Before I continue with this post, let me express my sincerest condolences to all of those involved in the horrific events that took place, on this day, in two thousand and one; specifically, the bombing of the World Trade Center, in New York City. We will never forget.
Moving forward, we went to the wonderful bakery, Esperanza, the other day; una panadería maravillosa. It is a bakery that is excelled by few, anywhere in the city.
Here is a photo of a few of the semisweet offerings we took to Juan’s house. (Better them than us).
The two large, round pastries on the bottom left, one chocolate, and one, vanilla, are called conchas, (shells). The heart shaped one next to the conchas, is called orejas, (ears). To the right of that, the round one, bound by another round pastry, (my personal favorite), is called an ojo, (eye). Above that, the double white pastry, with jam in the middle, is a beso, (kiss). The small, dark chocolate pastry is called a chocolate garibaldi- sorry, no translation. Last, but not least, is a muffin with, I think, pecans, no translation needed; a muffin is a muffin. 😉
Notice, if you will, that nowadays, everything is wrapped individually, for everyone’s safety. Hopefully, it will remain the same in future. Why go backwards? BTW, most of those pastries are less than one dollar each. Nice!
The bolillos, (in the photo below), are still one peso, (five cents) which, I think, is phenomenal! It is the only item not wrapped, mainly, because it is, usually, purchased en gross. Most folks that purchase these buy about a dozen, or more. They make the best sandwiches.
Down here, the bolillo has a delicately crunchy outside, and, a pillowy soft inside. What is not to like? Up North, they are much chewier inside; more dense, if you will.
Yesterday, however, I made my first two loaves of ciabatta bread that will, soon, become herbed croutons. I do not wish to be dependent on the croutons from the store, which are usually hard as rocks. Here is how it went.
I have, once again, been bitten by the bread baking bug, (or, in this time of quarantine, the BB virus). I have been feeding my sourdough culture for at least four weeks now, and it is quite healthy. Right now, however, it is resting in the fridge as I was unsure how it was going to go with the ciabatta bread.
I wish I could explain how wonderful the loaves smell. They actually woke Ivan up from his nap!!! He came to the kitchen, asking what that wonderful smell was!!! I cannot blame him, that he did not recognize it; it has been over three years since I made a loaf of bread. Wow. It has been too long!!!
I feel that the ciabatta was a success, thankfully, so, I will continue to produce more loaves, and, hopefully, have enough folks willing to eat said products. We will stay hopeful.
Until that happens, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and, protect your loved ones.
Post script: I just made a bacon sandwich from the bread loaf on the right, and, some lovely little roasted tomatoes on the vine. Suffice it to say I will wait a while to change these into croutons. The bread, this morning, is just the perfect amount of softness; enough so that Ivan might even be able to eat the inside portions. Cannot wait to see if he likes it. Yum!