Settling in After a Move

It has been quite some time since I last wrote; over 2 months, as a matter of fact. After packing up a household of stuff, traveling cross country and now doing the whole thing in reverse, I've had little time to think of anything but getting things in enough order to function, if not yet at optimal levels.

I have cooked, but only simple, well-used recipes. No time for experimentation just yet, though today I finally decided to take a step in the right direction. Having been used to making all my bread for years and years and years, it has been hard to have to go back to store bought. I've been buying Oroweat brand breads, which taste okay, but I have been itching to get back to making our bread. 

When we prepared to move, I had to make a decision whether to try and take my old Sourdough Starter dough with me, or just toss it and start afresh. Since we were going to be traveling to a very hot part of the country, I felt it would be better not to put such stress on the poor starter, so I tossed it. Today, I got out one of Peter Reinhart's books, "Whole Grain Breads," to try out his Seed Culture, in preparation for a new batch of Starter. In this book, he talks of people having trouble getting a seed starter to get going, and many people complaining that their seed starter went bad. Apparently there is a bacteria called leuconostoc that does this, and using an acidic liquid seems to prevent this from happening. His recipe uses unsweetened pineapple juice, but he suggests that lemon juice or orange juice can work as well, or even ascorbic acid powder.

Making my first Seed Starter in 2014

When I made my first Seed Starter, back in May of 2014, from the first Peter Reinhart book I received, called "The Bread Baker's Apprentice," I followed his instructions and my starter proceeded perfectly as described, with no off odors or mold or anything at all untoward happening. Possibly, as I make bread all the time, the right kinds of yeasts and bacteria were present and I had no problems. Whatever it was, I maintained that starter batter these 5 ensuing years, with no problems. I am in a totally different part of the country now, with high heat as the norm, and I have no idea how all this will affect the whole process of starters and bread making, so I am starting all new. I will keep tabs on how it all goes. 

Foods I have made since moving in, mostly in the last 2 weeks, are spaghetti (using a jar of sauce), Sloppy Joes (using a can), simple cooked chicken, Uniquely Fine Chicken Salad, Rhubarb Pineapple Pie, Roasted Corn and Poblano Chowder, Rhubarb Cake (using coconut oil - at liquid state in these temperatures) with Whipped Buttercream Frosting, Chopped Radish Salad (Picado de Rabano, a Guatemalan salad that I love, though I generally do not care for radishes at all), and Creamy Corn Casserole. Here are some of the recipes, below.

Rhubarb Cake

Rhubarb Cake

Makes one 9 x 13-inch cake

1½ cups rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
½ cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup oil OR 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk

TOPPING:
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup coconut
⅔ cup brown sugar
¼ cup milk
½ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or lightly spray with cooking spray an oven-safe 9 x 13-inch pan. Set aside.

Combine the rhubarb and the ½ cup sugar and set aside. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, the 1½ cups sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Separately whisk together the buttermilk, egg and oil or melted butter. Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Add in the reserved rhubarb mixture and fold to combine. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the topping. Combine all the topping ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring, and boil for 3 minutes. Pour over the warm cake.

NOTES: This type of topping is often broiled once on the cake. If you choose this method, watch closely so as not to burn the topping. Another alternative is to prepare a streusel and sprinkle this over the unbaked cake. This yields a cake with topping already in place.

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Picado de Rabano or Chopped Radish Salad

Picado de Rabano or Chopped Radish Salad

Serves 2 to 4

12 radishes, trimmed
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion
½ cup fresh mint, chopped fine
2 limes, juiced
Salt, to taste

Place onion and radishes in food processor and pulse just enough to chop relatively fine - do not over process. Place in a bowl and add all the other ingredients and mix well.

NOTES: If this dish is made with a similar amount (to the whole of the radish recipe) of chopped pork rinds chopped and added, it is called Chojin (pronounced cho-HEEN). If one adds an equal amount (to the whole amount of the radish recipe) finely chopped roast beef (I use cooked brisket), it is called Salpicon.

Chopped Radish Salad with Meat or Salpicon

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Creamy Corn Casserole

Creamy Corn Casserole

Serves 6 to 8

1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can cream-style corn
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 box "Jiffy" corn muffin mix

Combine all ingredients in a 13 x 9-inch casserole. No need to even grease the pan! Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or till golden.

