The Half Cup...

Sicilian Bread

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:24:44 -0500

If at first you don’t succeed, TRY, TRY AGAIN!! And it’s been a lot of trying but here is Sicilian Bread . . .

Recently Jean wrote asking me about how and with what breads do I use my starter. You may remember my post about Double or Nothing Bread where I got tired of throwing away perfectly good flour and water (toss off) and made bread by feel.

Yesterday I started with a recipe out of Carol Field’s The Italian Baker just about the time I was thinking “It’s been a while, I need to feed my starter.” And there I was again faced with “toss off.” Now, if my name were Susan and I had a blog called WildYeast, I would have gone about this in a very measured way. I would have accounted for the water and the flour in the starter and related it to the amounts called for in the recipe. Did I do that? Ah, well, no. My name is not Susan.

I do love her blog and find it incredible sometimes to go there and see how alike we can be. A recent post by Susan Rule #1: Do What Works took the words right out of my mouth! I always try to follow my own advice and listen to everyone’s advice but I believe passionately that the only advice that’s any good is what works for me. Something else entirely different may work for you and that is good advice for you.

Enough ramble, onto the bread.

Faced with toss off and a straight method dough, I decided I’d like to try using some of the toss off in the recipe for Pane Siciliano (Sicilian Bread). Susan would have accounted for the water and flour in the toss off like she did in Adventures in OTiS. But, since my name is Tanna and not Susan, here’s the way I did it.

Pane Siciliano (Sicilian Bread)
adapted from The Italian Baker by Carol Field

70 grams starter
1/2 cup water room temperature
166 grams (1 cup) King Arthur Durum flour

Mixed to incorporate liquid; cover and left at room temperature for 2 hours.

Pre-ferment above
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon malt syrup
1/2 cup water at room temperature
250 grams (1 1/2 cup) King Arthur Durum flour
150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) unbleached All Purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon yeast

I whisked together all the dry ingredients.
I mixed the preferment and the olive oil, malt syrup and additional water. Then I added the whisked together dry ingredients one half cup at a time until I got a beautiful silky soft dough. I had one cup left over dry flour mix.
I covered the dough and allowed it to rise at room temperature, doubling in volume in 90 minutes.
I cut the dough in half and rolled each half into a long snake and then shaped it into two traditional loaves. It took an additional 60 minutes of rising time.
I baked the loaves at 425° for 10 minutes. Spraying the oven with water mist three times during that first 10 minutes. After that 10 minutes, I turned the oven down to 400° and continued to bake the loaves for an additional 22 minutes.
These made a slightly sweet tight crumb loaf. Very delightful.
The shape was very simple to do but great presentation.
Have a yeast bread or something made with yeast bread? You may want to check out Yeast Spotting at Susan’s place.

COMMENTS ARE WORKING AGAIN . . .

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:52:36 -0500

This was not the twist I had in mind. Until Apple gets things sorted out, comments are not working here. Assuming that I am able to change this post and publish it. I will republish the Sicilian Bread when things are working again. I hope that is soon ;0))
I hope you will return then.

And now we can continue our conversation!

Tuna Steak - Paper Chef

Sun, 6 Jul 2008 00:14:51 -0500

Once again it is time for Paper Chef, this is # 31! Started by Owen at Tomatilla and now continued by Ilva of LucullianDelights, this Paper Chef will be judged by Hank at HunterAnglerGardenerCook .

The first three ingredients to cook with this time around were randomly picked from a list: fresh oregano, chickpeas (or chickpea flour) and walnuts. Hank then threw in the wild card ingredient: fish steak.

When I first started seeing Paper Chef it struck me as a really odd way to cook or challenge yourself. When I finally got up the courage to give it a go, I surprised myself with how much fun I had. Now, I’m thinking maybe this is just the more formal way of cooking like we often do. I think many of us walk into the kitchen with no plan, look through the fridge and pantry and come up with a dinner menu. So maybe Paper Chef is not so different. It’s fun. I’d recommend you give it a go.

So . . . here’s what I did with
fresh oregano from my garden
walnuts & fresh oregano
chickpeas
tuna (fish) steak

To the four mandatory ingredients I also added: spinach sprayed with balsamic vinegar, leeks, garlic, salt & pepper.
I sautéed the leeks in olive oil and then added the spinach, chickpeas, garlic, some fresh oregano, turned the flame very low, put the lid on and let it steam.

I heated a grill pan very hot, brushed it with olive oil after it was hot. Salt & pepper on the tuna steak and popped them into the grill pan.
I turned it when I could see the tuna turning white on the bottom. Sprinkled some walnuts and oregano on top and let it start turning white on the other side. These were almost 2 inches thick so I did give them a moment on two edges before plating them on the spinach.
Yes, this looked fantastic and tasted delicious. Next time I’ll add just a dash of cinnamon to the spinach.
If you want healthy and wonderful: this is it!!
And to make it perfect, you might add a salad like this one.

And now I’m off to do some blog reading, I’ve been missing you all.

4th of July Buns or Rolls

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 05:10:25 -0500

I really do love and appreciate what long cool rising times and sponges, barms and starters do for all kinds of bread but sometimes you need a recipe that’s good (much better than store bought) but doesn’t take 10 days to prep all those sponges, barms, starters and what not. Sometimes you just want a bread that you can knead and then roll out of the oven in something like 2 or 3 hours. I know that’s long for some folks but that seems like fast bread time to me.

When I told my friend last week “I’ll make the buns for the hot dogs and hamburgers for the 4th”, I intended to come home and give a go to a great recipe that took two days with my starter in residence. Ah...4, yes you guessed it LIFE took over and that plan is now out. That recipe goes back onto the Must Try List.

I found a recipe that looked good and ready in 3 hours in Linda Collister’s Bread: from sourdough to rye. (Sound familiar Lynn?)

I did change things just a little: used some buttermilk in place of some of the milk and used some white whole wheat flour for the all purpose. Whatever I did and the recipe, these were wonderful enough that Gorn loved them and said they were much better than store bought! We’ll be having them again.

