The last month has been busy with alot of different items and I have let the blog fall back a bit. I haven't participated very much and have had to spend most the day catching up with the blogs.
I have been able to do some digging on the footers of the kiln. During the fall and winter, the ground is so hard I'd have to blast to dig in the dirt and rock. I started this project over a year ago and I guess it will take another year or so before I even finish the footer. Maria has been pushing me to get us a wood kiln back in the family, but a deminished capacity, my reality of the amount of work helps fuel my reason not to get it done.
Maria is a pyro and loves to fire the kiln, even with all the work involved. She actually has a forty hour work week, a real job, she always says that "I married her for the insurance." But since it is about mothers day, I told her that "I married for love." That and a Halmark card and she is as happy as peaches in cream. Am I not the luckest dude?
June Perry and I have been exchanging ideals and info to find us a good soardough bread to bake. I lived in San Francisco for a while and going to the corner store and getting a loaf of the Boudin Bakery soardough was a pleasure that for me has never been duplicated. June has found a source for the lactobacillius San Francisco bateria and we both have been working with it to see if we can come up with a good substitute, and my first attempt has had some success with the sour qualities present, but weak. More to come with this for ya. Oh yes, the city bakery in Asheville has a decent sourdough available, if you can get there early enough. Follow June's blog for the things that she is doing to get a good sourdough.
Catching up on all the blogging that is going on, I have seen some really good work being shown on these pages, I have gotten more info and up to date imagery and goings on online, than just about anywhere. Thanks to all that share, it lets everyone know that they are not alone making pots out there.
So, make those good pots.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Our daily bread or dough
Chef Boy-r-de in a box got me going. Shakey's Pizza then kicked it up a notch, (before Emeril), then the Pizzerias of Chicago, New York and San Francisco became a measuring stick for good pies. How was I to get one here in Bakersville, NC? My kitchen and yours is all the tool's you will need. Plus there is a renaissance in cooking at home and the information access online didn't hurt.
For me the basis for making good pies rested in the dough and its ingredients. Bread flour or high gluten flours (semolina) works the best for what I want in a dough. I'm looking for a finished crust that is light, chewy, Swiss cheese textured, with a slight crispness to the surface. Most of the pies I make at home are with Pillsbury bread flour, because of access, I can buy it in town. One other flour that is very helpful is to have on hand is rye flour. It adds strength and flavor to the crust, plus it is the basis for sourdough if you want to go further with doughs.
Intermission: Books you need to have access to:
The Tassajara Bread Book (my copy is from 1970), by Edward Brown. Julia Child's The Way to Cook, Artisan Baking Across America by Maggie Glezer, FlatBreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid and the Culinary Institutes of America's Baking at Home and Baking & Pastry cookbooks are excellent reference tools and will just plain make you hungry to read any of them.
Some highlights that I use to consistently get the crust I want, (if you don't eat the outside crust, go buy yourself a red baron pizza and turn on a TV somewhere). Julia Child says that to get that chewy crisp crust you will need to increase the amount of moisture in the dough, it should be sticky when it is mixed, (most recipes say form a ball with the dough hook, letting it pull away from the sides). From this ideal I use this method to create my dough:
2 cups of warm water
1/2 Cup of Rye Flour (level )
3 1/2 cups of bread flour (level )
1 Tlbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 pack of yeast
Attach the dough hook to mixer, add the water to the bowl, add the rye flour (start mixer), add 1/2 cup of bread flour, add the yeast and salt, ( I let it mix for a minutes to let the yeast dissolve), add the 3Cups of flour and lastly add the olive oil. Let mix for 20-30 minutes, It should be smooth and have a bit of shine to the doughs surface and just a slight amount of a ball of dough should be on the hook, but the dough will be almost like a batter. After mixing, I take and pour extra olive oil around the inside of the bowl wall with the dough in the bowl, and using a plastic spatula, I turn the dough over and over to coat it and the bowl. I cover and let rise till doubled, punch it down with the spatula and clean the sides into the middle of the dough and let it rise again, I don't worry about it again till time to eat, This dough will make about three 10-12 inch pies so I take about a third of the dough and drop onto a well floured board and round it up and onto itself, forming a ball. Picking it up I quickly by pushing dough into the center from the bottom as you are holding the dough, producing a smooth top surface. Then I put it down on the board, then using my finger tips I take the area just inside that outer part(rim) and flattening it, you will have a little hump in the middle, which I punch down with fingers. I flour the dough and turn it over, flattening it with my palms and fingers till it is about 10-12 inch wide. I leave a bit of untouched dough on that outside part to hold in the sauce and ingredients and so I can chew on and admire it. I dust a peel with cornmeal, lay the dough over onto it , add the sauce, cheese then ingredients, The meats and such will not get done if they are under the cheese. A little carmalization on top is needed.
For baking: Use a silicon carbide shelf rather than a cordite shelf, Heat the oven to 500-550F for about a half hour before you start the pies. This crust will get big bubbles, so look at the pie early and watch for big bubbles to start, I use a metal spatula's edge to bust the bubbles, the bubble pushes the ingredients to one side or the other leaving just a little sauce.
