Whole Wheat Bread: Rewrite v2

The problem with being "busy" (read getting stuck in airports) is that I get halfway through writing blog posts, but don't get far enough to publish or queue it, and then when I do get back to it, I'm left with a half written post that isn't even relevant anymore. For example, the last time I worked on this post was last Sunday, when I was partway through revisit trips for future MD/PhD programs. So a lot of this post was about feeling fit, how you're supposed to pick out the things that make you happy for 8 years etc. And this was all supposed to tie to bread. Probably some reference to comfort or simplicity because sandwich bread is the thing that ties lunches through some ridiculous metaphor.

But honestly, similar to my mood when I probably made this back in March (geez how time flies), bread is boring, and I just wanted to test my yeast-skills again. This is actually the 2nd of two breads I've made so far in 2015, but again "busy" (read: lazy) made me totally forget about that other loaf till now, so you'll get a peak of that later. The idea of making sandwich bread is mildly amusing to me (and to my roommate). It's such a simple, ubiquitous product that machines and extra fancy bread slicers do a far better job at doing than myself. And don't even dare suggest that homemade bread has fewer chemicals and is thus more natural and wholesome or I will ban you. Anyways, while I generally prefer my sandwich bread a bit larger, and studded with more grains and chewy textured bits, the combination of honey and molasses I used for this bread added some nice flavors that the bread I buy doesn't always have. At its worst, bread is just a vehicle for other things. At its best, bread is something I would happily eat alone for all my meals if I could. This was probably 75% best bread- I definitely ate slices of this on its own for breakfast, but it also made great sandwiches.

I was pretty happy with the rise I got from this bread (success!). Aside from my pizza crusts, I've never been happy with my past n=~3 experiences making bread. For reasons that I think may be related to letting bread dough rise too much, my other breads have been short. Delicious because carbs, but short. This time, the bread happily puffed up to a reasonably height. The loaf pan I used was a bit on the smaller side, which I think helped with the rise, but made for some pretty tiny lunchtime sandwiches for that week. Sigh, I just can't win with yeast, but I think I'm getting closer.

Recipe from King Arthur's Flour

BBQ Chicken Pizza: California Pi

Ok, pi day was obviously a while ago now, but math is mathematically awesome any time of the year, so we're sticking to pi references for now. And while yes, tau is definitely the superior circle constant, apple tau or a tomato tau with cheese just sounds ridiculous. Though, in my opinion, calling pizza "pie" to begin with is a pretty large stretch. Pizza as "pie" must be an east coaster, Italian American thing because over on the western, better coast, no one in their right mind would call a pizza a pie. Then again, I will concede, the west coast isn't exactly known for pizza.

Before my little education stint over here, my idea of great pizza was California Pizza Kitchen and Costco. I still maintain that combo pizza at Costco is one of the best pizzas out there, but California Pizza Kitchen? As a teen, I thought California Pizza Kitchen (or CPK if you're really hip) was the premier pizza eatery. It was like the coolest, bestest, most mathematical place to go out for a birthday dinner, or to hang out with friends. It was like fancy, but affordable for a teenager borrowing money from the parents. And, as evidenced by this post, my favorite pizza from there was by far the BBQ Chicken Pizza on a honey-wheat crust.

Since college and east-coast pizza revelations, CPK just doesn't hold the same appeal anymore (Costco pizza still does). Maybe it was a post-I thought-I-failed-the-MCAT thing, or a this-service-sucks thing, but the last time I was there, everything was such a letdown. From the crust, to the off-tasting plastic cups of water, to the meh toppings, it was like tasting the sawdust remains of teenage righteousness.

While CPK may have departed from my heart, I do have to give California credit for inventing BBQ Chicken Pizza, which is still delicious and super easy to make at home. Especially if you use ~fancy~ Sriracha BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's (oh look, more California things). The thing I love about "California" cuisine, is that for the most part, its basically normal food, except with like, 20 more varieties of vegetables and lots of locally sourced items year round because of that whole lack of winter thing. Though this current drought might become a problem. :( Anyways, luckily for us who do get to experience winter and spring snowstorms, the basic ingredients of a BBQ Chicken Pizza stand up to winter pretty well. You can probably add more vegetables if you wish, as I normally do, but sometimes the simplicity of just chicken, red onions, and BBQ sauce is perfection that doesn't need more nutrition.

Recipe via Budget Bytes.