour/sweet.. the crackle, snap, pop of tearing off the first bite.. But I have to make the case for the MEXICAN BOLILLO~YEP.. I MAKE NO APOLOGIES HERE. I can also make the case that the bolillo might be the perfect bread at about “right place, right time, right mood” than anything else.. Case in point:

Some of you may know that I work as a Physical Therapist Assistant as a day job and get to work with Hispanics in the Salinas Valley. I love this work… oh yes I do. One of the best parts of my day is dashing into one of the many Mexican markets and shmoozing with people in the store while I shop. it s a major mood elevator… you cannot help but feel better after you come out of the market. You got the colorful pinatas hanging from the ceiling, you got mini wood statues of Virgin Mary’s sitting atop the lettuce displays, you got the radio beaming out ads for a faith healer that will cure all that ails you.. depression, impotence, bad credit, loss of home, and then back to the Mariachi music.. heavy on the trombone and accordion and aching violins and booming bass male harmonies telling of forsaken love….and then you got your bolillos.. always the bolillos… and if you time it just right…you have been hit, struck, intoxicated by the aroma of these lovely little oval shapes coming straight out of the oven and I defy you to have any resistance against this beautiful doughy package… and yes there is a reason they have lasted for centuries and centuries and centuries.. the perfect chemistry of cornstarch, instant yeast, white flour, water and LARD! the Mexican equivalent of wonder bread I am sure BUT.. maybe its the shape, maybe its the culture, maybe its the warmth.. get yourself a smear of mantequilla,,, some avocado and there is your avocado toast you hipsters you.. you who think you invented this avocado toast????? Nope… once again.. I call your bluff. These little crusty oval balls of white dough are the real deal and I will step back from my sourdough/ancient grain/slow ferment/ today and take a nod to these perfect addictive fast rolls… they are perfection for what they set out to do and that is no small order.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021!

apropos of John Lennon

I recently read an excerpt from the last interview that John Lennon gave to writer David Sheff in 1980 for Playboy magazine.. He just started by asking John what he’d been doing.
LENNON: I’ve been baking bread

PLAYBOY: bread?

LENNON: After I made the loaves, I felt like I had conquered something. But as I watched the bread being eaten, I thought, “Well Jesus! Don’t I get a gold record or knighted or nothing?”

so this being the anniversary month of Lennon’s passing… I thought this was apropos of something.. anyway I love John Lennon and I love to know that he had discovered baking bread the last years of his life..

“You know you gotta get goin’ if you’re gunna make a showin’ “

On Saturday morning when I heard the news that Biden would become the Next President, I immediately heard this song in my head : “Its a good Day” written by Peggy Lee and David Barbour.. Its so damn catchy and yes I had to kick up my heels (if I still can) and march along, arms bent at the waist swinging vigorously punctuating the beat! This song pushes you into optimism if you have no idea why or how or if everything will work out in the end RIGHT??? and then it goes on to say;

Yes, it’s a good day for singing a song
And it’s a good day for moving along;
Yes, it’s a good day, how could anything be wrong
A good day from morning’ till night…..

And then one of my other favorite writers Dorothy Parker says:

Resumé

BY DOROTHY PARKER

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

so that pretty much sums up my thoughts on THE NEWS OF THE DAY

Now lets move on to the news from the HIGHLANDS BAKERY SHOPPE:

I Have been making a SOURDOUGH BUTTERMILK BREAD WITH OATS AND HONEY IN THE SHAPE OF A STANDARD LOAF! Yes even I get tired of the obligatory crust and crumb shots of perfect air pockets and burnished sheen of crust. After all, I remember feeling absolutely jubilant when I made my first perfect loaf the old fashioned way in a standard 9 by 4 inch loaf pan from my first baking book which was from Sunset Magazine if some of you people remember Sunset???? I learned the difference between annuals and perennials from Sunset as well as baking my first loaf…

My current flour selection which I am loving is a Hard Red Wheat called AMOROJO, grown in Pleasant Grove Ca. ( I love that it is the words red and love together because I assume of the reddish tint??) It comes from this great mill company in Pasadena Ca called https://www.gristandtoll.com/current-selections/ The way it is described is: “sweet hay and warm spices.” I don’t know if I can honestly say I can taste any of that but what I do know ABOUT It is that the flour soaks up water beautifully and bursts open beautifully as far as spring and it tastes superb with buttermilk! I love to read the flavor profiles of coffee and pretend that I am “getting it” because I really want to…. and I know a true coffee roaster can truly tell you all from pod to roasted bean.. I love recently when a roaster told me that Sumatra was like the “blue cheese ” of coffee. I kinda know what he means.. so yes.. descriptions have merit.. they are trying for something illusive and it wakes up our senses to try and put words to something which is very very good! even if it can be somewhat precious you know?

