Today's Bread

James has really taken to this raisin walnut bread I've been baking lately. I'm on my 4th loaf since I tried the recipe in Jim Lahey's indispensable book, My Bread. Today I stretched and added a pan of "stecca." Laheys not quite breadsticks, not quite baguette chewy breads, just right for long, thin sandwiches and antipasto platters.
Looking for new inspiration I was thumbing through some of my cookbooks today and flipped through the pages of Tartine Bread. It's gloriously photographed pages celebrate the genius of baker Chad Robertson and make it seem possible that we mere mortals could create the luscious offerings he turns out in his San Francisco bakery. Until you look just a bit closer. After Lahey's truly revolutionary method could I go back to starters and poolish and multiple rises and kneading? Each recipe in Tartine depends on two or three others (Not unlike my hero superstar chef Thomas Keller's cookbooks).  I was so thrilled when James bought me Robertson's cookbook I couldn't wait to bake like the master. And yet, it sits on the shelf -- beautiful and distant -- while Lahey's recipes trot out every couple days.
Lahey is homemade bread for the real world -- Robertson is still a dream.

Another Homemade Winner

James claims he doesn't like olives. I just can't accept that. He likes olive oil. He likes the flavor. There is just something he doesn't like about biting into an olive.
Black, red, brown, green, brine cured, salt cured  . . . I love them all.
With a bag of black oil-cured super piquant olives in the fridge and my still favorite bread cookbook, My Bread by Jim Lahey, on the shelf. I decided to try a new recipe from the bread guru -- Olive bread. Basically it's Lahey's famous no-knead bread recipe (3 cups flour, 3/4 tsp yeast, 1 1/2 cups water -- no salt in this case as the olives can be quite salty -- all mixed together and allowed to rise for 18 - 20 hours)  with a good quantity of chopped olives.
After the first rise Lahey's ingenius home bread making plan instructs the baker to form the dough into a rustic loaf (well a rough ball, seam down) onto a kitchen towel dusted in cornmeal and allow the bread to rise again for 2 hours. The dough is then rolled into a pre-heated dutch oven (1/2 hour) to bake at 450º for 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered to mimic the delightful results and chewy crust of artisanal loaves fresh from a wood fired oven.
James didn't try this loaf right away. When I set out an appetizer plate with salami, prosciutto, and Andante dairy's outrageously delicious seasonal mixed milk tomme, Impromtu James realized he may not like olives . .. but he loves Olive bread.

Bread Resolution 2013

James and I both love the bread from Petaluma's highly praised Della Fattoria. For quite some time after tasting their chewy crusty wood oven baked loaves I just gave up. How could I ever compete with that rosemary meyer lemon deliciousness. Yet, at about $7 a loaf (not to mention the few places that carry it do run out quickly) it's dangerous to make too much of  habit.
So I went back to my bread basics, My Bread by baking guru Jim Lahey. Lahey's near effortless no-knead method produces crusty chewy loaves from an ordinary home oven.
I flipped through the book for something I hadn't made (when was that I made that resolution to bake everything in his book -- hmm still not accomplished) and settled on a walnut raisin bread that seemed perfect for morning toast.
Chewy, airy, crusty -- it's not a $7 loaf but pretty darn good for home. 2013 might be the year I make more homemade bread.

Christmas Holdover

Christmas ended up being a pretty lazy day around here, fresh baked sweets for breakfast, napping, halfway watching Christmas movies and the NBA game. Instead of the elaborate Norman Rockwell style dinner I'd planned James ended up eating fried eggs and ham leftover from the night before. Not exactly magazine ready.

Ignoring the blasphemy I took a knife to the prime rib and sliced it into steaks for later in the week. The brussels sprouts cook up fine any day, but I couldn't let these popovers go. I had the batter ( 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 tsp salt, 4 eggs) mixed up and waiting in the fridge. So as I prepared to pan-fry the steaks I set the oven to 450º and filled each cup of a muffin tim with about 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp of beef fat. After 5 minutes in the oven the fat was melted and hot (it would have been better if I'd pre-heated the pan before adding the fat I think) I poured in the batter and popped the popovers into the hot oven. After 20 minutes I lowered the oven temperature to 350º and let the dough cook for another 20 minutes.

