Keep a Rye Starter!

September 29, 2023

I took a pizza class at Josey Baker Bread in San Francisco this month and picked up a great tip from the instructor, JB pizza baker Caitlin (sorry did not get a last name!). She told us the bakery keeps a rye starter. This has two advantages: rye is more active so your starter will have a higher likelihood of success and you’ll always be ready to make a rye loaf. If you want a white or whole wheat dough all you have to do is add white or whole wh...

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Extension Service Webinars on Organic Agriculture

Mr. Homegrown

March 21, 2013

Gardening

4 Comments

...n organic farming practices that you can watch here: http://www.extension.org/pages/25242/webinars-by-eorganic. You can watch archived sessions or sign up to participate live. While the webinars are aimed at small farmers, there’s a lot that gardeners can learn. Having co-founded a bread baking club, the Los Angeles Bread Bakers, I was particularly excited to watch the webinar on ancient grains. I’m also planning on watching “Linking Cover Crops,...

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056 Winnetka Farms Part 1

Mr. Homegrown

August 5, 2015

Gardening, Podcasts, Squash Baby, Vegetable Gardening

2 Comments

...Italian vegetables, breed standard double-laced Barnevelder chickens, bake bread, preserve food and much more. In the first part of our conversation we’ll talk about Craig’s Italian heritage and heirloom Italian vegetables. In the second part, on next week’s podcast, we’ll discuss urban livestock. During part 1 Craig mentions: Spigarello as the new kale Radicchio di Castelfranco Red Pear Tomato Striato di Napoli zucchini Lunga di Napoli squash Mak...

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How to Mix and Shape Dough Explained Without Words in Two Minutes

Mr. Homegrown

April 14, 2016

Bread, Food

6 Comments

...bout this video: Bakers use scales and so should you. Mixing dough entails making an incredible mess. Learning to shape dough requires practice. As regards point #3, my plan is to mix up some practice dough (I use the dead dough recipe in the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook but any bread dough will do) and practice over and over. As a professional once told me when I complimented her on her pizza shaping prowess, “It’s because I’ve done it 10,000 times.”...

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Our New Home Economics

Mr. Homegrown

April 3, 2020

Preparedness

8 Comments

...e’s not a one size fits all approach. But buckets full of stuff you eat on a regular basis works for almost everyone. In my own case this crisis has highlighted food related practices in my life that are useful and those that aren’t. Bread making? Useful. Vegetable gardening? Wish I had one right now. Avocado tree? Thankful that it has fruit. Storage space for buckets? Need to get on that. In the next few posts I’ll look at what’s working in our h...

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