Photos: The Grand Cru ride to Petaluma, Lagunitas Brewing, and the Willowbrook Ale House

Uncategorized

phil May 9, 2012

We recently rode in our second two-day Grand Cru ride from San Francisco to Petaluma and back to visit Lagunitas Brewing and other breweries along the way.

We rode out from the Embarcadero through North Beach towards the Golden Gate Bridge loaded with supplies and camping gear.

The obligatory shot of the Golden Gate Bridge from Chrissy Fields

Our first stop was Iron Springs Pub and Brewery in Fairfax. I had a Kent Lake Kolsch. I was a little surprised to not receive it in a Kolsch glass.. but getting it this way probably meant more beer for me.

A flight of beers from Iron Springs

We rode off from Fairfax, to climb White Hill

Then we rode through Nicasio. Beautiful green hills, blue skies and cows.

The group, riding along Nicasio Valley Rd

It’s It at the Cheese Factory. I was looking forward it all morning.

Rolling out after a short ice cream break

Petaluma – The Willowbrook Ale House. Had a really good burger lately? … With fries?

We saw the remnants of a police chase and car crash from our campground.

We headed to Lagunitas Brewing and got a flight.

At the bottom of the glass: “BEER SPEAKS”

This dude had a 4 wolf moon t-shirt. And a 3-wolf belt buckle.

A great burger… with fries! I wasn’t even hungry. I just got it because I had to.

This is Bud, rocking the mic.

Poor Eric – his tent was broken. Looked more like a bivy.

Dog outside of the bathroom

Aeropress coffee with Scarlett City Roasting beans. We had the Nicaragua Los Papales. (It was fine as a strong aeropress brew but at home, I find the beans to be slightly boring.)

We had brunch at Henny Penny’s before heading back south to San Francisco. In searching for information about this place online, I learned that in 2003, the owner of the restaurant was robbed in his home and died of a heart attack during the robbery. 9 of the 10 suspects in the robbery have been arrested..

Back to lighter stuff – this chili pepper sauce has the YouTube logo on it. I don’t know why. Apparently they have a lot of YouTube videos, including this one that ends with 1) a guy spinning a box of hot sauce bottles 2) a different guy kissing a hot sauce bottle

We all headed south to Novato to stop by Moylan’s Brewery. Most of the group stayed there and then stopped by Marin Brewing before catching the ferry back to San Francisco. We elected to ride all the way back to the city. Once we got back, we rewarded ourselves with a burger and onion rings at Gott’s. and a white pistachio shake.

Protected: super secret grand cru photos from the ride to petaluma

Uncategorized

phil May 9, 2012

Pages: 1 2 3

the bread project: loaf 24

the bread project

phil April 20, 2012

30% rye 10% spelt sourdough loaf, top view

As some of you know, I’ve been trying to bake a lot of bread. I’m experimenting with the idea of creating a bread diary. This is loaf #24, a 30% rye 10% spelt and the rest white King Arthur bread flour loaf with a sourdough starter. hydration was about 68%.

Top view – kinda funky ears. slashing could be improved

3/4 view of the loaf

side view. Didn’t rise as high as I’d like because I had this loaf retarding in the fridge for 4 days. Better flavor though..

some big holes at the base. gigantic ear on top. Tasted great.

Bread and dough troubleshooting guide and table

Uncategorized

phil April 8, 2012

Here's a bread and dough (works for pizza dough too) troubleshooting guide, culled from a variety of sources. I hope to continually update this as I learn more in my quest to make great artisan bread.

