In Pursuit of the Perfect Bread

I love to bake!
I always liked to bake my own bread, first occasionally, lately more often. Pursuing my quest for better food, I had read the mile long ingredient list on a regular toast packing and decided: No more of this for us.
After practicing a while, I think I got it down pretty good, at least my family would eat it without complaining, which means a lot...;-)

Now ready to up it to the next step, I wanted to bake in a wood fired oven. Asking around, people would give me different advice, reading books was helpful, but only so far and I was not quite ready to make the investment without better knowledge of what I was about to undertake.

Visiting a friend in Oregon, I stumbled about a small ad in a Hobby Farm magazine, originating from the San Francisco Baking Institute, offering a weekend class in the art of wood fire oven baking. That was just the right thing for me and I tried to apply, but unfortunately the course was already booked out. So the waiting list it was. To my utter delight a few weeks later I got an email from the SFBI telling me that a spot was available. My hopes came true, I would be able to attend the workshop!

Last weekend, now, was THE weekend. While driving in pouring rain to South San Francisco, I was wondering, if the class wouldn't be over my head, if everybody else was already an experienced or even professional baker and so forth.
But the moment I opened the door and was greeted not only by a friendly receptionist but also with a delicious waft of freshly baked goods, I did not really care anymore. Just following the mouth watering aroma, I knew I was at the right spot.

I was led to a big table adjacent to a beautiful huge wood fire oven

out of which to my great surprise, a baker, which later turned out to be one of our instructors, just pulled a sheet full of croissants. Croissants in a wood fired oven, and they are not burned, but perfectly baked, how was that possible??? And it became even better, these croissants were to be our breakfast! Although I already had breakfast at home, stupid me, I could not resist and devoured one of these delicious croissants.

Baking in a wood fired oven requires quite a bit of planning and so, to accommodate all our needs during the day, we started right away with how to fire the oven.

Here one of our very knowledgeable instructors, Michael Faircloth, explaining the important points of proper firing:

resulting in a perfectly burning fire!

After this first excitement we went into the classroom for a more formal introduction, and to my relief, I found out that I was not the only "home baker". After learning about the history and the different types of wood fire ovens we were ushered to the "lab", the actual bakery. This well planned mix between theoretical and practical instruction would continue throughout the weekend and was perfect: Just before one was about to loose attention in the classroom, the practical part would start, and after standing and processing for a while in the lab, everybody was thankful to be able to sit down again.

In the lab now, we were taught by Frank Sally, an exceptionally good teacher and accomplished baker, how to prepare, handle and shape different doughs that we later would bake in the wood fire oven. Due to the limited space, even in this huge wood fire oven, we chose the samples to be baked in it, whereas the rest was baked in the bakery's deck ovens.

Since loading the breads is quite a time sensitive and hot undertaking, Frank would demonstrate the "how to" on the first day:

Aren't they beautiful, our perfectly shaped first sour dough breads???? Baking happily away.

A pity, that the image can't convey the heat and smell......

As I came home that evening with my "harvest", proud as can be,

my family at first did not believe that I baked these wonderful breads, well, I had a little help....And guess what was for dinner? Yep, bread and cheese, lots of it!

The next morning, this time I was smarter and did not have breakfast at home, we were greeted with the most delicious sticky buns I ever ate, in addition to scones and muffins, all baked in the retained heat from yesterdays firing.
Yesterday we had prepared pie dough, which we now finished to galettes to be baked also in the retained heat of the oven before it would be fired again.

Before

and after

Then we mixed and later formed dough for the pizzas, which were to be our lunch, and

for ciabattas...

...and pita bread, which popped up like balloons in the oven:

As the pita bread came fresh out of the oven we were presented with yummy hummus and baba ganoush, a tasty eggplant dip. I had planned not to eat anything in order to enjoy the pizza, but the smell and taste was just too good to be ignored!

We already had practiced with the more forgiving pita bread to load and unload the wood oven but now with the more delicate pizza the hour of truth had arrived.

Before we could load the pizza, Mike had to bring up the heat in the oven again and explained to us how the flames basically have to lick the side and ceiling of the oven in order to provide enough heat for the pizza:

In goes the pizza with the help of a wooden peel, then it has to be turned continuously with a "palino" and after not even 2 minutes it's ready!

