Baker's Dozen: Shaken Bread, Breakfast Crisp, and Preserved Lemons

Have you seen my sweet tooth anywhere? I seem to have misplaced it.

Welcome back! The sun is shining, the snow is melting, and I need to get out of the house. It’s one of those days where 40 feels like 75. (At least for the first five minutes.)

1. My fluctuating sweet tooth. I bake a lot. It’s not all sweet, but much of it is. A few times a year, I completely lose my sweet tooth. Aside from a piece of fruit or a square of dark chocolate, I don’t want anything sugary near my gob. Even if I’m testing a recipe, I’ll take one bite, but that’s all I can muster. When this happens, I have to take a break. I don’t have that spark to develop dessert recipes. Sadly, I think I just entered that phase. It may have been because tested a whole bunch of sweets recently and hit a limit. It could be hormonal or astrological.

2. The Olympics. I’m a sucker for sport bringing us together. As a former swimmer, I always obsess over the summer Olympics. I’ve never experienced any of winter Olympics sports (I’ve never been snow skiing—I know!), unless you count wobbling around an ice rink unable to stop. Still, I relish seeing the world in friendly competition. I know that the Olympics have their problems, but the goal of the games remains admirable. And also: doubles luge?

3. Schüttelbrot. Literally “shaken bread.” This specialty of the Südtirolian Dolomites is basically a very hydrated rye and wheat mixed bread that is shaken flat (yes, shaken), then baked until completely dry. Kind of like a flatbread turned cracker, often spiced with fennel, caraway, and coriander. They’re very crunchy, fun to smash, and delicious with some Speck and Alpine cheese.

4. Preserved lemons. Every winter I whip up a batch of these. Grab a bag of lemons, salt, and a bit of sugar and go for it. If you see some of those seedless lemons, get them—it makes your life easier. Recipe coming soon!

5. Dancing cultures. Watching the Bad Bunny concert, I mean Super Bowl halftime show, (No, I didn’t watch it live. Of course I watched it on YouTube the next day.), reminded me of something. Cultures that dance, freely and carefreely, just know how to live better. Get up right now, crank some music and dance.

6. WaPo layoffs. The Washington Post followed the path of the LA Times in gutting their staff, which decimated particularly excellent food sections. I’ll be sad to lose the voices like Olga Massov , G. Daniela Galarza, Aaron Hutcherson, and others. (I already miss Joe Yonan, who left the Post last year.) I won’t get into the bad Bezos of it all, but let’s just say that local news is collapsing and I’m worried.

7. German bubbles. New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov, one of the best voices in wine writing, just extolled the excellence of German sparkling wine. Germans drink gobs of Sekt, their term for the stuff. The quality of their bubbly has never been better and the bottles are tremendous values (especially when you’re actually in Germany). Seek out some good Winzersekt and invite me over.

8. Katherine LaNasa. I’m new to The Pitt. We didn’t watch the first season until early this January, and now we’re obsessed. Our favorite character? Undoubtedly charge nurse Dana Evans—the unflappable, direct, supremely competent leader of the ER. Katherine LaNasa deserved that Emmy for the role. Nurses rule and baby Jane Doe is taking formula well.

9. Pudding. Pudding > Mousse > Panna Cotta. More pudding.

10. Kimchi. I’ve received several gorgeous huge heads of Napa cabbage in my CSA recently, alongside some radishes, carrots, and onions. What does that mean? Several batches of Eric Kim’s perfect recipe for Kimchi from the New York Times. 10/10. I often have a side dish of the stuff with my lunchtime sandwich.

11. Breakfast crisp. I make this recipe once a week during winter. If you like fruit and granola, but want something warm, I beg you to try it. You can customize the fruit, swap out the seeds and nuts, or change up the grains. (There will be an updated version of this recipe in my book.) Plus, it’s not very sweet, so my lack of sweet tooth doesn’t mind.

12. Geography. I love maps. I can spend hours staring at maps. I think of everything in terms of place. Give me the geography category at trivia or Trivial Pursuit, and I dominate. We need to teach this subject more and better. If I were to re-do my undergraduate degree, I would probably study Geography.

13. Generosity. Pay it forward. Expect nothing in return.

Ok, time to get that rye bread in the oven.

Happy Baking,
Martin