Benjamin Smith

Rainbows and Butterflies

A post thunderstorm rainbow combined with living close to the landing approach for Dulles? ISO 400 | f/8 | 1/320 | 200mm ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/50 | 35mm

I made a copycat of the fiesta lime chicken from Applebees for dinner tonight. Chicken breast marinated in garlic, teriyaki sauce, and liquid smoke. A creamy sauce based on sour cream, mayo, and blackening spices, and a topping of shredded jack cheese. The chicken breast can be pounded into a uniform thickness to make cookingContinue reading “Fiesta Lime Chicken”

Pain Au Chocolat

I have wanted to make laminated dough for the longest time. Over the long weekend I made the King Arthur Flour recipe for Pain au Chocolat. I let the dough rise in the fridge overnight, per their recommendation, and laminated it today. It taste amazing, and I cannot wait to make the other half ofContinue reading “Pain Au Chocolat”

Great Falls Park

Great Falls Park – a National Park Service site on the Potomac – was the first photography outing since I moved my home base to Virginia. The park is a 30 minute drive from my apartment. This morning I spent 3 hours wandering around. The crowd really fills it up around 10:30. I mainly spentContinue reading “Great Falls Park”

Weekday Sourdough – 84%

83-84% hydration is where the dough really seems to get wetter and even more sticky. This is also the first recipe that’s scaled down 20%. To 400g total flour, instead of 500g. One percent water is 4g instead of 5g. I am troubleshooting oven rise and the presence of the “ear” – I think myContinue reading “Weekday Sourdough – 84%”

Weekday Sourdough – 83%

I’ve been keeping an Excel spreadsheet to document my sourdough recipe as I gradually increase the hydration percentage of the dough. Here’s the start of an attempt to document crumb shots. Levian INGREDIENT AMOUNT BAKER’S PERCENTAGE Sourdough Starter 20 g 20% Water 100 g 100% King Arthur AP Flour 100 g 100% Dough INGREDIENT AMOUNTContinue reading “Weekday Sourdough – 83%”

King Arthur Flour Bakealong – Almond Puff Loaf

A few weekends ago I did the King Arthur Flour April bakealong because I could. It was an almond puff loaf with jam on top. It tasted OK when it was warm, and gradually decreased in tastiness as the week wore on. The recipe heavily features the jam, and strawberry was not the best choice.

Wk. 9: Downtown Dallas

Sorry weeks 7 and 8 were skipped. Yesterday I went back downtown to get more photos of the skyline. The Trinity River had dropped back down to it’s usual level, so the shots don’t compare to the previous shots, but it was still fun to bring friends.

The Dallas Skyline

Ever since I moved to Dallas I have wanted to take the iconic photograph of the skyline. It took way too long for me to figure out where I needed to go for it. It took an imminent move to northern Virginia to actually go take the picture. February saw record setting rain here, andContinue reading “The Dallas Skyline”

Wk. 7: Scones

Scones for breakfast. Orange cranberry from King Arthur Flour.