Categories
cake

strawberry cupcakes

strawberry cupcakes

it’s been a little while since my last update, and i apologize – i just realized today that’s it’s already been august for a few days. things have been hectic around here lately, and to be totally honest, when i started blogging, i had a lot less going on in my life in general. my goal was always to post at least twice a week, but it’s clear that i haven’t really been able to sustain that kind of schedule – between school and work, there’s just been less time to bake, which is a shame, because it’s still one of my favorite things in life.

strawberry cupcakes

also, there are times i find myself wanting to bake or cook just to bake or cook. figuring out lighting, taking pictures and writing out recipes can be a bit of a buzzkill when there are crazy delicious things in the oven and you just want to eat and share them with other people. some days it’s all about making a perfect loaf of zucchini bread and eating the whole thing before anyone has a chance to snap a photo. those days don’t happen often enough.

strawberry cupcakes

but don’t worry, pete bakes isn’t going anywhere! in fact, i recently (sort of) made these strawberry cupcakes for the girl and myself. finally, after over a year, i’ve learned to halve batches of things when i’m not planning on taking them into work or having a cupcake party. i’m espcially glad i halved this recipe, because they ended up being a little disappointing. i’m perplexed because it’s a martha stewart recipe – what gives?

strawberry cupcakes

although there was a decent strawberry flavor, the cake was too dense and spongy. you can also see how the color changed from the batter to the baked cake – more gray than pink. the frosting, however, was pretty good. i would use that again in another recipe.

strawberry cupcakes

does anyone have a really awesome strawberry cupcake recipe they’d be willing to share?

strawberry cupcakes

Categories
savory

bacon wrapped strawberries (or, berries in a blanket)

bacon wrapped strawberries

at some point in the future, we’re going to look back and realize how absurd it was to wrap everything in bacon. we’re not there yet though, so in the meantime, i’m going to indulge. these are strawberries. wrapped in bacon. and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. yes, they are delicious.

bacon wrapped strawberries

bacon wrapped strawberries

and oh boy, are they rich. the recipe is pretty straightforward, but i had a bit of trouble getting them to stay upright in the oven so they cook evenly. it pays to watch them really closely to make sure you’re not burning one side of the bacon and leaving the other side raw.

bacon wrapped strawberries

i wait all year for strawberries to be in season, just so i can do stuff like this to them. if you’re having a party during the summer, it’s really easy to make a huge batch of these guys. the only downside is that it’s way too easy to just down 5 or 6 without thinking, so you’ll run out before you know it.

bacon wrapped strawberries

for my vegetarian/vegan readers, you can still make this recipe minus the bacon. just toss some strawberries with a bit of sugar and balsamic vinegar and roast on a baking sheet. they’ll melt in your mouth and make you very happy.

bacon wrapped strawberries

Categories
bread

my first sourdough

sourdough

creating a sourdough starter is a lot like having a pet. you need to feed it, clean it, watch it closely and occassionally play with it to keep it happy and healthy. it won’t bring you the newspaper or fetch your slippers, but it will eventually become delicious bread that you can share with your whole family. and weirdly enough, you can keep a starter alive for much longer than a typical pet. that last fact may seem a little morbid, but the boudin sourdough bread company in san francisco has been using the same starter for over 150 years!

sourdough

let me caution: when you look at the recipe, you’re going to be overwhelmed. don’t panic. at its heart, a sourdough starter is nothing more than flour and water. no expensive ingredients, no fancy kitchen gadgets needed, no big loss if you screw up. secondly, it takes a few days, especially the first time around, so it’s helpful to read the entire recipe before starting so you can plan accordingly. although most sourdough recipes set hours against the feeding schedule, you can be very flexible with timing and still end up with an incredible loaf of bread. above is my starter on day 1. just flour and water in a tupperware container loosely covered in plastic wrap. the tape is there to mark the height of the dough so i can see any changes that occur.

sourdough

here’s my starter on day 2. no changes, but just a few small bubbles. let me try and explain in as few words as possible what’s going on when you make a starter. yeast is the thing that makes your bread rise, and it’s in air all around us, right now. this isn’t quite the same yeast you can buy in yellow packets at the grocery store (although those work wonders). the stuff in the air is wild yeast, the kind of yeast that doesn’t always do what it’s told and stays out past curfew. but despite it’s rogue nature, wild yeast still likes to eat, and leaving a paste of flour and water out is like a giant all-you-can-eat sign. the really cool thing about wild yeast is that bread made with starters from different environments (for instance, san francisco vs say, washington, dc) will have unique tastes based on the environmental conditions.

sourdough

here’s day 3 (or 4, can’t remember). the yeast jumped into action overnight and left my kitchen a mess. however, this was a great sign for the starter. the bubbles were caused by the yeast feeding on the sugars in the dough and giving off carbon dioxide. feeding the starter fresh water and flour every day allows the flavors in the dough to develop more slowly, which gives them more depth. this is the way bread was made in the good ‘ole days (commercial yeast is a relatively new invention in the timeline of bread).

sourdough

now before i embarrass myself anymore trying to explain how wild yeast works, let me give you a few helpful resources i used during this process. first, the fresh loaf is a great place to find common questions and answers about sourdough development. second, wild yeast blog is an endless source of information and inspiration for at-home bakers. susan has tons of delicious sourdough recipes and lots of tips that will really help you take the next step to great breadmaking. be sure to check both out.

sourdough

i used peter reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, which instructed me on how to turn my starter into a “barm.” the barm is a piece of your starter plus a larger amount of flour and water than you’ve been adding to feed you starter. once you’re at this step, you can use the barm to make your final dough mix, or you can refrigerate it and feed it on a regular basis to keep it potent for use later. this barm is the “mother starter,” the basis for all of your future sourdoughs (and the thing that boudin bakery has kept going for so long).

sourdough

so after a long labor of love, i finally baked my first sourdough loaf. the result? it was…okay. really not all that sour. although the starter and barm had really vibrant smells, the final bread was pretty underwhelming. i discovered that it’s actually a pretty common problem with the first loaf – the barm simply hadn’t had enough time to develop deep flavors yet. another possible issue could be the air in my apartment – it’s not quite the same as the san francisco sea air that fed the original boudin starter.

sourdough

although i was disappointed, i decided to keep working on the barm for a week and make another few loaves, one of which is above. i was thrilled to find out that the flavor did indeed improve over time. one change i made in the baking process was the keep the oven at a higher temperature for longer than instructed (10 minutes at 500F, then turn it down to 450F), and the result was a much more pronounced and tastier crust. i’m learning that i need to allow the loaves to get darker than i think they should before pulling them from the oven.

sourdough

i don’t usually set a timer when i make chocolate chip cookies anymore, because it’s gotten to the point that i can tell when they’re done by the smell and look. i’m not anywhere near that confident with bread, but i’m finding out that it’s more about using all of your senses than sticking to the recipe. i’m going to keep this barm going for as long as i can and make as many varieties of sourdough as possible. i’m getting hungry just thinking about it now…

sourdough