White Sandwich Bread

I have been baking for over 20 years, and I have marked my learning process by being aware of my anxiety level each time I attempt to make bread. My first attempts were filled with anxiety about getting the water temperature just right, or kneading the dough enough or having the right flour or ensuring that I have the right proportions or adding things to make it fancier. Through many trials and errors, I have slowly come to realize that bread is a very simple thing to make. At it's very basic level, it's just water, sugar, yeast, salt and flour. I have also realized over time that it is a process that lends itself to fudging and that one doesn't need to be so exacting or calculating, and it can be done with little or no hand wringing. The only rule for success in bread baking is this, and it's a rule that I learned from acting that I now apply to this process: Don't hurt yourself or anyone else. The entire bread baking process is to ensure that the yeast stays alive and thrives until you are ready to kill them all and eat them. With that in mind, I would like to present to you a recipe for white sandwich bread which is adapted from the first recipe in "The Bread Book: A Baker's Almanac" by Ellen Foscue Johnson published by Garden Way Publishing. This book, more than anything else, helped me to relax and enjoy baking at home!

White Sandwich Bread

Ingredients

1 Cup Water
1 Package Active Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp. Honey or Sugar
1 Cup Flour
1/8 Cup Wheat Germ
1/8 Cup Wheat Bran
1 Cup warm Milk
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Salt
4 to 5 Cups Flour

Butter for pans


Firstly, take a cup of warm water and mix it with the 2 Tbsp. honey or sugar in a bowl. The water should feel kind of tepidly warm. Make sure to mix it well, especially if you are using honey.








Then you add the yeast. I have found that if you sprinkle the dry yeast gently on the top of the sugar water, it incorporates easier. It give the yeast a chance to soak up the water before you mix it in.

Once the yeast starts to activate, it will create a foamy dome above the water. Once you see that dome, it's ready. Now, take about one cup of the flour with the wheat germ and wheat bran, salt and olive oil and dump it in the bowl. The next thing to do is mix. I've found that it is best to mix it slowly and steadily for 10 minutes and then start counting strokes until you reach 200. It takes about 15 minutes and the result is a lighter bread because this mixing starts the gluten making process.


















When the mixing is done, it should have the consistency of loose porridge and have a glossy sheen on the top.












Next thing to do is add flour. I add between a 1/2 to a cup of flour, mix it down until it's fully incorporated and do it again and again until the dough begins to not stick to the bowl when you mix it down. I would estimate that it is about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of additional flour. At this point, the dough will be kind of sticky and a damp. Take a spatula and scrape the spoon off, then scrape the dough on to a well floured surface, flour your hands and begin kneading. Anybody who doesn't think kneading is fun, should have their head examined. It is fun and there are no specific rules in how you do it. Basically, kneading needs two things to happen: 1. The dough needs to be gently stretched so that it creates gluten to hold the gas in dough to create holes. 2. You need to incorporate and thoroughly mix more flour to create a consistent and lightly moist loaf. I make sure that my hands are well floured before I begin. The dough starts out slack and a little lumpy. Then, I push the dough forward with the heels of both hands, give it a three quarter turn and push again. I work pretty quickly and gently to start, and as the dough becomes more elastic, I can slow down. With each turn and push, be mindful of keeping a light dusting of flour over the work area. I always keep a little pile off to the side where I can quickly incorporate flour.












At the end of the kneading process, the dough should look smooth, slightly dry and have a matte finish. You then butter a bowl, put the dough in, swirl it around, flip it, swirl it around again and let it sit in a warm dry place with a warm damp towel over it.













When the dough has doubled in size, test to see if it has risen enough. If you stick your finger in and the depression stays, it's time.










Next, you pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently press down on the dough with your fingertips. Then, you gently stretch and fold the dough until it begins to resist, at this point gather the dough into a ball by pulling down on all sides and gathering the dough underneath and set it down on a lightly floured surface and cover for 15 to 20 minutes. At the end of the resting process, it should look a little puffy.












Next, you cut the dough in two and lightly flour where you made the cut. Then, you gently shape them into loaves and place them in buttered pans, swirl 'em, flip 'em, swirl 'em again and let 'em sit in a warm dry place with a warm damp towel over 'em.












