BBA#17: LAVASH CRACKERS

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by sallybr

BEWARE: THESE ARE ADDICTIVE!!!

Now that I finished this recipe, let me say that as I began I was not too enthusiastic about it. I tried to make Ak-Mak-style crackers before, using an internet recipe, and I was unhappy. Not only was it a lot of work, but they had nothing to do with my favorite cracker.

But, a challenge is challenge, so I took a deep breath, grabbed the flour and went for it! Thanks to the advice of those who are ahead of me, I knew that rolling a thin dough was important, or else the potential crackers would become pita bread. Not that there’s anything wrong with pita, but…. pita is not a cracker.

Here you see the beginning of the process, a simple dough (53% hydration) made with flour, honey, oil, salt and instant yeast. Again, I did not bother kneading it to death. After incorporating the ingredients into a ball, I allowed it to sit for 15 minutes, then folded it a few times until it got smooth. From that point, I followed the recipe as written. In 90 minutes, it was ready to roll out.

Make sure that you roll it as thinly as possible without tearing the dough. I found it very forgiving, with no problems to roll out, although it was a bit tricky to lift into the baking sheet. To decorate the dough I used nigella seeds (which I bought here), black sesame seeds, smoked paprika, and coarse salt.

Into the oven it went… As you bake it, keep an eye on it, because if your rolling is uneven, some parts might darken faster than others. It happened to me, but I broke the darker parts away and allowed the rest of the sheet to stay in the oven longer. This approach worked quite well.

As they cooled down, I decided to try one. Then another. Then another. My beloved husband was not expected back home for at least 3 more hours, and the deepest proof of my love for him was this bowl with many crackers still inside.

See some of the happy bakers who made the lavash crackers before me:

Carolyn and Joe from Two Skinny Jenkins
Texas Farmer from Sina.blog (Blog in Chinese, amazing photos!)
Phyl from “Of Cabbages and King Cakes”
Deborah from “Italian Food Forever”
Oggi, from “I can do that”

11Sep2009

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF MEATLOAF

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

I’m a firm believer in “Everything in moderation,” so I often make the “real” (rather than light) versions of lasagna, potato dauphinoise, risotto milanese or other classics, instead of trying to cut calories. I’d rather eat less of the real thing, or run an extra mile or two later… 😉

But sometimes, a dish that was maybe conceived as a lighter variation of a classic turns out so good that I wind up craving it. For example: this turkey loaf is absolutely delicious, and compared to its original parent, quite a bit healthier. The recipe comes from “American Favorites“.

THYME-SCENTED TURKEY LOAF WITH MUSHROOM GRAVY
(adapted from American Favorites, by Betty Rosbottom)
receita em portugues ao final do texto, na proxima pagina

for turkey (or chicken) loaf…
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1.2 pounds ground turkey (or chicken)
1 ¼ cups fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium unpeeled tart apple, grated
3/4 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
2 egg whites

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the carrots, onions, and celery, season with a pinch of salt, and sautee’ until soft. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.

Place ground turkey in a large bowl and mix in all the other ingredients, adding the egg whites last. The mixture will be quite “wet”. Shape it in two oval loaves as shown in the photo, pace them in a roasting pan (I like to use parchment paper or Silpat underneath).

Place in a 350F oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into slices. Serve with or without mushroom gravy.

for gravy…
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
8 ounces white mushrooms cut into thin slices
Salt to taste
1 ½ cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Heat the butter in a heavy skillet, add in the chives and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook them until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste and transfer to a bowl. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pan and add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add broth and whisk until sauce is smooth and thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the soy sauce, and put the reserved mushroom mixture back in the pan. To serve meat loaves, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on a serving platter. Ladle some mushroom gravy over the slices.

ENJOY!

This is a good opportunity to show you my Zyliss (an older version of this one), a little gadget I’ve had for a long time, but neglected to put to use until I saw Michael Chiarello on FoodTV using his. He removed the plastic base that came with the cutter, instead placing it directly on the cutting board. Why didn’t I think of that? I tried his method and loved it! The plastic base is a pain to use and wash; by placing the cutter on a cutting board you get its full benefits without any hassles. Carrots, onions, celery, garlic and peppers are prepared in seconds! Check it out in this photo (click to enlarge).

Meatloaves are often baked in pans, I prefer to shape them in free form, to get a nice crust all over, and make cleanup much easier…

General comments

Fish sauce, that Vietnamese touch: The addition of fish sauce was my main modification to the basic recipe – I was inspired by an interesting twist on a hamburger recipe shown in the blog “White on Rice Couple”. Fish sauce was the secret ingredient, and I thought it could go well in this loaf too. As in the hamburger, you won’t be able to taste it, but it will add that “umami” component to the loaf. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. If you want to play with fish sauce in your recipes, just keep in mind that it is salty, and adjust your seasoning accordingly. And avoid sniffing the bottle! Its smell has little to do with its taste, and for that I am grateful… 😉

The mushroom gravy: Even though its taste was excellent, if you prefer a more contrasting color in the gravy then add a little tomato paste or sautee some tomatoes with the mushrooms.