4th of July Buns
Hamburger & Hot Dog
adapted from
Linda Collister’s Bread: from sourdough to rye

200 grams all purpose flour
200 grams white whole wheat
200 grams bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup skim milk
1 egg lightly beaten

Mix flours, salt, sugar and yeast in bowl. Whisk so they are evenly disbursed. I grated 3 tablespoons of frozen butter into the flour and fluffed with a plastic dough scraper.
Mix milks and egg.
Mix wet and dry. Turn onto counter and knead until smooth and soft dough is formed. Dough was not sticky but slightly tacky. I added maybe two extra tablespoons all purpose flour.

Place in oiled bowl, cover and allow the double in volume. Mine took about 2 and a half hours.
I divided the dough into two pieces: half to become hot dog rolls, the other half to become hamburger buns.
One half I rolled into a log and cut into 8 rounds for hamburger buns.
One half I divided into 8 pieces and rolled into 8 logs to become hot dog rolls.
Cover all those little ones and allow to rise to soft pillowy babies. Mine took about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Brush the tops with buttermilk or butter and sprinkle or not. I sprinkled mine with sesame seeds and black sesame seeds. Next batch I’ll use all black sesame seeds.
Bake for 5 minutes at 450°. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue to bake another 5 to 10 minutes. Mine took the 10 minutes. To keep the crust soft, cool on wire rack and cover with dry tea towel. I guess you could go over the top and brush with butter but I was happy with just the buttermilk before baking.
Best used within 24 hours or freeze for a month.
Now I’ve got to set the table and bake a cake and make spring rolls. My sorbet syrup is chilling. The neighbors bring the burgers, hot dogs, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, catsup, mustard, pickles potato salad and one sorbet.
We did have to try these out before serving them. I can tell you they are first class excellent!

Happy 4th of July!

Texas Carrot Salad In Ilva’s Italian Style

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:56:25 -0500

Do you know HotM? It’s organize by three of my very favorite folks: Joanna, Ilva and Michelle with Ilva being the hostess this month. Tomorrow is the round up here and here.

With Heart Healthy Salads as the theme for June, I was sure I’d have several to post before the month was out. Yes, well I know you all know how that goes. I didn’t. The next thing I knew I saw this on Ilva’s site and I’m thinking I’ve blown it again. Her salad looked so good, I made it the next night and then sent her an email to say thank you. Yes, I tweaked it a tiny bit but it was really Ilva’s salad.

I got a very excited note back from Ilva telling me it looked fantastic and was it my entry for HotM? A . . . well no, it’s your salad Ilva. Obviously we both got a good laugh out of that and called each other some silliness about it. Then I got to thinking could I change it enough that it would be not the same salad but a salad in the style of hers.

This is the result. It’s how bloggers and friends with good spirits bounce goodness and laughs with each other. Is it really totally different? Maybe it’s not totally different. Is it really worth a post? I think the experience is worth it. It was excellent and just carried on the fun. It is wonderfully healthy!

Texas Carrot Salad in Ilva’s Italian Style

1 carrot per person grated into strings

small zucchini grated into stings
1 peached sliced
20 rounds sliced Anaheim pepper slices
good splashes of sesame seeds & Aleepo pepper

Dressing
juice of half orange
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
strip 2 twigs lemon thyme and crush leaves
salt to taste

Mix dressing ingredients together and toss with carrot, zucchini strings, peach slices, pepper, sesame seeds and Aleepo pepper.

Serving
in a bowl lined with baby spinach

I’m now just curious as to how many salads you could come up with In Ilva’s Italian Style.

DB Danish Dough

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:04:16 -0500

I really don’t know where to start with this one. Let’s try to be business like about it shall we.

Yes, it is another Daring Baker Challenge. Twenty for me, twenty-three all total!

Our quiet and proper host and hostess this month are the Lovely KellyPea at Sass&Veracity and Ben at What’sCooking. I did these Brioche Doughnuts from the same book they’ve chosen this month’s recipe from. The recipe title, Danish Dough, is rather unassuming.

Danish Dough is a modified laminated dough. Puff Pastry maybe the ultimate laminated dough but even with only four turns the Danish Dough stays interesting because it throws yeast into the equation. It is an excellent introduction to laminated dough and Sherry Yard’s recipe is well written and straight forward to follow.

DANISH DOUGH  Adapted from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking
Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough
 For the dough (Detrempe)  1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/2 cup whole milk 1/3 cup sugar Zest of 1 orange, finely grated 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped 2 large eggs, chilled 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 3-1/4 cups (446 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt  For the butter block (Beurrage) 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter 1/4 cup (44 grams) all-purpose flour

I mixed by hand the Yeast and milk, then added sugar, orange juice & zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla beans and eggs.
I used the kitchen aid dough hook as I added the flour (whisked with the salt) a cup at a time. The flour should we well encorporated and the dough smooth. This took about 4 minutes. Dust ball with flour to prevent sticking.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Beurrage
For the butter block: I used the paddle attachment on the kitchen aid to combine the butter and flour; scrapped down the sides of the bowl 4 times until the mix was lump free and smooth. Leave at room temp.

Turning the dough with Beurrage:
After the detrempe has chilled at least 30 minutes between each turn (or rolling into 18 X 13 inch, 1/4 inch rectangle),
turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Keep the dough lightly flour dusted as it does tend to sticky.

FIRST TURN: Spread butter over 2/3’s of the rectangle, the center and right third. Fold the left third onto the middle third and then the right third onto the other two. Wrap in plastic and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

TURNS 2 - 3 - 4
 Place the dough lengthwise on a lightly flour dusted counter with open fold ends to your right and left. Roll out to the 18 X 13 inch 1/4 inch thick size again - no more butter now. Fold into thirds: the left third onto the middle third and then the right third onto the other two. Wrap in plastic and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes between each rolling.

After the fourth (final) rolling, wrap in plastic and return to the refrigerator for at least 5 hours or overnight. I left overnight. If you don’t plan to use it within 24 hours, you may freeze it. To freeze: Roll dough to 1 inch thick, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost 12 plus hours in the refrigerator. Keeps one month frozen.