When they've just about doubled in size, preheat your oven to 375, get a sharp knife or razor and cut the top of the loaves. Then, you take a food brush and brush water on top of the loaves.












Then you stick them in the oven for 30-35 minutes and they are done. At the end, you can pop them out of the pans and put them back in the oven for 5 minutes to crisp them up a bit.












Enjoy.

Chicken Stock: Why bother?

I bother because it's healthy, versatile and economical. Whether it's for soup, sauces, risotto or basting liquid, home made chicken stock makes everything that I use it in taste so much better. Plus, with this recipe, you end up with a whole chicken that you can store and use for soups, tacos and sandwiches.
So, I got this recipe from Patricia Wells. She is another personal rock star. Her recipes are simple and really adaptable. I've tried beets or turnips instead of parsnips and I even subbed in potatoes in one batch. It doesn't work; the potato gets everywhere.

Chicken Stock

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (either whole or in parts, it should add up to one chicken)
4 Carrots
3 Medium Leeks
2 Spanish Onions
2 Celery Sprigs
2 Parsnips
1 Bouquet Garni (fresh parsley and thyme, whole peppercorns, dried tarragon, mustard seeds)
6 Quarts of Water
1 Pinch of Salt

Start with a chicken. It can be any chicken or part of a chicken. If you use parts, it should equal about 4 lbs. of meat. I have chosen a lovely grocery store chicken at $2.70 a pound!







So, you cut the chicken up into 4 pieces. Then you put the chicken in the biggest pot that you have and fill it with water so that when you stick your finger in the water and touch the top most piece of chicken, your finger should be wet to the second knuckle.



Then you turn the heat up to high and just when you start to see chunks of scum start to float to the top, turn the heat to medium and periodically, scoop the scum and fat off the top of the water into a separate dish or bowl. You keep doing this until the broth is basically clear of scum and the fat starts to look like water droplets on a freshly waxed car. I use a cheap spoon that I bent into a 90 degree angle. It works like a charm.










As you periodically skim scum, prepare the vegetables. First, take the tops off the carrots and save a little for the bouquet. Then wash and peel them. Wash and cut the celery into pieces that will fit into the pot. Cut the tops and bottoms of the leeks, and then cut them lengthwise leaving the outer layer intact. Next, wash the grit from the leeks. Now, cut the top and bottom of the onions, peel them and stick three whole cloves a piece in the onions.










Instead of having the herbs float around, make a bouquet garni. It's basically a 2 ply piece of kitchen cheesecloth. The cheesecloth and kitchen string are in every grocery store that I've ever been in; I usually need to look very hard for them. So, you take your parsley, carrot tops, thyme, peppercorns and tarragon and wrap them up in the cheesecloth and tie it up at the top. Take some scissors and trim the top of the bouquet. Then take some of the kitchen string and tie up the leeks. If you don't, they will fall apart and go all over.










Then, you add everything that you have prepared into the pot, and as much as possible, try to push some of the vegetables under the chicken. Next, you turn the heat up to get the whole thing to just boiling and then turn the heat down to low and let it simmer gently for 2 to 3 hours.












After it is done cooking, take the pot off the heat and pull everything out of the pot. Before I got those nice kitchen tongs, I used whatever I could to get the stuff out. Things that work are a couple of forks or tablespoons, a roast fork, etc. You should end up with a nice pile of vegetables and a healthy portion of chicken. Set them aside to cool.











Now, get another pot that is big enough to fit all of the stock. Take a strainer and line it with the 2 ply cheesecloth. Then pour or ladle the stock into the strainer. From here, you can let it cool a bit in the pot or transfer it to containers. I use the plastic to-go containers. They last and last and are easy to wash and reuse. Let everything cool to room temperature and then shred the chicken and put it in containers in the fridge to use later for other dishes. Take the stock and put it in the freezer. When I am using this frozen stock in a recipe, I never thaw it out beforehand. I just run some hot water over the container and pop it out into whatever dish I'm heating up and let that melt the rest of it. I hope that you enjoy making this excellent base. Thanks.