What emerged were delightfully puffy, high, eggy, crusty breads that really felt like an occasion.

I was more than a little proud.

Everett, Washington Farmers Market

I love a farmer's market, even when I have no place to cook. So I trekked down the 5 to Everett, Washington, feeling a little silly for driving so far for a market. But I was rewarded with a beautiful water front location and a dizzying array of local cheeses, fresh cherries, seafood and positively hypnotic, riotous, alluringly fresh flowers. 

A great market and the makings of a great picnic lunch. Fresh, chewy whole wheat miche from local favorite bread farm, unusual young Ladysmith cheese flavored with peppery arugula from Samish Bay Cheese -- a chewy almost springy queso fresco style cheese, and sweet, bracingly fresh Puget Sound prawns.

Bananas For Breakfast

I can only walk by a pile of browning bananas for so long. Sometimes I toss them in the freezer for a future baking project. Today I decided to take the matter in hand and whip up a quick banana bread for James' breakfast. Quick being the operative word.

First I mashed four medium bananas, added in 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt and gave it all a good stir with a wooden spoon. Next I folded in a big handful of chopped cashews and about 1/2 cup of coconut(unsweetened) I found on the pantry shelf . After 55 minute sin a 350º oven we had a warm, slightly tropical breakfast treat, and no more bananas on the counter.

Kitchen Sink Antipasto Salad

A big salad for dinner with a little bit of everything - tonight featuring steamed green beans, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, peperoncini, roasted tomatoes (and the delicious flavored olive oil they rest in), endive, radicchio, lettuce, mozzarella, provolone, prosciutto, turkey breast and eggs. On the side, delicious, crusty, red checkered table cloth, o' solo mio style completely inauthentic garlic bread with plenty of butter and cheese.

Soda Bread

Even when there is no time to bake, there is time for soda bread. There is a more American style that has butter and sometimes eggs or the, from what I read, the more traditional Irish version just flour, salt, soda, a pinch of sugar (optional) and buttermilk. Basically a shaggy biscuit or giant scone made with baking soda instead of powder.

I use a recipe from Ireland's Ballymaloe Cookery School. It's 1 pound of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of sugar sifted together. I make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in about 14 ounces of buttermilk and mix the dough together very lightly with an open hand so not to compact the dough. the dough is turned out on a board every so briefly just to be patted together and then, when formed into about a 12" placed on a baking sheet. I cut a deep cross in the dough, as they say, to let the Faeries out.

We have a cupboard full of marmalade, just waiting for soda bread toast.

We're not beer drinkers. In fact we're really not drinkers at all -- I know, not very epicurean of me, but true. So some left over beer we bought for a dinner party a little ways back was really clogging our shelves. I had to find a way to use that up. Tonight we are going to a friend's house for dinner. She asked us to bring the bread so I used up a few of those bottles making some quick rye bread loaves. I stirred together 2 cups of flour, 1 1/4 cup of rye flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 TB baking powder. In a separate bowl I mixed 2 TB of molasses, 12 oz of room temperature beer, and about 2 B of water. I added the liquid to the dry ingredients, gave it all a good stir and put it in a greased dutch oven to bake for about and hour and 15 minutes at 325º.

Bread for dinner and more room in the fridge.

Labor Day Lunch

The end of summer.

A chance to get together with friends we don't see often enough.

Time to grill.

We're not exactly a hot dog house. We opted instead for a festive lunch on the back porch.

The grill did get busy with thin slices of patty pan squash doused in a piquant feta cheese and basil sauce. Sharing the grill were shrimp and chorizo kebabs. I wrapped peeled shrimp around 1/2" slices of dry chorizo (I took that chance in spite of our Spanish guest -- but she seemed to approve) and threaded three to a bamboo skewer. I made a marinade/ paste of caraway seeds, chili powder, olive oil and garlic and brushed it over the meat just before grilling, a couple minutes on each side. Our friend Paul was kind enough to man the grill, including heating the tortillas, while I got a few things ready inside.

