Cybele Pascal is my idol mom!

I finally got my copy of Cybele Pascal's The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook. Thank you Cory! The book as travel from California to Hong Kong and Thailand and back to Hong Kong before I got it. It is definitely worth the wait!

The first thing off when it comes to baking bread, it is hard, and for allergen free ones even harder, because I can never find a easy to follow recipe and my bread either turned out really dense or like stone. One thing with Pascal's book is so easy to follow and she gives you great tips.

First of the bat, I tried her Continental Rolls, don't asked why I start at the back of the book. But that is what I usually do anyways read from the back couple chapters to see if I like the ending of the book before I read the book. Anyways ... so easy to make and my children loves them.

Directions that I find are great tips for any novice bakers like me:

Proofing yeast : warm water, light agave nectar and yeast

Rising dough: cover the dough with a tea towel, place a pan of very hot water in the bottom of the oven, put the dough in the oven and leave the dough for an hour with oven turn off of course for  30 minutes. The replace the water after 30 minutes and leave it for another 30 minutes.

my version of Pascal's rolls. i dusted it with flax seed meal.

natural yeast : raisins part 2, using the yeast

Ingredients 

yeast juice

flour of your choice

Directions

01 Use a strainer to strain the yeast juice into a bowl.

02 Add your choice of flour into the yeast juice and mix until a paste like mixture.

03 Cover the bowl and set it aside in the kitchen until your flour poof to double the size and it will be ready for use to make your dough.

yeast juice

i used buckwheat flour
unproof

proof

natural yeast : raisins part 1, fermentation process

With a week turn around time I made my own raisin yeast.

Ingredients

a handful of raisins

distilled water at room temperature

a teaspoon of sugar

Directions

01 Get a clean jar. You can recycle. I boiled my jar and cap before using.

02 Put all the ingredients in the jar and mix. Amount of water should cover the handful of raisins or a little bit over.

03 Cap it and set the jar in the kitchen. 

04 Watch the fermentation process which takes about a week. During the week time you should shake it and open the cap for the mixture to breath and talk to it if you wish.

Day 01 : starting raisin yeast fermenting process.

Day 02: the raisins are a bit plumb, but no fizzing.

Day 03: shake it and heard a pop sound when I opened the jar,
but no alcohol smell yet.

Day 04: fizzing and I smell alcohol.

Missed Day 05, but continues on to
Day 06: smelling strong alcohol
and it fizzes like soda! yea!

pork and beans

I purchased some mixed colorful dried beans and decided to make something out of them.

Ingredients 

1 cup of dried beans 

1 pound of grounded pork
2 to 3 bay leaves

1 onion 

6 gloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup of veggie broth

Pork Marinade Ingredients

1 tablespoon of chinese cooking wine (xiao-shing)

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of fish sauce

1 teaspoon of ginger powder

1 teaspoon of arrowroot starch


Directions

01 Soak dried beans in water over night for at least 12 hours. 

02 Marinade grounded pork with pork marinade ingredients. You can prepare this the day of.

03 Chop up onion and mince up garlic.

04 Sauté bay leaves, chopped onion and minced garlic with evoo until the onion turns golden.


05 Add marinaded grounded pork into the onion garlic mixed. Continue to sauté until the pork is cooked.


06 Then add the beans to the mix. Sauté the beans into the mixture.


07 Add the veggie broth into the mixture.


08 Cover and let it cook in low heat.