Artisan Bread Week May 12, 2011

No, no, there is no official Artisan Bread week (unless there is and wouldn’t it be cool if it were right now?). Inspired by our favorite local Bakery, (which we’re eating at as much as possible before we move) I thought I’d try my hand at some funky rustic breads.

On Monday night, I revisited a recipe that my aunt sent me years ago. And last night, I tried out another that a friend sent me.

What I love about both recipes is that they only have 4 ingredients and no kneading. Don’t get me wrong-I love the feel of bread dough in my hands and spending the time it takes to work it into a masterpiece. However, with a toddler and a house on the market I can appreciate a good hearty bread that isn’t so “needy.” Just put it together and leave it alone. If breads had a gender and a profession, these breads would be Cowboys. Cowboys that drive work trucks and where boots.

No Knead Bread #1 (via my aunt Mary, but in my own words)

Ingredients

3 Cups of All Purpose Flour

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 5/8 Cups of water

Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed (for dusting in the end)

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients with a wooden spoon. Add the water and stir until it’s blended. This dough will be sticky and messy. Cover it with plastic wrap (I used a cotton towel) and set it aside for 12 hours (or 18 if you have time).  Make sure it’s in a room that is warm or room temp.

2. After the allotted time (I mixed mine up in the evening and let it rise all night and morning), lightly flour a work surface. I use this for all things bread and pastry:

Norpro Pastry Frame

Sprinkle the dough with a little bit of flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Let it rest for about 15 minutes.

3. Use a little bit more flour to shape the dough into a ball. If you are using a pastry frame, like I do, place it seam side down back on the pastry frame and cover with a cotton towel. If you don’t have a pastry frame (which is really the most wonderful thing I have in my kitchen) you can use 2 cotton towels. Let it rise for 2 more hours. When it is ready, it will have doubled in size and won’t spring back when you touch it.

4. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees and, place a heavy covered pot (preferably cast iron, but you can use Pirex, enamel, or ceramic) in the oven while it’s heating. When the dough is ready, place it in the pot (I used a cast iron skillet), seam side up. If it looks messy, don’t worry, it will shape up on its own.  Cover the pot and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake it for another 15-30 minutes until it is golden  brown. Let it cool before you slice into it.

No Knead Bread #1

Last night, Matt wanted to make homemade pimento cheese, and we found that this recipe was especially yummy with our artisan bread:

Paula Deen’s Pimento Cheese

Home made Pimento Cheese. Mmmmmm.

The night before we added this family favorite to our bread:

Grilled Cucumber Sandwich

No Knead Bread #2

When my best friend, Kim heard I was making bread this week (heard because I was gloating to her about my mad skills-which aren’t really that mad) she sent along this recipe which she’s been making for 2 years or so (she’s a lot more accomplished than I in most things). So I made it last night. It’s easier to just re-post this blog, because it is very thorough and oh so helpful.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes

No Knead Bread #2

Both breads proved to be pretty dang (yeah, I live in the South, I say dang) delicious. And I will be making them both again. The first bread is a little more dense than the second and also more rustic. It took longer to rise, so you’ll need to plan this one out if you’re making it for friends. The second bread has a hint of sour dough in its flavor and is fluffier on the inside.  After its short rise, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 2 weeks-how great! Both were fun and EASY! Both look very pretty and have a great crust.

I can imagine if you want to really impress your friends for a Wine and Cheese fest, you may make these breads. They’ll probably think you bought them and what they won’t know (unless you showed them this blog) is that they are so much easier than your generic old dinner roll.

Bon Appetit and Enjoy!

Monkey Bread! October 11, 2010

Birthdays in my family always mean three things: steak, potatoes, and monkey bread. We probably have salad, too, but who cares about that when we have those three most delicious foods. So, on the Saturday before Labor day when my sisters and Matt’s sister were here and I prepared all day for a celebration of Nancy’s 25th last month and Laura’s 27th on the seventh. I got up really early and bought donuts, went on a walk, marinated steak, started Monkey Bread, made birthday cupcakes, and washed the potatoes to be boiled and whipped into a garlic-y delight when Matt was to get off. Unfortunately due to a little scheduling faux pas at work, Matt did not get off as planned and at 9:00pm we opted for the Chick fil A drive through instead of grilling (a decision Toby also benefited from when he sneakily ate the last of my sandwich from a top the table-beagles!). Ah well, steak is better the longer it’s marinated-right? And garlic whipped potatoes always taste better the next day…I think…

So, on Sunday we tried again, and birthday was enjoyed by most (sister #1 had to go back to work in Fort Worth).

Course one. Monkey Bread

 1. Dissolve 1 packet of yeast into 1/4 Cup of warm water

2. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar

( I do steps 3-8 in my KitchenAid with my bread hook. Though you can use a hand mixer,too)

3. In a bowl beat an egg and 1/2 Cup of sugar

4. Add 1/4 Cup vegetable oil & 1 teaspoon of salt.

5. Beat.

6. Add 1 Cup of water

7. Add yeast mixture (make sure it’s frothy on top, if not wait until it is)

8. Measure 4 1/2 cups of flour and add this into your mixture a little at a time.

9. When it is all mixed up turn it onto a floured counter and knead until stiff (I like doing this because it’s a good workout for the arms and it also reminds me of what women did everyday to feed their families only 3 generations ago-though you can also let the magical KithchenAid to it for you).

10. Put this all in a bowl in a warm sunny place and cover it with a damp towel. Note where it is in the bowl so you’ll know when it’s doubled.

11. When it is doubled take out some aggression by punching it all down one time (so make it count).

12.  Flour your counter again and roll it out so it’s about 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick.

13.  Bust out your pizza cutter and cut into strips.

14. Melt one stick of butter and douse each piece in butter. *****

15. Criss cross the dough in a bread or bundt pan and drizzle leftover butter on top.

16. Let rise for another hour or so.

17.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. The exterior should be a little crispy and a dark gold. Yummy.

Course Two. Steak.

1. Sprinkle raw steak with a generous amount of lemon juice which serves as a natural tenderizer and allow to sit for a couple of hours.

2. Smear each steak with yellow mustard.

3. Sprinkle generously with garlic and Montreal steak seasoning.

4. Douse in Red wine, soy sauce, and Worcestershire.

5. Grill (or have your husband grill) to your liking.

Course Three. Garlic Whipped Potatoes.

1. Wash and peel (or not, I like the skins so I don’t) 5-7 little red potatoes.

2.  Dice them, in inch sized pieces.

3.  Boil.

4.  With a hand mixer, whip your potatoes using your desired amount of sour cream, butter, and garlic powder to taste.

Bon Appetit and Enjoy!

A word on the steak.

I got a thin top sirloin cut from the store-because it was cheap. It marinated for two days and it was only moderately tender. For the last few years, we’ve been pretty cheapy and the best cheap-o steak I’ve found is those little filet mignons you can get that are pre-packaged and wrapped in bacon. I cringe as I write this because I know that they are probably injected with crazy stuff (insert shiver) but they are tasty and tender. SO….until the money (if ever???haha) comes pouring in, I’ll probably stick with these or with whatever’s on sale at Kroger. However-if you want it GRRRREEEAAATT-go for a T-bone (Matt’s favorite) or a thick cut good sirloin (my favorite). 

A word on the bread.

First of all, once I tried to go the healthier route and skimped on the butter. And the fact is folks, you gotta use a whole stick-maybe two. And who cares about health when you’re only making this bread for special occasions? Second of all, beware of burning the yeast. I’ve only done this once and unfortunately it was for friends who I was really trying to impress (what’s it that they always say about pride again??). Yes, just use really warm tap water-never nuke the water.