Olive Ciabatta

From Luke Joyner

[Ed: Luke brought this, and the chorizo cornbread that follows, on a whim – and fresh out of the oven to boot. Adapted from basic ciabatta in Rose Levy Beranbaum‘s Bread Bible, this recipe doesn’t actually take very long in active time, says Luke, but you’ll have to budget a night and most of the next day in total.]

Ingredients

Starter

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon yeast

1/2 cup water, room temperature

Dough

Scant 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/4 to 1/3 pound pitted kalamata olives

Preparation

The night before you plan to bake the bread, right before you go to bed, make the starter.

Combine the flour and yeast, then the water. Mix with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. It will be sticky; do the best you can. Put in a slightly oiled plastic quart container, put the cap on, and leave overnight at room temperature.

The next day, make the dough.

Mix the flour and the yeast until fully combined.

Add the salt to the flour/yeast mixture (do not do this until the yeast is fully mixed into the flour; otherwise, the salt will kill the yeast). Then add the water and all your starter, and stir to combine with a wooden spoon, just until the dough is combined enough that you can use your hands.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes with your hands, pressing it down and folding it into itself to increase air content. Place in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Let the dough rise in a slightly warm place. About 2 hours will do … the dough should be doubled or tripled in volume.

Shape the dough and let it rise again.

Turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled counter, and shape (handling as little as possible) into a long rectangle. Place half of the olives on one third of the rectangle, and push them into the dough slightly. Fold that third over onto the middle third of the rectangle. Place the remaining half of the olives atop the now double-height middle portion. Fold the final third of the dough over this, so that you have a dough/olive/dough/olive/dough sandwich. Poke the top of the dough down with your fingers. Push in the sides of the dough slightly. Repeat the poke/push a couple times.

Flip the dough over onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise again, about 1 hour in a slightly warm place.

Bake the bread. 30-45 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 475 F. If you have multiple sheet trays, put one in the oven as you preheat. Put a pan on the floor of the oven that can withstand that kind of heat.

When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap, brush the surface of the bread with olive oil, and sprinkle a little salt on it. Put the bread’s tray into the oven, nesting in the other sheet tray that’s already in there. Throw two handfuls of ice cubes into the pan on the floor of the oven, and quickly close the door.

After 5 minutes, reduce heat to 450 F. Continue baking for 20 minutes after this. Turn the oven off, and open the door halfway for 5 minutes before removing the bread.

Let bread cool. Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool. Eat and enjoy!

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Chorizo Cornbread

From Luke Joyner

Ingredients

1 pack loose chorizo sausage (the exact amount can be variable)

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon self-rising white cornmeal (get it in the south if you can)

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1 cup liquid fat (you’ll get some of this from cooking the chorizo … the remaining fat should be canola oil)

1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cook the chorizo in a cast iron pan (ideally 15″, but 12″ is OK) until broken up and browned. Remove all the sausage from the pan. Pour excess liquid fat into a one-cup measure, and top off the cup with canola oil. Without cleaning the pan (which should still be coated in a bit of fat, but no solids), put it immediately in your preheating oven.

Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl, with a whisk, until fully combined. There should be no clumps of cornmeal.

When the oven is hot, remove the (empty) cast iron pan and place it on a medium burner. As quickly as possible, pour the batter onto the pan, getting all of it out with a spatula. Return the pan to the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the bread is firm and starting to brown on top.

If you have a broiler that can apply direct heat to the top of the bread, put the bread in this for a minute or two to further brown the top, carefully watching to make sure it browns but doesn’t burn. If not, just turn the oven to its highest setting, and leave the bread in the oven a few minutes more.

Remove the bread from the oven and let cool. It should be easy to remove from the cast iron pan with a spatula.

Bread Sticks

From Maggie Kast

Makes 30 breadsticks, or 1 loaf plus 15 long breadsticks

[Ed: I think Maggie used a lot of paprika. These had a serious kick!]

Ingredients

2 pounds bread flour (more if needed)

2 ¾ cups warm water

4 ½ teaspoons yeast

4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon sugar

coarse salt

hot smoked paprika (pimenton de la vera, hot)

assorted seeds such as caraway, fennel, and sesame

Preparation

Sprinkle yeast on water at around 100 degrees F, add sugar and let rest 5 minutes. It should bubble. Then stir to mix. Put flour in large bowl, mix with salt and then add yeast mixture all at once. Fold together with a rubber spatula and turn out on board. Wash the bowl (this interlude allows the flour to absorb the liquid). Knead until shiny, stretchy and not too sticky, adding more flour if needed (but slap it around a bit first, that may be all that’s needed). Let rise until double in bulk, 2-3 hours. Punch down and rise again, 1-2 hours.

