NERRRRRRRD!
Jan. 20th, 2006 01:54 pmI had dinner last night with my mother at a reasonably nice seafood restaurant last night. The following is a reasonably accurate transcription of my behavior when the bread arrived.
I pick it up and look closely, noting that the crust is rather pale and the crumb looks substandard, i.e. there aren't a nice pattern of holes in the bread as carbon dioxide forms during the rising and baking process. Sniff. They put a salt wash on the crust - that accounts for some of the color lack, but not all. Chew. The bread is cold, doughy, underbaked. I hypothesize that they routinely underbake and then finish off in the oven for ten minutes just before serving (which would complete the baking and give more color to the crust) but that our particular batch has obviously been missed.
I think about requesting a new batch of bread, but forego the temptation.
Yes, this pretty much is my standard line of analysis at a restaurant. I can't help it.
I pick it up and look closely, noting that the crust is rather pale and the crumb looks substandard, i.e. there aren't a nice pattern of holes in the bread as carbon dioxide forms during the rising and baking process. Sniff. They put a salt wash on the crust - that accounts for some of the color lack, but not all. Chew. The bread is cold, doughy, underbaked. I hypothesize that they routinely underbake and then finish off in the oven for ten minutes just before serving (which would complete the baking and give more color to the crust) but that our particular batch has obviously been missed.
I think about requesting a new batch of bread, but forego the temptation.
Yes, this pretty much is my standard line of analysis at a restaurant. I can't help it.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-21 05:02 pm (UTC)