Here is comes:

Not that I was hungry in any way, but I didn't leave a crumb....it was that good. Full to the brim it was back to the classroom, where Frank gave us an eye-opening (at least for me) introduction into the more scientific approach of baking with yeast and sourdough. I always was so proud of my self made sourdough starter, but here I learned that I almost starved that poor thing to death.

Baking in a wood fire oven, as I learned, is all about the right amount of heat, retaining the heat and the right timing in baking different items. First comes the right fire and lots of patience to maintain it. Then one can bake pizza with flames licking the oven walls as seen above. After then removing the heat source, the oven is ready for bread, after cooling down even more it is ready for baking pastries. Remember the croissants from the first morning, these were baked basically on the remaining heat from the baking the day before!
Sounds easy, but I certainly gained a lot of respect for wood fire oven bakers. The question is now, will I be able accomplish all that?
Yes, I will. It won't be easy but well worth it.

I came to learn about wood fire ovens and I did learn more than I thought possible. That I also got a lot of inspiration and information for my home baking was the icing on the cake!


Thank you Frank and Michael, and all the staff that worked in the background, it was a great experience and I will be back, promise!

To learn more about the courses and workshops offered by the SFBI, please click here:
San Francisco Baking Institute course calendar

Epson Pano Awards Surprise

I'm excited to announce

that the following image "Aurora"

placed first in the open competition, nature category

of The Epson International Pano Awards 2011

As I wrote earlier this month, in the 2011 competition four of my images won awards, and I was very happy with that.

Now imagine my surprise as I opened my email a few days ago and found the following:

"Dear Susanne,

Congratulations!! You have placed first in the Open competition, Nature category with your image of the Northern Lights in Hudson Bay.

This year we received 3474 entries from 952 photographers in 62 countries, so you should be very proud of this achievement.

The top 50 images in each category will very soon be published on the website.[...]"

They have now published all the images and I would like to invite you to check  out their website and see all the great submissions. Just click here to go there directly.


Together with the seven best images of each category my image will be on display in an exhibition on the occasion of the PMA (Photo Marketing Association International) in Sydney this June.
Anyone going ?

The Hummingbird Challenge

This last Sunday I had the pleasure to participate in a fun hummingbird photography workshop in the Santa Cruz Mountains, held by my dear friends Judy Bingman and Meggi Raeder.

Inspired by a similar workshop that Judy and I attended, Judy had converted her already bird friendly garden into a hummingbird paradise.
Together with Meggi, these both accomplished photographers as well as avid birders, put together a knowledgeable and fun program for photographers interested in hummingbird photography.

With plenty of hummers around, and different setups to choose from, everybody filled their memory cards fast.

I approached the photography part rather nonchalantly, just enjoying the nice weather and the chatting with fellow photographers. After all hummingbirds are not on top of my "wildlife I want to photograph" list.

BUT after filling my memory card with a lot of super sharp and colorful....hummingbird feeders instead of hummingbirds, I got thinking....

I photographed polar bears, penguins, seals, wolves.....and now these tiny birds with their big attitude make me look like a rookie??

Well, if you consider that they are the smallest birds on earth measuring only between 2,5 to 8 inches, weigh in average only as much as an U.S. penny, beat their wings between 40 and 80 times per second, can reach a speed of 30 mph and are the only birds that truly can fly backwards and upside down, it's no wonder they are not an easy catch.

Always happy to conquer a photographic challenge, I gave it a more serious try. I hope you enjoy the results as much as I did photographing the hummingbirds.

If you are interested in attending one of Meggi's and Judy's workshops, please click here for more information. The next "Photo Workshop: Hummingbirds" is scheduled for July 10th and possibly another one later in fall.

The Epson International Photographic Pano Awards

I'm happy to announce that four of my submitted images earned awards at the second international Pano Awards. One Silver and three Bronze!

"The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest and most important competition for panoramic photography. "

There are two entry classes, one for amateurs (amateur) and one for professional photographers and amateurs (open), with two categories each, Nature and The Built Environment.

The awarded images were entered in the open competition Nature category.