To make breadsticks, roll out dough about 1/3 inch thick (or roll out half of dough and form the other half into a loaf). Cut into strips 1/3 inch wide. Grease 2 cookie sheets or use a Silpat. Take each strip and twist one end clockwise and the other counterclockwise. Sprinkle salt and seeds or paprika on a board and roll each stick, thinning it a bit and coating fully. Place on baking sheet. Let rise 20-30 minutes and bake at 350 F, rotating pans, until brown and crisp on the outside but still soft within. For a loaf, let rise until it doubles in bulk and bake at 400 F about 45 minutes, until it sounds hollow when tapped.

Onion and Gruyere Bread Pudding

From Celeste Dolan/Celestial Kitchens

[Ed: More fun with stale bread! Nuff said.]

Ingredients

2 yellow onions, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter

Freshly ground black pepper

6 cups 1-inch-cubed crustless brioche

6 cups 1-inch-cubed crusty white bread

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

3 large eggs

3 cups whole milk

3 cups heavy cream

freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup shredded gruyere

Preparation

Place a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, add butter and olive oil to pan. Add sliced onions and saute until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While onions are cooking, spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake until dry and pale gold, about 20 minutes, turning pan about halfway through. Transfer to a large bowl, leaving the oven on.

Add onions, chives and thyme to the bowl of bread; toss well. In another large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then whisk in milk, cream, a generous pinch of salt, pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded cheese in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Spread 1/2 of bread mixture in pan, and sprinkle with another 1/4 cup cheese. Spread remaining bread mixture in pan, and sprinkle with another 1/4 cup cheese. Pour in enough milk mixture to cover bread, and gently press on bread so milk soaks in. Let rest 15 minutes.

Add remaining milk mixture, letting some bread cubes protrude. Sprinkle with salt and remaining cheese. Bake until set and top is brown and bubbling, about 1 1/2 hours. Internal temp should be 170 degrees. Serve hot.

Buttermilk Corn Muffins

From Allison Stout and Andrea Deibler/Lost in the Supermarket

Makes about 12 standard muffins

[Ed: I got neither a taste nor a photo of these, darnit. Per Allison the recipe is adapted from one for Cheddar-Buttermilk Cornbread in the December 2002 issue of Bon Appetit.]

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 – 6 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup frozen corn kernels (or fresh, if in season)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup heavy cream

2 eggs

¼ cup melted butter, cooled

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Use butter or baking spray to grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add corn to skillet. Stirring frequently, cook corn for 3-4 minutes or until heated through and fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk first 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Mix in cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, cream, eggs, and melted  butter to blend. Add buttermilk mixture and cooled corn (along with any fat from pan) to dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated taking care not to over mix. Let batter rest for 5 minutes, then spoon into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake about 18 – 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden on top. Devour.

Vegan Corn Muffins

From Kelly Reiss

[Ed: Adapted (ie: vegan-ized) from the classic recipe found on a bag of Aunt Jemima Cornmeal.]

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened soy milk, spoiled with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer beaten with 2 tablespoons warm water

1/4 cup canola oil

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425° F and thickly grease 10 muffin tins with vegan shortening.

In large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk. Milk will thicken and will become texture of buttermilk. Add oil, soymilk, and egg replacer mixure to dry ingredients. Beat with wire whisk about 1 minute.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, until a little over half-filled, bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

King Arthur No-Knead Crusty White Bread

From Rae Hill

Makes 3 or 4 loaves

[Ed: Again, not the right photo. But check out the bread bounty! Also, I don’t know why there’s an embarrassing little yellow smiley where the number 8 should be, below, but I’m too tired to figure out what the deal is. Just visualize an “8” there, OK?] Fixed!]

Ingredients

3 cups lukewarm water

6 1/2 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

Directions

*Note: The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup, then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 1/2 cups. If you measure flour by dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 1/2 cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you measure flour by weight, use 32 ounces.

1) Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, or a large (6-quart), food-safe plastic bucket. For first-timers, “lukewarm” means about 105°F, but don’t stress over getting the temperatures exact here. Comfortably warm is fine; “OUCH, that’s hot!” is not. Yeast is a living thing; treat it nicely.

2) Mix and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds. If you don’t have a mixer, just stir-stir-stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is combined.

3) Next, you’re going to let the dough rise. If you’ve made the dough in a plastic bucket, you’re all set — just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. If you’ve made the dough in a bowl that’s not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it’s going to rise a lot. There’s no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it’s time to bake bread.

4) Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you’re pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it’ll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it’ll rise, then fall. That’s OK; that’s what it’s supposed to do.

5) When you’re ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It’ll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

6) Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don’t fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.

7) Place the dough on a piece of parchment (if you’re going to use a baking stone); or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

8) Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won’t appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it’ll seem to settle and expand. Preheat your oven (and baking stone, if you’re using one) to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow pan on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

9) When you’re ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2″ deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that’s OK, it’ll pick right up in the hot oven.

10) Place the bread in the oven, and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. It’ll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.

11) Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it’s a deep, golden brown.

12) Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Yeast-free Vegan Bread

From Rae Hill

[Ed: Honestly, I am not at all sure this is the correct photo. But is sure is pretty.]