By the fourth rolling the rectangle had really pretty straight 90 angles!

At this point you have a fantastic pastry dough with endless shaping possibilities (see any pastry book for possibilities). Daring Bakers were ask to make at least one Danish Braid (the full recipe makes dough for two).

Brush with an egg wash, cover (now people I cover my breads like this with a large clear plastic box, if you use plastic wrap, spray it with Pam so that it won’t stick and deflate the dough when you remove it) and let rise at room temperature till almost double in size, it will feel light to the touch. This might take 2 hours. In my kitchen, remember it’s June, it’s Dallas and it was 98° outside, 80° in my kitchen, it took just 75 minutes.

I made the recipe for apple filling that was given. Kelly and Ben both have it on their sites. I found this recipe apple filling way to thin and would try something different next time. Lovely flavor though.

It’s a beautiful and impressive braid but it’s not really a braid. Flip the ends in and then pick up the right and left tabs with your right and left fingers and fold them across. It looks so much harder than it really is.

Preheat oven to 400°.
Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans. Turn heat down to 350° and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

This is one you really want to try; you can master it. When you try it, I promise you’ll smile with surprise!

I inhaled these two little babies made with some little extra left out dough. The raspberry was absolutely incredibly the best!!

Regrets with this recipe:
I missed Kelly’s suggestion to use 16 cardamon pods and grind the cardamon fresh. I used ground from the bottle and the flavor was lost. In a sleep deprived state 3/4 teaspoon seemed like way too much. Use fresh, it will be much better.

I’ll make the next one with raspberries!

My friends, you can’t imagine how good this was for breakfast with our coffee this morning. Trust me you can not. Get in the kitchen and start your dough!!
NOW.

Thank you Kelly and Ben you were gracious host and hostess. You picked a fantastic recipe.

Val’s Meme

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:54:07 -0500

I have been tagged for a MEME by Bellini Valli at MoreThanBurnttoast.  1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?  Married Life - entertaining.
The only thing I’ve ever seen Pierce Brosnan in & liked him.
 2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
No Ordinary Genius: The Illustrated Richard Feynman by Christopher Sykes
Aloud to Gorn at night: Hidden History: Exploring Our Secret Past by Daniel J Boorstin
Next up: The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow that changed the course of WWII

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?

I haven’t played one in so long, I couldn’t say.

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE?

Cook’s Illustrated or Cooking Light depends which one come first

5) FAVORITE SMELLS?

Garlic, basil, sage, mint

6) FAVORITE SOUNDS?

Water lapping at the shore, water lapping on the hull of the sail boat across the Atlantic, the sound the sails make on the mast of the sail boat when tied up to the dock, birds singing in the morning, toads singing at night, my babies “talking” without words when they woke up happy in the morning

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

Water dripping from the ceiling. I guess that’s a sound but it does give me a really bad feeling.

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?

Let’s go for a walk. At least that’s my first public thought.

9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

MacDonald’s for coffee

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?

Brunhilda - it’s the only girl’s name that was discussed when I was pregnant.

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D......

How much is a lot?
I’d give $100,000 to each of several teachers the boys had over the years
I’d live with Gorn in Paris for 6 months, then in Italy for 6 months, then in Provence for 6 months, then in Australia and New Zealand for 8 months.
I’d invite 20 friends to cooking schools around the world.
I’d buy a house near our boys.
I’d float all the French canals in a barge with Gorn & we’d invite people to join us along the way.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?

What’s fast? Gorn says I do. I don’t think I do.

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

No. But I have a closet full of them.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?

I love watching a storm roll in across Lake Michigan. I love watching rain and lightening.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

Gorn bought me a 1952 old black VW (cost $300) with new motor that looked like somebody had beaten it with a hammer. It was great; ran like a top. I loved pretending to run out of gas with somebody new in the car and then you could flip the lever and have another gallon and go 50 miles on that last gallon. I never forgot to flip it back up when I filled the tank.
When we got married, he bought me a red VW convertible bug. Cost new $3500. Loved getting in that car when I felt down, put the top down and go. Always came back feeling renewed.

16) FAVORITE DRINK?

Pretty much any wine with Gorn in the back yard, on a Paris street corner, on our roof, on the water . . . you get the idea. I like the company, the setting and the wine.

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…

Bake more bread for people I love.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?

hehe, Of course I do. Just ask Sue.

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

What you see is me. There was a time I colored my hair. It just wasn’t me.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?

I don’t think I can.
Fulton, St Louis, Mo
Belleville, Mascoutah Ill
Dallas, Hondo, San Antonio Tx
Baton Rouge, L
Mobil, Al
Valaho Ca + several others
somewhere in NJ
I went to 4 first grades in a 12 month time

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Much of the Olympic games.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

Val has a great blog and good spirit! And I really like Be yourself...everyone else is taken... that she has on her blog! We agree.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?

wood, dust and a bed table

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??

Yes.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?

Depends if I slept last night.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?

Poached.

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?

A good book and time to read it. That’s not a place, yes I know, but reading transports.

28) FAVORITE PIE?

Pecan

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?

Peppermint.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

I am tagging the first 5 people who commented on my post when I started this. I hope they don't mind...even if they just take the time to visit I will be a happy camper!!
Lien at the blog Notitievanlien.
Katy at the blog SugarLaws
Karen at the blog BakeMyDay
Neil at the blog AtMyTable
Elle at the blog FeedingMyEnthusiasms

Wishing you a happy day!

Soft Garlic Knots

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:32:18 -0500

Garlic. You said Garlic. And then you said Bread. And then I said Count me in. And that’s when I found myself surrounded in an online rowdy (oh let’s never say raunchy) bake session with a bunch of wacked friends. Baking Soft Garlic Knots!
Um . . . these look like happy little boys & girls swimming along on their way to becoming knots.

The recipe can be found on the King Arthur web site but this is the recipe as I adapted it.

Dough
3 cups (14 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) Dry Milk
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon garlic granuoles
handful parmesan cheese grated with a microplane so its thin and fluffy
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) olive oil
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water*

*The dough felt a little dry to me and I added almost 2 tablespoons extra.