Aurora

                                 


Lightrays Palouse

                                 


Wheat

                                


El Capitan Storm

  

May Conservation Tip

HUNTING FOR SOLUTIONS

I was just leafing through the new Audubon Magazine when I stumbled upon a shocking article: Bad Shot by Ted Williams

Since I'm not a hunter I had no idea, that some, most?, hunters not only kill the animal they are shooting,  but in the long run other animals that share the same habitat, mostly birds.

How?
By plumbism, lead poisoning.

Let me throw a few numbers at you...and some of my eagle images, to lighten the load...this is heavy reading:

" The U.S. geological Survey reports that as many as 400,000 lead shotgun pellets per acre are falling down on popular hunting fields, and that about 80,000 tons of lead accumulate each year on the nation's trap, skeet and target ranges." (2)

                                           Bald Eagle in Pine Tree

  

"Hunters shoot roughly 20 million mourning doves a year, but evidence suggests that nearly that many die from eating lead shot." (2)

                                            Bald Eagle with Hatchling

 
"There is, therefore, no doubt that millions of birds die annually worldwide from lead poisoning (in the U.S.A., around 3 000 000), this problem being most acute in marshland." (1)

                                 Juvenile Bald Eagle nibbling on plant   


"The University of Minnesota's Raptor Center in St. Paul received 117 lead poisoned bald eagles during the winter of 2009-2010" (2)

                                Curious juvenile Bald Eagle inspecting sundial

"Since 2000 there have been at least 276 documented cases of plumbism in condors.[ ]Numbers of free flying California Condors in the wild vary almost daily, but as of March 1, there were 369 left on the planet, including 177 in captivity." (2)

                                           On top

How does the lead get into the birds and what does it cause there?

Many birds mistake the pellets for the little stones or grit that they usually take in to grind food in their gizzards.
Vultures and Condors seek out the lead in carrion, because it feels like the bone they feed their chicks to maintain calcium levels.
Raptors ingest lead indirectly by hunting easier to catch poisoned small mammals, birds or fish, the latter poisoned by lead sinkers or ballast.

The lead then enters the digestion tract where they dissolve into lead salt. These are incorporated into the bloodstream and the rest of the body and accumulate in organs like the liver or kidneys causing physiological or behavioural changes.
No safe threshold for lead exposure has been discovered, meaning there is no known amount of lead that is too small to cause the body harm.

The lead poisoning problem due to lead ammunition is known since 1894, wouldn't it be time to make some changes????

If you have a moment, read the article, since it is really well written and gives a complex understanding of the topic, this is just a small abstract to raise awareness.

WHAT WE CAN DO ?

Help spread the word, you can share this blog on facebook or send a link to your friends and relatives, especially if they are hunt or fish.

If you hunt, switch to nontoxic ammunition.

If you fish, switch to nontoxic sinkers and jigheads.

Tell your legislators to oppose bills that would strip the EPA of authority to regulate ammunition and fishing tackle.


Sources:
(1) Lead and lead toxicity in domestic and free living birdsAvian Pathology June 2010

(2) Bad Shot Incite, Audubon Magazine May-June 2011, Ted Williams

Blowin' in the Wind

Usually Point Reyes sees me on horseback in summer. But since horseback riding and photography don't mix too well, I always wanted to come back in spring, when the wildflowers are in bloom and the pastures are still lush. But how it often goes with good ideas, they take a while to come true....

This year, due to my friend Meggi's initiative, I finally went!

Meggi and I planned this weeks ahead and almost cancelled it due to the unstable weather, but luck was on our side and the day we had picked started out sunny and clear. Arriving in Point Reyes, we first checked in at the Bear Valley Visitor Center to get the newest tips and locations on wildflowers. A knowledgeable guide pointed out the best areas and wished us a great day. On the side he mentioned that it had been a bit windy at the lighthouse as he left it that morning. Now this was the understatement of the day as we discovered later.....