I have finally mastered the score.. that decorative design that puts the last touch to your bread. I was digging too deep a slit which made the bread open too much. Now I use the Lame (fancy word for razor) to just very lightly skim the surface of the loaf creating a very shallow cut and that seems to do the trick ….

and finally I love this colder weather for baking.. I think it is kind of a bakers wet dream!! I mean All bakers are on high alert for the upcoming feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas rummaging through their greatest hits of recipes and coming up with the new and impoved or to go with the tried and true! For ME and Bread.. the sourdough starter gets to sit a little bit longer.,, changing the flavors just a bit here and there and I get to learn to slow down along with the starter which NOW MORE THAN EVER IS A VERY GOOD THING!

Just hang on everyone.. its going to be a bumpy ride!!!

SOURDOUGH SEPTEMBER

Yep there really is a Sourdough September. Its a nice alliteration as well as the fact that we are in a Pandemic and sourdough has caught on like uh.. fly traps. (I cannot say wildfires.. too close to home )But before I go any further..REST IN PEACE RBG.. I am attaching the very important ways the woman has changed the lives of all women in America. Of course I am also including the quote:

“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask our brethen is that they take their feet off our necks. ”

Yes Ruth I will fight for gender equality,social justice and environmental justice and plain ol human decency

.8 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court Rulings to Know About | Teen Vogue

Now back to Sourdough September. I hosted my first sourdough class here at the Highlands Bread Shoppe. My friend Sarah who runs Wellstone Center in the Redwoods came with her daughters: Coco and Anais ( 6 and 4 year old) and 2 2o- something- year -old interns who are getting a chance to pursue their writing while earning their keep by doing the jobs required on this beautiful piece of land.. One of their gigs is to learn to bake bread! We debated the likes of wet v dry starters, slap and fold methods v stretch and fold methods, when to score bread, how long to let dough sit, how to get dough to have a more sour flavor, How do you get a decent crust? Playing “dough ” can go on for hours.There are just 4 ingredients: flour, salt, water and starter and there is the intangible 5th ingredient which I call Time and Temperature which is at the discretion of the baker to play with.

Time: From start to Finish. one of my breads takes about 16 hours but active time for my hands on time is about 1 hour. TEMP: well that is adjusting to the temp of the day and to the water you use.. If its a particularly hot day you got to do everything you can to slow down the “runaway bread” meaning the bread wants to hurry up and ferment too fast.. and similarly if its a cold day.. you got to give the dough some added warmth created by steam or making a simulated steam box.. I heat up a cup of water in the microwave and then let the dough sit in a warmed up box if you will.. and that gives the dough the extra oomph to lift up.. There is also flavor.. I will just point you to this marvelous language that Michael Kalanty devised that more precisely describe the flavors of bread other than the omnipresent word: DELICIOUS..Aroma and Flavor Notes for Bread by Michael Kalanty. iTS JUST PLAIN FUN TO give bread the added credit…. I mean we talk about certain fragrances of wine and coffee WHY NOT BREAD?? One of the flours I am using this month is called RED BUG NOUVEAU grown and milled in Capay Valley in Yolo county. It is described as malty and earthy undertones with good gluten strength(it is also named after the 60 year old Combine housed at the Mill)

I have to give a shout out to the great writer Michael Pollan. Nobody but nobody writes as perfectly as Michael does on the science as well as the art of bread making in his chapter called The Great White Loaf in his book COOKED. He nails it when he describes the words: ELASTICITY AND EXTENSIBILITY.. 2 PROPERTIES you gotta have in your dough.. going further.. its the proteins Glutenin and Giandin that make up Gluten.. the glue that holds the dough together I’ll let you all chew on that for awhile..and finally I leave the last word to these two young men who started their own bakery in their home and then bike it to their customers. Congratulations boys! https://vimeo.com/bakersdozendocs/ferment

highlands bakery shoppe breads this month: meyer lemon rosemary, super seeded multi grain (pumpkin, sunflower, millet, sesame) jewish dill rye. eat.good.bread.love.anina

patwin, frassinetto, sonora white and red fife OH MY!!!!

amber waves of grain..

  these names sound like labels for wine right? these are heritage grains and some of the flavors that you may or may not have already tasted grown in Northern California mostly in what is known as the Capay  Valley Region. I am here to change that..

Please accept my apologies.. I am back now after having had an illness I will be bringing the flavors of grain: sustainable, local and full of aroma and flavor  that you have never ever tasted before..  Its high me we take back the flavors of seed that are specific to temperature and soil and it turns out that much much wheat was grown in California before it became conveniently modified for “efficiency.”

On Monday OCT 29TH 2018.. I am bringing ancient grain bread  back.

pick up at STEPHANIE TAYLOR OFFICE ANYTIME BETWEEN 2 AND 5:30..