Glaze
6 cloves peeled, crushed garlic
6 tablespoons melted butter
I used this two ways. I first melted the butter with the garlic in it. Separated the garlic out to dip the dough ropes in but then added the garlic back in when I brushed the baked knots hot from the oven.

Dough: Whisk the dry ingredients together to prevent the potato flour from clumping when liquid is added. Stir in the olive oil and water, then mix and knead -- I did mine by hand -- to form a smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, until it's doubled in bulk. This took all of 40 minutes in my 80° kitchen.

Shaping: Divide the dough into 16 pieces, and roll each into a rope about 11 inches long.
I then dipped the rope into melted garlic butter (but I strained the garlic out).
Tie each rope into a knot, tucking the loose ends into the center.
I know you think this is the challenge part but it’s a knot, just tie it. Did you ever think that this used to be “hand cream”? Butter.
Place the knots on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise until very puffy looking. And they may take on some other characteristics . . .

Baking: Bake the knots in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. Mine took 18 minutes. They’ll be just lightly golden. Brush with the garlic butter when fresh and hot from the oven. Actually I brushed mine with the garlic butter 3 times, the knots just sucked it in. Try not to eat all 16 of them in the first hour.
Makes 16 garlic knots.
I can assure you that whatever characteristics they take on you really will have a difficult time not eating them all at once.
Now about green garlic. That’s it in the background of this page. It started life as ordinary and white. I crushed it in my garlic press and then microwaved it with the butter very gently. Lowest setting. Set it aside. When it came time to brush the knots hot from the oven. Yes it was green. You can read about why here and here.
So who did I bake with.
Not really a group, it’s more like a bunch of fun friends who have a very deep crazy striek.

Tieing themselves and me in knots were Lisa, John, Tartelette, Sara, Mary, Chris, Kelly, Marce, Ivonne, Stephanie, Ben, and Laura Rebecca. And that’s a baker’s dozen.
If you haven’t baked or cooked with a small group on-line (Skype, Chat or whatever you have). I can highly recommend it. Look around and I imagine you’ll find a few folks you might really enjoy. Invite them over for a time in you kitchen. And let the games begin.
Right now this party’s over.

BreadChick’s Dark Onion Rye

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:08:03 -0500

Ladies and gents, we played this month. Some of us played hooky. Some of us played house hunting hiatus. And then some of us played in the Bread Baking Babes Test Kitchen!

Testing can raise your anxiety level, like in school. Testing Mary’s rye recipe in the BBB’s Test Kitchen raises only bread, tickles your funny bones and makes for a higher number on the scale if you don’t add a mile to your daily walk. OK, OK. Add two miles. OK. OK.

Business for just a moment . . . This month’s Kitchen of the Month: Mary (aka Breadchick, there are others but perhaps we oughtn't to go there) at TheSourDough. That link will get you Mary’s post on the bread, the recipe for the starter and the bread and how to be a Bread Baking Buddy by July 6 and get a badge for same.

Testing Mary’s recipe was a great opportunity to put it all together. It needed following the recipe and then applying experience and experimentation. This recipe really called for stretching our experience with the differences in flours and we learned rye is not easy to define.

First Baking:
I first used what I had in my kitchen. That was Arrowhead Mills Organic Rye Flour. And I used the onion powder as Mary had written in the recipe. I always wonder what will happen with only starter and NO added yeast but this little baby just rises at every corner.

Set to rise
At 9 AM

Finished rise
At 11 AM

Set to rise

Finished Rise

I got a lovely light colored tasty loaf. The onion smelled wonderfully heady fresh from the oven but totally disappeared by the time the bread was cooled. The crumb was nicely tight. The crust was too thick and tough.

Second Baking:
Now, I had found a rye flour labeled Dark Rye (stone ground) from Bob’s Red Mill. AND I had determined I would try fresh onions. If you’ve ever sweated or caramelized onions for French Onion Soup (like Karen & I did) you know there is a LOT of WATER in raw fresh onion. What I didn’t want to happen by adding the onion flavor with fresh onions was to add additional water.
I wasn’t after browning or adding oil so I used a non-stick skillet and the least amount of oil possible. On medium heat allow the onions to sweat the water out. Set the onions aside to get cold.
The difference in flour colors. Not much.
The bread baked up with wonderful onion smell and great flavor. The crumb was tight and not soggy but properly moist. The crust was again too tough and thick for me.

Third Baking
I baked the same as the second but lowered the oven temperature. Same great flavor on the inside and a slightly less tough and less thick crust.

Fourth Baking:
Yes, I did. Mary was twisting my arm (she revised the recipe). Adding just a touch of butter and baking at lower temperatures produced the great flavor and a much improved crust!
This is really exceptional rye flavor!
The biggest caution is to let this loaf cool. Hot bread, especially hot rye bread holds a huge amount of moisture and is still cooking when it’s just out of the oven.
I left a thermometer in the loaf and it didn’t reach room temperature for 8 hours.