Our first stop was Abbotts Lagoon for the wild poppies

Windswept Yellow Poppies with Abbotts Lagoon in the background:

Macro photography was really challenging, but perseverance prevailed:

From there we worked our way up towards the Historic Pierce Point Ranch and Tule Elk Reserve at the North end of the park. On the way there, I captured my favorite image of the day, an images that characterizes Point Reyes how I see it:

And a bit down the road we then saw the more native grazers, the Tule Elk:

By the time we reached the historic Pierce Point Ranch, we were mighty hungry and decided to find a wind protected spot to enjoy our sandwiches. Freshly restored, we explored the ranch. Pierce Point Ranch was one of the most successful "butter rancho" in the Point Reyes area.
"The Pierce Point Ranch on Tomales Point ceased operations in 1973. Three years later, Congress authorized creation of the wilderness area incorporating that ranch as habitat for the reintroduction of tule elk. Beginning in 1980, NPS invested in the rehabilitation of the ranch core, citing it as the best example of a nineteenth century west Marin dairy ranch. Pierce Point Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, and was subsequently opened to the public as an interpretive site." from the nps.gov website about Point Reyes

The ranch is the biggest surviving historic diary ranch complex in the Park:

New & Old:

The lichen speaks for itself:

After that interesting historic back flash, we went back on the road towards the lighthouse. In pursuit of more wildflowers we took a little side trip to North Beach, were we found these lovely iceplants. Since they are low to the ground, they were not impacted by the howling winds. But we learned that the iceplant is a very invasive non native species that not only inhibits native plant growth but also prevents a necessary natural dune movement:

Still hopeful to find a less windy area, we moved on to Chimney Rock, another wildflower area the ranger had pointed out. The sign on the entrance to the little trail looked promising:

We saw the Douglas Irises, Beach Strawberries, Mule Ears and many more, but the wind just made it impossible to get a decent photograph of them. Lying on my stomach, I managed to photograph these low growing Goldfields:

Nevertheless, the hike out there was great and the views worthwhile:

The best, and most Iconic view of Point Reyes, of course was from the lighthouse:

By now the wind was howling so loud, that we had to yell at each other and our ears started to ring. With a last glance towards this fantastic shore line we said good bye to Point Reyes and slowly wound our way home.

April Conservation Tip

You are hungry, and you don't really have time to cook or you are not even home...so you get yourself some chips, cookies or a chocolate bar to quickly fill your stomach...sounds familiar?

I'm on the road a lot and after my share of above mentioned fillers I really tried to find healthy alternatives. For a while I had fresh fruit with me, especially bananas...they really smell good after a while when you forget them in the car;-) Then I had a bag of mixed nuts with me, that was quite good, but how many nuts can you eat.

A couple of months ago I went to Costco with my husband, it was supposed to be a quick running in and getting one or two things. But actually I don't know anyone who can get her husband out of a Costco in under one hour, neither could I.

Almost done with shopping we stumbled upon a plastic container with "Aussie Bites" inside. Why they are called Aussie Bites I don't know, maybe because they look like Kangaroo droppings? To my utter surprise, they landed in our shopping cart.

Since it by now was way past lunch time, we were quite hungry and so my husband started to munch on the not very appetizing looking "Bites". With my stomach growling I caved in and tried one. They were not super tasty, but edible, but they really stilled my hunger, even to the point that I forgot to eat real lunch at home. Two of these "Bites" kept me fine all afternoon. So I got thinking and went online to see if I can find a more tasty recipe.

I did find a wealth of recipes and tried a few, the very first batch was good, the second too crumbly, the third....and so forth. But after a couple of batches I think I now found a reliable recipe, that I would like to share:

Power Bites Recipe:

I use all organic ingredients, but I assume the recipe works just fine with conventional ones

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 to 2 cups of extras such as nuts, sunflower kennels, flax seed, dried fruit (I dried some raspberries last summer, but any dried fruit in small pieces will work)
1/3 cup of honey
8 oz ( 2 sticks)butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all the dry ingredients

Melt the butter together with the honey (over slow heat on the stove or in the microwave)

Mix the baking soda into the hot water and add to the butter mixture.

Pour the butter - baking soda mixture over the premixed dry ingredients and mix well.

With the help of two teaspoons fill the mixture into a mini cupcake pan (due to the high butter content there is no need to grease the form) and press firmly in.

Bake about 10 min at 350 degrees, let them cool slightly but not completely before carefully taking them out of the form. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container. Makes around 48 Power Bites.

They keep well in an airtight container for about two months, they might be even longer edible, but they start to taste stale after a while. And although really healthy and good for you, they are not low calorie. Depending on what you use for the "extras" they have about 100 to 130 calories per bite..! So enjoy them in moderation.