No-knead Bread

Dona Domata introduced us to this recipe over Christmas and we have been obsessed with it. It is so easy and the bread comes out really tasty. Also you don't have to knead the dough so it is perfect for the lazy bakers :) Marulka and Lokuma had also made delicious breads using this very basic recipe (see previous post).

Recipe (makes four 1 lb loaves):

1. 6.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour (i use 5 cups all purpose flour + 1.5 cups whole wheat flour)
2. 1.5 tsp salt
3. 1.5 tsp dry yeast
4. 3 cups lukewarm water (~ 100ºF)

Method:

In a large mixing bowl mix the yeast with the water until the yeast is all dissolved. Then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no dry patches left and the mixture is homogeneous. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for at least 2 hours.

Split the dough into four pieces. Take one piece and shape it into a rectangle, dust with flour and put it in the bottom of a 9'x6' pan. Leave the dough in the pan and let it raise for ~ 2 hours. Also, 20 min before baking, preheat oven to 450ºF and put an empty broiler tray at the very bottom tray of your oven that will be used for holding water. The remaining three pieces of dough you can put in separate zip-lock bags and keep it in the freezer for up to 14 days. Then when you want to bake a new batch, take out of the freezer, shape and place in pan and let sit for ~ 2 hours before baking it.











 

You can slash the surface of the dough with a sharp knife to get a more artisan looking bread.

Place the bread in the oven in the middle tray. Then VERY CAREFULLY pour a glass of water into the empty broiler pan that has been sitting in the bottom tray of the oven and be very careful not to get burned by the steam.

The steam from the water will make the crust really nice and crunchy. Bake for about 30 - 40 min or until the crust is nicely brown and firm to the touch. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting.














ENJOY!

Grissini (Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes)

Dona Domata reignited my passion for breadmaking with a groundbreaking no-knead & refrigerate approach that she shared with me over the holidays....and I am not the only one going gaga over homemade loaves of bread - fellow bloggers Lokuma, Plodova Salata and Slaninka have all started baking bread from scratch on a regular basis. Since Christmas, I have experimented with multiple whole grain recipes using the same method and have baked pizza, flatbread, crackers, foccacia, boule, pain d'epi, ficelle and just now...grissini.

                             

I won't go over the mechanics in detail here as I am told that MM and Slaninka will be sharing their tips and tricks for making artisan bread in 5 minutes in a detailed post ( stay tuned). Instead, I'd like to show you a quick idea for using your refrigerated dough whenever you don't feel like waiting 20-90 minutes for a proper bread rise or just want a crunchy snack in 15 -20 minutes flat...

Breadsticks are super easy to make and you can easily customize them to your liking - I sprinked mine with garlic salt and cayenne pepper for a little kick. I can imagine that they would be wonderful with a touch of parmiggiano regiano and some rosemary... I used a Bavarian-style whole grain pumpernickel bread dough which was fantastic but you can easily sub any of the ABin5 or HBin5 pre-mixed doughs...

Adapted from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups rye flour
2 1/1 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten ( I used Bob's Red Mill's gluten - thank you Lokuma!)
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 cups lukewarm water

If using a baking stone, allow for a 30 minute preheat to 400F, if not 5 min should be fine. Shape the dough into a ball using the cloaking method then roll the dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with salt and then cut into strips (you can vary the thickness and width of the strips depending on your taste - thicker / wider strips will yield chewy and doughy breadsticks, while thinner / narrower strips will result in crunchy grissini). Bake for 10 - 16 minutes depending on thickness and width.

ETL: 30-minutes Corn Bread

I can't wait to share this recipe with you. It was so good, I could've eaten the whole pan by myself. It is again this time of year, when I crave hot stews and warm breads. The fresh, (cold) salads are not on my mind anymore. I know, I know, it means packing a few pounds, but if that is the price, let be it. I won't fight it :)

Ingredients: 
16 squares
Adapted from Basil and Wine. Krystina knows good food. So far I cooked two of her recipes and they came out great.

• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned cornmeal or polenta
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp raw sugar
• 1 cup almond milk
• 3 tbsp canola oil. Per Marulka's suggestion, I'm reducing the oil next time, by replacing 2 tbsp oil with 2 tbsp apple sauce.
• 1 flax egg ( 1 tbsp flax seed + 2 tbsp water )
• 1 tbsp vinegar ( I used rice vinegar )

I used polenta bought from Whole Foods. As you see from the picture below, it is quite coarse, not that fine like corn meal. Next time I'll try using polenta from Golden Pheasant. It is even more granular.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and the wet ingredients (aside from flax egg) in another bowl. Add wet to dry then add flax egg and mix until the batter comes together.