Breadchick’s Dark Onion Rye
Total Time for Recipe: 2 days (does not include the time needed to build a starter)
Results in one (1) boule
Day 1: You will feed your starter 2 times on the first day; once in the morning and once about 2 - 4 hour prior to making the sponge.
First Feeding: Stir in any hooch and DO NOT TOSS ANY OFF. Feed the starter 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup AP flour.
Second Feeding: Stir in any hooch and divide the starter into two equal parts. Put one part away (This is your Mother Starter) and feed the other part 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup AP flour. Wait 2 - 4 hours and then make the sponge. (Note: I make the sponge right before I go to bed as it needs about 8 hours of fermenting time)
Making the Sponge:
In large bowl combine 1 cup active starter 3/4 cup rye flour 3/4 cup Bread flour (12% + gluten) 1/2 cup water
Cover and let ferment 8 - 10 hours overnight
Making the Dough:
You can use a stand mixer or do this by hand.
Combine: Sponge 1 1/2 Tbsp dark molasses (or if you can’t find molasses, use Treacle or 1 Tbsp Lyle syrup and 1 Tbsp strong dark coffee) Note: don’t use Blackstrap molasses as this will give the bread a bitter taste. 2 Tbsp honey 2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
and mix until smooth.
To sponge mixture add: 1 3/4tsp salt 3/4 cup sweated fresh onions 2 heaping tsp caraway seeds (optional) 1 cup Dark Rye or Pumpernickel flour (100% Rye flour) 1/2 cup bread flour
Note: Use 3/4 cup of rye flour and 3/4 cup of bread flour if using European rye flour
Mix on low speed until a shaggy wet dough is formed.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup dark rye, 1/2 cup medium rye, and 1/2 cup bread flour. Using the dough hook of your stand mixer, on low speed, add rye flour mixture to shaggy dough 1/2 cup at a time until dough forms ball that pulls away from the bowl and is firm but still slightly tacky to the touch.
If you are doing this by hand, the dough ball will be firm and smooth but will stick your hand if you squeeze the dough.
On a floured counter (I use medium rye flour to flour the counter), give the dough a few hand kneads (about 2 - 4 minutes) and let rest for 15 minutes. Give one last knead, dough should be elastic feeling and not stick to your hands but will feel tacky. If it sticks to your hands, knead in additional rye flour until dough is firm but ever so slightly tacky.
In large, lightly greased covered bowl, let dough rise until almost double, about 4 hours.
Forming the loaf:
This bread works best if formed into a large round loaf. Gently deflate risen dough and gather into a boule. Place, pucker side up, in a very well floured brotform or banneton and loosely cover. Let rise until dough fills form and rises slightly above.
If you don’t have brotform or banneton, you can improvise by placing a very well floured tea towel in a large colander or other large round dish.
Baking the Bread:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If using a stone or tiles, pre heat the oven with the stone/tiles in the oven. Gently unmold risen loaf onto a flat baking sheet prepared with cornmeal dusted parchment paper or onto a cornmeal prepared peel. You may slash the loaf is you wish. Mist top of loaf with water and gently slide bread into the oven and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 375 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes or until inside temperature of loaf reaches 200 degrees.
Let bread cool for 4 - 6 hours before slicing. This is very important as rye breads will turn to a gummy mess if they are sliced before completely cool.

Kefta Varnishkas - Paper Chef

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:59:41 -0500

If you don’t know what PaperChef is, I’m happy to tell you it now has it’s own web site and you can learn all about it HERE. Our lovely host this month is Tammy at FoodOnTheFood because she won last’s months PaperChef.
I think I first became aware of PaperChef at LucullianDelights, no actually I know I did. I found it very intimidating to see a list of ingredients and then try to think about making a dish with them. Seemed like it took a lot more creativity than I had. But for whatever reason in February the list grabbed me and I gave it a try. A little scary but fun. I tried it again in March and eventually that turned out very tasty and made me pretty happy.

With this one I’m really beginning to enjoy the challenge and myself. The Judge this month “has banged the ladle on the kitchen table” (I do love that) and announced the four ingredients:
English Peas
Leeks
Buckwheat
Lamb
The last two challenges I really had to ponder ingredients but this one rather flew into my head - very unusual for me. I immediately remembered a buckwheat groat dish I used to fix for the boys when they were young. As I remembered it, it seemed it might make an excellent bed for a lamb. If you really examined this dish you might say it’s a strange combo as the Kaftas come from Morocco and the Varnishkas from Russia but it worked well even with the English Peas!

Lamb Kefta
adapted from
Arabesque by Claudia Roden

1 pound ground lamb (mine was 90% lean)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely minced onion
4 garlic cloves through a garlic press
large hand full of cilantro chopped
large hand full of mint chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 inch knob of fresh ginger grated
salt & Aleppo pepper (or red chili flakes)

Mix everything altogether. Traditionally this is mixed to a paste, I just forked it to mix well.
I used this handy dandy baller to make perfect sized mini patties. Somehow this really makes the balls or patties so much easier to me.
I used no extra oil or fat on the non-stick griddle. Recipe directions put these under the broiler.

Varnishkas
adapted from
Diet for a Small Planet
by Frances Moore Lappe

2 tablespoons olive oil
mushrooms
3 celery stalks chopped
1 large onion chopped
****
peas
leeks
broccoli
fennel
parsnip grated
potato
bell peppers
tomato
****
1 cup kasha/buckwheat groats
1 egg
2 cups veggie stock/broth
1 cup whole wheat pasta
salt & pepper
Garnish/Season: Cilantro, parsley, basil.

You should get the idea that I do this with what I’ve got either in the pantry or in the fridge. The basic ‘rule’ here is: if you like it put it in. The 1 cup buckwheat makes enough for 4 to 6 depending on how much you add to it. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup soy grits to complete the protein but I was out and serving it with lamb so I had plenty of protein.

Saute the veggies and remove from skillet. I leave out the broccoli and add it at the very end when I reheat the dish to serve.

Add a touch more oil to the skillet. Toast the buckwheat groats in the skillet for a minute over medium heat. Gather the groats together in the skillet and pour the slightly beaten egg onto them and mix well. Stir the groats and eggs in the skillet until dry. Pour the stock over and cover. I usually turn the flame off here and leave it until I’m just about ready to serve.
To serve: Return the veggies to the skillet with the buckwheat groats, stir, add additional stock if needed and reheat. Garnish and season with basil, cilantro or whatever floats your boat. The slice of melon was genius on my part. My guest raved. It was great with the lamb.

And then they ate carrot cake . . . ah well that’s another story.

Today’s the last day to get your entry in. Check out Tammy at FoodOnTheFood in the next few days for the round up.
This was great fun Tammy!

Corn Bread

Sun, 8 Jun 2008 11:48:27 -0500

You will forgive me as I’ve fallen to musing. I mentioned in my last post, the Daring Bakers l’Opera Cake, Carmen is my favorite opera. I’ve been to a number of operas. My mother took care of that. La Boheme, Barber of Seville, Faust, Die Fledermaus, Marriage of Figaro, La Traviata, I went to them all when I was fairly young and very impressionable between about 10 and 13. But it was Carmen that won my young girl’s heart. Why you ask? And I asked myself.