My sauce:
Tomato Puree 1-10.75 ounce can put in a food processor (put the can in the trash, not the processor)
1-2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 of a large onion diced
6-8 leaves of Basil chopped
1 tsp of salt
Process till all is pureed. Let set for a little while before use. I put my sauce on with a pastry brush. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
This I make when its a special thing:
Crushed roma tomatoes with salt to season
tear the basil over the crushed tomatoes on a pie
Take buffalo mozzarella and cut thin slices and place them sparingly on the sauce. Bake in a hot oven for about 5-8minutes. And sorry, I enjoy a local microbrew, those boys are good at it.
Well, I hope you will try this and get out there and make them good pots and pies.
For me the basis for making good pies rested in the dough and its ingredients. Bread flour or high gluten flours (semolina) works the best for what I want in a dough. I'm looking for a finished crust that is light, chewy, Swiss cheese textured, with a slight crispness to the surface. Most of the pies I make at home are with Pillsbury bread flour, because of access, I can buy it in town. One other flour that is very helpful is to have on hand is rye flour. It adds strength and flavor to the crust, plus it is the basis for sourdough if you want to go further with doughs.
Intermission: Books you need to have access to:
The Tassajara Bread Book (my copy is from 1970), by Edward Brown. Julia Child's The Way to Cook, Artisan Baking Across America by Maggie Glezer, FlatBreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid and the Culinary Institutes of America's Baking at Home and Baking & Pastry cookbooks are excellent reference tools and will just plain make you hungry to read any of them.
Some highlights that I use to consistently get the crust I want, (if you don't eat the outside crust, go buy yourself a red baron pizza and turn on a TV somewhere). Julia Child says that to get that chewy crisp crust you will need to increase the amount of moisture in the dough, it should be sticky when it is mixed, (most recipes say form a ball with the dough hook, letting it pull away from the sides). From this ideal I use this method to create my dough:
2 cups of warm water
1/2 Cup of Rye Flour (level )
3 1/2 cups of bread flour (level )
1 Tlbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 pack of yeast
Attach the dough hook to mixer, add the water to the bowl, add the rye flour (start mixer), add 1/2 cup of bread flour, add the yeast and salt, ( I let it mix for a minutes to let the yeast dissolve), add the 3Cups of flour and lastly add the olive oil. Let mix for 20-30 minutes, It should be smooth and have a bit of shine to the doughs surface and just a slight amount of a ball of dough should be on the hook, but the dough will be almost like a batter. After mixing, I take and pour extra olive oil around the inside of the bowl wall with the dough in the bowl, and using a plastic spatula, I turn the dough over and over to coat it and the bowl. I cover and let rise till doubled, punch it down with the spatula and clean the sides into the middle of the dough and let it rise again, I don't worry about it again till time to eat, This dough will make about three 10-12 inch pies so I take about a third of the dough and drop onto a well floured board and round it up and onto itself, forming a ball. Picking it up I quickly by pushing dough into the center from the bottom as you are holding the dough, producing a smooth top surface. Then I put it down on the board, then using my finger tips I take the area just inside that outer part(rim) and flattening it, you will have a little hump in the middle, which I punch down with fingers. I flour the dough and turn it over, flattening it with my palms and fingers till it is about 10-12 inch wide. I leave a bit of untouched dough on that outside part to hold in the sauce and ingredients and so I can chew on and admire it. I dust a peel with cornmeal, lay the dough over onto it , add the sauce, cheese then ingredients, The meats and such will not get done if they are under the cheese. A little carmalization on top is needed.
For baking: Use a silicon carbide shelf rather than a cordite shelf, Heat the oven to 500-550F for about a half hour before you start the pies. This crust will get big bubbles, so look at the pie early and watch for big bubbles to start, I use a metal spatula's edge to bust the bubbles, the bubble pushes the ingredients to one side or the other leaving just a little sauce.
My sauce:
Tomato Puree 1-10.75 ounce can put in a food processor (put the can in the trash, not the processor)
1-2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 of a large onion diced
6-8 leaves of Basil chopped
1 tsp of salt
Process till all is pureed. Let set for a little while before use. I put my sauce on with a pastry brush. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
This I make when its a special thing:
Crushed roma tomatoes with salt to season
tear the basil over the crushed tomatoes on a pie
Take buffalo mozzarella and cut thin slices and place them sparingly on the sauce. Bake in a hot oven for about 5-8minutes. And sorry, I enjoy a local microbrew, those boys are good at it.
