I’ve had some trouble growing ears. Not that two isn’t enough. Scoring my bread and watching the dough spring up in the oven is a real joy, but recently I haven’t been getting a good defined ear. Last weekend I…
Blog Archives
[screeeeeaaaammmm!!!]
Several years ago, before marriage and baby, I came out to San Diego for work. I stayed with a couple who had a young daughter, maybe around five or six. One night the couple had a barbecue, and another couple…
Water!
This is what Baby Harbat says when she sees the ocean. Actually, it’s pronounced ‘wa-wa’. In the last two weeks, she’s started to create compound phrases like “More water” (pronounced ma-mai wa wa) and “thank you Babbo” (pronounced shee-shoo babbu).…
Watta Watta Weekend
Memorial Day weekend is for barbecues, running and laughing with friends, and hard labor. I added that last one so I can feel better, though the crick in my neck and twinge in my shoulder says otherwise. Friday was a…
Boo-ters
On my way to work I drive past a topless bar and a drag club. They are the last two remnants in what’s a transitional neighborhood changing from scummy to hip. When I see the nudie bar at 7:30 in…
Haha! Fail!
Last night I had a bread failure. Actually, two, but I recovered one. I’ve switched to weighing flours and liquids (in grams) and converted all my recipes. Looks like I didn’t quite get flour weight right. Failure one: I was…
Slap! [fold] Slap! [fold]
I made bread by hand yesterday. Videos of bakers folding bread dough inspired me to skip the mixer and try the slap and fold. It worked so well I will be applying this technique to hair combing, sandwich making, good…
Best. Weekend. Ever.
Hard labor outside then swimming in the pool with Baby Harbat. Date night on Saturday with my wife for the best burger I’ve ever had (shout out to Jayne’s Gastro Pub) followed by a hand-holding walk in the warm…
I know that I don’t know that I know. You know?
The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. I’m finding online many bulletin boards and tutorials devoted to artisan bread making. Some of them are geared towards amateurs, and the Cook’s Illustrated and New York Times “No-Knead”…
Living Bread
Okay, I think I’m getting it now. The more I read about starters, bigas, sponges, and poolishes, I can see how working with yeast is like gardening. Starting with tiny seeds you can create bounty, flavor, life. This is why…
RSS - Posts