![]() ![]() I sell a lot of filled ladder bread like the Italian sausage, above left with onion, green pepper and poppy seed. Not all pizza have to be round! This crunchy pizza (above) is my Vest Farms “Carrot Star” with Gruyere, Integration Acres chevre, roasted beet and sweet Toro peppers from Cowdery farms. I aged these for two days in cold fermentation then topped with Manchego Cheese from La Manchia, a bombastic house-made chorizo and roasted Rich Farms Corolla potato. I made these using saffron, extra virgin olive oil and onions and kneaded into the dough. Spanish Saffron is a delight, especially cooked in a moist, wheaty profile like these pizzettes. The large forty-ounce loaf on the left is made with a sixty-hour, cold fermented dough and is called the ‘Flintsone Wheel’ and Dane Salabak rolled some really cool aged mozzarella and provolone with basil pesto into some slitted couronne on the right. On the right is a wonderful combination of curried Vest Farms sweet potato, Gruyere, toasted pumkin seed and local parsley. On the left are roasted and sliced Shade River organic celeriac and roasted white potatoes from the Chesterhill Produce Auction paired with Parmigiano Reggiano, toasted leek, house-cured Harmony Hallow Pancetta and crushed Castelvetrano olives. With the coming of the cooler weather, roots of all kinds are a smash hit. Pain Tordu, or twisted baguette on the left and some crimped and crispy pizzas on the right are also crowd faves. (Torrey, I miss you telling me how fucked-up the names sound- even though Dane does that now.) Louis” or “Can’t Beet This” or some other stupid name we come up with at 4 a.m. We stuffed local Integration Acres Feta in dough with Vest Farms Beets, Sassafras Farms dill for a killer fougasse called “Beet me in St. This fougasse above features some bodacious French Breakfast radishes and fresh ginger grown by my friends at Green Edge Gardens atop a flatbread stuffed with Harmony Hollow ham, Ed Perkins’ fresh cilantro, and black and white sesame. “Slash and Burn” sourdough batards above are very cool looking, fun to bake at 600 degrees and even better to eat. ![]() On the right is a straight shooter! Local Shagbark Seed and Mill spelt crust with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and roasted Rich Gardens organic Corolla potatoes with a little sprinkle of white truffle oil after the oven. It is made with Gibson Ridge Farms green tomato sauce, fresh fiore di latte mozzarella, fresh basil and a dollop of San Marzano’s to stave off any traditionalists snarks. Above left is a very nice “Green Tomato Margherita”, the concept of which I totally ripped off from Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery and Co. Whilst baking, I have plenty of time to bang out some righteous pies using different hydration, flours, temperature and fermentation times. I had lots of help, mentorship and advice from Joel Fair, Torrey, Dane, Dave and so many other this late summer and into November who constantly brought new ideas and techniques to work on. Vadar has to have partners and here at Avalanche because besides being a high-volume pizzeria in a college town, we bake massive amounts of breads every week. I love to use wonderful “Agra dolce” or sweet and sour flavor profiles with old-world ingredients like the Stilton, Cherry Orchards pear and Serrano Ham “Cornetta” above and above top.Įven Mr. (above- fresh celeriac from Shade River Farms and Tat Soi from Barrel Ridge Farms.) This weekly spastic exercise is like a giant chefs basket challenge where the seasonal produce dictates my decisions as to what flavor profiles I can manipulate into cohesive deliciousness. I like to see how funky I can get to turn my customers on to the best damn baked products around by incorporating the best local stuff with great traditional meats and cheeses. In Athens, Ohio, we have the greatest farmers, ranchers and cheese makers in the country. These great folks are all my friends and I love buying local produce, meats and cheeses from them. I like it near the edge where true local flavor lies. Most weeks I feel like “Loaf Vadar”, taking the culinary path less trodden. I am not bound by inane recipes or tradition but by the seasons, my customers and what my farmer-friends grow. For some insane reason I’ve found a particular enjoyment in circumventing conventional baking wisdom and over the years have embraced what another traditional baker has called “the gluten dark side.” It’s taken years to let nature and circumstance drive my baking and I now realize that the only people that give my efforts any relevance are my customers here in this small corner of Appalachia. This year brought a lot of new and different pizzas and breads to my neck of the woods.
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