The first question I had for myself when I started this blog was “How in the world do I tackle this book?” It sort of follows a standard cookbook, but then it doesn’t. My next thought was to go back and re-read the introductions to Ratio and see how it’s laid out. Then it hit me. There are the basic ratios, with some built on each other, and then there are the recipes and variations that utilize the ratio in some form or fashion.
There are two pages that list all the basic ratios in the book. There are 33 of them. Some of them are extremely easy (vinaigrette, chocolate sauce), and some are a bit more work (consommé, mousseline, sausage). I didn’t count all the variations listed, because I ran out of time this morning and lost count when the dog brought me a rope to play with. Sorry, dog takes precedence. I remember looking at the lean dough (one ratio) and seem to recall 15-20 variations listed in the book. There’s not that many variations listed for each ratio, but you can see how many there might be. Also, the variations listed aren’t the only ones that can be done. You’re only limited by your imagination.
So here’s the plan. First, get all of the basic ratios done. We all have to start somewhere, and you can’t do dried cherry, chocolate, and walnut bread until you figure out how to make the lean dough first. Once all the basics are done, I’ll go back and do some of the variations listed in the book. Along with the variations, occasionally I’ll throw in a variation that isn’t in the book, but looks interesting to try. Some might be strange, but that’s the point. You have to experiment a bit and be willing to fail.
Before anyone asks, NO, I WILL NOT SAY WHAT THE RATIOS ARE!!!! Not gonna do it, wouldn’t be prudent, not at this juncture. Michael Ruhlman spent a lot of time, effort, and sweat equity getting this book published. If he wants to publish the recipes from Ratio in his own blog, that’s fine. It’s his property; he can do with as he wishes. But there’s no way in hell I’m going to give this stuff away for free. It’s not fair to him or his publisher. Also, he’s told me to let him know if I have any problems. I’m not going to piss him off by publishing all the ratios. Plus, there is that whole copyright issue. I’m not a lawyer, and I’m not going to be flooded with nasty letters from lawyers with many partners listed in their company name. Nope. Don’t ask.
As usual with other cookbook blogs, I’m going to stick to the ingredients listed in the ratio and/or recipe. That should be pretty easy for this book, because the vast majority of the ingredients listed are kitchen staples such as eggs, flour, butter, salt, cream, etc. I didn’t see any agar agar, gelatin sheets, or funky chemicals listed anywhere. I will follow the ratio listed, but may alter slightly to get the desired end product. For example, I have made the lean dough twice already. Based on my experience, I need a little more flour to keep the dough from being too sticky. I know there are some of you out there wagging your finger at me “Aha!! You’re not following the ratio!!!” Calm down. This is the POINT of having a ratio. IT’S ONLY A STARTING POINT!!! They are meant to be altered and changed as needed, depending on your weather, ingredients, technique, etc. Does that mean you will need as much additional flour for the lean dough? Maybe, but it depends on too many variables to list here. Again, we’ve just got a basic ratio to start with. Alter it as you need. Sometime down the line, I plan to put up a forum where those following along can post their own variations they’ve come up with. My hope is that with the basic ratios, I will have hundreds of variations for everyone to try out.
As painful as it might be, I’m going to publish my failures. I think they are important, as long as I learn from it. Being able to go back and figure out what went wrong is extremely important. If I find out what went wrong, I’ll publish a redux to show everyone how it should be done when the mistakes are corrected. Also, if you are going to be trying these ratios as well, don’t be upset if something doesn’t work. It WILL happen. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. It could be that the basic ratio as written doesn’t work for you. Now, it’s your job to stop crying, figure out what happened, put your big girl panties (or big boy boxers) on, and fix it. There’s no crying in cooking. (They made a movie about that, I’m positive. Or was that baseball?)
There will be some equipment you will need, if you don’t already have it. First, you’ll need the book. Duh. There’s a handy link on my page to order it. It’s under $20 now on Amazon.com. There’s no excuse why you shouldn’t have it. After making a couple loaves of bread, the book will start to pay for itself. Really. I promise. The next most important piece of equipment is a digital scale. Even though volumetric conversions are given for the ratios, the ratios themselves are based on weight, not volume. There are a couple of exceptions, but let’s just assume for now that all the ratios are based on weight. It’s also very handy to be able to set your mixing bowl on your scale, add an ingredient, hit that nifty tare button, and add the next ingredient. I searched Amazon this morning, and I got 583 hits for “digital kitchen scale.” There’s one that will fit your budget, and most of them are $20-$50. Get one. Now. If you order it with the book, you will probably get free shipping. Everyone likes free. Once you’ve used it a couple of times, you will be kicking yourself for not getting one sooner.
Other things that will be handy are an electric stand mixer for making bread dough, a pasta machine for the pasta section, and a meat grinder for the sausage section. They aren’t necessary, but if you don’t have these things, don’t sweat it. You’ll be able to get by, it’s just going to be a bit more work.
Now that the basics are out of the way. It’s time to bake the bread. First up will be the lean dough. Stay tuned.