Category	Amount	Effects	More information
kneading	under-kneading	Dough is floppy and loose, tears easily, looks shaggy. Lack of oven-rise, dense texture. Gluten has not become elastic enough. Windowpane test fails because the dough doesn't have the strength to stay together.	http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/bread-baking-clinic-underkneading-overkneading-157484
kneading	adequate kneading	Dough is elastic but not too tight. Windowpane test success - you can stretch a small portion of the dough thin enough so that you can almost see through it, like a translucent window.	http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/bread-baking-clinic-underkneading-overkneading-157484
kneading	over-kneading	Dough is dense and tough and tears easily. The gluten is so tight that it has little give. Windowpane test fails because you have to pull so hard you tear the dough.	http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/bread-baking-clinic-underkneading-overkneading-157484
hydration ratio (aka water to flour ratio, or baker's percentage)	low hydration (<60% or so)not enough water!	Dough is crumby, craggy, and really hard to work with. It doesn't stick together when you work with it. When baked, small, tightly-formed cells in crumb. This may be desirable in some cases, such as for bagels. Add more water to fix this.	My own hydration experiment for bagels
hydration ratio (aka water to flour ratio, or baker's percentage)	medium hydration	Dough is easy to work with but not too sticky. Note: Some flours, like rye flour, are just sticky by nature.
hydration ratio (aka water to flour ratio, or baker's percentage)	high hydration (>70% or so)too much water!	Dough is floppy and sticky and hard to shape. Large holes will appear in bread when baked (if they don't collapse). The bread won't rise as much because it will be weaker. Some breads are supposed to be high hydration - like ciabatta.	http://www.pizzamaking.com/pizza_glossary.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W580u--9poM
rise	too little	Fails poke test - poke the bread with two fingers. If the bread rebounds to its original shape then the dough is still too firm. The bread will be dense and "doughy" - it will smell and tastes like dough. The loaf will have a light or greyish crust - no Malliard reaction (browning of sugars) occurs because the flour hasn't been broken down. To fix, make sure the yeast you've used is active and/or let the bread rise for longer or increase the rise temperature (optimal temperature is about 100-110F. Too much heat will kill your yeast!)	http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/21628/finger-poke-test-problem
rise	just right	Passes poke test. If the hole from the poke rebounds part of the way then proofing is just right.
rise	too much	Fails poke test - (the hole does not rebound at all.) Dough collapses on itself. There's so much air in the loaf that it cannot hold its weight.
baking temperature	low	Lower baking temperatures generally make softer and thinner crusts.
baking temperature	medium	Somewhere in between.
baking temperature	hot	Higher temperatures generally make crustier loaves. This means darker and thicker crusts. Note: to really promote a thick, chewy crust, bake in a dutch oven. This traps steam near the loaf, which delays crust formation and allows it to get thicker.	http://www.thefreshloaf.com/lessons/timeandtemperature http://psasir.upm.edu.my/5439/
salt	none or not enough	The loaf may look good but it'll taste like cardboard. It's surprising how much salt enhances the flavor of the bread. If you realize you've forgotten before you bake, you may be able to make a salty paste and spread it onto the dough while you stretch and fold.
salt	just right	The general rule of thumb is to use 2% (baker's percent) salt. That's 20 grams for each 1000 grams of flour.	Encyclopizza, chapter 4
salt	too much	Too much salt can inhibit yeast fermentation and may be too salty to taste.
bake time	too short	Light crust, doughy and gummy interior.
bake time	just right	Bread sounds hollow if you knock it on the bottom. Nicely browned crust. The internal temperature will be about 190-210F.
bake time	too long	Longer baking times mean a darker crust and a firmer and dryer crumb. Too much bake time = burny.
gluten	too little	Low-gluten breads will not rise well. The bread won't have the strength to expand when the yeast creates carbon dioxide. The dough won't stretch well.
gluten	just right	Stretchy enough to hold CO2 bubbles without being too taut
gluten	too much	If there is too much gluten, the bread won’t be able to expand because the dough will be too tight. The bread will be really chewy and rubbery.
yeast	too little	Dough rises really really slowly or not at all. Your loaf will be dense. In extreme cases, it'll feel like a brick or a stone. And the inside will be gross and barely edible. With artisan sourdough breads, this can happen if your starter has died or if you haven't adequately refreshed it.
yeast	just right	(1-2% by weight)	http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/26/bakers-percentage-2/
yeast	too much	The dough can rise too quickly and collapse back upon itself

Have questions? Share them in the comments below.

The last of the Portland photos: Voodoo Donuts, Stumptown Coffee

Uncategorized

phil April 4, 2012

From another day walking around Northwest:

At Voodoo Doughnuts. They’ve got a large menu. It’s so hard to decide.

There’s a mango tango, an old dirty bastard, a portland cream, and an old fashioned glazed.

Cappuccino and a shot of espresso from Stumptown coffee

We stopped by the Saturday winter farmer’s market at Shemanski park to meet some friends. there were lots of colorful carrots including these white “creme de lite” carrots.

American Dream Bingo in the NW Pearl District. “Dream More”

Upside down bicycle route sign

A beer at Deschutes Brewery. I don’t remember which one :(

We ran into some folks on a Brewcycle Portland tour at Deschutes. Andrea guides this 15-person Crawler Fabrications vehicle between breweries for weekday and weekend mini-tours.

US BanCorp Tower

This is an old Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo bike hooked up to a mill to grind flour at the Portland Homestead Supply Company in the Sellwood district in Southeast Portland. It still has front fenders and a back rack.

A neat mosaic-y use of reflective tape on the fender and the rim and spokes

A shot of espresso from Blue Kangaroo Coffee Roasters. I think I had found a recommendation to visit them from chow.com. It was a decent cafe but I was disappointed with the shot. The one from stumptown above puts it to shame.

Tilde had some neat items, really nice people, a great window display (shown above) and some beautiful art on the walls. I was really impressed by Marnie Karger’s hand-cut work that she sells under the named “Crafterall”.

A house in sellwood

We took a little trip to Dairy Creek to finish off the evening. Here are the pool cues and some of the many beer signs at the dairy creek tavern.