Marcella Hazan is My Personal Rock Star

I love Marcella Hazan's recipes. She celebrates Italian cooking from the peasant's point of view, and since I've never been rich, the recipes resonate with me. They are so clearly written, and she so heartily welcomes any kind of innovation with what she is presenting that I keep coming back to her recipes like a supplicant to a guru, which she is. She is my personal guru, and what are gurus? They are rock stars. They dig deep, figure the world out from their point of view, present it in a unique and appealing way and inspire you with their discoveries. I will reference her quite a bit; starting now.

Celery Tomato Sauce


Ingredients

3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 Cups of finely diced celery
1 20 oz. can of whole Italian plum tomatoes, chopped up with their juices
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

This is enough sauce to feed 4 to 6 people

Get out a skillet, sauce pan or pot big enough to comfortably hold about two quarts of food, put it on the stove and place the 3 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. olive oil in it.












Now you are ready to chop. Prepare a whole head of celery by cutting off the butt and the ends and washing each rib thoroughly under cold water. Dry the ribs off and cut them into about 6 inch pieces. Then, slice each 6 inch rib length wise into 1/4 inch strips. Then, gather a small bunch of strips and cut cross way into 1/4 cubes. Once you have three cups of chopped celery, take the left over 6 inch pieces, put them in a container in the fridge with a little water on the bottom for a snack later. Then, take the onion and cut it in half from top to bottom, take the outer skin off and cut 1/4 inch length wise slits in the onion being careful to keep the onion intact. Then, cut cross way 1/4 inch to make small cubes. I find this way easier and there is less crying involved because it works faster.



The next thing to do is to dump the onion in the pan, turn the heat to medium and cook the onions until they are translucent, shiny and golden brown.

Then you add the celery and cook that for about 5 minutes being careful to stir it about once a minute. After the celery has had a chance to soften up, add a 20 oz. can of whole plum Italian tomatoes.














Carefully stir the tomatoes around and break them up with your spoon. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat to low and let it simmer, stirring occasionally until the fat separates from the sauce. I can tell when the fat separates by taking a look at the sauce and if it has a glossy sheen to it, it's done. The other method I use is to push a piece of tomato to the side of the pan and if it crushes very easily, then it's done. This usually takes about 40 minutes, but if you are in a hurry, turn the heat to medium-low and stir it more often; that should shorten the cooking time in half.







Marcella's recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the end. You can use it if you want; I don't think the dish needs it. You can have it with any kind of pasta or what I like to do is make some toast, put it in a bowl and dump it over the top. Enjoy.

"Roman Meal" Bread

Twenty four hour "Roman Meal" Bread




This bread is very easy to make, and it will take some planning. It takes twenty four hours because you have to mix a short starter first on the morning of day one and then bake it on the morning of day two. All told, from mixing, kneading and baking, there is about an hour and a half of real work, so you can and must do things in between each step.

It is really good bread and makes great toast/french toast and holds up well for sandwiches. The crust is tough and the crumb is dense and chewy. It is almost a whole wheat bread, but it doesn't have that dense sawdust character of whole wheat. I have been working on this recipe for about a year. It combines techniques that I learned from a basic bread recipe and a book on world-class bread making.


INGREDIENTS

5-7 Cups of White Flour (I recommend either bread flour or all purpose unbleached flour)
1/2 Tsp. Active Dry Yeast
1/4 Cup Wheat Germ
1/4 Cup Wheat Bran
2 Tbsp. honey or sugar
1-2 Tbsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

First you take the 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ and 1/4 Cup Wheat Bran and add enough White Flour to make about 2 Cups.








Then you take two cups of water about an eighth of a Tsp. of yeast and mix everything together in a bowl. You need to mix it well (for at least ten minutes), so I try to do other things while I am mixing. I usually listen to the radio or watch t.v. You should end up with something that has the consistency of loose porridge and has a glossy sheen.

Then you cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it sit out at room temperature for six to eight hours.
After sitting, the starter will look bubbly and have liquid pooling over the top of the mixture and smell very fertile. Now you are ready for the second stage of this process; the making of the bread.

Take another bowl and put in a cup of warm water and the two Tbsp. of honey. To this you add about 3/4 Tsp. of yeast. I like to sprinkle gently over the top of the water honey mixture and let it absorb a little and then mix it. It makes it easier to incorporate.

