The Mighty Loaf

Christmas was very laid back this year, but I did find one small gift under the old tree. I got this very interesting dough rising basket called a brotform from Germany. After the first rise or proof you punch down the dough and place the ball in this well floured brotform for the final proofing. The dough rises around the brotform canes giving your bread a really cool design similar to a floury crop circle.


Today's mighty loaf is courtesy of my little pet, my sourdough starter. It's not too much work to keep a starter going but it does need attention about once a week. I just add a cup of flour and half a cup of warm britta water. I stir it up and check for bubbling action to ensure it's still alive. Next to my kombucha and fermenting sauerkraut crocks the sourdough jar is the best smelling of the bunch.


The bread recipe I used is the most basic sourdough recipe available from King Arthur Flour.

1 1/2 c Lukewarm water
5 1/2 c (to 6 1/2 cups) King Arthur
1 tb Sugar
1 tb Salt
1 tb (or packet) active dry yeast
1 tb Vegetable oil
1 c Sourdough starter

Combine all of the ingredients, using only 5 cups of the flour. I used a kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook attachment to knead this into a nice soft dough. I placed the dough in a greased bowl to rise for one hour. After an hour passed I punched the dough down and moved it to the brotform to rise for one more hour. Preheat the oven to 450f and bake for 20 min or until golden brown on a pizza stone.


The loaf had a nice crust and a very soft interior crumb. Normally I prefer to use only sourdough starter instead of the dry yeast/starter combo. Sure, the rise will take much longer but it produces a much stronger sour fermented flavored loaf.

Can't complain, this is my best looking and tasting loaf to date. Maybe I can pass my bread off as an artisan loaf now.

With a Name Like "Kick Ass.."

The Salted Cod has made it known we have a weakness for cupcakes. We've been eagerly awaiting the opening of Kick Ass Cupcakes in Davis Square since that eye-catching sign first appeared some months ago.

Arriving late in the evening, the door was just minutes away from being locked so our selection was minimal. We purchased two cupcakes. The Lucky was our first, a lemon cake with white chocolate frosting and a few small pieces of candied ginger. As an added bonus, it comes with a small fortune on top, similar to one found in an actual fortune cookie. Also purchased was The Super Chocolate, a chocolate cake (obviously) with a dollop of rich chocolate on top, reminiscent of a thumbprint cookie from childhood and a few chocolate shavings to complete the look.



Over all, both cupcakes were much smaller than we hoped for the price of $2.75 each. They were also on the dry side but this might be due to purchasing so late in the day. Both had great presentation but fell short on flavor and consistency. With a name like "Kick Ass," we were really anticipating a tastier product.

The highlight for us was the fresh milk for sale from Shaw Farm in Dracut, MA. We'll be more likely to stop by again soon just for some milk.

The Salted Cod understands they are a new local business and we plan on giving Kick Ass Cupcakes another shot down the road. Next time we'll be sure to arrive earlier in the day and try a few different flavors, hopefully a Red Velvet if they have one.

Red Velvet

As the newest member of the Salted Cod (and the only one with the patience for baking), I was inspired to make a red velvet cake from the delicious cupcakes found at Tonnie's minis. The recipe is quite basic, mainly consisting of cocoa, vinegar, buttermilk, lots of sugar and of course red food coloring. The most important step in baking this cake was creating a paste of unsweetened cocoa and 1 oz. of food coloring to be folded into the batter. As seen in the photos below, the color becomes freakishly red after a few turns.


In the end I realized that the red velvet formula is far more superior as cupcakes. Don't get me wrong, this cake was baked with love and definitely gave me my chocolate fix, but I think because of its intense sweetness it fairs better in smaller doses.