BBA#23: PANE SICILIANO

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by sallybr

I’ve made this bread about a year ago, and it didn’t turn out very good, so I was not exactly thrilled to make it this weekend for the BBA Challenge. It takes three days from beginning to end, on the first day you make a pate fermentee, on the second day you make the dough and shape the bread, put it in the fridge overnight and bake next morning.

My pictures tell you two things: first, I had problems shaping the dough, instead of a nice S shape, it got kind of bulky. Second , the bread had almost zero oven spring (a term used by bakers referring to how much the bread rises during baking). My loaves ended up quite small, a problem that also happened to Paul (you can check his website following a link at the end of my post).

It tasted ok, but not great, a little too dry for my taste. I don’t think I’ll be making it again.

Check out the loaves made by my virtual friends ahead of me in the BBA Challenge:

Paul….

Carolyn…

Oggi…

Joelen…

Mags…

and TxFarmer

Next in this baking journey: panettone! Looking forward to it…

17Oct2009

POTATO AND LEEK BRAISE

Posted in Side dishes, Veggies by sallybr

This recipe comes from “All About Braising“, by Molly Stevens. My copy sits patiently waiting on the shelf during the hot summer months, knowing that when Fall arrives, it will come out to play again.

For the first braise of the year, I chose a potato and leek dish, that starts as a braise, but almost turns into a gratin. I say almost because it’s quite a bit lighter. As Molly writes: “the recipe practically cooks itself“. All you do is cut the potatoes and leeks, assemble the dish, pop it into the oven and walk away.

THE SIMPLEST POTATO AND LEEK BRAISE
(adapted from Molly Stevens)

2 medium leeks (about 1 pound, white and light green parts only)
1 pound yellow potatoes (Yukon Gold)
butter for greasing the dish
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 + 1/4 cup chicken stock, heated to almost boiling
1/4 cup half and half (or heavy whipping cream)

Heat oven to 325F.

Chop the leeks in 3/4 inch pieces, add them to a bowl of very cold water and wash them well to remove any clinging sand and grit. Drain. Repeat. Drain them well and add to a well buttered gratin type dish, preferably shallow (I used a 8 x 12 inch dish).

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3/4 inch chunks. Add them to the dish with the leeks, season with thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Toss with a spatula, spreading the potatoes in a single layer. Pour the hot stock over the mixture, cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and place it in the oven.

Braise (cook covered in the oven) for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, stir the potatoes and leeks, check for the amount of liquid remaining. If it’s almost dry, cover again with foil; if the liquid is still about halfway up the sides of the dish, then leave it uncovered (as I did). Continue to braise for 20-25 minutes more.

Remove the dish from the oven, increase the temperature to 425F, stir the leeks and potatoes and pour in the half-and-half (or heavy cream). Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, and bake until bubbly and browned on top, about 25 minutes.

Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

To print the recipe, click here

Comments: This dish could very well be defined as the braised version of the classic vichyssoise, one of the best soups ever. Serve it alongside any meat; roast chicken or prime rib are perfect. Lately I’ve been using half-and-half in place of heavy cream and it works for us. Molly dots the dish with butter before placing in the oven, I did not. Adapt it according to your own preferences.

16Oct2009

OCTOBER 16th is WORLD BREAD DAY

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Sometimes I wonder if I could live without certain foods. Rice….potatoes…. pasta? Possibly. Cheese? The thought makes me weak in the knees. Bread? That’s preposterous, NO WAY!

I love baking bread almost as much as eating it, so I had to bake bread on World Bread Day. Bakers around the world bake or buy their favorite bread and talk about it.

Please read all about it here

To celebrate this event I chose a sourdough loaf I’ve been contemplating for the longest time… “Pain de Campagne” from a recipe adapted by David, a great baker who shares his knowledge at the forum “The Fresh Loaf”

PAIN DE CAMPAGNE
(adapted from David’s post )

100 g active sourdough starter
450 g bread flour
50 g rye flour
370 g water
10 g salt
1/4 tsp instant yeast

In a large bowl, mix the sourdough starter with the water to dissolve it. Add the flours and stir to form a shaggy mass. Cover tightly and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the yeast over the dough and mix by folding a few times. Then sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix.

Stretch and fold the dough 20 times, rotating the bowl slightly between each fold. Cover tightly. Repeat this stretch and fold procedure 20 minutes later and, again, after another 20 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled container and rest it in the fridge for 21 hours.

Take out the dough and scrape it gently onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently pat it into a rectangle. Pre-shape for a loaf by folding the near edge up just past the center of the dough and sealing it pressing with the heel of your hand. Then, bring the far edge of the dough gently just over the sealed edge and seal it again the same way.

Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30-60 minutes, with the seams up. Finish shaping the bread by folding the near edge of the dough and sealing it again, then taking the far edge of the dough and bringing it towards you all the way to the work surface, sealing the seam with the heel of your hand. Gently rotate the loaf toward you 1/4 turn so the last seam formed is against the work surface and roll the loaf back and forth, to finish sealing the seam.

Place a baking stone (or baking tiles) on the middle rack of the oven and heat it to 470F. Fill a large roasting pan with hot water. Once the shaped loaf is just 1.5 times bigger (not quite doubled in size), slash the top with a single cut all the way along the bread, and place it over the tiles. Mine proofed for only 35 minutes. Empty the roasting pan, leaving the residual hot water just clinging to it, and flip it over to cover the dough. Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove the cover and bake for 10-15 minutes more, until the internal temperature reaches at least 205F.

Remove the bread to a rack and cool it for 2 hours before slicing.

ENJOY!

This bread is simply perfect. The crumb is, as my husband described it ” hearty but at the same time silky in your mouth “. David, thank you so much for a great recipe!

Let’s hope that everyone can enjoy a nice piece of bread today, World Bread Day…

Here are some photos of this loaf in the making.

The dough, after 21 hours in the fridge is airy, all bubbly… (21 hours in the fridge make this a perfect bread to bake during the work week: prepare it the day before, put it in the fridge and finish when you arrive from work the next day).

The shaped loaf …

Slashed….

After removing the cover at 30 min ….

Cooling…. (the hardest part is the waiting…. 😉

15Oct2009

NEW COOKBOOK in the HOUSE

Posted in General by sallybr

I arrived home to see a package on my doorstep…

THIS is what I got:

Thomas Keller has written several amazing books, such as Bouchon, The French Laundry, and Under Pressure. Once in a blue moon we indulge in a three-star restaurant, but I have no inclination to produce gastronomical masterpieces at home. I admire people who do it, and I followed Carol’s adventures as she cooked her way through The French Laundry, and watch her ongoing work through Alinea. Amazing stuff!
But when I learned that Thomas Keller was publishing a cookbook with “family-style” recipes from his restaurant Ad Hoc, I pre-ordered it. Now I’m looking forward to cooking from it. As with all my new acquisitions, I’m in the phase of carrying the book with me from sofa to bed, bed to kitchen table, back to the sofa, while reading, savoring, dreaming. Like a kid in a candy store, I’m still trying to decide which recipe will be THE FIRST.

Life is good… 😉