I think as your children grow up, you often remember funny stories about them that embarrass them as they try on the guise of grown-up. But I knew and know that little boy who still lives in that young man now. I know I’ve seen my boys roll their eyes when I’ve done it. I know I’ve rolled my eyes when my mom & dad would bring up those stories.

Recently Alanna wrote a post here about a week-end she spent with some college friends of her mother’s and their daughters. These are her words that truly reverberated with me “Women in their 70s? In the ways that count most, they're the same women as in their 20s.“ Obviously ‘women’ in this case is a stand in for ‘any person’. Anyway it seems obvious to me.

As we grow-up, we may try to forget the little boy or girl that we were and somehow still are.

When I started thinking about the Opera Cake for the DBs, Carmen was the opera that came to me. I had to then seek out a copy. I had to play it over and over. The first notes made me a 10 year old again.

My mom was born in 1914; one of seven children. My grandfather played in a city band and all seven of the children played at least one instrument.

From a very early age my mom was self motivated to play the violin. She had teachers all along the way. There were some years of pregnancy, giving birth and young toddlers when she didn’t play or practice. When I started school she went back to practicing. Shortly after that she auditioned for the symphony in whatever city my dad was stationed. She was first violin (concert master) in Mobile and that was where she took me to see Carmen.

I think Carmen was the first Opera mom took me to. I remember it as a very magical evening. There were weeks of excitement leading up to the concert night. Mother made all my clothes (hers and my brother and sister’s as well). I remember the dress felt very special and grown up but I don’t remember anything about the dress now just the feeling it gave me. Mom made sure I knew the story of the opera, it’s history and something about the composer. Of course she practiced for hours everyday; the music grew into every space of my body and mind.

I loved the music but the magic of the evening was probably that I felt so very grown up. I not only went to the opera and felt that my mom was a very important player but then we went to dinner with the conductor & his wife and several other players and their spouses. It was an adult table and conversation and I was part of it.

I hadn’t thought of that evening or that very young girl for many years until I listened again to Carmen while doing the Opera Cake.

Well, that’s why & how Carmen came to be my favorite opera of all time.

Corn Bread, oh yes. I’ve discovered the most magnificent corn bread - that’s not corn bread sticks and they aren’t cornbread muffin stars - that I’ve ever had. It you are of the corn bread should be sweet variety then you probably need to read no further. This is savory rich fantastic corn bread.

Corn Bread
moderately adapted from the
Bread Baker’s Apprentice
by
Peter Reinhart

1 cup coarse cornmeal (polenta)
2 cups buttermilk
8 oz hot Italian Chicken Sausage
1 3/4 cup (230g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons (20g) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
36g brown sugar
3 large eggs (3/4 cup egg beaters)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter melted: divided use
3 ears corn, kernels cut off cob
1 Poblano or Anaheim pepper chopped finely

The night before: mix cornmeal and buttermilk, cover and leave at room temperature overnight. Before I went to bed it became clear I wasn’t going to be baking the next day so I put this into the fridge before I went to bed. I didn’t get back to it for 3 days. All was fine.

Saute the sausage and allow to cool. (Original recipe called for baked bacon.)

Preheat the oven to 350°
Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar.
Stir honey into melted 1 tablespoon butter; stir warm honey butter into slightly beaten eggs; mix all with the buttermilk soaked cornmeal and add in the corn kernels and pepper.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients until evenly distributed.

With 1 tablespoon butter in pan (9x12 or 12 inch square) place it in the hot oven to preheat the pan. When the pan is hot, remove it from the oven and pour batter in without delay - the edges will sizzle. Sprinkle the sausage pieces (or bacon if you’d rather) over the top and press them into the batter a bit if need be.

Bake 30 minutes, mine took closer to 50 and could have stayed another 5. I’ll use a pan or pans that I can get a slightly thinner bread next time. Additionally, the center of the bread should register 185°.

Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares but serve it warm. The next day this is incredible sliced and toasted with a poached egg on it.

I’ve reduced the fat (obviously so I could put it on top) by using the leaner sausage (without giving up any flavor); by dividing the butter between the batter and the pan (original recipe uses all the butter in batter and bacon fat in the pan); I also eliminated the fat in the eggs by using egg beaters.

Whatever fat I took out did not reduce flavor. This corn bread is spectacular!

Now I’m thinking of toasting a piece of this and turning it into at least an open faced tomato & avocado sandwich and if I’m lucky it’ll take a top and go on a picnic. That would be grand at an out door summer opera.

DB: Opera Cake . . .

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:01:33 -0500

We had Four Illustrious Hosts for the Merry Month of May. Our two now famous Daring Baker Founders: Ivonne at CreamPuffsInVenice and Lis at LaMiaCucina and Daring Bakers Fran at Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea at Whiskful. Thank you ladies, it was a challenge.

Our hosts have ask us to dedicate this month’s Opera Cake to Barbara of WinosandFoodies and I am oh so happy to do so. Barbara knows facing a challenge and is the creative force behind last month’s A Taste of Yellow which is supported by Lance Armstrong’s LiveSTRONG foundation.

Traditionally an Opera Cake is chocolate. The Merry Month of May is traditional to celebrate Spring and we were guided to create our Opera Cake in Lighter Spring flavors and colors. That’s usually the cause for great celebration among Daring Bakers. Give a Daring Baker that inch of freedom and they’ll take a mile. I’m sure many upon many Daring Baker blogs you’ll go to today will have gone that mile and then some. I on the other hand was struck with “Oh I wish this was chocolate” except for the time I was panicked and thinking “This is like an essay exam. You’re really supposed to know your stuff for that.” I’m an ace at multiple choice, essay exams are something else altogether.

The morning I’d agreed to bake with Ilva & Karen, the almond meal I’d so carefully bought and put away was not to be found. I found only about half what the recipe called for of almond meal and then some hazelnut meal (which was also allowed). Together the almond and hazelnut meal were only about 20 grams short. That worked but also resulted in a rather brown flecked cake. The cake layers were made of joconde - what’s that you ask? Me too.

