• Profile photo of Leonardo Cartes

      Leonardo Cartes posted an update

      a year ago

      Ciabattas at 85% hydration with black olives and candied almonds

      An oversight, a mistake in the recipe that led me to discover this curious combination

      There is no simple and literal way to describe this recipe, it all started looking for a complement for the olives and it was missing 100g to balance the baker’s percentage

      I have been thinking for hours about how to describe this experience

      It was an explosion in my mind when I discovered a new flavor, which I had never heard of before

      The candied almonds neutralize the salinity of the brine in which the olives come, it enhances their natural flavor, it leaves a sweet tone that you do not know what it is, no matter how much you think you will not conclude that it is almonds unless they tell you so

      If I had to describe the flavor I would say it is like a young love, the uncertainty of a first date, the nerves, that first bite that took my palate to an ecstasy of flavor, that made me drool as if it were a first kiss, but not a premeditated one, those kisses that steal you when you turn your face, that come from nowhere and without warning

      During its baking, the kitchen is flooded with smells, a mixture of olives, the smell of salt, of toasting semolina, of caramel

      The elaboration of this dough was like an ephemeral romance

      Paulo Coelho described the romance as two lovers who went without looking for each other, not knowing that they were destined to meet

      But this was not so

      I went without expectations, without looking for anything and in an oversight, by mere chance of destiny I found what I did not know I was missing.

      Translated from Spanish
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      Massimo Orlando, Abigail Jones and 8 others
      17 Comments
      • Level: level 4 executive chef 2 Executive Chef

        Oh! the encyclopedia of flavors is a fantastic book. It’s amazing and leads you to these kinds of discoveries, right?

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        Translated from Spanish
        a year ago
        • @Beatriz Torija really is very useful, there are some very crazy flavor combinations

          In the excerpt I found it described the mixture of green olives that are more bitter with salty, but also at the beginning of the chapter it details that black olives have a predominantly sweet taste and it helped me to interpret that I could increase the sweetness of the almond by candying

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          Translated from Spanish
          a year ago
        • Level: level 4 executive chef 2 Executive Chef

          Blessed oversight of yours that led you to make that wonderful bread. It’s saying eat me 😍

          I have loved reading you. Thanks for sharing this culinary romance. And this book I think I’m going to buy it 😉.

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          Translated from Spanish
          a year ago
          • maloles Muñoz I highly recommend it, it is an ideal book for those who love cooking, has very crazy combinations of flavors, some with small recipes, but mostly are historical quotes, reviews of traditions from different countries

            Each flavor review, more than a recipe, is a love letter to gastronomy

            It explains in a beautiful way how flavors complement each other

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            Translated from Spanish
            a year ago
          • Level: favicon spaced Scoolinary Team

            Leonardo, what you tell is a true story of discovery in the kitchen, that mixture of black olives with candied almonds sounds like an unexpected twist, one of those that you don’t plan for but end up being a find. I’m very intrigued by how the sweetness of the almonds plays with the saltiness of the olives, almost like a perfect balance that no one saw coming. And that description of the aroma in the kitchen… I can already imagine that perfume between toasted, salty and sweet.
            Now I’m left wondering: at the first bite, did you have that moment of pause, of “wait… what is this flavor?”, or was it more of a direct hit of surprise?

            I really enjoyed your story and was hooked by your whole process until I saw the final product.

            Thanks for sharing it with the community. ❤️

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            Translated from Spanish
            a year ago
            • @Sussan Estela Olaya I was quite skeptical and I am not a fan of olives per se, when I tasted it I said out loud “woah! What is this?”

              I was completely baffled, I didn’t understand

              I had to rinse my mouth and smell coffee to cleanse my palate and taste again

              At that moment I felt like my mind was exploding, it was breaking my dogmas because I don’t like olives but I wanted more, I was invaded by gluttony

              Translated from Spanish
              a year ago
              • Level: favicon spaced Scoolinary Team

                @leonardo-cartes It’s fascinating how a culinary experience can defy our expectations and completely change our perception of an ingredient. Your reaction conveys a genuine transformation, almost like a sensory awakening. I love how you describe the process of rediscovering a flavor and letting yourself be carried away by the surprise and pleasure of the unexpected.❤️

                Translated from Spanish
                a year ago
            • Level: favicon spaced Scoolinary Team

              what a sensory journey you’ve given us! 🌊🔥 It feels almost like I’ve been there, inhaling that aroma of toasted grits and caramel as fate played with your ingredients. The alchemy between the olives and the candied almonds sounds like one of those finds you don’t forget, how did the texture evolve with so much hydration? They look spectacular, I’m sure the crumb is pure poetry. Do we have a photo of the inside? I’m very curious #Necesito

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              Translated from Spanish
              a year ago
              • sol Damiani by itself the doughs at 85% hydration are highly viscous and thus also very elastic

                First I gave time to develop the gluten, the amount of dough I work with takes about 25 minutes to be ready so between 15-20 minutes I just added the olives to have developed a membrane strong and elastic enough to trap them inside without breaking it

                In the beginning it was nothing I hadn’t worked on, the folds developed normally, its fermentation was almost the same

                Now, what I can highlight is that at the moment of unmolding on the counter to form and cut the ciabattas I was surprised by the elasticity of the gluten, an exaggerated elasticity and with very little tension capacity

                It was the closest I have been to working with Italian flours that are characterized by their gluten with extreme elasticity but at the same time are flabby and difficult to maintain its tension, it is minimal

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                Translated from Spanish
                a year ago
              • Level: favicon spaced Scoolinary Team

                That’s a book that every lover of cooking should have, it makes you think beyond, and want to try combinations that sometimes give such wonderful results as yours. Congratulations for experimenting and above all for sharing this beautiful story. What kind of business do you have in Chile?

                Don’t forget to share it also on social networks tagging us @scoolinary_es and @nikisegnit (the author of the book) who will surely love to see practical applications. A pleasure to read you Leonardo

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                Translated from Spanish
                a year ago
              • Excellent work! I love to find people who dare to experiment !

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                Translated from Spanish
                a year ago
                • Level: favicon spaced Scoolinary Team

                  In case you didn’t know, Leo: my colleague @abigailscoolinary-com (chef) commented to me that “in a course she took, a food writing professor told her that the author, Niki Segnit, was originally a tax inspector for 20 years and it took her 8 years to write this book. A great example of the diverse career paths that people working in the food industry can follow.” 👨‍🍳

                  Translated from Spanish
                  a year ago
                  • Sound’s like a great combination

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                    • Tengo el mismo libro . De él saque la idea para el challenge de los eclais. ¿Has visto que hay una parte 2 ?

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