Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Notice the strategic camera angle? It was yet again time to feed Bertha (who will be turning 4 this year - my how time flies), and I got to thinking I really do not use her to her full potential. So I pulled out this recipe. The crust was lovely (other than that it blew out the cuts I made in the top - I think they were too deep). The sunflower seeds added some good flavor and the oats added good texture. Sourdough Boule (Adapted from King Arthur ) 1 c sourdough starter, fed (and set out for an hour or two) 1 c lukewarm water 1 1/2 t yeast 3 1/2 flour 1 c old-fashioned rolled oats (and 1-2T for the topping) 1/2 c sunflower seeds  2t salt Cornmeal for pan In a large bowl mix fed starter, water, and yeast until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Knead until smooth (adding additional flour or water as needed*). Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 1- 1 1/2 hours until almost doubled. Turn out dough and deflate.  Sprinkle the bottom of a Dutch oven or bak...

What is Fougasse you ask? It is a French flat bread that I would say is in the focaccia family. Herbed Fougasse (Adapted from Art & Soul of Baking ) Biga: 1/2 c warm water 1/4 t yeast 1 c bread flour pinch of sugar In a bowl mix the water, yeast, and sugar together and let sit until bubbly. Mix in flour. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit at room temperature 4-6 hours (or up to 12), or refrigerate 24 hours. (If refrigerated, let dough sit out for about 30 minutes before continuing). This is a slightly over proofed - I did not heed the refrigeration advice  Dough: 1/2 c warm water 1/2 t yeast 2 T olive oil 1 1/4 c bread flour 1 1/2 t Rosemary 1 t thyme 1t salt Topping: 1 T olive oil 1 t Kosher salt 2 t Rosemary & Thyme In a mixer, pour water and yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Add the biga and olive oil. Mix Add flour, rosemary, thyme, and salt. Knead until dough comes together. Cover with a towel and let rest 20 minutes. T...

Who am I to improve on James Beard's Sourdough bread recipe? Well I just used my existing sourdough starter instead of making a new one as he suggests and omitted the poppy seeds. Sourdough Rye Bread (Adapted from Beard on Bread ) 1 pkg of yeast (2 1/4t) 1/4 c water 3 T sugar 1 c sourdough starter 4 c flour 2 c rye flour 2 T butter, melted 11/2 T caraway seeds 1 egg, beaten Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Set aside for about 10 minutes. In a bowl add starter, 2 c flour, butter, and caraway seeds. Add yeast and add rye flour. Add additional flour as needed. The dough will be stiff. Knead until dough is smooth (it will be a little sticky). Place in greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled - about 2 hours. Post-Rise Pre-Rise Punch down and divide dough in half. Shape into rounds and place on greased (or silpat) sheet pan. Cover and let rise again about 1 hour. Slash tops and brush with beaten egg. Bake in 375 for 30 minutes or until browned and ...

I haven't really been doing anything with Bertha lately - other than feeding her - so I thought it was time to take her for another spin. I was thinking of bread but then this recipe for rolls caught my eye. Sourdough Rolls (Adapted from Breads Step-by-Step Techniques ) 2 pkgs (4 1/4 t) yeast 1/2 c warm water 4 c  (approx) flour 1/4 c sugar 1 t salt 8 T butter, melted and cooled (plus 2 T for top) 1 egg 1 c sourdough starter, at room temperature 1/2 c warm milk Remember when working with yeast the first thing you want to do is proof it and make sure it is alive and that you didn't kill it with too hot water or milk. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add about 1t of the sugar. Set aside to bubble up. In a heavy-duty mixer (AKA Kitchen-Aid) mix 2 c of flour, sugar, and salt.  Add in yeast mixture and the 8T of melted butter, egg, starter, and milk. Beat for about 5 minutes with dough hook.  Gradually add remaining flour (you might not use all of i...

Ignore the cooling rack marks - move along there's nothing to see here Yes it is zucchini time.  I managed to give some away to my neighbor and my Mom so far but that still leaves me with quite a few.  Zucchini bread will be coming with me tomorrow to work to unload on unsuspecting coworkers - uh I mean coworkers. Here's the recipe: Zucchini Bread (adapted from The Book of Bread *) 1 1/2 c flour 1 c sugar 2 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 1/2 t fresh ginger, grated 2 eggs zest and juice of 1 lemon 1/2 c oil 1 t vanilla 2 c grated zucchini 1 c raisins In a small bowl mix all dry ingredients. Mix eggs, oil, vanilla, and zucchini together. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in raisins.  Place in a 9" greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake for 50 minutes at 375 or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto rack to cool. You don't even need to drag the mixer out for this one. It...

What the heck is Bierock? It's a meat filled roll-type thingy basically.  It's almost like having a turkey burger stuffed inside of the roll-only better. These are a really nice item on the brunch buffet since you can make them ahead of time. Bierocks (Adapted from Cooking Light ) Filling: 1/4 c chopped onion pinch of sugar 1/2 lb ground turkey 2 c finely shredded cabbage salt/pepper 3T Worcestershire sauce Dough:   1/4 c sugar 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) 1/2 c warm water (100° to 110°) 1/2 c low-fat milk 1/4 c oil 3/4 t salt 2 large eggs, lightly beaten ...

I've had this book Breads:  Step-by-Step Techniques for a long time.  It is such a great book. It's so old you can only buy it used.  Mine was in such bad shape that I pulled the pages out, since half were falling out, and put them in plastic sleeves and into a binder.  It has some of the best recipes in it. I think I've made almost every recipe in it.  This is one of that I go back to time and time again. It's just such a different type of bread. Vegetable Bread (Adapted from Breads: Step-by-Step Techniques ) 1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 t) 1/4 c warm water 2 T sugar 1/2 c warm milk 1 egg 4 T butter softened 12 oz tomato paste 1 T dried basil 1 t dried oregano 1 t nutmeg 1 t salt approx 5 1/2 c flour Dissolve sugar into warm water. Add yeast and set aside for about 15 minutes or until bubbly. In a bowl place the next 8 ingredients and 3 cups of flour.  Stir in yeast. Add additional flour and mix well.  Knead until soft and smooth but sl...

Meet Bertha. She is a little over a year old now. This is where she lives:  This is what she looks like when she's way too hungry: She shouldn't look like this.  When she separates out, that is a sign she is starving. I had let this go a day or two over the two week mark.  After a quick stir and she's back to normal:  This is what she looks like soon after she's fed: She pretty much puffs up to double This is what she looks like when she's ready to go back in the refrigerator for two weeks before her next feed: She sort of falls Bertha has a nice flavor that has developed over the year. At first she wasn't that sour. I had a previous sourdough starter that was several years old and had a really sour taste. Unfortunately, I neglected it and it died. I recently read that you can dry out some of the starter. After it is dry you smash it up into a powder.  You can now save it to revive it at a future date.  I actually killed two st...