When I was trying to get an idea of what to serve today I was staring at the packages of Hearst Ranch beef in our freezer. They package a bag of chuck and round trims they call fajita strips. I don't think I've ever made fajitas for James and as I was puzzling over what use I could make of these pre-cut slices I saw a recipe for Mexican Beef Stew on the Saveur Magazine website. It is a long cooking dish of meat, tomatoes, onions, plantains, apples, pineapple and plenty of chili. Perfect for wrapping in warm tortillas. From there the theme for lunch took off. I whipped up guacamole and a batch of queso fundido (basically a warm dip of chiles, onions, tomatoes, beer and lots of melted cheese -- Mexican fondue) as appetizers with thick deep fried tortilla chips. I made a tangy radish salsa that gave a little crunch to the warm beef stew. The skewers just came along naturally followed by a fresh salad with garlic cream dressing, skillet cornbread which proved to be perfect match for the nearly sweet beef dish and, of course, corn on the cob. It is Labor Day after all.
For dessert I couldn't decide which fruit to use so I made double tarts from Mark Bittman's reliable free-form tart recipe. Basically a giant cookie with fruit topping, this recipe is so fool-proof there's no reason to ever fear making dessert again. James called the pear tart "French Fry Pie". The plum was a bit prettier but both were plenty tasty with fresh whipped cream and ice cream.

A great way to spend a day off.

Happy Labor Day one and all!

Southern-Style Summer Sunday

Yesterday we got a new refrigerator -- a replacement for a faulty model we bought just two months ago, supplied by the manufacturer -- believe it or not.

As I was transferring food from freezer to freezer I came across a bag of head on shrimp I had nearly forgotten about and decided to whip them up for dinner tonight. Following a recipe by Bobby Flay of all people I tossed the shrimp in a spice mixture of pimentón dulce, chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic. I sautéed them quickly in hot oil and coated the BBQ spiced shrimp with butter and scallions.

Since I was on a somewhat Southern bent I decided to add some hot skillet cornbread -- it was perfect for sopping up the sauce on the shrimp. And to finish? A cool summery peach tart.
Perfect for an end of summer Sunday.

"Freezer" Dinner with Friends

James and I just put in our order for a cattle share from Hearst Ranch, and so, anticipating needing room in the freezer, I invited our friends Eric and Shari over for a freezer dinner -- what I could make from what I could find. Only one problem, when it actually came down to looking there wasn't much in the freezer at all. A couple of flavored butters from or annual oyster events, some left over chilis and stews from the "fridgeventory", a random package of puff pastry, and a couple of frozen naan. Nothing very inspiring and no hoard of proteins waiting to be conquered.

I had to make a trip to Costco the other day (that's how I ended up with 5 lbs of mussels) and staring blankly at the meat case I spied a brisket. That might be fun, I thought, and compared to the whole filet roast I also thought might be "fun", a pretty good value. With no menu idea I put the brisket in the cart and headed out.

Brisket seems so American, so barbeque, so corn on the cob. I had a big jar left of that delicious Chilean Spicy salsa I made the other day and thought that might be a good combo. I decided to smoke the brisket with a rub of Pimentón, onion powder, salt, sugar, cumin and pepper to echo the flavors in the salsa. At least we'd be clearing some space in the fridge.

What to serve with brisket -- it just seemed too dull, too 4th of July to go with corn on the cob and cole slaw but that's always what leaps to mind with brisket.