Finally, a bread experiment worth posting about (Loaf #19)

the bread project

phil April 3, 2012

After baking a number of failures (that’s a separate, loooong blog post) this morning I’ve finally baked a sourdough loaf to show off:

20% rye, 10% spelt sourdough loaf. top view.

from another angle

pretty good crumb. I’m happy with it at least.

roughly, here was the recipe in terms of bakers percentages:

* 20% rye flour
* 10% spelt flour
* 70% bread flour
* 72% hydration
* 20% sourdough starter (just all-purpose flour. the yeast was fairly active)
* 2.2% salt

and so I can remember, here was my technique:

* mix everything together with the kitchenaid at power setting 2 for ~12 minutes (maybe a bit long but whatever)
* put the dough straight in the fridge (I didn’t have time to bake that day!)
* take the dough out 2 days later (dough didn’t rise much in the fridge)
* let the dough warm to room temperature with the oven on low for 2-3 hours (the dough rose a bit during this time)
* fold and shape the loaf
* place in bannetton and back into the fridge overnight (~6 hours)
* score the loaf
* bake at 450F in the lodge dutch oven for 55 minutes straight from the fridge
* open the dutch oven and take pictures of the unexpected results

Photos and commentary: Oakland Marathon 2012

Uncategorized

phil March 25, 2012

I haven’t put as many running (or cycling) miles in this year compared to last, but I was still excited to check out the runners at this year’s Oakland Marathon. My girlfriend and I got up early to head over to College Avenue in Rockridge and see the runners between miles 5 and 6.

The weather forecasts were calling for rain, but as we parked our bikes the sun was starting to shine through the clouds over the Oakland hills. The pavement was wet from last night but it was starting to dry.

We had a few minutes to spare and stood around watching volunteers direct traffic and the TranSports crew set up their water station. A lot of drivers were confused by the road closures and some tried to get onto the course to get to where they were going. Perhaps there should be more signage next year for drivers?

The marathon started with the police motorcycle

~~The results aren’t yet available off of active.com as of 1:16pm (“We are experiencing higher than normal volume and are therefore unable to process your request at this time.” ) today but~~ this was the 1st place runner and eventual winner Chris Mocko from San Francisco at the mile 5 mark. He finished with a time of 2:28:09, setting an event record.

1st place winner Chris was decked out in New Balance gear – as part of the New Balance Silicon Valley team.

Here’s the 2nd place runner, Oaklander Phillip Shaw at mile 5. Most of the runners had serious looks on their faces. I know it’s hard for me to smile when I’m devoting all of my energy to placing one foot in front of the other. This guy broke a smile as we cheered him on. He was dressed in Brooks gear. He finished 2nd with a time of 2:37:13. (I hope he wore some Glide or some Vaseline or something. Or maybe it’s a non chafey-shirt?)

Tony Torres of Cedar Glen finished 4th last year and was in 3rd place at this point. Nike representing here. He went on to finish the race in 3rd place with a time of 2:38:05.

This pair was in 4th and 5th place at this point. Steven Moreno (#773) eventually pulled away to capture 4th place with a time of 2:41:18. Christopher Gurney finished 5th with a time of 2:43:29. Both of the guys are also from Oakland.

The 6th place male runner at mile 5 for this year’s 2012 Oakland Full Marathon. Andrew Willis, of San Jose, finished in 14th place at 3:02:48.

This guy was the first place relay member at mile 5. Their team, “Wild Dogs”, went on to win the relay with a finishing time of 2:29:57.

The 2nd place relay team at mile 5. Their team, “Three Men and a Kid”, finished 2nd with a time of 2:46:17.

A guy on a hand powered bike with the GoPro hero in front.

This is Anna Bretan, who won the 2011 Oakland Marathon in her first ever marathon. It looks like she won again with a time of 2:57:33. The Oakland Raiders (@RAIDERS) posted a picture of her crossing the finish line here, and as appropriately stated by twitter user @elcush, Anna gave birth 6 weeks ago. Insane. According to SFGate: “She ran 40-mile weeks right until she gave birth, and did an easy five-mile job on the same day her baby, Tatum, was born. Within a week, she was back to heavy training.”

1st place female finisher Anna Bretan and other runner in front of Miam Miam

This is a photo of the 2nd and 3rd place female runners at mile 5. Runner #694, Penny MacPhail of San Anselmo, finished 3rd with a time of 3:12:18. Claudette Augert (#139) of Edmonton, Alberta, finished 6th with a time of 3:20:47.

And the 4th place female runner at mile 5. Monica Zhuang caught up a bit and finished the race in 2nd place with a time of 3:06:17.

Once the super-speedy runners had passed, the race pack thickened up. Here is a group of slightly-less speedy-but-still-fast runners heading up the 3:10 pace group.

I dislike GEICO but I do like the Oakland Marathon Pacers!

Here’s the 3:20 pace group.

And here’s a guy running in his Hawaiian shirt. I think he did the same last year.

The Oakland Marathon was definitely no Bay to Breakers, but there were some people who had interesting outfits. This guy wins for the most color-coordinated. Pink shirt, pink gloves, pink fanny pack, pink socks and pink shoes. And check out all of those Gu/Clif Shot/Powergel packets.