Media Check:
Only one thing worth mentioning:
BOOK: Ratios, by Michael Ruhlman.
Wow.
Working from information given to him by an instructor at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America, in long-form), Ruhlman gives a slew of basic ratios, combinations of ingredients that form the building blocks for thousands of recipes. The first ratio he gave, that bread is essentially five parts flour to three parts liquid, challenged me to try it. 20 ounces bread flour (approximately four cups), 12 ounces water. Add some salt and yeast, throw it all together in the stand mixer, let the dough hook play with the ingredients until the dough has been properly kneeded, cover with plastic wrap and take a nap, punch the dough down and form the loaf while preheating the oven, let bake for about an hour and presto, der B and I had fresh bread with dinner.
All right, there's all sorts of variables that can be added. Sugar or honey, change how much yeast is used, change the type of flour, add stuff like herbs and oils. The basic ratio of five parts flour to three parts liquid stays the same. This is news to me, when every other book has said that baking is an exact science, that you can't play around with anything because the writers who write the books don't want you to figure out how to do anything on your own! All of a sudden, the mystery is gone. I can play with my food. Let the games begin!
And the ratios in the book aren't just for baking. He's got ratios here for stocks and sauces, for mayonnaise, for custards, for sausage!
When der B learned I was baking bread, he turned to the dogs and said "He's getting adventurous again." There was a smile in his voice.
