Summer Panzanella

This is going to sound horrible, but it took me until this morning to finally make it to the summer farmer's market in my neighborhood.  The past few Saturdays, I've been too quick to cook up an excuse: too many errands to do, gotta clean the house, going to visit Grandma, too hot, too rainy, yadda yadda, etc. etc.  I deserve to be arrested by the summer police.

Anyway, I finally made it!  I was so overwhelmed by the mid-summer bounty that I dove right in like a hungry pelican and came out with a beak-full of peak-season veggies.  Given the randomness of my selection, I decided a salad would serve this hodge-podge well and, with the addition of a fresh loaf of sourdough from Hot Bread Kitchen, I was ready for some panzanella.  Here's what you do:

Tear a 1 pound loaf of crusty bread (like sourdough) into bite-size pieces, spread out on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and toast in a 400 degree oven for 7 minutes, until slightly crispy (you're not going for croutons).  Dump into a large salad bowl and set aside.  Take your smattering of market vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, scallion, corn, whatever - and chop into desired bite-size shapes.  Add to your bowl of toasted bread.  Wash and tear a handful of basil leaves and throw those in as well.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup good olive oil, more salt and pepper, and pour over the bread and veggies.  Toss well and serve immediately, preferably on a terrace in the sun...

On being a mad scientist, MIA

I've dropped off the radar recently.  There's been a lot going on -- which is great!  Thus very little time to blog.  But that doesn't mean I've been out of the kitchen!  I've been finding new and freaky ways to create interesting flavors and smells through the wonders of lacto-fermentation.  And so, with those few words, I leave you to peruse a few pics of my latest science experiments.

Yours Truly,
Chief Mad Scientist, Apartment D6

Sourdough sponge bubbling away

My little wheat berry sprouties

Oats fermenting 

Multigrain bread dough, pre-rise

Multigrain bread dough, post-rise

The finished loaves, chock full of sprouted wheat, sunflower seeds, fermented oats, and sourdough starter

Sourdough Odyssey

I've been on a bit of a bread roll (HA! sorry, that was cheap.) as of late, mainly inspired by a book that was given to me, The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  It's a pretty spectacularly comprehensive book, for anyone out there who's looking to start baking bread at home.  It can, however, at times be a bit too comprehensive, to the point of exhausting.  Which is why I turn, as I often do, back to the blogosphere (to the detriment of the printed word, unfortunately).  Web content is just so accessible and amorphous in a way that can be beneficial to the cook with a curious, rambling mind.

But let's stay on topic here: I'm making bread!  And it's such fun!  My most recent favorite blog for these endeavors has been Wild Yeast.  And for supplies and further recipe research, the King Arthur Flour website is indispensable. 

At first I aspired to make sourdough bread using only wild leavening - meaning, instead of prepackaged yeast, I would use a starter built up from just flour and water, left to ferment and "bloom" over a series of days and weeks.  I'm proud to say that I've built a rather ripe and potent starter over the past few weeks, and encourage you to do so as well.  How does one do that, you may ask?  The short answer is: mix 1 part flour to 1 part filtered water in a wide-mouth jar, let it sit out at room temp until bubbles form, and BLAM-O, you've got a starter.  The long answer can be found here.

Here's a glimpse at what a maturing starter looks like:

 

Funky, huh?

After the first frustrating attempts to make a delicious, springy sandwich loaf using my starter, I had a Eureka! moment and realized that a combination of wild and commercial yeast would serve me best.  Luckily, I found a fabulous recipe that fit the bill on the King Arthur Flour site, which is my new go-to when I need to satisfy my Daily Sandwich Requirement (DSR).  I made a few changes to the original recipe, but the gist remains the same.

Multigrain Sourdough Loaf  printable version
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour Multi-Grain Sourdough

(makes 1 large sandwich loaf)

1.5 cups boiling water

1 cup grain/seed blend (ex.: rolled oats, millet, quinoa, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.)

2 cups sourdough starter, recently fed and ready to use (read: bubbly and happy)

2 cups KA whole wheat white flour

1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2.5 teaspoons salt

1.5 teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sesame seeds (or any other type of seed) for garnish (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the grain/seed mixture and boiling water.  Let it cool to lukewarm.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead - either by hand or with a mixer or food processor - until you have a soft, tacky but not sticky, dough.  Add additional flour or water as needed to get the right texture.