Ingredients

2 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cups almond milk or water (works with any liquid)

1/4 cup olive oil (you can also use melted milk-free margarine, vegetable oil, or any other liquid fat, instead of olive oil)

Preparation

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside. Then combine milk and oil together and mix liquids into dry.
Stir just until the flour is incorporated and you can no longer see dry granules.
Depending on the humidity of the air where you live you may need a little bit more or less liquid.
The dough should be moist but not sticky, let the dough sit for 3 or 4 minutes to allow the flour to fully absorb the liquid, do not rush to add liquid or flour to it the dough. Make sure not to over stir the dough or your bread will be tough.

Dust a baking sheet with flour, then oil your hands; this will keep the dough from sticking to them. Take the dough and shape it into a ball and place on baking pan. Score the surface in a diamond or X shape to prevent splitting of the crust.

Bake for 40 minutes at 400F.

Boule with Onion Jam

From Devon Bergman

(Adapted from the “Master Recipe” in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.)

Makes four one-pound loaves

Bread

3 cups lukewarm water (no warmer than 100 degrees)

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)

1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher or other coarse salt

6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with scoop and sweep method

parchment paper for baking

baking stone

broiler pan

Onion Jam

3 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 1/4 red onions, thinly sliced

1/2 bottle dry red wine

2 tablespoons ruby port

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Warm water slightly: it should feel just a little warmer than body temp. If cold water is used the rise time will be doubled.

2. Combine yeast, salt, and water in a 5-quart mixing bowl or large plastic container and give it a quick stir.

3. Add the flour all at once to the yeast, salt, and water. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is well-incorporated; it should appear uniform with no dry patches. (NO KNEADING IS NECESSARY.) This mixing should only take a couple of minutes.

4. Allow the dough to rise. Cover the bowl or container with a non-air tight lid or loose fitting sheet of plastic wrap. The mixture should rise at room temp. until dough begins to collapse or at least flatten on the top. (No less than 2 hours)

5. While the dough is rising make the onion jam as follows:

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, stir to coat with butter. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until the onions are wilted but not browned, 20-30 minutes. Add the red wine, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer, uncovered until there is little or no liquid, 40-50 minutes. Add the port and the sugar and simmer until all the liquid has been cooked away. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Forming the Boule: Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a one-pound piece the size of a large grapefruit size. Dust hands and work surface with more flour if necessary. Again – NO KNEADING IS NECESSARY. (The remaining dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 14 days with an air-tight lid.)

Before forming the dough into a ball create a pocket in the lump of dough with the handle of a wooden spoon and fill the cavity with jam. Gently pinch the pocket closed and repeat in another area of the dough until there is a random distribution of jam-filled pockets deep within the dough (as few or as many as desired).

Dust hands with more flour if needed. To create a “gluten cloak” gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. The bottom of the ball may look like a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out in the resting and baking process.

7. Place the formed loaf on a sheet of parchment on top of an upside-down sheet pan. Rest the dough between 40 and 60 minutes before baking.

8. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a baking stone in the oven on the center rack and an empty boiler tray on the lowest rack.

9. After the boule has rested, paint the loaf with water and slash the top of the loaf with 1/4″ deep cuts approximately 2″ apart.

10. When the oven is fully preheated, slide the loaf with the parchment onto the baking stone from the upside down sheet pan. In the broiler tray on the low oven rack, place ice cubes from two trays to create steam during the baking process. The loaf should bake until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch, approximately 50 min.

11. Let cool completely before slicing.

Zeljenica

From Vera Videnovich

 

[Says Vera: “Pita” is a generic term used to describe all these dishes: zeljenica = with spinach and cheese; sirnica  = with cheese; gibanica  = with cheese; burek (sa mesom) = stuffed with meat; krompirusa = stuffed with potatoes. Greeks also have a similar dish: spanakopita. It’s a peasant dish, and I don’t really make it the same way twice.”]

 

6 eggs (free-range preferred) + 1 egg reserved

1/2 lb feta cheese *

32 oz cottage cheese or ricotta

swiss chard** steamed and finely chopped

1 package phyllo leaves*** 

canola oil

Large baking dish with at least a 2″ rim.

Beat the eggs and add crumbled feta and cottage cheese. Gently stir in the steamed swiss chard.

Lightly oil the baking dish. Add two phyllo leaves, lightly brushing or sprinkling oil on each leaf.

Spoon the egg-cheese mix evenly over the phyllo. Add two more phyllo leaves, again adding oil to each leaf. Continue with the phyllo + egg-cheese layers until you run out, reserving one or two phyllo leaves for the top. Beat the reserved egg with a tablespoon of water and brush on the top, this will help keep the top phyllo layer from drying out and adds “texture.” 

Cover with foil and bake at 375F for about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Baking times are approximate as you want to make sure the egg mixture is fully baked and depends on how many layers you make and how thick your phyllo or dough is.

* domestic feta cheese has less salt added. French feta is my favorite as it has a rich texture and flavor.

**swiss chard, sorrel, spinach, or kale can be used in this dish.

***yufka, lavosh or large wheat tortilla breads also work.