Root Simple pal Federico alerted me to an interesting aquaponics project in Oakland, CA created by Eric Maundu. I share with Federico some skepticism when it comes to aquaponics–the concept seems a bit complicated and plastic intensive to me. But Federico thought, and I agree that this project might be simple enough to be practical.
If any of you have experience with aquaponics, let us know what you think.
Just a note that we’re having unexplained issues with our server this week and are attempting to resolve the problem. Please excuse a larger number of typos as well as difficulty responding to your comments. Everything should be back in order next week. Special thanks to our designer Roman for helping us. And thanks to Kelly for constantly changing the tape drives.
Commercial bread ovens have a steam injection system. The steam keeps the surface of the dough supple so that dough can expand gracefully during baking. Jim Lahey’s popular no-knead bread recipe uses a dutch oven to emulate steam injection. The Dutch oven method seals in the moisture contained in the dough during the first half hour of baking. It works great and I cook all my bread this way.
That being said it can be tricky to plop a loaf of wet, sticky dough into a 475º F Dutch oven without either burning yourself or messing up the dough. I’ll note that even when I’ve screwed it up (like the loaf above) and the dough lands off center, the bread still turns out fine. It’s just an aesthetic issue.
Some other bakers have come up with variations on the Dutch oven technique. Chad Robertson, baker and author of Tartine Bread suggests using a cast iron combo cooker like the one below:
You use it upside down, putting the dough in the skillet rather than dropping it down in the pot. Then you stick the pot on top. I imagine that the handle is handy.
Someone in a bread class I was teaching suggested using a bread baking stone and simply inverting a pot or large roasting lid over the stone. As long as the lid or pot seals properly, this should work too.
Other folks use parchment paper and don’t do the inversion at all. I’m a bit skeptical, but haven’t tried this technique myself.
You can also buy a clay cloche, but they’re on the expensive side.
There are other steaming methods. I used to throw a shot glass of water in the oven–it just doesn’t work as well and, I’ve been told, can damage some ovens. I’ve also tried preheating a roasting pan and then pouring water in it, but it doesn’t work as well as the Dutch oven. And I was really surprised to read about an elaborate steaming technique that involves a length of chain in a roasting pan described in the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook. Too much work!
For now I’m going to stick with my Dutch oven. Most of the time I manage to get the loaf into the pot and our kitchen is so small that we don’t have room for more gadgets.
If I’ve left out any steaming techniques or you have an opinion, please leave a comment . . .
Nancy Klehm is coming to Los Angeles for two exciting events–one on foraging and the other on humanure:
Edible Urbanforage Walk Saturday February 16 4 to 6 pm.
February, is the ideal time to forage Los Angeles!
Nance Klehm will be leading this urbanforage. On this walk, we will learn to identify edible and medicinal plants, hear their botanical histories and stories of their use and share tastes of what we find.
The urbanforage will start with an herbal beverage and end with a simple herbal food shared over discussion of the experiences and questions generated by the walk.
Bring a notebook and a pen for sketching or note taking and a bag and a knife for collecting.
All ages welcome!
Adults 18+ years $20/person
Children 6-17 years $10/person
Children 5 years and under *free*
Reserve your space for this event by sending your PayPal payment to: [email protected]
There are no refunds. Registration closes February 15.
Mon. Feb 18 – Safe & Sound Human Manure Class
Can we use human waste in our gardens? Is it safe? Come to this incredible workshop by Nancy Klehm, a human manure expert, where we will explore these questions and more. Learn about compost toilet design, and Nancy’s amazing previous work.
Nance Klehm is a steward of the earth. She is an ecological systems designer, landscaper, horticultural consultant, and permacultural grower, as well as an in demand consultant, speaker, and teacher. She is respected internationally for her work on land politics and growing for fertility.
Nancy has been featured in Time Magazine, the Utne Reader, the Chicago Tribune, Reuters news service, on the MSN Money website, and many other publications and media outlets. She has been interviewed extensively about her work including spots by American Public Media’s Weekend America program, KRCL in Salt Lake City, BBC Radio Canada, Chicago Public Radio, and KBOO in Portland, Oregon.
Date/Time
Monday, February 18
7 to 9pm
Location
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1280 East Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104
Registration (click here to register)
Pre-register by 2/10: $15
Pre-register by 2/17: $20
At the Door: $25
Hosting Organizations
RIPE Altadena
Institute of Urban Ecology
More about Nance Klehm:
http://ecolutionist.com/
www.spontaneousvegetation.
Photo ©President & Fellows Harvard College, photo of Blaschka Glass Model by Hillel Burger.
This cactus is made out of glass. Root Simple reader tworose tipped me off to the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s collection of glass flowers. According to the museum’s website:
This unique collection of over 3,000 models was created by glass artisans Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph. The commission began in 1886, continued for five decades, and the collection represents more than 830 plant species.
Reminds me of the 3D flower x-rays on display at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. They have to be seen in person to really do them justice, but you can see a selection in 2D here.