NOTES: This recipe can be made gluten free by using a similar amount of gluten free corn muffin mix, such as Bob's Red Mill. 




My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Just Because Sometimes White Breads are Delicious

I know I have been all about whole grains and seeds, and particularly in breads. But, you know, sometimes there are some old recipes that just taste so terribly good. How could I let them slip away? I really cannot. And so, I am revisiting some oldies that I have been making for at least 20+ years. Not all the time. But just - sometimes. And these two recipes are so marvelous. And so different.

One of the breads is fantastic due to all the added flavors. The other is fantastic for just the opposite reason; no particular flavors added, so it is so great with highly flavored foods. Think spaghetti or lasagna, maybe? 

The first bread is one I started making, with my own changes, since I read it in one of the booklets that came with my very first DAK Bread Machine, way back in the '90s. I loved the result, though I had a hard time ever getting the breads to bake properly inside the bread maker, so instead I would let the kneading happen and then turn out and finish it by hand and bake in the oven. Later on, after reading the ingredients in the packet of onion soup mix, I opted to create my own recipe for a Dry Onion Soup Mix. The bread is so jam-packed with flavor with all the herbs and the dry onion soup that it is wonderful all on its own, but it makes some truly great sandwiches, also.

Herbed Onion Loaf

Herbed Onion Loaf

Makes 2 loaves

Herbed Onion Loaf

¼ cup water
¾ cup cottage cheese
¾ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 envelope dry onion soup mix, or use one recipe of my Dry Onion Soup Mix
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
3⅓ cups bread flour
1 packet "instant" or "quick-rise" yeast
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons gluten, optional
1 large egg
2 - 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh herbs (such as dillweed, rosemary and/or thyme)

Mix together the water, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, dry onion soup mix and butter and bring to lukewarm, either in a saucepan on the stove or in the microwave. Do not over-heat. Pour this mixture into the bowl of a heavy duty mixer with bread hook. If making by hand, pour into a large bowl.

Separately, whisk together in another bowl the bread flour, yeast, soda and gluten, if using, along with the fresh minced herbs. Pour these dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and begin mixing together slowly. If by hand, you might start with a spoon, then switch to hands to knead. Add in the egg and mix well. Knead by machine for about 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for 10 to 12 minutes. If the dough starts to climb up the dough hook, or if it is very dense and hard when kneading by hand, dribble in a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough becomes soft, a bit tacky but not sticky. If the dough is too wet, add in a little flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough comes together, smooth, a bit tacky but not sticky. 

Grease another bowl and gather the dough together into a neat ball and place into the bowl, turning once to grease all sides. Cover with a towel or plastic film and set aside to rise to about doubled in size.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal sized balls. Roll up each ball into a loaf shape and set into two greased loaf pans or roll them out into more elongated loaves and set onto a parchment lined baking sheet, set well apart (or onto two smaller parchment lined sheets). If making dinner rolls, divide each half of the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Set the balls into greased muffin tin wells or, well-spaced, onto parchment lined sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled. 

Have oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake freestanding loaves for 25 to 30 minutes, loaves in pans may take 5 or more minutes longer, to an internal temperature of about 195 degrees F. Dinner rolls will bake in about 15 minutes.

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The second bread is fantastic due to its lack of added flavors, making the bread itself wonderfully flavorful in all its "bread-ness," but also making it a superb pairing with anything with lots of highly flavored sauce. It is an Italian style bread, and also a soured bread. It is up to your own discretion how long to allow the souring to go on, from one to three days, before working with the bread. Not a true sourdough in the sense of using a starter that is maintained and fed regularly, but a one-time sourdough, nonetheless. Any time bread is left to develop flavors this way, it unlocks things inside the wheat that bring out new and different flavors than would have been there if just made straight through in one day. Just be sure to plan ahead for when the bread will be needed, from one to three days.

Italian Bread

Italian Bread

Italian Bread

Makes 2 loaves

STARTER:
1 cup water
1 cup bread flour
1 packet (2½ teaspoons) "instant" or "quick rise" yeast 

DOUGH:
1 cup water
3½ cups bread flour
1¼ teaspoons instant or quick rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt

cornmeal for sprinkling

MAKE STARTER: Place the 1 cup of water into a large mixing bowl. Stir together the 1 packet instant yeast and the 1 cup bread flour, then add to the water in the bowl and stir well, about 4 or 5 minutes. Cover with plastic film and set aside in a room temperature place for 1 to 3 days. At this point it should have risen, become bubbly and possibly fallen again. It will smell yeasty and possibly with an alcoholic tang to the smell. 

