It’s been a minute since the signature dish post where I signed off and rudely didn’t ask about your signature dish! I want to know, so leave a comment and let me know what it is and/or if you’ve tried making spaghetti alle vongole since we last caught up.
Baker’s gotta bake
Onwards! In the last issue, I made a quick mention of a gifted sourdough starter and then dropped off the face of the earth and into the world of yeasted dough. I promised I wouldn’t turn Sunday Side Project (Substack and Instagram) into the sourdough sagas and it’s a promise I intend to keep.
Before we move on - if you’re interested in incorporating a sourdough routine into your weekend, then I recommend Maurizio Leo’s (of The Perfect Loaf) guide to beginner’s sourdough bread. The timeline visual (below) helped me tremendously in understanding the commitment required and despite owning a number of books on bread making, Maurizio’s breakdown of each step (comprehensive, yet easy to understand) were met with many ‘aha’ moments. It’s probably worth noting that I had intentionally avoided going down any YouTube rabbit holes and wanted to digest information in written form first - maybe this is a bit backward (but worked for my learning style). His Instagram and newsletter are great sources of inspiration and a look into what combinations he’s experimenting with. I’m excited to try incorporating some seeds and whole grains into future loaves.
Baking with Claire
Having come out of my sourdough cave, I ventured back into the ‘real world’ by baking along with Claire Saffitz - essentially consuming any content she was releasing in conjunction with her own channel, Dessert Person, and partners/collaborators (NYT Cooking, Vice and Kitchenaid). I happened upon a number of wonderful people baking through Dessert Person (the cookbook) - seriously, what a great book to work through! Here are some lovely folks to follow if you’re interested in Dessert Person:
Allison @bakingwithconfidence
Barrett @thetenorchef
Lydia @dessert_person_
Alyssa @thedessertperson
I’ve made the coffee coffee cake (very good), malted ‘forever’ brownies (also very good), as well as the base of the pull-apart sour cream and chive rolls adapted in Bill Clark’s pizza babka recipe via his newsletter, A Piece of Cake. My babka didn’t rise like Bill’s even after two attempts (perhaps I was a little heavy-handed with the sauce?), but anything that is pizza or tastes like pizza is bound to be great. And then there were the bagels…
Bagels
If you’re looking for a happy medium between sourdough and say, a babka - consider the bagel. Claire (we’re on first name terms now) released a guide with NYT Cooking which is extremely comprehensive along with a YouTube video. It’s slightly different to the recipe in Dessert Person - where some of the topping is mixed into the dough vs. the NYT Cooking version where the toppings are.. err, toppings. I haven’t scrutinised every line of the recipe, but NYT’s version is deliberately detailed - I’m guessing so you feel like you have an adequate amount of information before giving them a go.
There were many moments of delight during the process of making these bagels.
Finding malt extract at my local grocery store (1kg! What am I going to do with 1kg?)
Getting to go to bed after shaping bagels and sticking them in the fridge (vs. mistakenly starting my sourdough/babka far too late in the day and having to wait for multiple folds + bulk fermentation etc. etc. and before you know it, it’s 2 a.m.)
Boiling dough - how novel! (I’m coming for you, pretzel friends)
Making my own ‘everything’ topping (The small of the dried onion and garlic flakes, yum!)
THE BLISTERS on the bagels
EATING THE BAGELS
REMEMBERING THE BAGELS I HAD IN NYC
My best friend’s brother-in-law, who once owned the flippin’ best bagel store in the southern hemisphere (OK, I’m not that well-travelled to have eaten at every bagel shop in Aus, but you get my drift), sending me diastatic malt powder to try (thank you Hong!) - also a success despite my embarrassing attempt at math and percentages
Wanting to share ALL THE BAGELS and making 4 more batches over the next few days (equals 60 bagels!)
Using most of the 1kg tin of malt extract
I had a great time. Can you tell? I got to the end of the week feeling buzzed and happy (albeit a body complaining that perhaps I was a little too old to be embarking on such ambitious projects). Who else pretends to be running a micro bakery? Just me?
Pizza dough
I’m on the lookout for the perfect pizza dough. After attempting my first sourdough version for Lunar New Year and not being that impressed by the texture, I’ve set a new target of finding something that has slightly more texture and tang than the instant rise version (found in the recipe booklet that came with my pizza oven), and the long(er) fridge ferment (which also uses instant yeast).
The instant rise version is very easy to multiply with 1kg of Tipo 00 yielding six 11” to 12” pizzas, but the trade-off in terms of convenience is a dough that is akin to soft white bread. I’m looking for a bit more chew and complexity in terms of flavour. The sourdough recipe from LNY included olive oil and honey which gave the crust great colour (the bubbly charred bits), but smoked and burned quickly, leaving a slightly raw-ish texture in the middle - probably a combination of first time making the recipe and a too hot oven(?).
Sophie Hansen of Local is Lovely who also has a pizza oven, mentioned her favourite method was Maurizio’s recipe - I’ll give it a go and will report back.
Other bakes
Now we step away from yeasted dough. Where possible, I’ve added links to recipes if they’re available online.
