Lotsa Cheeses
For no particular reason, this weekend turned into a cheese-baking spree. I planned to make Curry-Onion-Cheese Bread to take to our friends’ house as appetizers to snack before pizzas baked in their wood-fired oven. And I was making the pizza dough--the Reinhart recipe from TFL’s Pizza Primer (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pizza). Then I learned that Beloved Spouse wanted to try baking cheese-crackers—a “homemade Cheez-Its" recipe from instructables.com
The cheese crackers were first, and I’m happy to say they are nothing like Cheez-Its, except the color. The recipe is very simple (http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Cheez-Its/#step1). Flour, butter, salt, cayenne and lots of sharp Cheddar.
These are sinfully delicious. The texture is very much like a cheesy pie crust. In fact, we decided it would be perfect as the crust for apple pie (some day when the diet is over, i.e., never).
Next up was the Curry-Onion-Cheese bread from The Cheese Board Collective Works. This is one of our favorites. This one has a mix of sharp Cheddar, Jarlsberg and Gruyere. Because I wanted it to be super fresh this evening, I wanted to bake it this morning. So, for the first time, I tried overnight bulk fermenting the dough. It needed a couple extra hours to warm up before baking, but the results were as good as always. Our friends loved it.
It was even better briefly toasted in the 800 degree WBO
Finally, the Pizza! We had had wood-baked pizza at our friends’ place before, but never with the outstanding dough from Peter Reinhart’s formula. It performed admirably. Crispy on the bottom and poofed full of holes around the crown. Here’s our friend, Kelly, the Pizzaiolo.
My favorite of the four pizzas was topped with fresh Mozzarella, Andouille sausage, roasted peppers and Portobella mushrooms.
And this one had Proscuitto and roasted green onions.
We waddled home full of excellent cheeses.
Glenn
Comments
Hi Glenn,
The bread and pizza you've baked look really good...and the WFO is beautiful with all of that colorful tile!
I've been into the cheese, too, the past couple of weeks...cheddar, lots and lots of cheddar.
I was thinking about your cheese and curry bread when I was making the SD.
:^) from breadsong
Cheese on bread is good. Cheese in bread is even better.
Glenn
The curry bread really stands out with it's vibrant crumb, nice Glenn. As for the pizza, well...when isn't pizza excellent!
Any thoughts between you and David getting a wood fired oven??
Yes!
My plan is for Glenn to get a WFO. Glenn's plan may be different.
David
I'll supply the location!
Paul
David has a much more suitable location for a WFO at his house than I do.
Perhaps we need a mobile WFO to share.
I'm actually thinking about getting a Big Green Egg...much more manageable size than a real WFO.
Glenn
again ! Love the WFO....
Great looking breads, pizzas and crackers, Glenn. Breadsong had a thing for cheese this weekend, as well. I don't suppose this was some kind of collaboration, was it?!
Best,
Syd
Cheese is everywhere!
Glenn
and very nice bake. The cheese crackers look great! -Varda
But I can't take any credit for the cheese crackers, except taking photos....and yielding the oven to my wife for a few minutes.
Glenn
pass along my compliments to the chef. -Varda (whose reading comprehension used to be a lot better.)
We have a Big Green Egg and absolutely love, love, love it. I haven't cooked a turkey in the regular oven since Lane made the first one in the BGE & BBQ ribs are to die for. I have not perfected pizza in it, not because it doesn't work, but because I haven't had the time to work at it. We did sourdough pizza which turned out passable enough that I'd like to have the smaller one dedicated just for baking. Ah...someday when I can retire :-)
Word to the wise...after helping Lane unload that thing from the truck I don't consider it portable...it's unbelievably heavy...all that ceramic mass is why it works so well. The rolling stand works fine for moving it around a patio so long as no lifting is needed.
Have fun if you get one!
Toni
You just set yourself up to be the target of a newbie's incessant questions if I get the BGE. In fact, even while deciding...
Did you get the large one or the extra large? I know they're not really portable, but the extra large would be tough even to roll around the patio.
Do you know people who've had good success baking bread in the BGE? Seems like it should work well with the available pizza stone accessory.
Thanks.
Glenn
Ask away! You'll really be amazed at the difference in the flavors of whatever you cook in the BGE. Lump charcoal & no artificial starter liquids, binders or chemicals makes for amazing flavors & wood chips add even more. Funny story...my husband BBQ'd on a Weber for 30 years...you know, briquettes, fire starter, etc. Our cat Cruiser never paid attention to anything he brought in. The very first time he brought in tri-tip off the BGE the cat beat him to the kitchen and nearly clawed his leg off making his point that he was now ready for BBQ. We even cooked on the Weber just to see...nope it has to be made on the Egg. We think it's the taint of the chemicals. He begs for anything that comes in off the Egg.
As an FYI~Lowe's has a version that the BGE company makes for us...it's a little different in that the outside is fired ceramic glazed. It's a good price...just smaller. One of my customers bought one for his MIL that wanted it to bake breads & pizzas. He came back in after she did some baking in it and said it was amazing & he is now her favorite SIL.
Toni
Missed the size question...we went for the large...the XL was more than we wanted to spend.
Toni
The crackers and bread look and sound so delicious. My waistline wishes I could eat more cheese too! Well, a little won't hurt and what good way to have a little, in your scrumptious crackers!
How about that great looking pizza....how about that crust coming out of the WFO, PR recipe sure tastes great and over the top WFired...yummm,it's not just the high heat, it's that kiss of smoke, flames from the hot coals burning, roasting, char, creates a flavor all it's own!
Sylvia
There's no question that the quality of heat in a WFO--not just the higher temperature--makes a beneficial difference in the texture and flavor of pizza. I wish I had a place to put one.
Thanks, Sylvia.
Glenn
Have you seen these Primavera series at Forno Bravo? I just noticed the video's making pizza and ciabatta the other day while visiting the site. I had my doubts about such a small 24 inch...but the video's are impressive. Expensive but nice!
Sorry I can't get this link to work.. http://www.fornobravo.com/residential-pizza-oven/beehive-oven.html. It's the one Peter Reinhart has, the Primavera. They have video's also on the Beehive oven. You Tube - Beehive oven , pretty neat to watch.
Sylvia
If I got a WFO, I'd probably go for the Forno Bravo Primavera. My friends have the larger Primavera and also a Big Green Egg. They only use the WFO occasionally for big crowds. And they use the BGE all the time (30 minutes to heat to 700 degrees, easy to clean). I'll be thinking about this for a while.
Glenn
Your pizza and curry-onion-cheese-bread and cheese crackers look absolutely delicious! Thank you for all of the pictures you showed us that are very nice!! Pizza's crumb is outstanding. There are good toppings on it!!
Happy baking,
Akiko
Glenn
Look like you had quite a cheesy weekend, Glenn:)
The pizza crumbs was wonderful, really open. The biscuits looks great too.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com
Glenn
The recipe for the cheese crackers turned out to be delicious. Also, very simple. One question please, do you have any suggestions for keeping the crispness? I put them in a glass bowl with a tight lid, they still tasted wonderful but lost that great crispy outside. I thought about the bread bags with the tiny holes but was afraid they'd go stale. Thanks for any ideas, Jean P.(VA)
Thanks, Jean. As far as I know there are only two ways to enjoy a whole batch of these crackers with full crispiness: (1) eat the whole batch fresh out of the oven, or (2) re-crisp them in the oven later.
Glenn
Thank you Glenn, the oven idea is one I had not thought of. I hate to admit it, but I almost did eat them all. It was a case of "you can't eat just one"!
Jean