And out of the mess...comes both bread and cheese!!!

So, last night at my bread making class at Cook Culture (2nd of a 3 part series on artisan bread making, with pastry chef and bread master, Brad Williams). We tackled the dough of baguette, focaccia, ciabatta, English muffins, crumpets and pizza. Sounds complicated but its all from a from the same dough that begins with a poolish or a pre-ferment. Not going to explain - most of you probably don't care either. The class was great...Brad us dinner out of the bread that was prepared and we had the best French toast i've ever had in my life (also learned that there are NO EGGS in french toast - just soak the toast in milk). Anyway, once again we took the dough home that we made. And once again...I ran out of time to get it into the oven ion the morning and it ended up on my baking tile at about 3:30. It turned out FANTASTIC!! I had intended on making a focaccia but it turned out to be an oiled ciabatta, I think. Whatever it looked like bread and tasted like bread. That victory, though, I have to count as bittersweet. I went through this last week...That first dough is made under supervisory council. Now its up to me to recreate the dough. I have no bakers scale which complicated matters further. And my kitchen, right now sucks (I should mention that I am in a different apartment than usual as my floors are getting redone...it's been a friggin disaster) - I have almost no counter space, galley style so no room for movement and has made my baking and cooking fiascoes that much more unmanageable. Anyway, the ciabatta turned out beautifully. I baked it with extra virgin olive oil, a chili-garlic mix and sweet onion. RAVE REVIEWS (for those of you who are reading this from afar - get closer...the spoils of the daily war I have with my kitchen go to my closest allies).

This particular post, I have decided is a two in one...I've backlogged some posts that need to ve aired to the public. Lets discuss Jill's Sink Cheese...
Yes, I made it at home and, yes my sink was involved but it's not as nearly as gross as it sounds.
So, Brad Williams briefed us on this last week and I thought I'd give it a shot...
-Take equal parts milk (fat percent doesn't really matter, I used 2%) and butter milk.
-Put them in a bowl and whisk together.
-Cover
-Put in your cupboard, where its warm and dry.
-Wait 3 days.
-Bring to a simmer on your stove
-strain through cheese cloth (someone said use nylons - don't - Cheese cloth can be found anywhere and is cheaper...try the Dollar store - DON'T GO HOBO IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO, is my motto)
-Let it drain (i drained over my sink...can be done anywhere you like (I DO NOT want to see any recipes out there called Toilet Cheese, please) - it will look like a feta with small curds but with a milder taste.
-Chill
-Eat!!

This was so easy to do and I ate it with a salad and with my oven-fresh ciabatta...amazing...

Really, my friends, if I can make fresh bread and cheese a success in my Ramen-ready, goof of a kitchen..so can you. That is all.