I've been flipping through Saveur magazine and in spite of the 6lbs of meat covered in dry rub in my fridge I keep turing my head towards rustic French dishes, crispy Fougasse and vegetable ragouts. It didn't seem to go together but I decided why not. A quirky dinner best appreciated by friends.
We are cheese lovers as are our friends Eric and Shari. When I saw burrata at Costco (why don't I go there more often) I immediately imagined this riff on nancy Silverton's Caprese Salad from Mozza Restaurant. Oven Roasted cherry tomatoes, pesto sauce brightened with a finish of lemon juice and creamy soft cheese.
I've never made fougasse before, or eaten it. Something about Saveur's picture of the herb and olive topped bread made the recipe impossible to ignore. Besides I am getting a little weary of no-knead style breads (although there are a few to come). It was nice to have my hands in dough again and these crisp breads, although I don't know if they even vaguely resemble the authentic variety, were perfect with our array of cheese, olives, and thinly sliced salumi.
The main course. I really wasn't sure how long to smoke the meat. I heated the gas grill and then turned off the middle and right burner. I put the meat in a foil roasting pan over the un-heated part of the grill. Over the flames, using two more metal pans, I poured a bottle of beer in one (for a little extra moisture) and filled the other with soak mesquite chips. About 4 and half hours later (and about 45 minutes resting time covered in foil) we had smoked through, pretty tender meat ready to soak up the spicy salsa.
Well, something had to come from the freezer. Back in April James had kindly shucked and frozen the fava beans from our front yard winter crop. With the addition of some farmer's market asparagus and artichokes this vegetable ragout, also from the June July 2010 issue of Saveur magazine, seemed like perfect way to showcase our winter crop and clear a little space.
Light summer tasting potatoes? I split a little pile of yellow fingerlings rom out garden and roasted them in the oven with olive oil , salt and pepper until the cut edges were crisp and golden brown. Following a recipe I saw on epicurious, I topped the potatoes with an herb salad of parsley, tarragon (a favorite of James' but not one of mine -- I figured that was good way to keep me away from the potatoes), mustard, red wine vinegar, and olive oil sprinkled with finely chopped hard boiled backyard eggs (thanks girls!).
Dessert was another matter. I started by wanted to get Jim Lahey's chocolate coconut bread checked off as I am baking my way through his My Bread cookbook. James doesn't eat all that much chocolate -- and, as if the case with most sweet things that are bad for my pants size I have a hard time staying away from it, so . . . it seemed like a good idea to have some friends to eat it with us in case it was really really good. But can I serve toast for dessert? And, what goes with toast? I found a recipe for buttermilk pudding (another one from epicurious) that seemed like a good combo and I had buttermilk waiting to be used in the fridge. Done. But then while flipping through Lahey's cookbook, checking my ingredients I spotted sweet foccacia, now that had to be delicious and used apricot jam and I could substitute in my own homemade stone fruit jam, left over from my pop tart filling. Besides, didn't seem like a bad idea to have a backup in case that coconut chocolate bread (what the hell will I ever do with that) was underwhelming (as indeed it was) Deconstructed bread pudding? Toast and milk pudding for dessert? Different but not too bad. I suppose -- and, two more recipes down.

Now all I need is a freezer dinner to clear out from my freezer dinner.

Apple Bread

It's quite a pledge to keep up, this baking my way through Jim Lahey's My Bread Cookbook. I had no idea.

His no-knead bread is so easy and so delicious it's easy to see why it caused a small scale baking revolution and delivered him the admirations of scores of home bakers like me. No one trick pony, Lahey rallies with delicious variations on his theme like crispy Stecca (Italian baguettes or maybe chewy breadsticks) and sheet pan size pizzas. I even found the carrot bread a welcome treat, especially when slathered with our homemade orange marmalade (not to toot my own horn, but let's face it that marmalade would make cardboard taste good).

This week's apple bread, while very moist and tasty enough just perplexes me. Is this the way Lahey's turns out, I wonder. And, what does he do with this? I've been giving it to James for breakfast sometimes with butter and sometimes with jam (leftover from the pop tart filling) and he seems happy enough. I think it might make an interesting sandwich with sharp cheddar or aged gouda and bacon. Fontina and apples is nice so maybe open-faced with easy melting Fontina. Oh, or how about apple bread crostini with melted Gruyere topped with endive and walnut salad? Now we're talking -- I may have to make another loaf.

