Stella Culinary School

In this episode we discuss advanced artisan bread baking with bread baker and instructor Nicole Muvundamina.

Follow Nicole on Instagram: @nmuvu

You can call the show and leave a voicemail: 775-204-8389

In this episode, more listener questions and voicemails answered. Some sample questions include:

Crispy Skin question from Philip

"OK, it's time to squash this once and for all one way or the other. The question is: 'Does salt draw out moisture from a protein product'? I always hear people saying to rub salt on the skin of a protein product to draw out moisture in order to crisp up the skin. The most recent example was yesterday when I watched a video of a chef cooking pork belly. The skin on pork was quite thick and I began to wonder how exactly the salt can draw out moisture from within the skin. I could see how it would absorb moisture that was already on the surface because the salt would be making contact with it but how could it be possible to draw moisture from within the skin? Is this just a myth (which is widely believed even by some of the best chefs in the world) or is there some truth to is. Unless the salt is acting like some kind of magnet on the water and pulling it out of the skin I really can't see how it could work. Are there any science food geeks that can explain exactly how the salt works please? Also, I would love to hear your opinion on this Chef Jacob, Thanks"

Creative Flavors from Vicky

"i'd like to know how chefs come up with (especially unusual/modern) flavour combinations… like, i'd never have thought of combining chilies and chocolate, wouldn't ever even imagine those would go together, if i hadn't tried chocolate bar with chilies. or, like, the dishes in fancy restaurants (e.g. fat duck, noma) or on tv cooking competition shows (e.g. uk master chef) have like 19 thousand elements (like 5 dots of whatever reduction and half a teaspoon of whatever foam)… how the hell do they come up with the idea of putting all those seemingly unrelated things on the same plate?

My question to you:

in the video i watched, you mentioned that almost all dishes need a bit of acid. and when i think about all the recipes i've seen/read, it's true that a lot of them call for just a tad of vinegar or lemon juice, in such a small amount that one wouldn't actually taste it when eating the finished product. it's something i've never thought of doing. what does a tiny amount of acid do to the overall taste of a dish? why is it important? what sort of dishes wouldn't need acid and what sort of dishes benefit the most from it (besides obviously sour tasting dishes)?"

We also answer voicemail questions from Eric, Robert, Andrew, Juan, Shmilie, Leslie & Melva. Thanks to everyone for calling in.

I'm back with two in-depth questions regarding the F-STEP Curriculum to answer.

The first one from Dave:

"I've been through your book, and I love the idea that I might be able to learn to cook without using recipes, something I hate doing and something that stresses me out in the kitchen. I had already decided that recipes don't work for me, and I realized I am still missing steps, but I had only added the prep stage to my process, not the F-STEP steps, so your book has expanded my thinking, which is good.

However, everything I've read is all theory and as you know, its not possible to learn anything from just theory. I am wondering why there are no practical examples, or run-throughs to demonstrate how the entire process works in stages, and in particular how your worksheet is supposed to function. It looks like something you would give your in-class students along with an explanation, you've included it in your book, but I couldn't find the explanation.

Is this some sort of homework? Do I have to figure this out for myself? It's like my old math teacher telling me there is a great formula to calculate something, but then not showing me how it works using real numbers.

It would be good to have some real examples of these "childhood" favorites, and other popular dishes, what their flavor profiles are and then run them through your F-STEP stages of technique, execution etc…, following your worksheet, to show how they are completed, the whole process beginning to end but in practical demo mode.

To be honest I'm slightly disappointed and not sure what to do next. I can see its the answer to my cooking problems, but how do I implement it?

By the way, I understand that I am not in your normal group of people who already love cooking and are looking for a different approach. I hate cooking, I think recipes are the most illogical thing ever invented, which is why I am looking for an alternative. There are many people like me, but all my friends who love cooking, and love reading recipe books don't understand the problem, so as a professional chef I might be a new breed you've yet to meet. To let you know how much research and thinking I've done, I am halfway through building an AI driven voice chatbot to talk to me, as a guide, step by step as I am cooking. I can see that I have missed some vital steps as I mentioned before. So one of the reasons I would like to understand your worksheet better, is because I am wondering if I could include the theme of it in my chatbot, and make the process more complete. Let me know if you are interested, because right now it is a personal project, but who knows. I am a professional chatbot developer, so this is not a hobby :-)"

Second question is from Cher:

"I've now watched and read the sections of flavour + sauces. I have question regarding to how it might improve a sauce I make frequently- it's a lentil tomato sauce. In my opinion it's a reduction type sauce, according to your description of modern sauces.

