Fermented Potato Bread (Amass homage)

 

Last December we were lucky enough to get a table at Amass in Copenhagen, and we all were amazed by these fermented potato breads. The staff were great and explained the process to us to try at home. It’s pretty long winded and requires a few pieces of specialised kit, but worth it nonetheless. Apparently, we used to ferment potatoes all the time, as they contain difficult to digest acrylamides which are broken down by the fermentation. Hey, look yesterday I didn’t know what acrylamides were either, and now I’ve even used them in a sentence!

Start off by boiling 2kg of the largest floury potatoes you can find, skins on. This will take some time, probably an hour or so, so amuse yourselves for a little while. Once cooked all the way through, peel from their skins and place in a vacuum bag. add a tbsp of salt, and mash/squash pretty flat. Push as much air out of the bag as you can and vac seal. These bags are going to sit for at least ten days in a warm place fermenting so ensure it’s a strong seal, and you salted the potatoes (which kills off any bacteria). I was a little dubious about serving something that has been sitting at a bacteria bonanza temperature for a fortnight, but they all got wolfed down and if anyone died they at least had the decency not to complain afterwards.

Place the bags in a dehydrator (or airing cupboard at a push?) at 35 degrees celsius and leave them tucked up in there for 10 days. The bag will expand due to the gases being released as the potatoes ferment – this is a good sign!

After 10-14 days remove the potatoes from the bag, weigh 1.5kg and add the following 1.2kg plain flour, 50g salt and 0.6l natural yoghurt. No yeast required as the fermented potatoes will provide a rise (and a really tangy taste). Work into a dough, cover with a damp towel/clingfilm and leave somewhere warm overnight.

Potatomass and the pit.

Heat up the hottest surface you can, whether it’s a pizza oven, kamado grill, baking steel, pizza stone, or at a push a heavy cast iron griddle. You’re looking for temperatures above 350 degrees celsius, so pretty hot. Portion off a tennis ball sized amount and roll to 1cm thick and about the size of a side plate. The dough is quite wet, so use plenty of flour for dusting. Optional tip, chuck a handful of coarse dried polenta onto the grill before the dough to add a better crunch (this works great on pizzas too). Sear each side for a few minutes, until a darkened crust forms. Don’t move them around too much, ideally only flip once.

If using a griddle heat up a large burger press and place on top of the bread to improve contact and speed up the time for the outside to crisp up.

These taste incredible, tangy and complex, light and chewy on the inside, and a crisp crunch. Takes two weeks to do it properly, so plan well in advance!

 

Restaurant link: https://www.facebook.com/AmassRestaurant

Recipe link / blog post: http://aortafood.com/theres-always-a-catch/

 

Six Hour Short Ribs

Any day off is a chance to do something new, and today’s kamado experiment was beef short ribs. I’m relatively new to kamado cooking so I’m keen to try any new recipes that put the kit through it’s paces (and me too!)

Great quality beef doesn’t need much additional flavour, so the rub is pretty simple for this recipe. Serves four, or three pigs.

• 3kg of beef short ribs
• 100ml olive oil
• 100ml tamari soy sauce
• 1tbsp applewood smoked dulse
• 1tbsp black peppercorns
• 1tbsp maldon sea salt
• 1 bottle tempranillo
• 2tbsp worcestershire sauce

Start out by firing up the grill to 180°f.

Cover the ribs with olive oil and half of the tamari, and then rub the dulse, salt and pepper into the meat.

Once the grill is at temp, add a large handful of applewood chips onto the hotspot, then install the heat deflector plates. Place both racks of ribs on the top grill and place a baking tray underneath to catch any drips (this needs to be big enough to hold both racks, as above, I used the drip pan as the base for braising the ribs later, so no flavour is lost). Add a litre of water into the pan, and close the lid.

After two and a half hours, progress!

Transfer the ribs into the drip pan, and add the wine, the rest of the tamari, and the worcestershire sauce. Cover with foil, and place back on the kamado, close the lid.

This could have braised for ever, but after 3 hours I couldn’t be arsed waiting any more, and it was practically falling apart. Nice char, smoke ring, and all the collagen melted away, not bad for a first attempt!

Was really happy with the result; six hours in the making, six minutes in the eating, and we were left with nothing else but a deconstructed cow xylophone.

Will definitely try this again, and welcome any advice about how to improve on it! It takes a fair bit of time and ties up for grill for most of the day, but can be prepared earlier in the day and held in the oven on a low heat for hours until you’re ready to serve.