Well, I hope you will try this and get out there and make them good pots and pies.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sleeping Heads
I took these shots in the gallery (barn). I love these soft and gentle expressions that I have placed in various locations throughout the farm. They seem to have their own life, and I am always surprised how they sometimes reflect my mood. Even though they are sleeping, I see anger, sadness and peacefulness in the different pieces, and I like the the texture that is created when I put the pieces together. The bottom photo is of one of the largest I have been able to get through the process (firing, mostly been the problem). I've slowed down the firings and bisque the work. I also put sand or wadding underneath the piece. This resolved the problem. I also had to build a pulley system, to load the big pieces into the top loading electric kiln. It's like burying someone, I lower the piece into the opening, gently placing two or three posts underneath the head so I can pull the strap from around the piece. I see the bisque cycle as the death cycle of pottery, dull and lifeless. The final firing being the renewal of life, full of color and presence. The wet clay as I build or throw so alive and flexible, represents the birth and first life cycle of the clay.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Raised top p.2
When the parts stiffen up enough to handle, you flip the top over (score the top rim and add slip) and place it on the rim just scored (left). I go ahead and trim the excess around the form and clean it up. The lid is taken and concaved to match the shape of the raised top and add the handle (right). I had to do a little bit of cutting away on the lip, so it would set tightly into the opening of the form.
I found this to be as easy as I could make it.
I really enjoy this method for construction. It took me about an hour (not counting drying time) to produce each form (photo to the right). Have fun and make them good pots.
Raised top p.1
I created this form using a paper template, except for the top slab, which is beveled (raised up) to support the lid. I considered a mold of syrofoam, wood, or plaster, but I would only be able use it for the one size and shape and it takes quit a while to make these forms.Producing another slab of clay I cut a squire slab of clay, which is slightly larger than the vessel rim. While the slab is on a flat surface, cut out the opening for the lid. FYI: I place a piece of plastic on the top of the new slab of clay, then flip it over to cut out the over sized cutout, having the plastic now under the slab, so I can lift it up, after it stiffens a bit (below right).
I remove the center cutout, setting it aside, then lift and lay, using the plastic for support, the slab onto the opening of the vessel, centering the slab and gently pushing down the inside edges, You need to let it stiffen enough( I had let it go all night on a rainy night, uncovered), then I was able to flip this concaved slab over to attach it to the top part of the vessel. (Look in part 2, bottom picture.)
I use the cut out, that I set aside to make the actual lid. I just laid the cut out on another slab of clay, measured out about an inch further on each side and then cut that out. I use the original cut out slab to make the lip on the lid (lower left picture). I make a mark on the cut out about 1/4 to 1/2"in, cutting it out to make a picture frame which I put on the new cutout ( photo below).
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Movies and such
The cold today has run me inside and I’ve taken a nap, ate the last of my vegetable soup, feed the dog more than he can eat and have ended up watching the Oscars. TV anchors have stated that Hollywood would subdue its party scene in respect for the economic crisis in the US. Hollywood also reports that ticket sells are up and have always been up during times of downturns on Wall Street. The run for the theatre box office helps me live in this refuge for those moments in a fantasy. It is an escapism that I grab and liken to a hermit cave dwellers; it’s comforting to be in the dark, and live vicariously through my dreams. It’s a moment I can shift into neutral and coast down hill. Viva Bogart reruns, (doesn't quite roll off the tongue very well, does it?)
My uncle once told me that “the only reality in this world is at Disneyland, everything else is pure fiction.” That was under no particular stress and it has stayed with me since I was eighteen. My uncle was also noted for his tales and misadventures in high school. Too many tales to relate at this time, and in fact this is a pottery blog which I seem to be slacking. This seems to be the way my mind works, weaving in and out of imagery and mindless fantasy, and then all in a flash I’ll be back into a bowl. So, keep up them good pots.
My uncle once told me that “the only reality in this world is at Disneyland, everything else is pure fiction.” That was under no particular stress and it has stayed with me since I was eighteen. My uncle was also noted for his tales and misadventures in high school. Too many tales to relate at this time, and in fact this is a pottery blog which I seem to be slacking. This seems to be the way my mind works, weaving in and out of imagery and mindless fantasy, and then all in a flash I’ll be back into a bowl. So, keep up them good pots.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Anniversaries and such
Tomorrow is the 16Th anniversary of Maria and I. For both of us it is the longest period we have been with the same person. It has to be one of the most difficult task to adjust or reach that balance where one is happy and comfortable with each other for those 20, 25, 30 and more years. Hooray for all of those folks who are still in love and making that life work. May you always be friends and supportive of each other. Good for you.
The American Heritage dictionary defines love as An intense affectionate concern for another person. It's a shame that more folks haven't read this and committed it to memory. Don't get me wrong, my memory has slipped and I have forgotten this definition, but I feel that I'm always trying to remember and act on that definition.
I've also been known as the Reverend, the Reverend Sugardaddy, and the writer John Ehle once said of me, "I think you would be a great bear", he was referencing the movie "Winter People". What can I say to that.
The American Heritage dictionary defines love as An intense affectionate concern for another person. It's a shame that more folks haven't read this and committed it to memory. Don't get me wrong, my memory has slipped and I have forgotten this definition, but I feel that I'm always trying to remember and act on that definition.
I've also been known as the Reverend, the Reverend Sugardaddy, and the writer John Ehle once said of me, "I think you would be a great bear", he was referencing the movie "Winter People". What can I say to that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)