As given on Baking911.com
JOCONDE: an almond sponge cake. This biscuit is named for the Mona Lisa (La Joconda in French). In addition to containing almonds, it differs from other sponge cakes by having whole eggs (rather than just yolks) beaten with sugar and ground almonds before the meringue is folded in. Joconde is baked in thin layers on baking sheets. Joconde is used to make linings for the outsides of charlottes, a traditional French raspberry mousse cake, and other Bavarian mousse cakes.

The recipe was long but it gave the details on all the parts and the assembly very well.

The syrup I made with two fresh peaches and a tablespoon of white rum. The peaches had great flavor but as a syrup it just didn’t have the same intensity, flavor rated low.

The vanilla buttercream: seems I’m safe to make buttercream, no problems. Vanilla beans (Thank You Lynn) make for an incredible flavor. Flavor rated very high.

White Chocolate Ganache/Mousse: I use super good white chocolate. Flavor rated very high.

The glaze: Recipe said to make it when you’re ready to finish the chilled cake. OK, I chilled the cake. Did that rush clean the house before company comes and did I finish the cake then . . . ugh . . . amm . . . no I did not. I went and soaked me weary bones in a warm tubby and totally forgot the glaze until the next morning and all the cake was eaten or given away by then.

So . . . no glaze on my cake. Did I make an Opera Cake? Maybe I just got started. It was cake. We ate it.

I wish you a very Happy Spring - if that’s what you’re into now. We’ve already launched into sweltering summer in Dallas.

But hey anytime you can have cake in the tree tops, it’s a happy good day.

Cheers to all from the top of my world.

Panzanella for Hot-M

Sun, 25 May 2008 16:15:47 -0500

Burpee’s sells 24 different basil seeds here. I think the most I’ve ever had growing in our Dallas backyard was about 10. One year I found one called lettuce leaf basil and it was wonderful in salads. I only found it the one year. This year I have lemon basil, Minuette basil - spicy, Red Rubin basil, Pesto Perpetuo basil - spicy & peppery, Purple Ruffle basil, Genovese basil and Cinnamon basil. The only basil I’ve found I’m not really fond of is Thai basil. In Dallas, I can count on most every basil plant growing into a small scrub size plant by the end of summer. None will survive the winter. I think my favorites are the cinnamon and the Genovese sweet but I’m very fond of the Red Rubin also.
What’s HotM? Heart of the Matter is a monthly event started by Joanna at Joanna’s Foods in an attempt to built up a wealth of heart healthy recipes.

You can read about HotM here and here. Since the aim is heart healthy cooking every month, I really do try to have a dish for this one but more often than not it just slips right passed me in a silent flash and the next month’s theme is up before I’ve gotten my thoughts straight. Not this time Michelle! Herbs! Spring has moved into summer here and that means the herbs and especially Basil are growing wild in my back yard. I may not enjoy the hot and humid conditions but these plants really do. I do enjoy the basil that grows so fast and thick! I do love passing the large size box of basil marked $5.99 in the grocery store knowing I can pick easily 5 times that amount and not have to go through the check out.

Panzanella has so many names: Bread Salad and Left-Overs Salad being two of the most common and well known. The name Panzanella is Italian and seems to have strongest roots in Tuscany but it’s mostly a peasant invention of necessity and so the recipes seem endless. Google ‘panzanella recipes’ and you get well over 82,000 hits. Basically what that tells me is that there really is no recipe.
The only mandatory ingredient is ‘stale, day old’ bread after that it’s what happens to find it’s way into your bowl. An early historical reference to the salad was in a poem by the Italian artist Bronzino in the 1500s. That would have been long before tomatoes had made it to Italy. So, originally the tomato was not in a Panzanella but today it’s probably considered an essential ingredient in the salad. I consider tomato essential in mine.

With a light dressing of oil and vinegar, you get a very happy heart healthy meal that at least the way I do it, keeps us in dinner and lunch at least twice. This is salad that is happy to be made ahead and only gets better the next day. I would never make this salad with out the basil being fresh. Believe me it is a star in this salad.
Here’s the way I made it for company.

My Dallas Kitchen Panzanella

Miche bread cubes toasted at 180° for 40 minutes
English cucumber - scraped of seeds, salted and let to pull out liquid
yellow & orange sweet bell peppers chopped
Anaheim pepper chopped
corn kernels cut from the cob and cob scraped for juices
capers drained
assorted basil leaves torn
garlic chopped
red onion chopped

Equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together an hour before your meal time.
Avocado chopped and added before serving
I am happiest when this lasts for the two of us two days and then a third for me.
This month’s Heart of the Matter is hosted by Michelle at The Accidental Scientist. There’s still time to submit your entry! You have till Friday the 30th to get a heart healthy herb recipe to her.

I’m off for lunch now!

BBB - SourDough: Poilane-Style Miche

Mon, 19 May 2008 15:18:03 -0500

How intimidated are you by pages and pages of a recipe? Do your eyes cross when you see more than two paragraphs? Do you suffer brain fade when a glance shows you the recipe goes for a second, third page? Now, mind you the ingredient list is short.

flour
water
and eventually
salt

But the directions, the details go on and on. Oh, yes, and the time line takes it into 6 and finally 7 days. Is that the point where you shut down? That’s just not going on in my kitchen!

Around our kitchen table this month, Sher What Did You Eat brought us the bread off the cover of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. If you have ever looked at the recipe for the Poilane-Style Miche, that’s just what you’d find. Well, actually you’d start reading the Poilane-Style Miche SourDough recipe on page 243 and immediately be refered back to page 230 for a cup of barm and from there you’d turn back to page 229 for the directions to get a cup of seed culture. And about then my head is spinning.

Now I’m going to tell you the BIG BREAD BAKING BABES SECRET ( it’s also the Daring Baker’s Secret, at least for me): Start at the begining and just keep going.