Allow mixture to sit for about 5 minutes. This is the key to ultimate cornbread moistness.

Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pan. Shake and tap the pan to smooth out the batter if needed. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean out of the center.

  

 Serve with hot stew. I made chili, and the corn bread was just a perfect compilment. 

Holiday Sunflower Bread

This bread is named "Sunflower bread" because it looks like a sunflower. It is a traditional Bulgarian bread made for special occasions, like engagement parties, weddings, baby showers, or Christmas.

 I got the recipe from my mother in law and I've been making the bread for years.

INGREDIENTS:

Sponge:

• 2.5 tsp dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2-3 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sugar

Dough:

• 5 eggs
• 500 g yogurt
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 kg + flour. I used whole wheat organic flour from Costco.

Bread preparation:

• 125 g soft butter
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 yolk

In a small bowl mix the ingredients for the sponge. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place for 15 minutes, till the yeast rises.
In a big bowl, mix the eggs with the yogurt, salt, oil, vinegar, and pour the yeast mix to it. Start adding flour to the mix till you form the dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead the dough to form a smooth, round ball. You may need more than 1kg of flour, depending on the amount of the used liquids. The dough should be easy to knead, not very soft, but not very hard either. Place the dough in the bowl again, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile soften the butter in a microwave.  Grease a 13" pan with butter. 

  

 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter.You'll need a rolling pin to make the bread.

Cut some dough into a size of a tennis ball and set it aside. Divide the rest of the dough into three equal pieces and form three balls.

 With the rolling pin roll the 3 balls into 10-inch circles.

 

Spread  one third of the soften butter onto the first circle and place the second circle on top of it. Spread the other third of the butter on the second circle. Place the third circle on top of the second. 

Roll the three circles into a big 1/4 of inch thick circle.

Spread the rest of the butter over it. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the circle into 16 equal wedges.

Roll each wedge up, starting from the wide end and following one of the edges, as shown on the images below. 

Lay the rolls into the pan with the pointed tip to the center, spaced equally from each other.

Lightly press the small ball, you put aside at the beginning, into a small circle. Place the circle on the middle of the pan. The small  circle represents the sunflower head and the rolls are the leaves.

Beat the egg yolk with 1/3 tsp olive oil and lightly brush the bread with the mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size and dough barely springs back when poked with a knuckle, 45 to 75 minutes.

Adjust the oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Cover the pan with foil for the last 5-10 minutes, if needed,  to prevent the bread from burning and make sure it is well baked.

Cover the bread with a towel and let it cool in the pan for 1/2 hour before serving.

The BEST Soft Pretzels!!!

More Live Blogging: Astounding Pizza Bianca

Just out of the oven - SM and I devoured a couple of pieces right away! It's amazing.

Muhlio, Slaninka, come by and get some while it's warm!

Just out of the oven: Amazing multigrain dinner rolls

A picture is worth a thousand words

Easy breezy cream biscuits on a Sunday morning

I am convinced that Sunday morning always calls for a treat (especially after a week filled with mostly vegetarian meals)...The heavy cream in my fridge, which by the way was a few days post its expiration date, was calling my name. My initial thought was to use it in a quiche since I have two frozen Whole Foods tart shells on hand but I realized that I had ran out of eggs.

One of the quickest and easiest recipes that uses cream that I know of is the Cooks Illustrated cream biscuits recipe. It takes 20 min tops - you mix the ingredients, make the dough and cut the biscuits in the amount of time it takes your oven to heat up to 450 degrees. Then you pop them in the oven and 15 minuts later you have light and airy delights that melt in your mouth...

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour ( I have modified the Cooks Illustrated recipe and use a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and unbleached all purpose flour)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (sans aluminum of course!)
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Step 1: Make the dough

Mix the dry ingredients well and pour the cream slowly while stirring with a spoon until a dough forms (gather it into a shaggy ball)

Step 2: Knead the dough

Once you have formed a shaggy dough, sprinkle your countertop with a bit of flour, place the dough on it and knead it for 30 sec...

...until its relatively smooth

Step 3: Form the biscuits

Press the dough into an 8 inch square pan or simply shape it into a 3/4-inch circle

Cut the biscuits with a cookie cutter - I don't have one so I use a small wine tumbler:

Step 4: Bake

Put in the oven and rotate the baking sheet halfway through. Bake until golden brown (15 min)

I served the biscuits with the last of Plodova Salata's cranberry relish...

...and the obligatory stilton and Straus Creamery sweet butter