Please let me know that you will be wanting the next loaf.. It will be Red Fife!

 reply here.. or call me at 831 626 4406.

There will be an envelope in which to put your 6 dollars for the loaf and your loaf will have you name on it . …

a village needs a butcher, a baker and  a candlestick maker…

bon apetit!

anina marcus

 

 

 

BACK TO BAKING JOYS!

      So here we are in Fall 2018.    I had to take a mini break due to circumstances beyond my control and now I am back.  It just goes to show what John Lennon said:  Life happens when you are busy making other plans..

YE OLDE HIGHLANDS BAKERY SHOPPE IS ALIVE AND WELL AND THERE IS EVEN GOING TO BE A NEW “BREAD SHED” IN THE COMING YEAR WHERE YOUR BREAD WILL BE BAKED.

But for now, I just wanted to give you your pick up schedule for your bread.. so mark you calendars.

The 3rd Sunday of every month will be pick up day for the next 3 months:Oct 21, nov 18th  AND actually the last  sundayDec 30th..  As usual PICK UP the Highlands Bakery of course.  If for any reason you cannot make that date, I will be donating your bread to someone else or you can call me and I can try to freeze for you IF I HAVE SPACE IN MY FREEZER.  Please confirm with me by either calling 831 601 1065 or by responding to this email.

We have to slow down enough to appreciate true flavors and not “alternative flavors”  as some in the government  think we are doing… We have to continue to articulate the difference between the real and the fake and so making REALLY GOOD BREAD is my way of  making good bread REAL!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

ANCIENT GRAIN POP UP BREAD

1 MARGOT     2

 

2.DEBBIE     1

 

3. RUTH         1

 

4.  stephanie          1

 

5. LINDA SHLUG           1

confirming grain train pick ups:

I am just confirming that you bread folks will be picking up bread here at my house (or possibly another location) on sunday JULY 15 sundy AUGUST 19 AND sunday SEPTEMBER 23 anytime between 12 and 6> if not, the following day the bread will BE here till 12:00 otherwise it gets donated to food bank..SO PLEASE EAT.GOOD.BREAD

Please write to me aninamar12@gmail.com to confirm.

GOING BACK TO BE FLOUR FORWARD!!!

It was only a matter of time.

First I fell in love with making sourdough starter.

Next; I covered my bookshelves with bread baking books and studied every baking technique for making good bread: stretch and fold, slap and fold, pinch and fold, no knead, gently coax dough into shaggy ball, firm starter, wet starter, open crumb, tight crumb, burnished crust, golden crust,  shapes of baguette, boule, batard, ciabatta, foccacia, pain au compagne,

Then came MY FAVORITE:  THE SCORE.

I learned how to slit open the tops of the loaves before they go into the oven so they open up in to the myriad of patterns, visual delights that show off the breads lasting mark… AND NOW

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!  WE ARE GOING BACKWARD TO SHOW OFF THE FLOUR, THE FARMER AND THE AMAZING FLAVORS OF  THE FAMILY OF WHEATS…. PRESERVING IDENTITY … how each flour really tastes..  Just as we began to take back the flavors of heirloom tomatoes,  just as we began to taste coffees from the farms of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sumatra, Bali.. we will taste grain from small farms from the hands of the farmers who know their land..

No more middleman commodity shareholder, no more trying to “enrich” or make “shelf stable” or make more “efficient” by killing nutrient rich soil with pesticides and milling out the nutrient dense bran and germ, nor more growing the same crop year after year as in monocultures with weed killers like round up.   Instead of round up.. We will rise up to the level of great bread!I am taking you back  to grains grown throughout California on small farms preserving their individual characteristics and wow what a revelation these flavors are. Get ready!

Have you ever heard of these varieties? JOAQUIN D’ORO? RED FIFE? EDISON?  PATWIN 515 ? FRASINETTO,    Neither have I..but together we will taste them all.

***These flavors are expensive  $4.00/11/2 pound. You know what I mean?

The subscription of 6 breads will now cost $36.00 … a small price to pay for 1)saving the soil  2)contributing to  local farm economy 3)preserving the distinctive flavor of grains … each to where they are suited rather than let the suits make the grain fit their pocketbooks. 4)nutritionally packed  with bran intact. 5)the sheer excitement of discovering a long lost flavor.   Yes in the end it is just good bread… whichever way you slice it (sorry)  but for me now it is also about starting a discussion ONCE AGAIN. about where does our food come from? what makes it so good?  Taking back our food to where it belongs…in our hearts and minds and souls.

To those that cannot afford it, I give loaves away every week.. I want it enjoyed pure and simple. Thank you all for contributing to the greatness of the community and the grain!

best, anina