If only I had a plan for Lahey's coconut chocolate bread. Oh well, that's a puzzle for next weekend.

A Perfect Bread for California Spring (or Winter)

I'm tired of apples and bananas. I'm ready for cherries and berries, fuzzy peaches and tangy apricots. Real spring is almost here, so in the meantime I went back to my baking quest -- baking my way through Jim Lahey's My Bread cookbook. I took a small being hiatus while I was out of town with no oven, but now I have started in with this simple apricot almond bread.

True to Lahey's no knead method for this colorful loaf I combined 280 grams (2 cups + 2 TB) of bread flour, 20 grams (2 TB) of whole wheat flour, 1 1/3 cups chopped dried apricots (65 grams), 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp yeast in a large bowl. Instead of just water, for this recipe, Lahey instructs to blend 3 Tb of unsalted creamy almond butter (okay I used salted, I would have just no use for unsalted at all) and 1 cup + 2TB of water. I mixed the liquid into the dry ingredients and stirred with my hand until there were no lumps and the dough was wet and sticky. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and left it to sit and rise for 18 hours.

After the first rise I scraped the dough out onto my board and just barely tucked in the edges to make a sort of round ball. I placed the ball, seam side down, on a tea towel I'd heavily dusted with wheat bran with about 2 TB chopped almonds in the center. I sprinkled the top with more chopped almonds and covered the dough to rise for 2 more hours.

Meanwhile I preheated the oven to 450º with my trusty 5 quart Le Creuset (flame orange just like Julia's) inside.

When the dough had risen I turned it, seam side down, into the preheated pot replaced the lid and set the pan in the oven to cook covered for 45 minutes, after which I uncovered the pot and allowed the bread to cook for another 10 minutes to color a rich golden (well maybe dark) brown.

After the bread had cooled I sliced it for toast for James. It's nice with just butter but for a real winner try this slightly tangy, nearly hearty bread with creamy brie or better yet a sharp stilton cheese drizzled with honey. Delish!

A Lahey Bread That's Not For Me

This loaf is a bit of departure for Jim Lahey, bread genius and founder of Sullivan Street bakery. I've been cooking my way through his cookbook, My Bread, since James bought it for me this past Christmas. Lahey's specialty are crusty, artisinal Italian-style breads made easy for the home (and I guess, professional) baker.

This crisp brown "Irish" bread is Lahey's take on that nation's traditional soda bread. Just as the name suggests soda breads -- whether whole wheat, chocolate, or, as tradition prescribes, dotted with sweet raisins are generally leavened with baking soda and buttermilk for the acidic reaction. Lahey's uses yeast and buttermilk and pretty much follows the no-knead method he pioneered for all his other breads.

I can't say I was wowed by the results. When in the presence of greatness (or great recipes) I am always willing to admit I may be at fault or have made some mistake along the way, but honestly this bread seemed like a poor compromise. It had neither soda bread's slightly tangy flavor and hearty texture or Lahey's usual airy, soft "did you really make that yourself" crumb.

Lahey's breads are great the way they are -- I say don't dress them up, don't make them into something they are not, don't pretend to be (although Lahey himself might actually be) Irish. Bake where your heart is and the results will always impress.

Move Over Nancy Silverton: Homemade Olive Bread

Okay I admit it -- weight does matter.

Last week I was watching some cooking extravaganza on TV and heard the MC say that European bakers are better than American bakers because they weigh their ingredients. I have a scale. But somehow I like the slapdash idea of tossing ingredients into a bowl.

I shouldn't be so lazy.

Right then and there I vowed not to be bested by my unknown European baking companions and set out to test my latest Jim Lahey recipe with my scale. I measured the flour, but I still dashed in the yeast and the salt. I used a cup measure for the water.

