I have been thinking about Barbara Elsi's Sourdough Donuts for two weeks now. Tonight I had the chance to make them.
Barbara's directions were really strong. I had to get used to shaping this dough, and when I put them in the oil, they puffed up and expanded a lot, which was fun to watch. The dough really did need a good 15 minutes on the mixer. Then I kneaded by hand a bit before putting it into a bowl to ferment. I had to constantly adjust the heat. These donuts can go from golden to dark quickly. I melted some 66% Valhrona cocoa in a double boiler and dipped the finished donuts in the melted chocolate. These donuts are super light and delicate. They are not too sweet. In fact, they aren't very sweet at all, which makes them easy to eat. I'll definitely make these again! YUM!
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This weekend my boyfriend and I traveled up to Vermont, where I took some classes at King Arthur Flour. We worked from their French Baguette recipe.
They made and measured out the poolish for us in advance. Then had us mix the dough by hand. Now, I confess that I mix almost all of my bread dough in a Kitchen Aid Mixer- and almost never mix by hand. I do a lot of my kneading in the mixer as well – so this forced me to think and work differently (always a good thing). The recipe made very wet dough, which we then kneaded by hand using a rapid slap-and-fold method that she demonstrates in the video below.
After kneading until partial gluten development, we left the dough to rise while we worked with pre-made dough on shaping and scoring. Their method was slightly different from Peter Reinhardt’s method in his craftsy class, and it took some getting used to before I felt comfortable with it. You can see it in the video below.
Finally we worked on scoring. Much like shaping, scoring is one of those techniques that just takes a lot of practice. I felt a lot more comfortable with the scoring than I did with the shaping. In the end, we turned out some beautiful loaves. As a little girl, my great grandmother fed me noodles and pot cheese. A quick and easy meal that eastern Europeans made for their children, the fresh pot-style cottage cheese from the local farms served as gravy for the hot salted and buttered egg noodles. This plain but tasty meal became one of Grandma Elsie’s staples when she needed to feed me.
Some of my fondest memories of Elsie surrounded food. She would tell the stories of Greek Mythology while feeding me. I learned of how Hades stole Persephone from her mother Demeter through the residue that the hot chocolate left behind in the mug. Each time I took a sip of the chocolate, she told me more of the story. I have often made egg noodles with cottage cheese when I needed comfort food, until I developed a dairy allergy. Each bite would bring me back to being six years old in my grandmother's kitchen. For those who can eat dairy, and want a simple, plain and soul-filling meal. This is it. It is a very simple dish to make.
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DebI'm a home cook with a lifelong passion for learning, exploring and experimenting in my kitchen. You can find me at @Debs1 on Twitter and @Debs121212 on Instagram. Categories
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July 2020
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