bread

Good Bread

September 14, 2009

The best bread is freshly-baked. This (only slightly-adapted) classic James Beard recipe is simple to make and hard to mess up. It’s a basic home-style bread that is best toasted and slathered with butter and jam.

1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 c. warm milk
2 Tbls. sugar
4 Tbls. melted unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1 Tbls. salt
5-6 c. all-purpose or unbleached white bread flour

In a small bowl, add yeast to 1/2 c. of warm milk, along with sugar, and stir well until yeast is completely dissolved. Allow yeast to proof*. Place remaining milk, melted butter, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in flour, one cup at a time, with a wooden spoon. After third cup, add yeast mixture. Continue stirring in flour until dough is pretty firm (probably 4-5 cups total). Remove dough to a floured board, and knead, adding more flour as necessary (to remove stickiness), until the dough is supple, satiny and unsticky. Grease another large bowl with butter or oil, place dough in it, turning it around to coat all sides with grease. Cover with a clean dish towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Punch dough down firmly 2- 3 times, return to floured board, and knead for several more minutes. Divide dough into two equal parts and shape into loaves. Place in well-greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise again until doubled in size. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove loaves from pans, return to the oven for a few more minutes to crisp up the sides. Remove from oven to cool on a wire rack.

*Note: To proof is to dissolve yeast in a warm liquid, then set it aside for 5-10 minutes until it swells and becomes bubbly. This technique proves that the yeast is alive and active and capable of leavening.

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Cream Biscuits

June 2, 2009

Delicious for breakfast, with sliced ham and mustard and, of course, with In-Season Strawberry Shortcake.

Makes 8 biscuits.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. sugar (optional)
2 tsp. baking powder
6 Tbls. cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 heavy cream

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Add butter pieces and cut into the flour with your (clean!) fingers or a pastry blender, until they are the size of small peas.

Set aside 1 Tbls. cream, and lightly stir in the remainder (using a fork) until the mixture just comes together. In the bowl, lightly knead (do not overwork) the dough a couple of times, then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and roll out to about 3/4-inch thickness. Using a small (1 1/2-inch diameter) glass, cut out biscuits. Re-roll scraps as needed.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly brush their tops with reserved cream. Bake for 17 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Tangy Buttermilk Bread

March 2, 2009

Years ago, buttermilk was the liquid left in the churn after making butter. Today it’s made by adding a bacteria culture to low- and nonfat milks, which thickens the milk and gives it a slightly tangy flavor. Buttermilk is used often in quick breads, muffins and pancakes. This loaf is a light and chewy bread with a hard crust. Terrific for toast and sandwiches.

James Beard’s Buttermilk White Bread

This recipe, adapted from Beard On Bread, makes one loaf.

2 packages active dry yeast
1 Tbls. granulated sugar
1/2 c. warm water
4 c. unbleached white or whole wheat flour
1 Tbls salt
3 Tbls. melted butter
1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Combine, yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl; allow to proof*. In a mixer with a dough hook attached, mix flour, salt, melted butter, and buttermilk together into a smooth dough. Add yeast mixture and knead with dough hook for about 5-6 minutes. Remove dough to a floured board and knead by hand for about 2 minutes.
Place dough in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the dough with butter. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise until more than doubled in size.

Punch down dough, remove to a floured board, and knead for two minutes. Form into a loaf (about 9×5″) by patting flat to a rectangle, folding in ends, and then folding in sides. Put in a greased 9 x 5 x 3″ bread pan, cover, and place in a warm spot to rise again to double the size.

Bake in the center of a preheated 375 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes. Remove from pan, five minutes before cooling, and return loaf to oven to brown the bottom a bit. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack before slicing.

*Note: To proof is to dissolve yeast in a warm liquid, then set it aside for 5-10 minutes until it swells and becomes bubbly. This technique proves that the yeast is alive and active and capable of leavening.

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Homemade Pizza Dough or Herb Bread: Version 2

January 29, 2009

Adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters, this recipe works well in a home kitchen. Our kids love stretching the dough and it can also be formed and baked as a flat crusty focaccia with herbs. So much better than any crust we have bought already made in the store. Be sure to find a warm place for it to rise.