Nicola Lamb’s Kitchen Projects newsletter is pure joy. She is completely and utterly generous with her knowledge. During lockdown, Nicola and Ravneet Gill pivoted their pop up bakery, Puff Bakery, into Puff the School of Pastry. Bakers across the world were producing phenomenal baked goods; mastering laminated doughs, opera cakes, custards, and more. Whilst the courses are no longer available, Nicola continues to document her projects in her weekly newsletter. I made the 3pm chocolate oat biscuits, and 10/10 will make them again. Don’t be like me and skimp on the chocolate. The flavour was perfectly balanced but I didn’t get the prominent oozy chocolate layer peeking through the sides.
Pies and galettes
Early lockdown (nearly a year ago now, what?!), I had an urge to make apple pie. And as you may have gathered, when I land on something I like, I make the crap out of it (I think I’ve made this 6 times). And that was my experience with Anja’s appletaart from Flora Shedden’s Aran. I swapped out the Bramley’s for Pink Lady apples - they work well in this recipe which is also available online via The Telegraph, if you feel so inclined.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s greens pie is also on heavy rotation. It’s a great recipe for when you want to use up the wilting, limp leafy greens in your veggie compartment, but also want to flex your pastry making skills. It’s a great dish for sharing, and one to send home with your family and friends for lunch the next day as I have on occasion.
One galette dough to rule them all: it has to be JY’s super flaky galette dough that I’ve used time and time again, especially when I have excess fruit. Sometimes I purposely buy excess fruit just so I can make a galette!
Beatrix Bakes is an absolute dream. I love the daily Instagram updates because, despite being in a different state, I get to see what Natalie and her team are filling the famous cake cabinet with (the best and least evil reason for having Instagram, don’t you think?). The cake cabinet is what I dream of when I dream of my imaginary micro bakery, and oft find myself thinking how much I would love to spend a few weeks staging with this brilliant team of bakers. I bet there are legions of fans nationwide who share the same sentiment, so the release of the cookbook (also a year now!) means we can all live out our cake house dreams. Over the weekend, I set about making the Pillowy Peach and Polenta Pie - and it only fuelled my cake house dreams. Thank you, Natalie, for your generosity - I can’t wait for book 2!
Brookies
Edd Kimber’s One Tray Bakes is a lovely book, and I really love the premise of needing just one size tin (a 9” by 13” brownie tin). The tin size makes these recipes great for feeding a crowd: they’re seriously generous. The peanut butter brookies (brownie + cookie) recipe is a winner for a peanut butter fan like me. I recommend using the weighted measurements so you don’t have the same experience as some of the disgruntled reviewers via Epicurious.
Thank you for sitting through my awkwardly styled photos and tea towel collection.
Resources
As a cookbook fiend, there’s invariably a stack of books I’ve referenced beyond the ones mentioned above. I read/collect/hoard them to understand the nuances in technique and timing, flavour combinations, and for the day I feel brave enough to tackle a laminated dough vs. just reading about it. Here are some standouts:
A Good Bake, The Art and Science of Making Perfect Pastries, Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Bread at Home by Melissa Funk Weller: I reckon if textbooks were prescribed for pastry/baking apprentices, this would be one of them. Melissa was a chemist before she became a baker, and for whatever reason, I decided Melissa was someone who could teach me how to bake well. Baking is often described as a science and who better to write this tome? I’ve yet to bake from this book but the book is an absolute wealth of knowledge and I’ve already applied much of the theory and technique for other bakes.
A Pastry Chef’s Guide by Ravneet Gill: Ravneet is a gal after my own heart. Her test and trial methods are often described as an obsession (I mean, have you tried her choc chip cookie? It is actually perfect), so when you flip through this book, you know she’s ready to impart some knowledge. Photography is kept at a minimum, and theory is on high. Embrace it - Ravneet has so much to teach.
What’s next on the cooking/baking list?
Bánh cam - high nostalgia value - my mum would buy me one as I waited for her to finish browsing the Asian grocery, or grandma making them after Saturday school. The first result on Google is Hungry Huy’s recipe but if you’ve got one to share, please do!
Claire Saffitz’s pigs in a brioche blanket (in Dessert Person and also via Vice)
Shokupan - again, if you have a go-to recipe, I’d love to give it a go
Pandan kaya swiss roll by Jeslyn Chow via Taste
Non-baking related reading list
Two pieces from Yvonne C Lam via Gourmet Traveller; thought-provoking and uncomfortable for me as an Australian-born Vietnamese (because I identify with many of the behaviours associated with being a ‘model citizen’ - to blend in, not draw attention to myself, don’t be outwardly opinionated etc.) - Yvonne’s started the conversation so that we may join in and grow:
What’s in a name?, February 2021
Authenticity, the Google reviewer’s fantasy, the chef’s nightmare, the migrant’s reclamation, September 2020
Thanks (again) for making it this far. I hope you find some baking projects to try in the chaos of this issue. Leave a comment, let’s have a chat about everything/anything.
A treasure trove of inspo and ideas! Thank YOU for generously sharing your insights, resources + hot tips. Am really looking forward to the shokupan bakes in particular, I'm keen to give this a go myself sometime. PS tea towel goals, Diem! ❤️❤️❤️
I have been making the pizza dough recipe from Ostro the past year and can highly recommend adding it to your list of ones to try! I often make double and freeze the balls of dough for easy dinners another time. Also - now you’ve put the idea of a second Beatrix book in my mind, I cannot stop thinking about it! I pray to the baking gods that Natalie does do a second book!