These are the main ingredients PASTA SAUCE:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (3 cloves yield ~1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1/4 cup carrots (very finely diced)
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes (optional)
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce*
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 pinch sea salt (plus more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (divided)
• 1 Tbsp dried or fresh oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried or fresh basil
• 1-2 Tbsp sweetener of choice
• 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup dry red lentils (rinsed in cool water for 1 minute)- cooked in 2 cups water

As you can see, there's no stock, and also there isn't a deglazing step in the recipe. According to your video on sauces, a tomato sauce base should have tomatoes + stock + roux.

• So my question is, would it be better/ appropriate to add a stock, deglazing step, and roux to the recipe?
• If so, what kind of stock base should it be?
• Veggie, chicken? When should I deglaze?
• I would assume that it would be after frying the aromatics? (onions, garlic, carrots etc)
• What should I deglaze with? When should I add the stock and roux?
• Would it be after adding the tomato sauce?"

In this episode I discuss ancient grains, fresh milled flour, and sourdough bread baking with the President of Grand Teton Farm & Mill, Jade Koyle. Jade also owns and operates AncientGrains.com & Einkorn.com.

A few of the topics we touch on include:

• How to successfully bake bread with ancient grains such as Einkorn, and how their different gluten structures require a specific approach.
• Using fresh milled "herb flour."
• Using foraged grains to give your bread a special sense of time and place, as well as unique flavors.
• The difference between white and red wheat, and what to look for when buying whole grain berries.

Question or Comment?

Send them to [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 775-204-8389. You can also join the discussion over on the Stella Culinary forum, or the the SCFB Group.

Interested in Getting Your Own Grain Mill?

For a limited time, Mockmill is offering $80 work of savings and free shipping for Stella Culinary fans who buy through this link.

Connect with Chef Jacob

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube

Have a question you'd like me to answer on an upcoming episode? Leave a voicemail, call the Stella Culinary Hotline at 775-204-8389, or e-mail me, [email protected]. You can also post your questions, comments, success and failures, to the Stella Culinary Forum, or our Facebook Group.

In this episode, listener bread questions are answered!

• Johna's question on Pan Gallego (here's the video I referenced in my response https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHKLNTdlzE8)
• A question on the Baker's Percentage (full video breakdown can be found here: https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-videos/stella-bread/sb-001-what-bakers-percentage)
• Benito's question on possible bread yeast infections.
• Mohammad's question on Beef Pancetta
• Devon's question on sourdough feeding schedule and salt percentages in bread dough.
• Bigblue's question on tweaking the basic sourdough formula and making it his own.

For more bread podcasts and video techniques, check out our bread baker's resource page at https://stellaculinary.com/sb

In part three of our culinary boot camp series, we cover the science and best practices behind various cooking techniques including braising, steaming, pressure cooking and a deep dive into sous vide.

If you have any questions or comments on this episode, you can send me a voice mail or call our hotline, 775-204-8389, post it to our friendly forum or Facebook group, or shoot me an e-mail, [email protected]

The accompanying video lecture for this episode can be found on the show notes page at: https://stellaculinary.com/scs50

Can you believe we're already at episode 50!

If you're looking for videos that demonstrate various cooking techniques such as pan roasting, braising, sous vide, etc, please check out our Cooking Technique Video Index found here: https://stellaculinary.com/ct.

Win a Mockmill Grain Mill

As I mentioned in the beginning of this episode, I'm giving away a Mockmill Grain Mill to one randomly selected Stella Culinary audience member. You do have to enter to win, and you can do so here: https://stellaculinary.com/mockmill

Follow Chef Jacob

• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook

In this episode, listener questions covering flavor structure and sauce making are answered. If you want to have your question answered on an upcoming episode of the show, you can leave me a voicemail thru this page here, call the hotline (775-204-8389), or e-mail me, [email protected].

Don't forget to download your copy of my Culinary Boot Camp & F-STEP Curriculum. You can also join the conversation over on the Stella Culinary Forum, or SC Facebook group!

In This Episode ...

We start the show talking taste vs. flavor, what makes up great flavor structure, and where does texture play a part? Shout out to Chasay over on the SCFB group for his awesome comment that spurred this discussion.

We discuss an important concept I wish I had included in my Flavor Structure Lecture; a concept I call "Flavor Spectrum".

