Oregon

There is nothing like the Oregon Coast. I was lucky enough to spend last weekend there with Ian and I can't stop thinking about the place. Go there, you won't regret it.

Feels good to be home.

It has been a while since I have updated ye ol' blog. Many things have happened since leaving DC, but the most important is the courageous feat I took: making croissants from scratch. Don't kid yourselves folks, this is a full day project so come prepared.

The recipe is out of the Sur La Table book: The Art & Soul of Baking

Recipe:
1/2 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons active dry yeast, or 1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter
1 cup of cold milk

Butter Block for the center:
3 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unbleached flour

Brush over the top:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon whole milk

This recipe calls for a lot of chilling time in the fridge, so there is a lot of waiting. First step is to mix the milk, sugar and yeast together and let sit for 10 minutes. Then you mix together the flour, salt, cold butter and milk. With the dough hook on your mixer, mix together for 1-2 minutes and then knead the dough four times. Refrigerate for one hour. While this is chilling, make your butter block. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and flour in the bowl until it becomes a fluffy paste. Refrigerate that for 20 minutes. Following this, you will need to roll out the dough three times. Between each time, refrigerate for an hour.

This is a lengthy process, and one with many steps so it is best to find a recipe you like and play with it until it works for you.

In other news, I am back in Seattle and it feels great. It is truly relaxing here at my parents' house and the weather has been exactly what you would hope for in the Northwest. One minute sunny, the next minute monsoon. I have been down to Portland, Ore., visiting the local markets and bakeries, and even made a strawberry rhubarb pie. Rhubarb is in season now, so I highly recommend it. The thought of being here for the summer is exciting. More baking is soon to come. Maybe even from Chicago. For now, here is a picture of home.