Sun Valley Chef

Chef Derek Gallegos of Gretchen's Restaurant in The Sun Valley Lodge serves house-baked French Pain de Campagna

I have made many versions of this classic French country bread over the years and I wanted to perfect it for Gretchen's. So, I collaborated with our Executive Bakery Chef at Sun Valley, Florence Pittsley - who hails from Alsace, France, BTW - to make a supremely tasty version. We were very impressed by the techniques in the Tartine Bread books by Chad Robertson, such as using larger amounts of natural levain and extended fermentation times. After many experimental loaves we have brought this to the table: this is one sexy loaf! Try it with freshly whipped sweet cream butter and flaky sea salt. I hope to cook for you at Gretchen's soon for dinner!

 

Ciao!

 

Chef Derek

Chef Derek Gallegos Bakes Polenta-Sweet Potato Bread

This bread was an experiment today. I was going to make potato-barley but discovered I didn't have any crystal malt - so - I eyed a sweet spud in my kitchen and the rest is history. I took the recipe for my Semolina-honey bread, left out the semolina and honey, increased the flour and added cooked polenta and mashed cooked sweet potato. Total baking time was about 9 hours, kitchen was a little cool though. Recipe and a couple videos on technique below :

Chef Derek's Semolina-Honey Bread

It's been awhile since I've baked, damn, It's been awhile since I've posted ! I closed the resto down November 18th of last year, started working as Exec. Chef at Gretchen's for Sun Valley Co. December 1st and have barely had time to kiss the family good night and see the kids off in the morning let alone do a post. It's good to be back and I'll try and be here more often.

This was my default table bread at 310. There were others I enjoyed as much: our potato-malted barley bread, our polenta baguette, our Sally Lunn. But this recipe was delicious and relatively quick. It evolved like all my bread recipes: I find a recipe in a book or on a blog, play with it, hybridize it with another recipe and I've got something I like. This bread started off as the Tartine Country loaf. I added semolina pasta flour, honey and a little whole wheat flour. I used the starter  from the Wild Yeast blog (I've been keeping this starter alive for 4 years now), and I use a small amount of yeast to speed things up a little (this was crucial at the resto when I got there a little before noon and had to have table bread ready by 5:30pm). Recipe below:

Malted Barley & Potato Levain Bread at three TEN main Restaurant

This is the Norwich Sourdough recipe from the Wild Yeast blog. I've replaced the rye with equal amount of whole wheat. I have also added 1 cooked and diced Idaho potato with the peel on and 1/2 cup of crushed crystal malt when I gave it the first turn. My starter is going nice and strong now. I'm discarding 2/3 of it every 12 hours and replacing it with equal amounts of water and all purpose flour. This feeding schedule seems to be working great.

 
I turned this dough every 20 minutes for the first 80 minutes and let it bulk rise in the walk-in refridgerator overnight. I proofed it in those fake wicker chip baskets you find in Mexican restaurants- 1.43 each at the local resto supply store- much cheaper than bannetons. This is the tastiest bread I've made to date. It would go very well with a hearty winter soup. Look for it in your bread basket at three TEN main.

French Baguettes @ three TEN main With a Little Help From The TARTINE BREAD Book

 

I bought the beautifully produced Tartine Bread Book about a month ago and have devoured every page and am now trying some of their formulas. I follwed the book making these baguettes with exception of the starter, substituting the sourdough starter from the Wild Yeast Blog.

These have a very crisp crust, a slight tang, with a moist crumb. I think it would do very well as the bread for a Banh Mi sandwich. The crumb came out a little tighter than I expected but is still very delicious. I will try this again with a higher dosage of bread flour. I'll keep y'all updated on my pilgrimage to the land of the perfect baguette.

Be on the look-out for this bread in your basket at three TEN main.  Ciao

Chef Derek Gallegos Bakes A Natural Levain Bread For three TEN main Restaurant

I've been experimenting for the last few months with natural/sourdough starters with mixed results. However, my most recent attempts have come to fruition, Susan's Wild Yeast Blog having been of enormous assistance. Her sourdough starter, which I used to make my interpretation of Norwich Sourdough, produced the results documented in the photos above and below:

My levain bread has a toothsome and slightly crunchy crust with a tender crumb and slight sour finish due the not overly ripe starter.

I'll continue to play with this recipe; cracked malted barley and chunks of potato with the skin are on the list for upcoming additions. You just might find this in your bread basket during your next dining experience at three TEN main. Stay tuned.

Chef Derek Gallegos Bakes "Hi-Rise's" Cornbread for three TEN main

This is a yeasted cornbread with a pleasant crunch to the crumb; made with coarse stoneground corn grits and whole corn kernels, it also gets a sweet and earthy touch from the addition of Styrian pumpkinseed oil and Fireweed honey. It is a favorite of mine and makes the rotation of fine yeasted baked goods at three TEN main Restaurant. You must try it toasted for breakfast slathered with Montana huckleberry jam!

I adapted this recipe from Maggie Glezers Artisan Baking. It is from Hi-Rise Bakery in Cambridge, Mass.

Chef Derek Gallegos Bakes A Gorgeous Ciabatta For three TEN main Restaurant

I've been baking a lot of ciabatta for our table service lately. I've had especially good luck with the recipe in Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking. Wild Yeast Blog has also been particularly helpful and I strive to emulate her baked goods  at the restaurant. Above and below: the results of my most recent ciabatta endeavour.

This bread makes a mean rustic sandwich. I put some thinly sliced leftover rare ribeye steak with this bread, a little mayo, a big handful of mesclun and some Newmans own vinaigrette- Mama Mia! A glass of cheap cold red and I was set.

I hope you may enjoy this bread as part of our weekly rotation of yeasted baked goods at

three TEN main.