brunosdream

Sourdough Wheat Batard (recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice)

Ingredients:

3/4 cups sourdough wheat starter  (active)

1 1/2 cups water (luke warm)

1 cup wheat flour

3 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons salt

Procedure:

1) Place starter in a large bowl

2) In a separate bowl, mix the wheat flour, bread flour and salt

3) Add the contents from step 2 to the starter, then add the water and mix w/ your hand until everything comes together

4) Pour mixture onto a floured surface and knead for 12 to 15 minutes until the dough is firm but tacky, like firm French bread dough (it should pass the windowpane test)

5) Transfer dough to a large bowl that has been lightly oiled (I used Pam organic canola oil) and roll it around to coat w/ oil, then cover bowl w/ plastic wrap

6) Ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, or until the dough has nearly doubled in size

7) Gently remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 2 equal pieces (be careful to degas the dough as little as possible)

8) Gently shape the dough into batards

9) Place batards on a pizza peel that has been dusted w/ corn meal, dust the batards w/ flour, cover w/ plastic and proof for 2 to 3 hours (I proofed the batards on a pizza peel so I could easily slide them into the oven, but if you don’t have a peel you can proof them on your kitchen counter)

10) Preheat oven w/ pizza stone on the center rack to 500 degrees F. Place an empty baking dish on the rack below the pizza stone

11) Slash the batards w/ a large serrated knife

12) Slide the batards onto the pizza stone then quickly pour 1 cup of hot water into the empty baking dish and close the oven door; after 30 seconds, spray the oven walls w/ water and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30 second intervals. After the final spray, lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the loaves 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until done (they should be a rich golden brown color all over and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom)

13) Transfer the finished loaves to a rack and cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing

14) Enjoy your delicious homemade bread w/ friends as I did!!

Baker’s notes:

Crisp and chewy crust

Tight, flavorful crumb (I’ll have to read up on how to get a more airy interior for my next batch)

Seal the edges better next time when shaping the loaves so they don’t start to pop open during the oven rise

Happy Baking…

Bruno

Wow, 4 days ago when I did my first garden post of 2009 there was nothing but brown. Yesterday I was sniffing around out back and there they were, beautiful stalks of asparagus!! I took these photos today, and as you can see some grew over a foot in less than 48 hours. I’m amazed at how fast they grow! I planted the root crowns only last year so I have to be restrictive about cutting the stalks until next year, however I did cut a few to take to a friend’s house to grill on the BBQ this evening. I can’t wait to taste them!!

May your thumb be green this year!

Bruno

…or “3 men and a pasta” as my friend, Kristin, named it because she watched as her husband, Bob, make the sauce, her brother, Greg, make fresh egg noodles and me peel, devein and saute’ the prawns! It all came together for a beautifully delicious meal!!

(pardon the resolution of the pics, they were taken w/ an i-phone)

Pasta Puttanesca w/ Prawns

Ingredients:

1 pound freshly made egg noodles

2 pounds fresh prawns

8 roma tomatoes – blanched, peeled and smashed

6 cloves garlic – sliced

1 shallot – small dice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon Italian herb mix

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Saute’  shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes

2) Add tomatoes, wine and herbs; let simmer for 5 mnutes, add butter, then salt and pepper to taste

3) Saute’ prawns on lightly oiled griddle until opaque

4) Add prawns to sauce and stir

5) Cook pasta in well salted water until “al dente” – approximately 3 minutes

6) Plate, then top w/ freshly grated parmesan cheese and mangia (eat)!!

Alla facia di qi me vol male’ (sp?)…

Bruno

I had to wake up and feed my starter the other day, so I decided to try my hand at a new sourdough bread recipe…

Sourdough Boule (recipe adapted from sourdoughhome.com)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sourdough starter

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 cups white bread flour

1 1/4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1) Whisk the starter before measuring it (so you’re measuring starter, not bubbles), then add it to the mixing bowl

2) Whisk in the water, whole wheat flour and the salt

3) Using a wooden spoon, stir the white bread flour into the mix one cup at a time

4) When the dough becomes too stiff  to stir, pour it onto your work surface (well floured) and knead the dough for 15 minutes, or until it becomes resilient and springy

5) After kneading, let the dough rest (covered) for 30 minutes before forming it into a tight round ball

6) Flour the top of the ball of dough and cover w/ plastic; let rise at room temperature for 12 to 15 hours (until dough doubles in size)

7) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit – place a pizza stone on the middle rack w/ a bowl of water on the rack underneath

8) When the oven is the right temperature, slash the dough w/ a large serrated knife then transfer to the pizza stone and bake for 40 to 45 minutes

9) Let bread cool on a wire rack before slicing

10) Eat the bread (my favorite part of the baking process!!)

Baking notes:

Great oven spring w/ this dough, but my bread split at the center slash

The crumb was more compact than I expected… I was hoping for something more airy, but it was very flavorful 

Crunchy and chewy crust; good overall sourdough taste

Any seasoned bakers out there have advice on how to prevent the crust from cracking too much when rising in the oven, and how to get a more airy crumb?

Bruno

The resolution of the photos is not that good because they were taken w/ my friend’s i-phone. Sorry, no photo of the individual plating… we were too busy pigging out!

