Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

This is not the first attempt at a savory bread, but this one is a home run. 1.5 cups of unbleached all purpose flower 1 cup of sour dough starter 3/4 cup of warm water 2 tsb of dry active yeast 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp of salt 1 tsb of baking soda 1/5 of a bunch of chinese chives Cut the chinese chives into small pieces. If they have flowers, don't worry, cut them to. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flower, salt, the baking soda and the chopped chives and mix it up on low for about 2 minutes. To the warm water in  separate bowl add the sugar and the active dry yeast, mix it up and get rid of any lumps. Let it sit for about 10-15 min. Then add the sour dough starter and the yeast mixture , that should be frothy at the top to the bowl by now. Mix all of it on low for about 5 minutes, then take a spatular and remove anything from the side and from the bottom, so that there are no dry flower pockets are left. Mix on low for another 2 minutes. Remove the dough hook, cover

There were 2 left over pork chops from making Wuerzfleisch. Now what to do with them. It ended up being pork chops with mushrooms and potatoes. Cook potatoes to your liking. Pound out the pork chops again and season with salt and pepper. In a skillet, add veggie oil and heat it up. Add the pork chops and cook from both sides for 3-4 minutes. Make sure they get some nice color. Then remove them and put them to rest on a plate. In the same skillet, add a chopped onion and let it get translucent. Scrape the brown bits from the pan, they give the sauce a very nice taste. Add mushrooms. Any type is fine. Steer every now and then. Chop a clove of garlic very fine and add it to mushroom. Pay attention that the garlic does not burn. Now add 1/2 cup of sour cream and 2oz of water, steer everything together. Add the pork chops back in and let it simmer on low heat for about 3 min a side. -Mahlzeit-

These days I am on a pork trip. Time to make German style pork chops with brussel sprouts and polenta. Pound out the pork chops really good. You may have to cut in the stripe of fat that usually goes around it. It also helps with keeping the meat nice and flat in the pan. In a pan roast some bacon, add the cleaned brussel sprouts and cook them on low. You may need to add a little bit of water, so they don't burn. Cooking time 10-15 minutes. Salt and pepper the chops. Prepare 2 plates, one gets 2 eggs, whisked with a fork   and the second plate gets bread crumbs. I make my own bread crumbs from dried bread. In a skillet, add some veggie oil and heat it up. When it is hot, take the chop , dip it in the egg on both sides, then dip it in the bread crumbs until everything is covered, then put it into the skillet. Don't overfill the skilled. Cook on both sides about 5 minutes. It depends a bit on how thick you left your pork chops. When done put it them on a plate to rest.

Last weekend it crossed my mind, that I didn't have Wuerzfleisch for basically 30 years. Wuerzfleisch is a cheaper variant of Ragout Fin. Veal used for Ragout Fin was replaced with pork. A little google I found an interesting recipes. Of course I didn't have everything I needed for any of them. So here is my version: 2 slices of pork chops, cubed 1 medium onion, chopped 1 pack of bone broth 2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp of lemon juice In a pot combine   all of this and bring it to a boil, cover and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes until the meat is tender. When it is done, in a second pot add 4 tsp of butter, and 2 generous tbsp of flower, combine and cook out for about 3-5 minutes. Then add slowly under constant steering the cooking liquid from the pork until you have a consistency you like. It should be a little thicker than a normal sauce. Add all the pork from the other pot and heat up again. Fill ramekins wit

  With a new bread being baked every week, some becomes stale. I dry some of it, so I can put them into a blender and make my own bread crumbs. This time I decided to go for a savory bread pudding. I had 1/2 loaf left, cut it into cubes about 1/2" in dimension 1 small onion chopped 3 tsb canola oil 1 cup of sliced mushrooms 1 slice of bacon cut into small pieces 4 eggs 1.5 cups of milk In a pan render the bacon, add the onions and let them get translucent. Then add the mushrooms. Once they get soft, turn the heat off and let it cool down. Then add the bread cubes and steer them, so they are mixed well. Grease a baking form, add the bread/mushroom mixture. Preheat the oven to 350. In a blender, mix the eggs and milk, add a bit of salt and pepper and a hint of paprika. Pour the mixture over the bread in the baking form and let it soak until the oven is ready. Steer ones or twice. Bake for 45 minutes. -Mahlzeit-

I changed the recipe: 1 cup of sourdough starter 2 cup of organic all purpose white flower 1 tsp salt. 2 tsb of instant dry yeast 1 cup of luke warm water 2 slices of bacon Slice the bacon in small pieces and render them in a pan until crisp. Remove them and let them cool down. Pad them down with paper. I don't want the extra fat. Mix everything including the bacon bits on low speed with a dough hook in a kitchen machine until it is smooth (about 5-7 minutes). Remove the hook and put the bowl somewhere warm for 90-120 min. The dough will rise. Then grease a baking form. Transfer the dough in to it, spread it out. Let it stand for another hour in a warm place. The dough will rise again. The preheat the oven to 425F. Bake for about 30 min. My oven usually needs a bit more time. Check during the last minutes on how dark the bread is and adjust time according to your liking. When done, take it out and put it on a cooling rack. This time the inside is no