THIS BREAD IS PAINT BY NUMBERS EASY AND YOU CAN TAKE A MICHELANGELO LOAF OF BREAD OUT OF YOUR OVEN. And the taste, well the taste is divinely special.

Day One:
5 minutes to:
1 cup rye flour
3/4 cup water
Mix. Leave out on counter 24 hours.

Day Two:
5 minutes to:
Add & mix to Day One with
1 cup unbleached King Arthur high-gluten flour
1/2 cup water
Leave out on counter 24 hours.

Day Three:
5 minutes to:
Toss off half of Day Two, add and mix half with
1 cup unbleached King Arthur high-gluten flour
1/2 cup water
Leave out on counter 24 hours.

Day Four:
5 minutes to:
Toss off half, add and mix half with
1 cup unbleached King Arthur high-gluten flour
1/2 cup water

Allow to double in size between 4 & 24 hours Proceed to Mother Starter (Reinhart also calls this Barm) construction.

Day Five:
Mix 1 cup starter from Day Four with
3 1/2 cups King Arthur unbleached high-gluten flour
2 cups water
Mix well so that all flour is well hydrated.
Cover in large container and leave out about 6 hours until it is bubbly. Mine easily doubled. This is smelly stuff. When doubled release gases, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Stays ready for action for 3 days in the refrigerator.

In the book you’ll find several recipes to use this barm or Mother Starter for baking. The BBB baked the Miche. I baked one other which I will post about in a few days.

The day before you want to bake the Miche, you make a Firm Starter using 1 cup of the above Mother Starter (Barm). You can see why I got tired of all this toss off and made Double or Nothing Bread.

Day Six:
To make the Firm Starter
1 cup of above Mother Starter (Barm)
2 cups King Arthur Whole-Wheat flour
1/2 cup water
Mix well. Knead on the counter maybe 3 minutes until all the flour is well hydrated. Place dough ball in covered oiled container. Allow to rise and double in size about 4 hours in my 80° kitchen. When doubled, refrigerate overnight.

This is a large amount of dough. Reinhart says it is too much dough for all mixers except the Magic Mill. I kneaded this by hand and found it to be one of the easiest breads I’ve ever kneaded.

Bake Day Seven:
Remove the Firm Starter from the refrigerator.

Cut into pieces, the number is not important. You want to bring the dough to room temp so you’re looking to create surface area. Cover the pieces and leave on the counter about an hour.

The pieces will puff and feel lighter at the end of the hour.
I had to get my ladder to get my big bowl for mixing this dough.
This is stamped on the bottom of the bowl. Do you have one like it?

Final Dough:
7 cups King Arthur Whole-Wheat Flour
2 tablespoons sea salt
at least 2 1/4 up to 2 3/4 cups water
Firm Starter pieces from above
One mix, I used all 2 3/4 cups water. Another mix used only 2 1/4 cup water.
This is basically a whole wheat loaf except for the high-gluten flour in the starters and a really large amount of dough. Yet, this was a surprisingly easy dough to knead. I even did a very small window pane test. A window pane test: you pull off a small ball of dough, flatten it and then try to pull it thin enouth to see light through it like you would a window. You wouldn’t really expect to be able to this with so much whole wheat but I acutally was successful with it. No photo, as I was covered with too much dough. Have to work on that.
Oil the bowl and cover.
When the dough has doubled, you’re ready to shape the loaf or loaves.
One baking I divided the dough into three loaves and baked per the recipe. 500° oven to start, turned down to 450° for 25 minutes then 425° for the last 25 minutes. I wasn’t able to be home to take the loaves out of the oven. I believe they were over baked. The inside of the bread tasted beautiful. The crust was too thick!!
I baked again. Divided into only two loaves. Baked at 450° for 22 minutes and turned down to 400° for the last 25 minutes. Same great tasting bread, much nicer crust!!
BreadChick’s theory is it’s in the kneading. And I did knead this dough about 3 minutes less and I did have two slightly larger loaves but my theory is the oven temp was too high and too long with the first baking. And I’m sticking to it . . . for now.
I finally was really aggressive with my slasher (lame) and got what I think is my best so far.
I’m telling you this is really easy 5 minutes a day, for really impressive bread! And Kalyn it is all whole wheat!

I’ve listed our Bread Baking Babes just to the right in the side bar. Also, if you’re ready for a one step at a time sourdough adventure and a Bread Baking Buddy badge you have until 2 June to send Sher your e-mail - directions in the side bar.

And the photo in the background. Our neighbor’s cat visiting our pond.

Now, I’m going to enjoy some bread while I re-order some high-gluten flour and I want to try a new flour because who knows where the next recipe will take us.

Double or Nothing Bread . . .

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:35:47 -0500

Normally I’m not a gambling woman. But I just got tired of tossing - aka throwing away - good flour. The 1/2 cup water didn’t really bother me too much but the flour, that part was bugging me. It costs a more noticeable amount every time I buy a bag. And it’s good flour, good food, why should I throw it out?

Then I started asking myself “What would a pioneer woman living in the American West do with sour dough starter toss off?” She wouldn’t be tossing it off!! She’d probably bake bread with it!

Then I heard (sort of figuratively) Karen saying she let the feel of the dough tell her how to shape it. Then I really did hear myself saying “It’s water flour and a little salt. You’ll know by feel when it’s bread. What have you got to lose but a little bit more water and flour.”

And so I took what would have been toss off (170g) from a 3 day old starter I was bringing into this world and mixed it with
172g (more technically ml but it works)
100g white whole wheat
100g rye
and sat it to rest covered.

Added and kneaded
170g rye flour
3 tablespoons of flax

Left it to rest like this.

Came back to this

and added
100g water
170g bread flour
and a touch of salt

After a little more kneading and a really long time, I shaped it. And let it rise again a really long time.
I brushed it with buttermilk.

I got bread. Not a high rise bread.
Not a knock your socks off artisian bread. But good bread.

I got a loaf that was a little dense but with nice crumb and a gentle note of rye sourness.

I wasn’t throwing any good flour away. I was happy. We had bread. It’s gone. Must bake again now.