For the past five years, I have been submitting my favorite recipes to the County Fair with the simple goal of having my recipes and cooking skills validated by an independent judge.
As someone who has been cooking throughout my life, I have often heard that my food was delicious and well prepared and that I had the talent to open a restaurant and sell my products. However, how realistic is the credibility of receiving compliments from family and friends?
Submitting my cooking to the Fair uses blind judging by a culinary expert. As a rule, these people are chefs, knowledgeable in the culinary field, food writers, or simply someone with a proven culinary arts record. They will judge you based on sets of rules created by the Fair and provide you with the feedback I rarely receive from family and friends.
The process is easy: register for the Fair at https://ocfair.com/oc-fair/, choose your category, and pay a fee. Then, they will assign a drop-off date. On the day you bring it, they judge your food within an hour of you dropping it off (mine was still warm). It’s that simple!
A few weeks later, I hung around the house, looked at my phone, and checked my e-mails. Suddenly, my jaw dropped, and I mumbled to my wife, ‘I won, I won, I won.’ And by how I reacted, my wife thought I hit the lottery! I explained to her that I had won first place and was invited to the Culinary Arts Awards show at the Orange County Fair. How nice!
As I have won ribbons other times, I expected I would have just made the category I registered for, Rye Bread. But, as I inspected the details, it was addressed to ‘Best of Show Winner”.
The e-mail stated that I could expect an official invite and two tickets to the Fair in the mail shortly. Still not fully understanding, I logged on to the Fair’s website and looked it up. I had won a Blue Ribbon (1st place), Best of Division (best of all yeast breads), Best of Show (best of all baked goods). There is no higher award. I was floored.
On the day of the award, I brought my family and invited some friends to the Fair. There I was, a happy man! I looked around, chatted with other contestants, and had a great time. To my surprise, one of the Culinary Coordinators told me that the pastry chef of the Ritz-Carlton had judged my Rye Bread. Pretty cool!
After receiving my award, I thought about my doubts about the recipe. For instance, I told my wife on the day of delivery that I would not submit the bread. It wasn’t good enough! She then told me not to be silly and that the knowledge acquired would be more important than the prize. I’m glad I listened to her!
So, if you enjoy cooking as I do, have received compliments from family and friends, and are still in doubt about your recipes, put up your five dollars and bring your entry to any Fair in your County or State. You might take it all! Although you won’t get rich, you will receive a monetary prize, enjoy the Fair, and have a great time with family and friends. And I have to say that bragging rights are priceless!
Here are the recipe and instructions for preparing a delicious, validated, and awarded Rye Bread. I will post this on our Pinterest account @brazemshop. Please feel free to comment and share.
Seeded Marble Rye Bread
Makes: 2 loaves
Time: 30 minutes prep, 1-1/2 hours rising, 40-50 minutes baking.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
2-1/2 Cups Rye Flour
5 Cups Bread Flour
2 Cups Milk
2 Eggs
1 Stick Butter
1/3 Cup Honey
1 Tbsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Yeast
2 Tbsp. Caraway Seed
1 tsp. Onion Powder
¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
Directions:
Scald the milk, add the caraway and butter. This will soften and draw out the flavor of the seeds and melt the butter while cooling the milk until it is temperate enough to bloom the yeast.
Once the yeast has bloomed, add the Rye Flour, Honey, Salt, 1 Egg plus one yolk (save the other egg white to baste the top of loaves), and Onion Powder. Stir until smooth, then wait ten minutes to allow the flour to soften. Add Bread Flour until it becomes a sticky blob, and remove half of the dough to a separate bowl. Mix the Cocoa Powder with 2 Tablespoons of flour and knead it into one of the dough bowls, adding more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic.
In the other bowl, add plain Bread flour until the consistency matches your brown dough. Butter your dough balls and cover until double in bulk.
Take each ball of dough, punch down, knead, and divide each color of dough in half (you are making two loaves). Roll out each piece of dough into rectangles a little wider than the length of your baking tins and ~4-5 times the container’s width.
Place a dark rectangle atop a light one (or vice versa), taking care not to trap air between the layers. Roll the layers like a jelly roll, then place in the baking pan with the seam side down. Score the top of the loaf with 3-4 slashes, taking care to cut just enough to expose a single opposite-color dough. Apply egg wash, cover, and allow to double in bulk again.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until hollow sounding when tapped.
Good cooking,
Mr. Fred
