Joining Obama's Day of Service

Apologies to those who are suffering through frigid temperatures in the Midwest, but the Martin Luther King Day of Service event I participated in yesterday in Richmond, California, with Nanette and her kids Lee and Elena, could not have been in a more idyllic setting. The skies were achingly blue, the sun warm and shimmering on the bay, the backdrop of the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco skyline spectacular, and the several hundred volunteers who picked up trash, chopped down clumps of invasive fennel and pampas grass, and planted native seedlings all in high spirits.

"Our new president asked us to serve," said Nanette, "and here we are!"

That's Elena and Lee with me below.

Feeding the spirit.

I’m been feeling rather agitated lately because of certain interactions that have not been going to my liking. If you know me you know what I’m talking about, if you don’t know me, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is I have friends that feed my spirit. Look at the box I found on my desk today, delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

How fun does this look! I couldn’t wait to look inside where I found many sweet things, Pocky sticks, chocolate “sardines” from France, a dark chocolate bar with cherries and almonds, Lindor candies, Ritter minis, and a bag of Quadratini bite-size cookies from Italy. And there was a card with touching messages from both friends.
Yum! Thank you, thank you, DeDee and Erin!

DeDee, Erin and I were part of a team that worked closely together last year. Chocolate was our drug of choice to ward off bad days. They understood the frustration and anger I’ve been feeling as only someone who has been in the same situation can. Seeing the box on my desk decorated with Erin’s art, DeDee’s science song and some of our inside jokes helped me feel less alone with my frustration.

My spirit is lifted.

Bread details

I could not post a picture in the comments section, so I will just compose a new post. The bread does indeed have a very Italian taste. It is very similar to the hearty Turano loaves. The taste largely comes from the starter dough, which for Italian bread is called a "biga". This started in a very wet version of the dough that rests from anywhere from 6-24 hours at 70 degrees. The temperature of the dough has everything to do with the taste, at different temperatures, different types of byproducts are created by the yeast which is what imparts distinct flavors to the bread. The amount of air in the loaf comes from 2 things. The higher water content of this dough (78% hydration) results in a chewier, more air filled crumb. Also, there are about 5 rises in the process, where the dough is stretch and folded gently to maintain as much air as possible. The final rise takes place in a rising banneton (for me is a colander) lined with a floured cloth. It essentially becomes a big bubble that you have to be very careful not to pop. The crisp crust is created by high wet heat made possible by a pan of ice cubes below the stone. The picture here is the second load which I rushed for the sake of sleep, so it isn't very "airy". To do it properly, it takes about 10 hours, minimum.

The Bread Bible

Freddy and I received The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum, for Christmas from Mom and Dad. Freddy has been making homemade bread for a while now (as blog readers may remember, he made Cuban/French bread for Thanksgiving) but he now admits that he knew nothing before reading The Bread Bible. "I've always wondered," he said, "how breads can contain the exact same ingredients but taste so different. Now I know, its all in the fermentation process!"

The first recipe he decided to try is pictured on the cover of the book, and is an Italian bread from the region of Puglia, which was the home of Great Grandpa Lepore.

Below are some pictures of the baking process. And as you can see, Freddy's loaf perfectly resembles the one on the cover.