A little rice, a little tomato salad, and…. dinner is served!

para receita em portugues clique aqui

9Sep2009

BARM BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This is my second submission to Yeastspotting…

The recipe for this traditional wheat bread from England comes from Dan Lepard’s book “The Handmade Loaf”, that I mentioned before. I’ve made quite a few breads from it, and at first this one seemed a little too involved, because it required not only a levain (sourdough starter), but also a barm . But, I was inspired to try it after reading a wonderful post about it.

Lepard came up with a nice strategy to duplicate the barm at home by taking a bottle-conditioned beer, and adding to it a small amount of your own levain. It’s a simple bread once the barm is ready and bubbly…

To make the barm….

125g Chimay beer (or other beer containing live yeast)
25g bread flour
2 tsp white levain (commercial or made from scratch)

Heat the beer to 160F, remove from the heat and quickly add the flour. Transfer to a bowl and allow it to cool to 68F, then add your white levain. Leave it at room temperature overnight or until it is very bubbly (my barm fermented for 30 hours).

Waiting for it to cool to 68F….

To make the bread dough…

75g barm
125g water at room temperature
250g bread flour
3/4 tsp fine sea salt

Mix the barm in a large bowl with the water to completely dissolve it, then add the flour and salt. Mix it all with your hands; it will be pretty shaggy and you will doubt that it will ever become smooth…. don’t worry, just let the dough sit there for 10 minutes, covered.

Now follow this timeline, kneading for 10 to 15 seconds (yes, seconds) at each timepoint:

10 minutes / 20 minutes / 30 minutes / 1 hour / 2 hours /3 hours / 5 hours

at the 30 minute timepoint the dough will already be quite smooth…

After 5 hours, knead it briefly again, allow the dough to relax for 10-20 minutes, and shape it into a “boule” (see one method here). Gently transfer it to your vessel of choice for the final rise (about 4 hours) before baking. I used a banetton lined with a fine cloth, sprinkled with cornmeal.

The bread will rise to 1.5X its initial volume; when you press it gently with a finger, it should feel airy and light. I baked mine in a clay pot at 430F for 30 minutes covered, and for 15 additional minutes with the lid off.

This bread is a winner in every way: flavor, crust and crumb texture, and looks. The beer gives it a subtle sourness completely different from a regular sourdough, made with levain only. It is a perfect match for a ham sandwich, or to go along a hearty soup or salad. I kept thinking about split pea soup while munching on the bread. I’ll definitely make it again, with different beers and flour mixtures, as advised in Lepard’s book.

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8Sep2009

LEMONY CHICKEN CURRY

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

I love Indian food, but I don’t cook it very often. It’s easy to make mistakes with ethnic foods, because of the many “variations” that, in the name of “simplifying” or “adapting” the dish to an American palate, wind up doing more harm than good. Indian food is prone to this kind of abuse. Search for “chicken curry” and you’ll find all sorts of recipes: some might have you add a little curry powder to pieces of sauteed chicken breasts, and call it a day!

When I want to “go ethnic” I search the advice of experts. In the case of Indian food, I like Madhur Jaffrey, as well as excellent food blogs like Monsoon Spice , Sailu’s Food, or Lisa’s Kitchen.

I’ve made this recipe from Jaffrey’s cookbook many times. It’ s light, not too spicy, and joins two of my favorite ingredients: ginger and lemon.

LEMONY CHICKEN CURRY
(adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe)
(para receita em portugues, siga ate’ o final do texto, na proxima pagina)

1 piece of ginger root, 2 inches long, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water

2 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, skinless
2/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 ounces fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 serrano pepper, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs lemon juice

Place the ginger root and 1/4 cup water in the bowl of a food processor, and blend until it forms a paste.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat, and brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Remove the pieces to a bowl as they get ready.
Add the garlic to the oil, as soon as the pieces start to get some color turn down the heat to medium and add the ginger paste (now, take a deep breath and enjoy the amazing smell coming from the pan!). Cook for a minute or so, and add the fresh cilantro, serrano pepper, cayenne, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and salt. Stir everything well and cook for a minute.

Put back the chicken pieces and any liquid that accumulated in the bowl. Add 2/3 cup water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 25 minutes.

Turn the chicken pieces over, cover again and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, until tender. If the sauce is too thin, then uncover the pan and cook it down.

Serve over rice, with a veggie side dish of your preference.

ENJOY!

More comments and photos after the jump….

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6Sep2009

BBA#16: KAISER ROLLS

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by sallybr

A Kaiser roll….

is the beginning of a great sandwich!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves… Back to this tasty bread…

Once more I switched from kneading the dough to folding it, and the results couldn’t have been better. For those following along the “challenge”, here’s a heads up: the recipe uses only half the amount of the pate fermentee shown on page 105. If you make the full amount, remember to only use half of it. 😉

After incorporating the pate fermentee into the flour, egg, oil, malt, and yeast, I folded the dough at 30, 60, and 90 minutes. At the 2 hour mark the dough was bubbly and airy as expected, so I cut it into 6 pieces and formed the rolls using the knot method. They rose for almost 1.5 hours (see the before and after pictures, the two photos at the bottom of this gallery).