Ron Dykstra

Here’s is random snap of the setting sun, taken on a summer day dog walk, that turned out to be a happy accident. Swipe to see!

Happy Mother’s Day to my late, great Mom, and to all those mothers out there celebrating today.

Also, if you have a tough relationship with your Mom, i want to mention that that’s ok too. Today is a celebration of those who nurture us, wishing much love and peace to all. ☮️ ❤️

Ok! This is my third try at at home, with instructions from via seriouseats.com/foolproof-pan-pizza 🍕🍕🍕

First one I muffed up the room temperature proofing. Second time I used old yeast, and made a terrible flat bread instead of a pizza crust. This time I got closer to it. The dough was perfect (and easy if you read the recipe correctly), but I’ll use a higher temperature and try to get a bit more crunch on the perimeter next time.

I’m stoked. Thanking Liz for the recipe ❤️🍕

This is my first try at a longer fermentation pizza dough. This is al taglio dough, at 80% hydration. It does a room temperature fermentation for about 1.5 hours as you fold the very wet dough. Then it does a cold fermentation in the fridge for at least 12 hours, but up to 36 hours. The bubbles are huge and the dough is very loose and a bit hard to shape, if you’re used to the drier kinds. I got this recipe from Marc Vetri’s book, Mastering Pizza (amazing).

As with most firsts, it didn’t go perfectly. I didn’t take a pic of my end product because after piling on some lovely toppings, I missed the timer and it overcooked. I sliced it up and ate it, and it was the best crust I’ve ever made. I look forward to nailing this one next time, but even botched, this crust is both crispy and silky in texture tight out of a regular oven, no stone or steel. Amazing.

reminded me of the lesson of the week — don’t rush to judgement. Wait a moment and let your emotions settle.

It’s a small thing, but I never realized baking bread is easy and satisfying. Combining yeast and flower connects you to a legacy of humans making their daily bread and it’s FUN. And easy! Also, delicious. I’ll get more adventurous with the flours as I go — suggestions welcomed. 🍞 ❤️

Thanks to and for the Christmas hospitality ❤️🎅🏽 Also we love your dogs.

Here’s my favourite birthday boy, Bruce Dykstra, in his 84th! Tough as nails and funny as a barrel of monkeys, my Dad loves company, conversation and chuckles. Please join me in wishing him many more Happy Birthdays! 🥳

Today would have been Mom’s 80th birthday. She was the best. Wonderful and flawed, and full of love. Missing you! ❤️

One confusing thing about my visit to Dad’s Nederlander birthplace was the cheek by jowl existence of lavish palaces like this one with families like my ancestors who were working class, and who left Holland to improve their lives and potentially own property, something that was very tough to do at home in Nederhoorstdengurg.

Not pretending I understand the social structure or economics of this area, but the division between rich and poor appears very clear, perhaps more so in a country that is small in area, unlike my home of Canada where the same thing is happening, but often out of sight.