In the past when I've posted about Lahey's recipes I've mentioned always needing more water. Not this time. I made a perfectly sticky dough that rose up tall with just the prescribed 400 grams of flour and 1 1/2 cups of water.

This loaf was one of my best. Light, lots of air holes inside, a genuinely crunchy exterior, and a fresh almost delicate texture.

Although he loves olive oil and even the occasional tapenade, James is not a big fan of olives themselves. I thought for sure he would ignore this bread or at best tolerate it as another kitchen experiment he has to suffer through. Instead the evening brought a variety of reasons to wander through the kitchen each time grabbing a thin slice.

Following the rules really does work out better . . . sometimes.

Carrot Bread

At first I thought "well this is just a weird idea . . . but I'll try it." I have a hard time not completing a list when I've set my mind to it and Jim Lahey's cookbook keeps glaring at me from the kitchen bookshelf, taunting me with recipes yet untried. So, I dove in.

Basically this artisan style bread is Lahey's regular recipe with fresh carrot juice replacing the water and mixing in currants (okay I used raisins -- I just never seem to have currants in the house, I somehow can't remember to buy them) and walnuts. James asked for raisin bread the other day so it seemed like the right time for this recipe.

At first glance the bright orange crumb of this loaf seems like a natural for Halloween gatherings and I timidly tasted what I feared would be a loaf style carrot cake (I can't help it, I just don't like carrot cake -- I don't know if James does or not, I never make it for him). Instead the loaf had a subtle sweetness that seemed more like a faint brown sugar or molasses flavor. Although there is no granulated sugar in this recipe the natural sugars in the juice seem to make the loaf brown more easily and I think next time I would shorten the uncovered baking time-- but yes, there will be a next time.

Focaccia

I've made hoards of flatbreads over the years. But, this is the first time -- following Jim Lahey's easy instructions that I've gone through the steps to add potato into the dough. Ideally I'd use leftover potatoes. I assume that's how the bread started being made. But the texture and subtle flavor from a bit of yukon gold in the dough makes the extra time boiling and blending your spuds well worth while. Unlike Lahey's other breads this crisp flat loaf was a quick rise (only 3 hours for the first rise I think) and baked up golden brown in a regular baking sheet, in just about 20 minutes.

Easy, delicious and still no-knead. If anything next time I might use a little less oil on top of the loaf and a little more seasoning. I went with just coarse salt and pepper but this one cries out for rosemary or even fresh oregano. Either way -- makes a pretty nice snack sandwich with a thin slice of prosciutto or with a little cheese melted on top.

Italian Rye

Not commonly thought of as Italian bread, this light rye from Jim Lahey's cookbook (I know it's becoming quite a theme) has a firm texture and a subtle almost sourdough flavor. By now we all know the no-knead method made famous when the New York Times' Mark Bittman published bread genius Jim Lahey's pot cooked procedure. This loaf is no different -- a mixture of bread and rye flour ( 2 1/4 cups to 3/4 cups), yeast, salt and cool water quickly turned into a sticky dough and left to rise and flavor for around 20 hours. After being quickly shaped and left to rise (2 hours) again, the soft dough is turned into a pre-heated 5 quart pot and baked at 475º for 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered until the crust is a deep rich brown and the crumb light and tender. So far James' favorite is Lahey's delicate whole wheat bread. All I know is when homemade bread is this easy to make there is no reason to buy anyone else's loaves.

Loaf of the Week: Crisp Crust Pancetta Bread

Counting down my way through Jim Lahey's cookbook. Crusty white bread with bits of crisp pancetta and red pepper flakes. Nothing really to complain about there. Once again this is sort of a flavored version of Lahey's famous no knead white bread, this time with a bit of the bacon fat (grease from pre-cooking the pancetta) mixed into the dough.

I admit it -- I was lazy and used the pre-chopped, packaged pancetta from Trader Joes. I can't help but feel this silky textured loaf will be improved by better pork products with a heavier dose of the traditional Italian spices. All in all though -- not too bad and maybe the dream slice for a gooey pan fried grilled cheese sandwich.