Wednesday, September 29, 2010

No knead latest

This one had some barley malt syrup in it





Definitely more dense and moist, loaf feels heavy for its size. Open crumb but not light Thicker more leathery crust. I think it was definitely overproofed. That said I'm surprised at the good browning despite. I would try this recipe again with shorter rise time




Oven spring was about the same as the last one, still not great.


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Wednesday, September 08, 2010

recreating a favorite pickle - part 1

One of my favorite pickles was called "Cowboy Medley", made up until about 2007 by a company based in Lone Pine, CA called Swab's High Sierra. They sadly went out of business due to family issues. After having the jar for 2 years unopened in my fridge, I finally decided to crack it open and taste it...
...MMM...damn good. The pickled garlic really infuses everything. The vinegar isn't sharp, but it definitely tastes pretty salty, but not in a bad way. The flavors just blend sooo nicely. I taste a tad bit of sweetness, but I don't see it on the ingredients. It's entirely possible there's a tiny bit of sugar in there.

So I dissected about 1.5 cups of pickle mix:

24g red peppers, sliced (about 8 thin slices)
58g small green olives (about 27 small olives)
24g peeled whole garlic cloves (about 26 cloves)
71g pepperoncini peppers (about 6 medium pepperoncinis)

The pickling liquid, as far as I could tell is made from:

spring water
distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
dried oregano
dried basil
minced garlic
salt

Regarding the quantities for the pickle liquid, I don't know. Using the interwebs for some research, I think this might work, although I'd have to try it to verify the taste:

1c distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
.5c spring water
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Bring vinegar and water to boil in non-reactive pot.

What are some other ratios? 

Heres one I found:

2 quarts (8 cups) white vinegar
 1 cup pickling salt 
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup mustard seed 
2 tbsp. celery seed 
1 small dried hot pepper

Here's another:

1 cup water 5 cups vinegar (5%)
4 tsp canning or pickling salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 cloves garlic
And another:
2 quarts (8 cups) water
1/4 c. vinegar (5%)
1/2 c. salt
flavorings

Wow, being a baker I have really learned to hate volumetric measurements.
I'll work on it...more to come!