Makes one focaccia or two 10-inch pizzas

2 tsp. dry yeast
3 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 c. white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. olive oil

Stir together yeast and 1/2 c. lukewarm water. Add 1/4 c. unbleached flour and 1/4 c. rye flour to the yeast. Mix well. Let sit for about 30 minutes, until bubbly.

In another bowl, mix together 3 1/4 c. unbleached flour and salt. Stir this into the yeast mixture with 3/4 c. cold water and 1/4 c. olive oil.

Mix well by hand or in an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. If working by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured board for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too wet or sticky, add a little more flour but only enough to make a soft slightly sticky dough. If using the mixer, knead until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t make it too complicated and get caught up in this step. Bread making should not be that intimidating.

Put dough in a large bowl and let stand for about 2 hours (or longer) in a warm spot (we often place our bowl in the oven).

Preheat oven to 500. Remove dough from bowl and separate into two balls. Flatten the dough into a disk and gently stretch into roughly a round 10-inch diameter. Brush the dough with olive oil and top with your favorite ingredients, such as chopped garlic, tomato sauce, cheese, mushrooms, sausage, red onion, herbs, anchovies, sautéed greens, spinach…. Slide the pizza on a baking sheet or stone and bake for about 10 minutes until the crust is brown.

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A Weekend Breakfast Treat

November 24, 2008

In France, it’s called pain perdu, meaning “lost bread”. It originated as a way to revive stale bread and it is a favorite weekend breakfast treat in our houses regardless of whether the bread is a day or two old, or still fresh. Some leftover Thanksgiving pumpkin puree lead us to this sticky, sweet version that is deceptively simple and delicious. Serve it with really good sausage on the side for your visiting weekend guests.

Recipe: Pumpkin French Toast

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Grilled Pizza with Sausage, Smoke-dried Tomatoes and Arugula

July 28, 2008

We’ve always wanted to try grilled pizza. Our latest Cook the Book Club pick, Mario Batali’s new Italian Grill gave us the needed inspiration. You can also try other or more toppings, such as black kalamata olives, red onion, or artichokes. So fun and so delicious. We made them with the entire family.

Makes 3 8-10-inch pizzas

Serves 6

3 balls of homemade pizza dough
3 c. quick pizza sauce
1 lb. chicken or pork Italian sausage
2 oz. smoke-dried tomatoes, or sun-dried
2 balls fresh mozzarella
Parmesan cheese, shaved
1 lb. fresh arugula
olive oil
lemon
sea salt or kosher salt

Prepare Toppings:
Make quick pizza sauce. Remove sausage from casing, place in saute pan with a little olive oil and cook until brown. Tip: Let the meat brown before you stir it around otherwise, the meat sticks to the pan. When done, crumble, place in a bowl and let cool. Re-hydrate smoke-dried tomatoes by letting them steep in hot water for about 20 minutes then chop into small slivers. Grate fresh mozzarella.

Grill Pizza:
Turn on grill to hot and remove any upper racks. You will need lots of space. Roll out homemade pizza dough until flat using a floured rolling pin. Do not pinch the edges. It should be like flat bread. Rub with olive oil. Place dough on a large plastic chopping board, lift and place directly on the grill. Let cook until the dough starts to bubble and bottom browns about 1-2 minutes. Quickly turn down the heat to medium and turn using tongs to let the other side cook for about a minute until crisp. Remove from grill using tongs and turn down heat to low. Place dough on large chopping board and scatter toppings, starting with sauce (don’t add too much or the dough will become soggy) then grated mozzarella cheese, followed by sausage, slivers of smoke-dried tomatoes, and shaved Parmesan. Return to the grill, close the lid and let cook for another couple of minutes over low heat until cheese is melted and toppings are warm. Tip: It can be difficult to slide the topped pizza on and off the grill. Solicit someone to help.