French Bread Pan

MAKE THE DOUGH: Add the extra 1 cup of water to the soured mixture and stir. Separately, stir together the additional 1¼ teaspoon instant yeast and the 3½ cups bread flour with the salt, then stir this into the bowl with the soured mixture until the mixture comes together, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. Coat a large bowl with olive oil, then set the kneaded dough into the bowl, turning once to coat all sides. Cover the bowl and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. 

If you own a French bread pan, spray the pan with cooking spray, then sprinkle well with cornmeal. If you do not own this type of pan, spray a rimmed baking sheet (or two, if small) with cooking spray and coat with cornmeal. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a long loaf and set into the wells of the French bread pan or onto the prepared baking sheet(s), well apart. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1½ or 2 hours.

Have the oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake the risen loaves for about 30 minutes, or until nicely golden. Cool thoroughly before cutting.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Pain de Campagne

Pain de Campagne is French for a "Country Loaf." It was made in days past with sourdough or other type of starter, lacking commercial yeast, but these days can be made any which way you prefer. Often, this bread is made with a Pâte Fermentée, or pre-ferment (a dough stirred up and pre-fermented before actually making up the final dough). A sourdough starter could also be used, though sourdough starters, at least in home use, are often much thinner mixtures. This would require that the sourdough be mixed up into a dough-like consistency as the pre-ferment.

The other defining characteristic of a Pain de Campagne is that it uses at least a small amount of whole wheat and/or rye flour along with the white flour. I chose to use rye.
 

My Pain de Campagne, in loaf form

What is Pâte Fermentée?

Pâte Fermentée is nothing more than a bread dough, usually a French Bread dough using simply flour, yeast, water and sometimes salt. The mixture can be fermented, then used whole or in part. Part can be made into French bread, and some held back to use as the Pâte Fermentée for another batch of bread, as its starter, or pre-ferment. This can be continued for future loaves, keeping back a piece to be used in the next batch of bread, and so on.

Active Sourdough Starter

Since I have a sourdough starter that I fermented naturally some years back, I thought that I would try making my Pain de Campagne using my sourdough starter, rather than using a Pâte Fermentée. I had just re-activated my sourdough starter, which had been idle and dormant for a few months in the fridge. I wanted to make a sourdough rye bread from Peter Reinhart's "The Baker's Apprentice." We had guests arriving, so I wanted to stock up on breads, and one of the guests is hugely partial to rye breads with plenty of caraway. Once that bread was made with the newly refreshed starter, I had some pretty fantastically active starter going, and started thinking about what else I could make with it. 

Paul Hollywood Pain de Campagne, crust white

The recipes I was reading were from Paul Hollywood and from Peter Reinhart. I am not totally positive what goes wrong in some recipes, but I believe it is possible I am over proofing the dough, particularly after the shaping of the loaves. Whatever it is, they often start out looking great, then once in the oven, shrink and tighten. While the flavor is great, the look and texture is not. Another problem I have been having with Paul Hollywood's breads is that many of them come out of the oven nearly white in color, even after 40 or more minutes in a very hot oven. This is what happened with his Pain de Campagne. Having made Peter Reinhart's version previously, this was not the case, so I'm not sure why this occurs.

A possibility, something I just read today in a new book (for me) by Peter Reinhart, called "Whole Grain Breads," is the use of a small amount of ascorbic acid in the problems of no rise at the end of the cycle, or using a bit of diastatic malt powder to help with the not-browning dilemma.

Peter Reinhart Pain de Campagne made as Epi

In Paul Hollywood's Pain de Campagne recipe, he uses sourdough starter, without making it into a firm starter consistency, so while the starter is active, it is not enough to give the finished bread the complexity looked for in a bread that uses a pre-ferment. Instead, what Hollywood does is make the final rise into a very long and slow one, about 13 hours. Either way, the final result gives a wonderful complexity of flavors.

Back to my sourdough. Peter Reinhart uses a Pâte Fermentée to make his Pain de Campagne. The issue at hand was to make my sourdough similar in texture to the Pâte Fermentée, which is like an already formed French Bread Dough. It took me a while to calculate what I would do with my starter, as I am not at all conversant with the "Baker's Percentage Formula" Reinhart uses. I do know, however, what a French Bread Dough feels and looks like, so I proceeded. 

