Contrast is at the center of many popular culinary trends. There's also a strong emphasis on contrasting textures within a single baked good. For example, soft milk breads and laminated doughs that have been hard-baked create exciting combinations.
The Berliner donut, a round, jam-filled doughnut, is made from lightly sweet yeast dough and is typically finished with powdered sugar or icing. Traditional fillings include jam or citrusy marmalade, while modern versions may use cream or chocolate.
"We're bringing our childhood memories to the table, and now people are paying attention," said Erick Rocha, pastry chef at Corima in Manhattan and the all-day cafe Vato, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where conchas regularly sell out.
If freshly baked focaccia is one of your vices, you'll want to check out Liguria Bakery in San Francisco. This Italian-owned bakery has been open since 1911, and not much has changed about the location since. It's placed on a modest street corner, has large vintage windows, and the interior is small with just enough room for customers to line up and place their orders.
One Redditor, who claims that they used to work at Sprouts, says that Sprouts' bakery items actually arrive at the store frozen. That may lead you to believe that you're not actually getting very good quality, but the commenter said that, despite that fact, the cookies and pastries are actually quite delicious. They specifically called out the jalapeño-cheddar muffins as being especially tasty.
A burnt bottom is simply caused by the bread coming into direct contact with a hot Dutch oven or stone. Luckily, this is the simplest issue to fix - all you need to do is place some aluminum foil between the bread and your cooking vessel. The foil will create a barrier between the loaf and the hot surface and absorb some of the heat, lowering the temperature of the bread's bottom without impacting the overall temperature of the Dutch oven.
To keep a sourdough starter active, it has to be fed regularly using flour and water. However, I didn't realize this until I inherited my first one. How often it's fed depends on where it's stored. For example, if I leave the starter on the counter, I feed it once every 12 to 24 hours. When I keep it in the refrigerator, however, I can feed it less, typically about once a week.
Ilcha, a Korean restaurant in the Marina that's been lauded for its fried chicken, is closing after Valentine's Day, and the SF Business Times has news of its replacement. Coming soon to 2151 Lombard will be Kava, a restaurant serving Nepalese, Himalayan, and Indian cuisines, from Nepalese owner Kamal Kandel of North Beach's Yarsa Nepalese Cuisine. The menu, which will have some similarities to Yarsa, will feature Nepalese curries, momos, chaat, tandoori, and biryani dishes.
We really want to lean into Max's delicious savory items and expertise in sort of doing, like, more made-to-order sandwiches. It's something that we haven't been able to do, and I think would be really super fun.