Rustic Italian Bread

This is my husband's favorite bread recipe that I make.  It needs to be started the day before you want to finish it.  The day you want to eat the bread you must start the bread 8 hours before.   It is quite the time commitment, but really is just a bunch of waiting for the dough to rise.  It is perfect to make on a Saturday or Sunday when you plan to be home all day anyway.  It makes a huge loaf and requires a few special kitchen tools, but is worth the time and wait.  If spending all day making bread seems ridiculous to you, just stick with the sandwich bread recipe. :)  Sometimes we eat the whole loaf in a few days and other times we freeze half the loaf and eat the one half.  This recipe is from my favorite cookbook: The New Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated.

Ingredients:

For the Sponge:
2 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 cup water, at room temperature

For the Dough:
3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/3 cup water, at room temperature
2 tsp salt

Directions:
(1) For the sponge: Combine flour, yeast, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Knead at the lowest speed until the ingredients form a shaggy dough, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer the sponge to a medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until it begins to bubble and rise, about 3 hours.  Refrigerate the sponge at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
(2) For the dough: Remove the sponge from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while making the dough.  Combine the flour, yeast, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook; knead at the lowest speed until a rough dough is formed, about 3 minutes.  Turn the mixer off and, without removing the dough hook or bowl from the mixer, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let the dough rest 20 minutes.
(3) Remove the plastic wrap, add the sponge and salt to the bowl, and continue to knead at the lowest speed until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is formed (the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom), about 4 minutes.  Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and continue to knead until the dough forms a more cohesive ball, about 1 minute.  Transfer the dough to a large lightly oiled bowl (at least 3 times the dough's size) and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise in a cool, draft-free spot until slightly risen and puffy, about 1 hour.
(4) Remove the plastic wrap and turn the dough.  Use the image below as a guide.  Replace the plastic wrap; let the dough rise 1 hour.  Turn the dough again, replace the plastic wrap, and let the dough rise 1 hour longer.

(5) To shape the dough: Dust a work surface liberally with flour.  Gently scrape the dough from the bowl and invert onto the work surface (the side of the dough that was against the bowl should now be facing up).  Dust the dough and yours hands liberally with flour and, using minimual pressure, push the dough into a rough 8x10 inch rectangle.  Following the illustrations below, shape the dough and transfer to a large sheet of parchment paper.  Dust the load liberally with flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let the loaf rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  Meanwhile, adjust an over rack to the lower-middle position, place a baking stone on the rack, and heat the oven to 500F.

(6) To bake: Using a single-edge razor blade or sharp chef's knife, cut a slit, 1/2 inch deep lengthwise along the top of the loaf, starting and stopping 1 1/2 inches from the ends (or slit another design if desired); spray the loaf lightly with water.   Slid the parchment sheet with the loaf onto a peel or inverted rimmed baking sheet, then slid the parchment with the loaf onto the hot baking stone in the oven.  Bake 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400F and quickly rotate the loaf from front to back using the edges of the parchment; continue to bake until deep golden brown and an instant read thermometer, inserted into the center of the loaf reads 210F, about 35 minutes longer.  Transfer to a wire rack, discard the parchment, and cool the loaf to room temperature, about 2 hours.  Enjoy!

Easy Stir Fry!

I was on my way home from work and stopped at the grocery store.  I just bought a bunch of yummy vegetables and went home.  When I got home I realized I bought a bunch of things that would go perfect in a stir fry.  This recipe makes 8 servings, we wanted leftovers.

Ingredients:
20 oz chicken, cut into small bites
4 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 bag frech sugar snap peas
3 large carrots, cut into slivers
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted seasame seed oil
1/4 cup peanuts
6 Tbsp peanut oil

Directions:
(1) Cook rice according to package.
(2) Add peanut oil to wok over high heat.  Cook chicken over high temperature until browned but not cooked through, about 2-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
(3) Lightly beat eggs in bowl.  Add to hot wok and heat until cooked through.  Add cooked rice to eggs and mix.  Set aside.
(3) Add more oil to wok and cook vegetables until crisp tender.  Add the chicken and rice/egg mixture at the end and mix.  Add soy sauce and stir until hot.  Enjoy!

