Friday, January 18, 2002


remember that thing called bread?

i suddenly realized that i haven't made any bread since 9-11. and finally, it's really cold enough to bake. so last night i started a batch of the renowned pain de campagne rustique. however, instead of using whole-wheat and rye, i'm using a mixture of rye and farro (which, let me take pains to remark, is not the same as spelt (triticum spelta), although it is related to it, being triticum dicoccum.) rye ferments well and gives a good flavor to the eventual bread, so i always start the bread with some rye in the mix. the farro holds water somewhat like the rye does, but gives an interesting nuttiness to the resulting starter. i'll tell you how it turns out in 3 days. . .

also, i hope to taste some of that home roast coffee tomorrow. meanwhile, since i'm trying to avoid the high horse, let me just sneak in this link to a series of blog entries about the importance of good coffee planting practices to the songbird population. remember, songbirds winter in the tropics and love to roost near coffee farms. they are facing severe habitat loss as farmers cut down trees that are traditionally interspersed with coffee.

many new yorkers are avid bird-watchers, trekking out to central and prospect park to see the birds early in the summer mornings. but if you don't make careful choices and educate yourself, the coffee you drink before you go out with your binoculars could be killing your hobby -- literally!

posted by fortune | 10:56 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments