Nice article on bread

Here' s a re-posted article from Slowfood USA - Nicely thought out and I love the name.

Breaducation

Posted on Thu, January 08, 2009 by Jerusha Klemperer
7 Comments | Categories: Bread,

Our newest team member at Slow Food USA is Nathan Leamy.  Nathan came to us from San Francisco where he was working to help organize for, and subsequently, clean up from Slow Food Nation.  Prior to his adventures there, Nathan wandered the globe with a Watson Fellowship studying the impact of the Green Revolution on grain consumption in Mexico, India, France, and Egypt.  A graduate of Oberlin College and Deep Springs College, Nathan grew up in Portland, Oregon.  Here he starts what we hope to have as a series on his passion, hobby, and means of sustenance – bread.

by Slow Food USA staffer Nathan Leamy

Though I have been a voracious eater all my life, my breaducation (‘cause that’s what the cool kids are calling it these days) started while I was living on a ranch in Eastern California.  Since then, the works of Nancy Silverton, Julia Child, and Steven Kaplan have inspired me to find, produce, and eat better baked goods.  Work in various quasi-professional kitchens, an apprenticeship at a bakery in Paris last spring, and the dedicated consumption of carbohydrates have rounded out my working knowledge of bread.

While I respect all breads, my passion goes out to traditional French loaves made with sourdough. Sourdough is a wild yeast which has been caught and tamed to produce slow developing, flavorful bread. Contrary to the term, sourdough breads need not be sour. Many breads labeled as sourdough in the US are still made with commercial yeast and actually just have extra acids added to them to make them taste sour, but traditional bakeries nationwide are seeing a resurgence of sourdough use.  Sourdough breads can be made in any shape or size, but the traditional shapes are the boule, baguette, and epi.

Even where crusty, artisanal breads can be found, many fall flat in flavor.  How can you tell if a loaf of artisan sourdough is good?  For your reading pleasure - and perhaps even the first part of your breaducation – here’s an attempt to summarize the five easy indicators of good bread.

Judge a book by its cover. Ugly bread is rarely good.  Pallid, dimpled, and dull bread should turn you away. Good sourdough should have a dark, caramel crust with weight to it. The bread should be aesthetically pleasing - well formed, balanced, even. It is saggy or looks over stuffed, no good. The crust shouldn’t shine like it’s been lacquered - but it should have a healthy amount of texture to it. If you’ve got a real winner it will have a pinhead sized, light bubbles evenly spread about it. Slashes across the top should be pronounced and should have prevented the bread from ripping at the seams during baking.

Listen to your bread. When picking up a loaf of good bread, it should have an even feel – it should not be lopsided or off-kilter. Knock lightly on the bottom with your finger tips and you should hear a hollow thump like you are striking a drum. Squeezing lightly, the bread should have some give and make a crackling noise.

What’s on the inside counts too. The inside of the bread (called the crumb) should have air holes in it. Unevenly spaced, unevenly sized, with stretches of gluten on the edges. How dense or light you like your crumb is all a matter of personal preference, but you need to see some holes to show that there was some action inside the loaf.

Dive in, nose first. Good bread shouldn’t be just a neutral medium to pile other things atop. It should have a flavor and smell that complement what you are eating. Breaking open a loaf and pushing your nose in it should give you the best idea of what’s going on in there. Depending on the sourdough used, flavors can run the gamut - but most importantly there should be some sort of fragrance and not the dull, sweet, hollow smell of industrial yeast.

Eat it. Since the point of bread is eating, a bread should be, well, good to have in your mouth. Biting into bread you should have a bit of pull on the crust, but not have to fight with it. The crumb shouldn’t just dissolve, be so dry as to make you feel parched, yet not so soggy to make you feel icky.  It should feel good to loll around in your mouth for a little bit before you finally get to eat your good bread.

That’s how you identify good bread.  The most important matter is to stop and think about it.  Though eaten nearly everyday, people often settle for something mediocre without giving it a second thought.  These indicators aren’t prerequisite for good tasting bread – but every little bit helps.  Whether buying from a bakery – or making your own sourdough treats at home – it takes all of your senses to find that which is good.

 http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/breaducation/

Green Tomato Chutney

So I made all those green tomatoes into Chutney. It took about 15 min to chop up things. I did some in the food processor and then sum by hand just to mix up the texture a bit. I based the whole thing on that recipe from Instructables but changed it a bit to account for what I had on hand.

I used:

about 5 kgs of tomatoes
1 quart of red wine vinegar
1 pint of balsamic vinegar
2 lbs of brown sugar
3 big onions
sea salt
dried cranberries

It turned out really well and now my favorite thing to do with it - small patty shell filled with goat cheese and topped with the chutney... instant appy.

Recipe:The Frittata

The other day Mark was giving me a bad time that I had so few recipes on the blog. So in an effort to make him happy I decided to post some of my favorite breakfast dishes. One of the B's in B&B does stand for breakfast!

A Frittata is an Italian omelette that is baked in the oven. Some call it crust less quiche which is also especially correct. The following is the one I make regularly. You can substitute and fillings you like just watch that your choices don't add to much liquid to the mix.

Preheat oven to 375 F
Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
garlic, fresh basil, oregano, salt and fresh ground pepper ( don't be shy with the seasonings)

1/2 cup grated cheese blend - I tend to use mozza, provolone and cheddar but you can use what ever your tastes run to
crumbled bacon, chopped cooked spinach, diced onion, diced tomato equaling about 1 1/2 cups

procedure:
whip eggs and cream together  then add remaining ingredients. Spray or grease an oven proof casserole dish big enough that the mixture will fill 1/2 to 2/3 full but make sure the pan not more than 2 1/2 inches deep. ( the Frittata will take too long to bake and become too brown on top otherwise)
Bake until the center is just set anywhere from 30 - 45 mins.

Serve with hash browns or if brunch a nice greens and tomato salad.

Roast Beef

We were serving a banquet last night. Our standard roast beef buffet, nothing outrageous, in fact pretty easy in the scheme of things.  I was carving on the buffet line and a lady comes up and asks for a piece of "prime beef" or something like that. The first thing I thought was uggg another one that really doesn't know what she is eating.
On our way home Mark and I discussed the situation. The guest had been influenced by marketing practices of grocery stores and restaurant chains without a doubt. Now the question is: " what" did she think she was eating?
Was it Prime Rib or just "prime" meaning "good" beef ?  Well in an effort to help sort out the differences in beef cuts served by commercial operations such as mine I thought I would give you a little information on the topic.

First off; restaurant cuts and retail cuts are two different beasts. The retail outlets of the country have thought up niffty names in an attempt to make their products more sell able and so they can charge more . The likes of "standing rib roast" and "sirloin tip roast" don't exist in my world. We buy beef in much lager cuts, in fact primal cuts are what I purchase. They have no fancy adjectives to describe them or their tenderness. They just tell me what part of the beasties they come from.

What does all this mean you ask? Well it means that on my menu I have 3 types of what would be considered "Roast Beef" and with a little help you can tell which one you are being served just by looking at it on my cutting board.

1. Roast Beef -  I use round roasts - now that does not mean that the roast is round like a ball. It is the primal cut from the leg of the animal - it may be an inside round or an outside round - depends on what is the best price that week. If they had a bone the inside would be one side ,the outside would be another and the whole thiing with the bone would be a hip of beef. Like all our roasts we season them and then roast them slow ( about 275 F and no lid on it please- if you put a lid on it you are steam or braising it not roasting it)  It is an irregular shape and has grain running in several directions. The round is not a particular tender cut of beef but if you treat it well it will treat you well. Two most important things - Cook it slow and do not  over cook it.  When you carve it always carve across the grain and in thin slices.

It looks something like this. 

or cooked 

its tasty and lean and what 80% of our roast beef banquets are. (We used 77 cases last year- thats 144 roasts)

2. Roast Striploin : The second type we roast is the striploin sometimes called New York Striploin.  This is the same piece that a New York steak is cut from but we roast them whole. If you think of a T bone steak  one side of the bone is the tenderloin or fillet the other is the New York. The grain is fine and runs all the same direction making it really easy to carve. Again we roast it slow and never cooking past medium rare. ( those that must have well done can get it from the end cuts)  Its by far my favorite form of roast beef . You can spot it on a buffet line by its uniform rectangular shape and the thin fat cap on it. It looks like this

 

3. The Prime Rib- What many consider the King of roast beef.  No its not a standing rib roast ( although that is what retailers sell pieces of prime rib as) it's not a cross rib roast ( thats just a messy thing and a way for retailers to get more for a piece of meat than its worth) It's an 8 bone ( although you rarely see the bones on the buffet) primal cut that is a wonder all it's own. This is the one we done for the Teck coal Christmas parties. Boarder Lumber had it this year and what I would recommend to anyone that wants to impress there guests. It does cost more but its worth it.  We roast it slow ( see the pattern here) with the bones and the fat cap on then remove them for service.  It has a fine grain that runs all the same way and can be carved as thick as you like which makes it really easy to serve and the one that I train new carvers on.  On the buffet it is the easiest to spot ( it just lies there with its flat bottom, thats the side the bones were on, and its rounded top tapering to its little tail.)  Don't ask for it with no fat ( it doesn't come that way, and thats why it has sooooo much flavour) but do take it done anywhere up to medium. ( this helps to melt the fat and make it taste better) It looks like this:

raw

cooked

and on your plate

Well I hope this dispelled some of the confusion around the mighty "Alberta Roast Beef"

Continuing Education Classes

For the first time in many years I taught a Con-Ed class last week. It was as much fun as I remembered. The ladies that joined me gathered around the bar that separates the kitchen from the rest of the house and we chatted and I cooked. The topic of the class was Hors d'œuvre. You know, those little bite size wonders that sends hostesses into fits. Well we made a bunch of easy, many do- ahead, items that work really well, sampling all the while.  

  
Thanks again for coming Ladies. I hope to see you again in other classes.
Anyone who is interested in joining us can register with Toni and CNP Adult Education 

Hors d’oeuvres – Intermediate

Make simple and elegant hors d’oeuvres that will allow freedom through advanced preparation so you are able to both enjoy your party and impress your guests. These great do ahead treats are sure to be a hit!!!

Dates: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Cost: $25.00
Instructor: Dawn Rigby
Location: Country Encounters Hospitality – 7701 17th Avenue Coleman
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, November 3, 2010
To Register: 403-562-2853

How to Make Sushi

Learn the special techniques of Japanese cooks to make these easy recipes in your own kitchen. You will work with special tools and ingredients and learn how to select the freshest foods available to you. You are sure to wow any dinner guest with these hand-made beauties. Nori rolls and Nagari made easy!!!

Dates: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Cost: $25.00
Instructor: Dawn Rigby
Location: Country Encounters Hospitality – 7701 17th Avenue Coleman
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
To Register: 403-562-2853

A cold and dreary Sunday afternoon ....

my answer is to cook. I had to make cabbage rolls for a couple of clients .... so I made cabbage rolls- 35 lbs of them. Anyone want some? Besides that I did up a batch of Fougasse - an olive and herb bread. Nice stuff.

2 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water

dissolve yeast and sugar in water and set aside to bubble.

4 cups strong white flour
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2tsp salt

mix flour and  salt together and then mix in the remaining ingredients including yeast to form a ball. Kneed for 10 min or until smooth and elastic ( I do this in my mixer - takes about 4-5 min.) then place in a greased bowl. Cover and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume ( about 1 hour)

Punch down and mix in 1 cup chopped black olives and a handful of herbs ( basil, parsley, thyme etc what ever you have) kneed for about 5 min.  divide dough into 4 equal pieces and form into small oval loaves about 3/4 of an inch thick. Score the top and cover and let rise another 20 min. or so.

Bake in 410 degree oven for about 35 min ( until crisp)  To make a crispy crust spray the inside of the oven with water about 15 min into baking time.

Fresh from the oven ..... good stuff


 

The Breakfast Skillet

For the group I have here right now,I made a Breakfast skillet for brunch. Easiest thing in the world.


to serve 8

spray a 9x13 baking dish.
brown about 4 cups of shredded frozen hash browns in a pan with a little oil and some seasoning salt.
in another pan cook 10-12 strips of diced bacon and 1/2 onion diced until almost crisp. Pour of oil into hash browns.
Place hash browns in baking dish crack 8-10 eggs on top , top with bacon mix and shredded cheddar, cover and bake at 400 for about 20 min or until eggs are to your favorite doneness.

Serve with cheese biscuits and fruit -  thats it easy easy .  

Recipe: Panettone (Italian Christmas Bread)

As promised the recipe for Panettone (Italian Christmas Bread) that Mark made. You will notice that this is quite different than the usual recipes that I offer in that it has actual measurements. That’s cause its baking. It makes a difference that you must measure. Enjoy!



This Italian fruitcake-style yeast bread is typically baked into a tall, cylindrical shape (empty coffee cans work great as baking pans). While its origins are sketchy, one legend holds that in the late 1400s, a young Milanese nobleman fell in love with the daughter of a baker named Toni and created "Pan de Toni" to impress his love's father.

Yield: 2 loaves (8 servings per loaf) (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients
Marinated fruit:
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup dried tart cherries
1/4 cup triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur) or orange juice

Dough:
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
6 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon butter or stick margarine, melted
2 teaspoons turbinado or granulated sugar

Preparation
To prepare marinated fruit, combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; let stand 1 hour. Drain fruit in a sieve over a bowl, reserving fruit and 2 teaspoons liqueur separately.

To prepare dough, dissolve yeast and 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar in warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1/2 cup flour and next 6 ingredients (1/2 cup flour through egg yolk) in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer 1 minute or until smooth. Add yeast mixture and 1/2 cup flour; beat 1 minute. Stir in marinated fruit, 2 1/2 cups flour, and pine nuts. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, about 1 1/2 hours. Dough will not double in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)


Punch dough down; let rest 5 minutes. Divide in half, shaping each into a ball. Place balls into 2 (13-ounce) coffee cans coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Uncover dough. Place coffee cans on bottom rack in oven, and bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until browned and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove bread from cans, and cool on a wire rack. Combine reserved 2 teaspoons liqueur and 1 teaspoon butter; brush over loaves. Sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar.

Recipe: Cabbage rolls

One our more popular dishes not on banquets but for take home.(yes we make up things for you to take home occasionally) is Cabbage Rolls. Why am I always making these for people? My guess is that everyone thinks it's lots of work and the ones we make are a little unusual and quit good. They developed from a Dine Alberta menu we made a few years back. The original used local bison instead of beef and had barley in them. Here is what they became. We make them all the time and you can order them from me. I line up a few customers then make several hundred at a time. Or you can make them yourself.


Frozen cabbage defrosted ( freeze it for a couple of days then let it thaw and you don't have to steam it)

Ground beef and ground pork 1/2 and 1/2
Fried bacon and onions (lots of onion)
Par cooked pearl barley (about equal to the amount of beef you use)
Seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken base (for you that don't have it around in buckets use knor soup base)

Combine all meat, onion, barley and seasoning and yes add the fat from cooking the bacon. Mix well then roll in separated cabbage leaves. place in baking dish. (you want to have enough room in your dish to hold the sauce and it will not boil all over your oven)

The sauce for this is simple - one can of diced tomato, one can of tomato sauce, sliced onion and lots of seasoning particularly pepper. Top the rolls with onion then pour the tomatoes and sauce over the top season well and then cover with plastic wrap (yes plastic wrap in the oven , it keeps the tomatoes from dissolving the foil) and foil back at 325 for several hours. How long depends on how big your pan is. My inserts take anywhere up to 6 hours but the average for a domestic pan would be about 3

Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes

Recently a friend asked "How do you make scalloped potatoes?" Well it's not something I make often as they don't look particularly nice on a plate or buffet line but they are popular when I do make them. I guess it’s one of those "home cooking" (which is actually a term that irritates me to no end, what difference does it make in the quality of the produce where I make it at home or at work) things. Anyways here is the reply I gave my friend:


Ok when I make them it is for a large group but the steps are the same.
You will need a casserole dish about 1/3 to 1/2 again as big as the amount of potatoes you need ( size depends on if you want to risk them boiling over in the oven.
Slice potato into about 1/8 inch slice ( usually peeled but I have done it with new red potatoes with skins on and it turns out very nice) add onions ( add as many as you like up to 1/4 of the potato amount) toss in melted butter ( about 3/4 of a cup for 10 large potatoes) until evenly covered and there is extra in the bottom of the bowl. This is what thickens the sauce so don't be cheap. then mix in flour to absorb all the butter fat. at this time you will want to add seasoning again don't be cheep potatoes require a fair amount of salt etc. I use seasoning salt and extra pepper and sometimes a little garlic powder. Now I tend to use half milk and half whipping cream heated (makes a richer sauce) you need to add the liquid until the potatoes are covered and mix it in well the better it is mixed the less likely the sauce is to break or separate. (this doesn't hurt the taste but makes them look kind of icky. cover and cook in a 300 degree oven until the potatoes are tender. Check them often if it looks like you are getting low on liquid add a bit more milk. It's important not to boil them to hard as the milk will go all scummy but the cream helps to counter that.

I'm sure that eventually in the life of this blog the recipes will become more coherent in format but then again maybe not as I rarely measure, and most quantities I make are far larger than any of you would need but the steps are the same. I guess we will just have to see how things go.

Maybe I should include a tip with each recipe. Tip of the day: remember when you are cooking that the most important thing is taste so season often and taste your creations as you are making them to see how the seasoning is then adjust it. Never take the seasoning amounts in a recipe as gospel they are really only guidelines and nothing replaces your taste buds.