Tag Archives: morgan

Morgan, Pizza, and Bread

13 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in Bread, Italian, Our Tiny Herd, Pizza

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I had pizza dough getting happy in the fridge. You know what that means…

I opened up a bottle of wine and made pizza. I was not so happy with how the dough was responding. It didn’t brown as fast or as much as I would have liked. Perhaps the fridge was too cool for the three day ferment, or the oven was not hot enough, or I was too timid to let it cook long enough. All part of learning to work with a living thing.

I formed the balls of dough and let them rest for an hour before I started making pies. The first balls are always the most difficult to stretch, as they have the least amount of time to relax. Unfortunately, my oven has difficulty maintaining heat, so when the oven is at it’s prime, I’m stretching the most difficult dough to work with and by the time I get to the last dough ball, the oven has cooled. Oh, well. If only I had a pizza oven…

I wanted to try something different for one of the pizzas. I made a white pizza with smoked mozzarella, lemon, basil, and olive oil. I liked the combination, but the smoked cheese I used was only lightly smoked, so it’s flavour was covered by the lemon. Next time I’ll either top it with more cheese or look for one with more flavour.

This morning I played with the dog for a bit before baking.

100g unbleached, organic, stone ground white flour, 464g High Grade white flour, 2% salt, 0.25% active dry yeast, 75% hydration, 24 hour bulk ferment, 70 minute proof, 30 minutes in a covered cast iron cloche @ 250C and 24 minutes uncovered @ 225C.

This time I remembered to score the dough before I put it in the oven.

Tonight I’m going to try making a leaven from my new wild yeast culture and try baking a boule tomorrow, if I’m lucky…

Morgan Goes For A Walk

05 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by in Auckland, Our Tiny Herd

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Morgan took me for a walk to One Tree Hill the other day.

On the way to the park, we found a Nikau Palm that was flowering.

The remainder of our walk was uneventful, save for the occasional sheep and pheasant.

This afternoon we drove out to St Heliers to walk along the beach.

The forecast called for a chance of rain. Luckily, the weather was fantastic.

Morgan just wanted to run on the beach.

It’s All About The Pizza

30 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Italian, Pizza

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I bought one of those posh pizza stones at a kitchen store. It didn’t last long.

So I did a little search for a suitable replacement and found Middle Earth Tiles.

Only one way to find out if this stone was going to work. So, I got to work slicing mushrooms…

Whilst I slaved over a hot stove, Morgan helped choose some good cooking music.

How about Sopresso Nanno to go with those mushrooms?

A classic Napoletana pizza.

Mexican pizza

Big Manly Beach

28 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Auckland, Our Tiny Herd

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Yesterday afternoon we drove up to Whangaparaoa Peninsula to visit with Janene, who runs North Auckland Dog Rescue. We were lucky to adopt Morgan from North Auckland Dog Rescue.

It was such a nice afternoon, we decided to take a walk along Big Manly Beach. The dogs were happy to get some exercise.

It was a great afternoon to be on the water.

Such a gorgeous beach. We’ll have to visit in the Summer and go for a swim when the water is warmer.

We turned back just as the Sun set below the ridge.

Just time enough after our walk to have a feed at a local restaurant before heading back down to Central Auckland.