To serve, place pizzas on wooden chopping boards, cut into large pieces and pile high with fresh arugula tossed in a little lemon, olive oil and salt. Drizzle with a little olio piccante.

NOTE: The pizzas can be kept warm in a low oven while cooking.

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Homemade Pizza Dough: Version 1

July 28, 2008

This is a simple recipe for pizza dough that worked well in our kitchens and has a wonderful taste. Be sure to roll it very thin.

Makes 3 8-10 inch pizzas

1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. fresh yeast
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbls. olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 2/3 c. lukewarm water

Place flour, yeast, salt, sugar in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. While running, slowly add oil and water and knead on a slow speed until dough is smooth. Divide dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp towel and let rest in a warm area for about 2 hours.

Roll out dough using a floured rolling pin until it is very thin. Do not pinch the edges. It should be like flatbread. And, don’t worry about the shape of the pizza, oval, rectangular or both. If you get a hole, pinch the dough back together.

Once rolled out, rub with olive oil before baking or grilling.

Note: If you don’t have time to make your own, try the pizza dough from Trader Joe’s it is the best pre-made version we have tasted.

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Sage Flatbreads

July 14, 2008

(from Mario Batali’s Italian Grill. Try them with turkey sausages, caramelized onions, and good mustard).

3 1/4 c. white whole wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 Tbls. salt
1 Tbls. sugar
2 1/2 Tbls. finely minced fresh sage
1 c. water
1/4 c. dry white wine, at room temperature
2 Tbls. plus 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and sage. Mix well. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add warm water, wine, and olive oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir wet ingredients into dry until mixture is too stiff too stir, then mix with your hands in bowl until dough comes together and pulls away from sides of bowl.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn dough out. Knead gently, dusting work surface lightly with more flour as necessary, for 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth, elastic, and only slightly sticky.

Oil a large clean bowl, add dough, and turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, set in a warm part of the kitchen, and let dough rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Gently punch down dough, turn out onto lightly floured cutting board or work surface, and cut into 10 pieces. Roll each piece under your palm into a ball, and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover loosely with oil plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 more minutes (this time the dough will not double in size).

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

On a lightly floured surface, using a floured rolling pin or your hands, roll or press each ball of dough into a 6-inch round. Place rounds on the hottest part of grill and cook for 60-90 seconds (or until golden brown on that side). Turn over and grill until second side is also done (another 60-90 seconds). Let rest until ready to serve. You can reheat them by putting them back on the grill for a minute or so to warm.

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What’s Grillable?

July 14, 2008

Baked goods don’t generally get much grill time, but even the most inexpensive charcoal grill can bake all types of bread. The easiest are made with the basic yeast dough used for pizzas. These sage flatbreads are a wonderful accent to a summer cookout, the smoke and fire impart a delicious flavor. Super-easy, — and because they work with just about anything (grilled veggies, fish, and meats) — we made them up on the mountain and served them with mildly spicy Italian sausages, grilled corn, and a watermelon salad.

Recipe: Sage Flatbreads

Check out Italian Grill by superstar chef Mario Batali.

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Ribollita

December 11, 2007

(from Italian Country Cookbook by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray)

Serves 10

1 lg. bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 bunches celery, chopped
1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
4 med. red onions, peeled and chopped
4 Tbls. olive oil
1 28-oz. can peeled whole, plum tomatoes, drained
4 1/2 lbs. cavolo nero or Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1 1/4 lbs. dried cannellini beans, cooked
2 loaves stale ciabatta or other rustic Italian bread, crusts removed, sliced or torn
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-reggiano, optional

In a large saucepan, saute parsley, garlic, celery, carrots, and onions in oil for about 30 minutes, until flavors combine. Add tomatoes and continue to cook on gentle heat for another 30 minutes. Add cavolo nero or chard and half the cannellini beans with enough of their cooking liquid to cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

In a food processor, puree remaining beans and add to soup with just enough boiling water to make soup liquid. Add bread and a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. As exact amounts are not possible, you must balance amount of liquid to bread so that the soup is very thick.

Serve with grated parmesan, if desired.