Resurgam

After two partially successful attempts at making a biga, or even a flatbread dough that would have sufficient leavening power, I decided to dump all of the French La Vahiné and Greek yeast. One year in San Juan, even in nitrogen filled packages, seems to have put the little yeast cells to sleep--permanently. Welcome to the tropics.

With new Fleischmann's IDY safely opened and in the freezer, the bakery needes some loaves of basic bread with creative pizzas to feel better again.

The Plan

Simple artisan bread that could be combined with our new found source of organic crops should satisfy the needs to get the bakery working again. To keep the day manageable and allow other kitchen prep work, only 3.6kg of dough would be prepared:

1. 2kg divided into 500gm loaves
2. 1kg for 100gm filled Parkerhouse rolls
3. 600gm for pizza rounds

Pre Ferment

A 55% AR (Absorption Ratio) biga of 1kg flour (150gm Whole Wheat) and 850gm Amapola Harina por pan y pizzas, was started with 8gm of Fleischmann's IDY dissolved in 550gm of 40C water with 10 grams of invert sugar syrup.

The yeast-water-invert sugar solution exhibited strong foaming at 20 minutes. The biga was mixed 3 minutes then allowed to rest overnight.

This is a stiffer than usual pre-ferment that can rise well over 10 hours without falling. At 10 hours, the aroma is very strong without being sour.

10:49 later, soft and fluffy, but not fallen

And actually, quite hard to make fall...

Mixing

After ~12 hours of fermentation, the biga was slack, but still robust enough to contain the fermentation gasses. The missing flour, water, and salt were computed:

Total dough weight= 3600gm computed at 60% AR. This means 2250 gm flour and 1350 gm (60% of 2250) water.

• Flour:1000gm in biga + 1250gm in final mix = 2250gm
• Water: 550gm in biga + 800gm to add = 1350gm
• Salt @ 2% of flour weight = 45gm

Mix 7 minutes due to the lower peak time of Amapola flours. The final dough was elastic and not sticky. Final temperature was 31C.

Rising

Let rise 1.5 hours, then divided as above.

Forming, proofing, and baking

Loaves were formed in a boule form to save freezer space. Rolls were flattened to Parker House and filled with organic radishes in a fried tomato-chili sauce.

Forming into Parker House shape, adding the radishes, and pinching into rolls

A note on the radish toppings...

Our dedicated organic farmers at Siembra Tres Vidas in Puerto Rico deliver some of the freshest summer radishes (raphanus sativus) we have ever tasted. Radishes however can take a different personality when cooked. Their pungency becomes peppery and nutty (due to enzyme deactivation leaving the glucosinolate undamaged). For this mix:

• Cut two radishes into batonets (approximately 2mm)
• Mix with salt and fines herbes
• Wet with white vinegar
• Add 15 cc of fried tomato sauce
• Add 5cc of pureed chile ancho
• Add 5cc of invert dark sugar syrup

The ingredients. The palette. The final mix.

Pizza Topping

Only two of the pizza toppings merit a special note: Vinegar-sugar syrup garlic and the Obradors chorizo from Barcelona. The remainder are very standard in the repertoire:

• VITTER tomate frito with added mushrooms
• Onions marinated with oregano and olive oil
• Pimentones Españoles sliced in long strips
• A mixture of mozzarella (low-quality) and pecorino cheese

Soaking thinly sliced garlic in a mixture of vinegar and brown invert sugar syrup takes some of the pungency from the garlic and gives a beautiful caramelization as the pizza cooks. The garlic cooks in a 250C oven to a good color without bitterness.

EMBOTITS OBRADORS chorizo is made only from black swine from the island of Mallorca. The pigs graze freely and are prepared in small batches by hand. There is a history behind the sausage that spans nearly 2000 years. Roman traders reaching the islands with techniques for salting meat, enterprising islanders refining the art, faithful Moors eradicating the practice (and perhaps some of the enterprising islanders; These swine are unclean!), a reintroduction of the idea by the Kingdom of Sicily, followed by the islanders, ever enterprising, refining the art again.

Special note-Mallorcan chorizo gained it deep red color in the 1700's with the addition of red peppers recently arrived on the islands from America.

Garlic in vinegar and invert sugar syrup--

• Approximately 10 cloves of garlic, with root end trimmed and shaved in a mandolin
• 50:50 mix of white vinegar and water
• Salt to 3% (by weight) of vinegar and water
• Invert brown sugar syrup to cover garlic
  

The finished products

500 gram loaves and the radish bread

And the pizzas...

Accompaniments

Braised baby cabbage salad with organic romaine and arugula
(all locally, organically grown in Puerto Rico)

Puerto Rico was, and still is a cornucopia. The island has at least eight micro-climates that support tropical fruits through coffee, and even temperate vegetable crops such as broccoli. We are proud member of an agricultural cooperative that supports local farms. Our favorite is Siembra Tres Vidas, from which this produce comes.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil--Approximately 50cc, plus some to braise the cabbage
• Fruit vinegar--About 50cc of high pulp, dark, fruit vinegar (fig, forest fruits...)
• Salt to taste (finish with herbed salt to complement the pungency of the arugula and cabbage)
• Pepper--fresh ground upon serving
• Substandard pineapple wine without salt
  (common in Puerto Rico--Hey, do you think all of the great European peasant food was cooked with Chateau Petrus 1723? The villagers drew wine that was halfway to vinegar from communal casks or demijohns. The point is to have a good reduction source.)

Peel the outer leaves from the baby cabbage and split in two (beautiful). Sprinkle the open faces with salt. Heat a very heavy covered pan and coat the bottom with olive oil. Allow the oil to heat and place the cabbages split-side down. They should make a great deal of sizzling noises.

After 2 minutes, splash a small amount of substandard pineapple wine in the pan, mainly to make steam and add sweetness to the cabbage. Cover the pan and let steam for 7-9 minutes. (Please do not go much past the upper time limit since further cooking reactions will release hydrogen sulfide from the cabbage and degrade the aroma.) Upon completing the steaming, withdraw the cabbage and place on a separate pan. The residual heat in the vegetable will continue the cooking process. The baby cabbage should be softer, but still with body.

Left-Split baby cabbage (about 75mm across), sprinkled with salt.
Right-After braising in substandard pineapple wine

Let the cabbage cool over the next few hours.

Near serving time, clean and hand tear the salads into a salad centrifuge (spinner). Hand tearing makes the salad easier to handle with a fork and much more interesting. If you prefer uniformly cut salad, try a lawnmower. Spin dry the sald and chill.

Mix the oil and vinegar in a separate jar or bowl to make a dressing. Reserve some of the dressing to top the split cabbages. Toss the salads in the dressing separately and finish with your choice of salt. Plate out leaving a small 'hole' in the center of the plate. Place the braised cabbage in the center hole and top with a spoonful of the remaining dressing, finish with salt and pepper.