Wow! That is an inspiring back story. You are a gem. Thank you again for starting this project. I have now baked 4 sourdough loaves, and the family loves them. I have always had an admiration for bread and the art of making bread. Your instagram post was that gentle push that made me commit to learning about sourdough. Still have got a lot to learn but certainly looking forward to it..
What an interesting background you have!! This is exactly why I am having so much fun researching and learning about breadmaking - I love the science behind the microbes! I have always loved cooking and science and your story has inspired me even more! I am loving your blog!
As eloquent and humble as always A. Thanks for putting your self out there. My niece (finally) just baked the first quarantine starter cast-off flaky biscuits and they're out of this world. Looking forward to her first loaf using her starter "Slydough" named after the road this old farm has been on for 170+ years, Sligo Road. My great grandmother used to go through a barrel of flour a month (196 pounds?). How could that be possible even with 13 children and a husband to feed? She baked biscuits, bread, cookies, doughnuts, soda biscuits and who knows what all else. No pizza that's for sure! That is how the oral history goes anyway.
OK, so that’s an impressive bio! But, about the Armenian part....do you have a recipe for borek (?sp)? When I was a teenager, decades ago, I worked in a small pizza place owned and run by an Armenian fellow. He made these wonderful cheese boreks that I ate every time I worked! I’d love to re-create them if I could. He cooked them in the deep fryer but maybe they could be baked.
And by the way...my first starter flopped, got sluggish then moldy but I’m happily trying again. On day 9 or 10 now. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this one. I think part of my problem is that we keep our house temp at 66-68 degrees during the day, and only about 63 at night.
Now it all makes sense... the reason this project has made me realize bread making is a science, you are a scientist! This has been hard for me, I need the art version 😂 - I do know it is both though 😊
Love the backstory - thank you for sharing. My husband is Armenian, and we have some of his grandmother's recipes. Thank you for reminding us about lahmajun! One more thing to add to the quarantine project list.
I'm psyched to know the story behind the blog (and now the recipes I will look up on ATK). I'm a sourdough quarantinita, on or about day 14. Just converted to 1:2:2 last night so I guess about another week before scaling up. So far you've saved me from throwing it out when it smelled really bad, because it converted to smelling good, pretty much on schedule, and now I know how to save and share the leftovers when the time comes. THANKS!!!
Hello! Fellow Substack author here. I may have a business proposition—a boulangerie in Manhattan’s East Village. Excellent opportunity. Please contact me at cjramin@mac.com.
I'd be interested to read about any discoveries you made about simple, low-cost ways to cultivate mushrooms. Also do you go out hunting for wild mushrooms? That would be an interesting topic, at least to me.
Thanks for sharing! I've had a great time during quarantine learning about sourdough! I can't get to the full recipe for the thin pizza crust. I let my online subscription go and am just getting CI magazines right now. Any way you could share the recipe?
Andrew, I just cruised over here from the BBGA blog. That is so funny you worked at the Universal Grill on Leroy and Bedford. I lived a few doors down on Bedford between Leroy and Carmine, but that was probably before you were cooking at the Universal Grill. The evening parties there were quite something, I recall people occasionally dancing on the bar.
Wow, I'm just now reading this and it is so cool to now know your background- or some of it anyway! I really need to catch up on all these posts and make some damn pizza again. You are incredibly inspiring- and beyond your recipes, I love your writing style, humor, and photos. Thanks for sharing it all with us.
Wow! That is an inspiring back story. You are a gem. Thank you again for starting this project. I have now baked 4 sourdough loaves, and the family loves them. I have always had an admiration for bread and the art of making bread. Your instagram post was that gentle push that made me commit to learning about sourdough. Still have got a lot to learn but certainly looking forward to it..
What an interesting background you have!! This is exactly why I am having so much fun researching and learning about breadmaking - I love the science behind the microbes! I have always loved cooking and science and your story has inspired me even more! I am loving your blog!
As eloquent and humble as always A. Thanks for putting your self out there. My niece (finally) just baked the first quarantine starter cast-off flaky biscuits and they're out of this world. Looking forward to her first loaf using her starter "Slydough" named after the road this old farm has been on for 170+ years, Sligo Road. My great grandmother used to go through a barrel of flour a month (196 pounds?). How could that be possible even with 13 children and a husband to feed? She baked biscuits, bread, cookies, doughnuts, soda biscuits and who knows what all else. No pizza that's for sure! That is how the oral history goes anyway.
OK, so that’s an impressive bio! But, about the Armenian part....do you have a recipe for borek (?sp)? When I was a teenager, decades ago, I worked in a small pizza place owned and run by an Armenian fellow. He made these wonderful cheese boreks that I ate every time I worked! I’d love to re-create them if I could. He cooked them in the deep fryer but maybe they could be baked.
And by the way...my first starter flopped, got sluggish then moldy but I’m happily trying again. On day 9 or 10 now. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this one. I think part of my problem is that we keep our house temp at 66-68 degrees during the day, and only about 63 at night.
such an interesting journey. thank u so much for sharing
Now it all makes sense... the reason this project has made me realize bread making is a science, you are a scientist! This has been hard for me, I need the art version 😂 - I do know it is both though 😊
Love the backstory - thank you for sharing. My husband is Armenian, and we have some of his grandmother's recipes. Thank you for reminding us about lahmajun! One more thing to add to the quarantine project list.
I'm psyched to know the story behind the blog (and now the recipes I will look up on ATK). I'm a sourdough quarantinita, on or about day 14. Just converted to 1:2:2 last night so I guess about another week before scaling up. So far you've saved me from throwing it out when it smelled really bad, because it converted to smelling good, pretty much on schedule, and now I know how to save and share the leftovers when the time comes. THANKS!!!
What happened to all the old posts? I don't see anything older than this one in the archive.
Hello! Fellow Substack author here. I may have a business proposition—a boulangerie in Manhattan’s East Village. Excellent opportunity. Please contact me at cjramin@mac.com.
I'd be interested to read about any discoveries you made about simple, low-cost ways to cultivate mushrooms. Also do you go out hunting for wild mushrooms? That would be an interesting topic, at least to me.
even w the mask on, you look like your father
Thanks for sharing! I've had a great time during quarantine learning about sourdough! I can't get to the full recipe for the thin pizza crust. I let my online subscription go and am just getting CI magazines right now. Any way you could share the recipe?
Now I want a backyard bread oven! You’re such a bad influence. 😋
Andrew, I just cruised over here from the BBGA blog. That is so funny you worked at the Universal Grill on Leroy and Bedford. I lived a few doors down on Bedford between Leroy and Carmine, but that was probably before you were cooking at the Universal Grill. The evening parties there were quite something, I recall people occasionally dancing on the bar.
Wow, I'm just now reading this and it is so cool to now know your background- or some of it anyway! I really need to catch up on all these posts and make some damn pizza again. You are incredibly inspiring- and beyond your recipes, I love your writing style, humor, and photos. Thanks for sharing it all with us.