Let this mixture sit for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow the yeast to wake up and start eating the sugar water.

The biggest mistake you can make is to get this water too hot. It should feel just a little warm (about 100 degrees). If it is cooler than that, the process takes longer, but you won't be killing the yeast.


Now you add the starter, 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, 1 to 2 Tbsp. of Salt and about 2 Cups of white flour. It should have the consistency of the starter; a loose porridge.










I have always mixed by hand, so if you have a mixer with a dough hook, good luck. You then mix in enough flour a little at a time (1/2 a Cup) until it starts pulling away from the bowl. This took me a while to get use to. I would inevitably mix in too much flour and end up with loaves that are too dry. You want it to be just dry enough to work with it. Err on the side of too moist because you can always make up for it in the kneading. It should look like this:


Then you dump it out on a clean, floured counter. and with floured hands you start kneading. Kneading stretches the dough, mixes it well and creates gluten so that as the bread rises, makes it tough enough to trap the gasses created by the yeast to make your bread light and airy.





I don't think that there is a proper way to knead bread. James Beard will back me up on this. Basically, what I do is gently push it across the counter with one or two hands, give it a three quarter turn and repeat. When the dough starts to stick to the counter, I like to have a little pile of flour on the counter so that I can easily push it into the working area or put on my fingers. Keep kneading until the dough stops feeling limp and starts to feel springy and a little taut.


Now you can put the loaf into a lightly buttered bowl and then flip it so that the whole loaf gets covered by the butter. Then take a small towel and dampen it with warm water. You want the towel to be just damp, so squeeze as much water as you can before you put it over the bowl. Let this sit until just about double in size. Depending on the weather and warmth of your kitchen, it takes about 1 or 3 hours for this first rise. A good test to see if it has risen enough is to poke your finger in the middle of it. If the depression from your finger doesn't move much, it's ready to be punched down.



I use to think that punching down meant just that. I would punch the loaf while it was in the bowl and let all the accumulated gasses out. I don't think that is such a good idea any more. What works better is to take the loaf and gently pour it out onto a lightly floured surface and using your fingers, gently pat it down, stretch and fold the dough gently and then pick up the loaf and gently gather it into a ball by stretching and gathering the dough from the bottom to make a nice, tight ball. Then you cover it with the same damp towel that you used before and let it rest for 10 to 20 minutes.










After resting, you are now ready to shape into separate loaves for the second rise which will happen over night in the fridge. At this point, you can shape the loaves any way you want. I had enough dough to make two standard loaves and one free form loaf. When I shape a loaf, I try to be as gentle as possible so that I keep as much accumulated gasses as possible in them. For pan loaves, If you are using pans, lightly butter them and gently place the loaf in the pan to get one side buttered, then you flip it, so that the other side gets buttered. It should fill the pan about half way. With the free form loaf, I just gather the dough into a ball in the same way as before, by pulling and gathering from the bottom and pinching the dough to make a tight ball, then take some cornmeal and dust either a cookie sheet, jelly roll pan or in this case, pie tin and place the loaf on the cornmeal. Then, you wrap the loaves loosely in plastic (I use plastic grocery bags) making sure that the plastic is not touching them and place them in the fridge over night.










The next morning, take the loaves out of the fridge, preheat the oven to 375, pull them out of the plastic and with a sharp knife or razor blade make a couple of cuts on the top of the loaves and let them sit for about an hour.









After an hour, use a mist sprayer or a pastry brush or your fingers and spread a small amount of water on the tops of the loaves. This hardens them up a bit and creates a nice crunchy crust. Then you bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes. Do not open the oven in the first 15 minutes. They need the heat. After 15 minutes, I like to take a spray bottle, set it to a steady stream as opposed to mist and spray the floor of the oven a few times to create steam. I don't know if this makes a difference, but I feel better doing it. After 30-35 minutes, take them out of the oven and cool them. If you have them, you can use cooling racks, otherwise, you can just use the grates on the oven. Let the loaves cool completely before cutting into them. Bread baking, unlike cake, cookie or quick bread baking is not an exact process. So stay loose, don't panic and enjoy.