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Sunday, November 22, 2015

Mediterranean Style Table Bread

The oven in my stove went out, requiring the replacement of the circuit board that controls the the starting mechanism for the oven. Since its repair, I've baked some very familiar breads for the most part to get a feel for any changes that might have occurred.

This particular loaf, a sort of horiatiko psomi or Greek table bread, has been the best of the bunch. It could be just as easily described as an Italian bread with the addition of some dry milk in the mix or by substituting some milk for the water. Any way would be good just as long as you put out some extra virgin olive oil sprinkled with balsamic vinegar for dipping.
 
Starter
100 g starter at 100% hydration

Main Dough
240 g bread flour
45 g extra fine semolina flour
15 g white whole wheat flour
195 g water at 85F
1/2 Tbs or 7.5 ml olive oil
7 g kosher salt



We got our first hard freeze yesterday morning, more than four weeks later than usual. The sure sign of winter's approach, the arrival of a junco or snowbird, happened yesterday as well. I'm happy to say that I did put in around sixty cloves of garlic for next year but I'll have to hurry to get the daffodil bulbs in before the ground freezes up.

Besides the juncos, the rest of the usual characters have returned to the bird seed buffet outside my window. That includes the goldfinches which have lost their coloring for the moment. The crows and hawks have moved back into town as well. Deer season has started in limited areas so travel at dawn and dusk will require more attention for a while as hunters move through the fields and woods.

Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.