Then we head on over to the Stella Culinary Forum, to answer rbg1000000's question on stocks versus broths, and possibly offend a few hipsters along the way.

Next, we discuss Loren's black pepper corn sauce, and I walk Michael through how to make a restaurant quality morel mushroom reduction that will go perfect with a steak!

We finish the episode with a trio of questions from SCFB member Sigfried, covering various puree sauce options and approaches, when to use different thickeners in the sauce making process, and the delineation between an emulsion and a puree.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave me a rating & review, and don't forget to subscribe to our e-mail newsletter!

Lecture Videos Referenced

• F is for Flavor
• S is for Sauce

Note: If you're clicking on the above video links in the future and are coming across a message that says something to the effect of "Video Not Available," that's because I've finally came to my senses and realized that this information is too valuable to be given away for free! If not, then I've either forgotten all about this and moved on with my life, or you're very luck! ;-)

Connect with Chef Jacob (That's ME!)

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Instagram

Questions or comments? E-mail me, [email protected], call 775-204-8389 to leave a voicemail, or post on our Friendly Forum or Facebook Group.

In episode 47 of the SCS Podcast, I introduced the concept of the three modern mother sauces, a technique based approach to sauce making.

In this episode, we continue our discussion, with a deep dive into emulsifications and purees.

Related Podcasts & Videos

• SCS 002 | Culinary Stocks Part One - Veal Stock
• SCS 003 | Culinary Stocks Part Two - Chicken, Vegetable & Fish
• SCS 009 | Hollandaise Sauce - Five French Mother Sauces Part 1
• SCS 010 | Sauce Veloute - Five French Mother Sauces Part 2
• SCS 011 | Bechamel Sauce - Five French Mother Sauces Part 3
• SCS 012 | Sauce Tomat - Five French Mother Sauces Part 4
• SCS 013 | Espagnole Sauce - Five French Mother Sauces Part 5
• SCS 047 | Culinary Boot Camp Day One - S is for Sauce Part 1
• Sauces and Soups Video Index
• What Is An Emulsion? A Cook's Guide - Food Science Video

Other Links

• Purchase and download Chef Jacob's written Culinary Boot Camp & F-STEP Curriculum.
• Follow Chef Jacob on Instagram and Twitter.
• Subscribe to the Stella Culinary YouTube Channel.

Questions or comments? E-mail me, [email protected], call 775-204-8389 to leave a voicemail, or post on our Friendly Forum or Facebook Group.

In part one of our S is for Sauce lecture, I discuss the concept of the Three Modern Mother Sauces, which is a technical approach to sauce making. We dive deep into the reduction technique.

In our next episode, we will cover the other two modern mother sauces, purees and emulsions.

Related Podcasts & Videos

• SCS 002 | Culinary Stocks Part One - Veal Stock
• SCS 003 | Culinary Stocks Part Two - Chicken, Vegetable & Fish
• SCS 009 | Hollandaise Sauce - Five French Mother Sauces Part 1
• SCS 010 | Sauce Veloute - Five French Mother Sauces Part 2
• SCS 011 | Bechamel Sauce - Five French Mother Sauces Part 3
• SCS 012 | Sauce Tomat - Five French Mother Sauces Part 4
• SCS 013 | Espagnole Sauce - Five French Mother Sauces Part 5
• Sauces and Soups Video Index

Other Links

• Purchase and download Chef Jacob's written Culinary Boot Camp & F-STEP Curriculum.
• Follow Chef Jacob on Instagram and Twitter.
• Subscribe to the Stella Culinary YouTube Channel.

Question or comments? E-mail me, [email protected], call me, 775-204-8389, or post to our friendly forum or Facebook Group.

We start this episode on a somber note, acknowledging the passing of Anthony Bourdain and all he contributed to the culinary world.

I then answer listener voicemails and questions ranging from the replacement of home kitchen appliances, cooking healthy summer meats and proteins, an upcoming beer brewing episode, as well as general shenanigans and discussions.

We also bring back everyone's favorite new segment, This Week's Most Ridiculous YouTube Comment (OK, so the segment name is weak but the content is strong; e-mail me if you have any suggestions for a new segment name).

As always, thanks for listening!

Links

• Purchase and download Chef Jacob's written Culinary Boot Camp & F-STEP Curriculum.
• Follow Chef Jacob on Instagram and Twitter.
• Subscribe to the Stella Culinary YouTube Channel.