Cover the dough in the same bowl and let it rise until it's almost doubled, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and gently fold a few times to deflate.  Shape into a large round.  Place the dough into a large ovenproof enamel pot (I used my Le Creuset) that's been sprayed with non-stick baking spray and dusted with sesame seeds or cornmeal, and cover.  Alternately, you can place the dough on a sprayed sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the loaf rise until it's puffy, another 1 to 1.5 hours.  When the dough is almost risen, preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Just before baking, brush with water  and sprinkle with the seeds (optional).  Use a sharp knife to score the top of the loaf in a crosshatch pattern.

Place the bread in the oven, lower to 425°F, and bake for 30 minutes covered (if using the pot) and another 15 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190°F.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool 5 minutes.  Then turn it out of the baking vessel and cool on a rack.

* Note: If your dough isn't rising nicely and it's making you really sad, don't dismay, just improvise!  I turned some wussy looking dough into nice little seeded flatbreads, see?  Just remember, your first loaf won't be your best loaf - and may not even be a loaf at all!

Homemade nooks & crannies!

Last night I got antsy, couldn't sit still, couldn't just enjoy the night off and curl up on the sofa with a good book, so what did I do?  Well, what I always do: I made some food!  The ants-in-the-pants cure ended up being whole wheat bread dough, which this morning became beautifully light and fluffy English muffins!

If you have a food processor, making bread dough is a simple and magical undertaking.  If not, it's no big deal, it will just require some patience as you knead the ingredients together by hand.  I like Mark Bittman's recipe for Sandwich Bread, from his classic tome, How to Cook Everything.  

Whole Wheat English Muffins (printable recipe)

yield: 12 muffins

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the bowl

1 and 1/2 cups cool milk

Place the flour in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Add salt and yeast and process for a few seconds.  While machine is running, add the honey, butter, and most of the milk through the feed tube.  Process about 30 seconds, then remove cover to see if the dough is a well-defined, barely sticky, and easy-to-handle ball.  If it's too dry, add milk a tablespoon at a time and process for another 5 to 10 seconds.  Remove dough from the food processor bowl and knead by hand for a minute or so on a well-floured surface. (I do my kneading on a baking sheet so as to minimize the mess!)

Grease a large bowl and shape the dough into a rough ball.  Place in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, until it's almost doubled in size.  Deflate the ball and shape it again into a nice round.  Let it rest on a lightly floured surface (baking sheet) for about 15 minutes, covered.

Next, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces with a bench scraper or a knife.  Dust your hands with flour and shape each piece of dough into a 3- to 4-inch disk.  Dust with flour and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until puffed up.

Preheat a griddle or large skillet over low heat for 10 minutes; do not oil it.  Sprinkle it with cornmeal and "bake" the muffins, a few at a time, on both sides, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, for a total of 15 minutes.  Cool on a rack and split with a fork before toasting.  Serve with a liberal smear of butter and perhaps a scant dusting of sea salt.

Glorious glutens

In the past, my bread-making attempts have been less than fruitful. I've turned out lumpy loaves, misshapen messes, and rock-hard ryes. But lately, having honed my dough skills as the Pizza Queen at work, my homegrown efforts are yielding some delectable results. If you have a food processor, this is the least messy bread you'll ever make. (No need to knead!)
If you don't, it's still worth a try - simply incorporate the ingredients by hand, on a well-floured surface, and be sure to keep kneading until the dough is smooth and springy.

Herbed Sandwich Bread
(makes one big honkin' loaf)

- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, thyme, za'atar, or dried herb of choice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoon instant (granulated) yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing bowl and pan
- 1-1/2 cups cool milk (or water)

1. Fit your food processor with the dough blade attachment. Add the flour, chopped onion, herb, salt, and yeast, and pulse a couple of times.
2. With the motor running, add the honey, olive oil, and milk slowly through the feed tube. Continue running the machine until a ball of dough forms around the blade, about 1 minute.
3. Remove the hunk of dough from the machine and shape into a sphere. Place in a large well-oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let rise at least 2 hours in a warm spot.
4. Deflate the risen dough and reshape into a ball. Let rest 15 minutes. Then, shape into a loaf and place on an oiled baking sheet (if you're going free-form) or in a large oiled loaf pan, cover with a towel, and allow to rise again for another hour.
5. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. With a sharp paring knife, slash across the top of your loaf in a few evenly spaced horizontal lines. Brush the top of the loaf with water and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it. You can also test for doneness by taking a read of the internal temperature of the loaf; it should be about 160 degrees F.

If you want to do some experimenting, try substituting garlic for the onion and add chopped kalamata olives. Or go nuts! Walnuts and sunflower seeds would work nicely, maybe with some caraway seeds sprinkled on top.