All in all, my version of a nice, firm starter (simulating a French bread dough) worked perfectly. Once the starter rises, it is placed in the fridge overnight before proceeding, despite having grown. This is so that the starter has a long, chilled rest to develop flavors, which will give the final bread its wonderful flavor. The following day, the firm starter is cut into pieces and set on a surface, covered, to come to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe. 

I chose to make half the final dough into a loaf and the other half into the shape of an Épi, which is cut and pulled in opposite directions to simulate wheat. Both the loaf and the Épi came out perfectly, and the flavors are most excellent. 

Pain de Campagne

Pain de Campagne as Epi

Makes 2 loaves

FIRM STARTER:
6 ounces / 171 grams active sourdough starter
4 ounces / 113.5 grams bread flour
4 ounces / 113.5 grams all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon / 0.15 gram salt
3 ounces / 89 grams water

BREAD DOUGH:
Firm Starter, above - use all
8 ounces / 227 grams bread flour
1.5 ounces / 42 grams whole wheat or rye flour
¾ teaspoon / 0.15 gram salt
¾ teaspoon / 0.11 grams instant yeast
6 ounces / 178 grams water

FIRM STARTER: Make one day ahead. Stir together the active starter and water, then add in the bread flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Stir, then turn out onto a clean surface, oiled with olive oil or cooking spray. Knead the mixture for about 6 minutes, adding more water by very small amounts only if needed to make a firm dough, tacky but not sticky. Place the starter into a greased container, cover and let rise to double, then refrigerate until next day.

BREAD DOUGH: Remove the firm starter from the refrigerator at least one hour before using. Oil a surface and cut the starter into about 10 to 12 pieces, setting on the oiled surface. Cover with plastic film and allow to come to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the starter pieces with the flours, salt and yeast. Add in the water, mixing with a spoon or with a heavy duty mixer to bring together. Add a few more drops of water only if needed to make the dough firm but not hard. If kneading by machine, do so for about 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, do this for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pliable, firm but not hard, and just tacky to the touch.

Place the dough into an oiled bowl, turning once to coat all sides. Cover with plastic film or a towel and proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled. Briefly knead the dough right in the bowl, cover and let rise once more until doubled.

Turn the dough out onto a clean, oiled surface and gently cut into two pieces, disturbing as little as possible. Form the pieces into any shape you prefer: a round boule (round loaf) or a bâtard (long loaf), a couronne (crown shape), an épi (sheaf of wheat: see below), or baguette, as desired. Set each loaf onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and strewn with cornmeal.

To make the épi, form the dough into a long and narrow loaf similar to a baguette. Set the loaf onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, then strewn with cornmeal. Using kitchen scissors, snip in at one end, about 2 - 4 inches from the end of the loaf, at an angle, almost, but not quite all the way through. Twist this nearly severed piece to one side. Another 2 to 4 inches along the loaf, snip again at an angle, almost, but not quite all the way through. Twist this piece outwards in the opposite direction. Continue to snip and twist in opposite directions all the length of the loaf.

How to Make an Épi

Mist the tops of the loaves with spray oil, then cover and let rise for about an hour, just to about half again their size, or 1½ times.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Have a rack on the highest shelf with an oven safe low pan in place (for hot water). Have the other rack at the second level up from bottom. Have ready one cup of boiling water and a spray bottle of water. Wrap a towel around the spray bottle in case of drips. Cold water dripped onto a screaming hot oven door could possibly crack the glass.

Once the oven is heated, place one of the loaves on its baking sheet on the lower rack, then immediately pour the cup of boiling water into the pan on the top shelf. Close the door quickly, then count 30 seconds. Quickly open the oven door and spritz the inside sides of the oven with the spray bottle. Close the door, time for 30 seconds and again spritz the inside of the oven with water. Repeat a third time and once the door is closed, reduce the heat to 450 degrees.

Bake the loaves for 10 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees and time for 5 to 15 minutes more, as needed, or until the internal temperature reaches 200 to 205 degrees on an instant read thermometer. The loaves should be browned and have a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing. The baking process continues for a time beyond the final baking time in the oven. Be patient; let the bread cool.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.