Sandwich Bread

Before the remodel, I had been baking bread for about 2 months.  This white sandwich bread recipe is our favorite and quite easy to make.  After it is cooled, it is excellent with butter and honey or made into a sandwich.  This recipe makes one loaf and is from my book "The New Best Recipe" by Cooks Illustrated (the recipe book I use the most!).

Photo By: Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface

2 tsp salt

1 cup warm whole milk (about 110F)

1/3 cup warm water (about 110F)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbsp honey

1 envelope (about 2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast

Directions:

(1) Adjust oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 200F.  Once the oven temperature reaches 200F, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.

(2) Mix 3 1/2 cups of flour and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Mix the milk, water, butter, honey, and yeast in 4-cup liquid measuring cup.  Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid.  When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopped the machine 2 or 3 times to scrape the dough from the hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining flour, 1 Tbsp at a time and up to 1/4 cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, and 15 seconds.

(3) Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat lightly.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in warmed oven until the dough doubles in size, 40 to 50 minutes.

(4) Gently press the dough into an 8-inch square that measures 1 inch thick.  Starting with the side farthest away from you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself.  Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed.  Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan.  Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes.

(5) Keep one oven rack at the lowest position and place the other at the middle position, then heat the oven to 350F.  Place an empty baking pan on the bottom rack.  Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan.  Pour the boiling water into the empty pan on the bottom rack and set the loaf on the middle rack.  Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf reads 195F, 40 to 50 minutes.  Remove the bread from the pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature.  Slice and serve!

Egg Soufflé!

We're almost moved into our new kitchen and I'm so excited to start using it again.  Per a request from a friend, I'm going to try and start blogging my recipes again.  This morning we wanted to make something fancier than scrambled eggs, so we made a classic egg soufflé!  We got the recipe from Kitchen Window (Minneapolis kitchen store).  The recipe made 4 servings so we halved it and replaced the Gruyere with Gouda since we didn't have any Gruyère.  If you need more detailed instructions than what I have below, here is the kitchen window recipe with more pictures.

Photo By: Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated
Butter for dish preparation
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne
5 large eggs, separated
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated  (we used Gouda)
    (about 1 cup), plus extra for topping

Directions:
(1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a 1.5 quart soufflé dish (or 4 individual 8 ounce ramekins) by greasing the inside of the dish with a bit of butter. Add the finely grated Parmesan cheese to the dish, and shake to evenly distribute the cheese along the bottom and sides of the dish. Tap out any excess cheese. Add a collar of parchment paper and tie with a length of kitchen string.

(2) Begin the base with a roux. In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter, add 3 tablespoons of flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes while continuously stirring. The roux will form with the appearance of a thick paste, and any raw flour taste will dissipate. Add the milk gradually while continuing to whisk. Add the salt and cayenne, and continue stirring until the mixture becomes thickened. Remove from heat.

(3) Separate the eggs; place the egg whites in a large, clean, grease-free mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks to the thickened roux one at a time, whisking well after each addition.

(4) Add the grated Gruyère cheese (reserving a few shreds for topping) to the base mixture and stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly from a hot to a warm temperature. Transfer the mix to a large mixing bowl.

(5) Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer, or with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until stiff peaks form.

(6) Lighten the egg yolk base by transferring about a quarter of the egg whites to the base mixture, and gently folding them in until evenly distributed. Add half of the remaining egg whites with a gentle folding motion, and repeat with the remaining half. Take care to maintain the airy nature while folding and mixing.

(7) Transfer the mixture to the prepared soufflé dish (or the individual ramekins) and carefully place in the oven. Reduce the heat to 375°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes (20-25 minutes for individual dishes) or until set and edges browned. The center should be cooked but may remain a bit wiggly. DO NOT OPEN the oven door for the first 20 minutes! The change in temperature may cause the soufflé to deflate prematurely.

(8) When the baking is nearly complete, sprinkle the remaining shreds of Gruyère cheese on top and return to the oven for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted. Serve promptly.