Thai Coconut Curry w/ Pork

Ingredients: 

5 carrots – peeled, quartered and cut into ¾ inch pieces

1 red onion – julienned

6 asparagus spears – cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tomato – ½ inch dice

1 medium broccoli crown ­- cut into small florets (stem cut into 1 inch pieces)

¾ pound crimini mushrooms – halved and sliced

1 bunch chard – stems and leaves cut into 1 inch pieces

1/3 pound green beans – cut into 1 inch pieces

1 green bell pepper – cut into ½ inch squares

6 cloves garlic – minced

2 ears yellow corn – kernels only

zest (minced) and juice of 2 limes

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger – minced

1 1/4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

½ medium butternut squash – peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup veggie stock

2 ¼ pound pork loin – trim off excess fat and cut into ¾ inch cubes

1 + 1 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 Procedure:

1) In a wok, over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent; add mushrooms and sauté until soft; add garlic and sauté for 1 minute

2) Add all other ingredients, stir and let simmer until all veggies are soft, stirring occasionally (approx. 1 ½ hours); salt to taste

3) In a separate pan, sauté pork w/ 1 tablespoon olive oil until browned and cooked through; salt and pepper to taste

4) Serve w/ steamed brown rice (and the pork on the side so your vegetarian friends can partake and enjoy this delicious meal too!)

In a previous post I mentioned how I had difficulty w/ candying jalapenos but couldn’t figure out what was the problem. Well, I did some additional research… In Harold McGee’s book, “On Food and Cooking”, he mentions how humidity causes caramelized sugar to soften. I’m assuming that due to the moisture content in jalapenos, the caramelized sugar in direct contact will remain syrupy, whereas the rest of the sugar will harden. Just a theory…

Well, it appears my theory is correct. I tried once again to candy some jalapenos without success. As you can see in the photos, the caramelized sugar hardened everywhere but where it was in contact w/ the jalapenos. The results didn’t go to waste however. Instead, I improvised and made some chili jam by returning the unsuccessful product to the pot, adding 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar then reducing it over low heat until I had the consistency I desired. Use it as a glaze on savory dishes, or spread it on toast w/ peanut butter for a morning treat w/ some heat!

Bruno

Here’s the menu:

Jumbo shrimp w/ spicy cocktail sauce

Rib eye roast stuffed w/ spinach, crimini mushrooms and goat cheese

Oven roasted potatoes w/ rosemary and garlic

Shredded brussel sprouts w/ fresh chestnuts and applewood smoked bacon

Snow peas and carrots

Beer bread

Cardamom and clove gelato

Cookies and chocolates

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Best wishes for 2009!

Bruno

This was my contribution to the Thanksgiving feast…

Dark Chocolate Gelato w/ Candied Chestnuts and Blueberries

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh chestnuts – cooked, peeled, candied and broken into 1/3 inch pieces

6 ounces dark chocolate  – chopped

1/2 cup dried blueberries – soaked in cranberry vodka for 2 hours

6 egg yolks

1 quart half & half

 1 cup sugar

Procedure:

Well, It looks like it will be the end of the growing season this week in St. Louis. We are supposed to get temperatures in the lower 30’s tonight. Oh, well, farewell to summer and the long warm evenings :-(

As a send off to the growing season, I wanted to do a gelato w/ some of the final fresh local corn that I could find at the market. I love spicy stuff, especially peppers, combined w/ sweet goodness, so I tried candying some jalapenos to add to the mix. For some reason, I had limited success w/ candying these little devils! (see cooking notes following the recipe)

Corn Gelato w/ Candied Jalapenos

Ingredients:

4 ears yellow corn

4 jalapenos

1 quart half & half

1 cup sugar (plus 1 cup for candying jalapenos)

6 egg yolks

Procedure:

1) Grill corn and jalapenos (halved w/ seeds and ribs removed) until slightly charred; let cool, then cut corn kernels off cobs and cut jalapenos into 1/4 inch squares

2) Reserve corn kernels in a bowl; spread jalapeno squares evenly on a parchment lined sheet pan

3) Heat mixture of 1 cup sugar and 1/8 cup water in a heavy pot  until sugar becomes amber in color, then pour over jalapeno squares; when cool, break jalapeno squares from caramelized sugar and reserve for churning process

4) In a metal bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining cup of sugar until mixture becomes smooth and pale yellow

5) Place half & half and corn kernels in a heavy pot and heat until scalded 

6) Strain corn from half and half  then puree in a food processor until smooth (adding a small amount of the half & half to assist in pureeing process); push corn puree through a coarse sieve to get the juice; discard remaining solids

7) Very slowly add warm half & half to egg/sugar mixture so as not to curdle the mixture

8) Place bowl w/ mixture over a pot of simmering water, stirring continuously until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon (do not let mixture exceed 170 degrees F to prevent curdling), then quickly place bowl in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and promote rapid cooling

9) Stir corn juice into cooling mixture

10) Once cool, refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight

Yield: Approx. 1 1/2 quarts 

Cooking notes:

I’m not sure why, but the caramelized sugar didn’t harden around the jalapeno squares. The surrounding sugar hardened, however, the area directly touching the jalapenos remained syrupy! Maybe there’s a compound in the jalapenos that interacts w/ the sugar which prevents the sugar from hardening. I consulted my Harold McGee food science book, “On Food and Cooking,” to see if he had an explanation for this phenomenon. Surprisingly, I found nothing in his book! I will continue w/ my quest to find the answer when I get back home later this week. Honestly, I thought you could candy (or maybe the correct term is caramelize) pretty much anything. Really… I mean I’ve candied many things, even my fingers (by mistake of course, but it was such a sweet pain!!). I will try doing the jalapenos again after doing more research, and post the results (good or bad).

I took this gelato to some friends’ house to have for dessert after a spicy meal. The taste testers consensus was… everyone gave it a big thumbs up despite it being a weird flavor for gelato. It turned out to be the perfect ending to our meal of lamb stew w/ harissa and Israeli couscous!

Happy Halloween everyone…

Bruno

I beat the squirrels and rabbits this time!! It’s taken me awhile, but I’ve learned that I have to pick my tomatoes while they’re still a little green, otherwise the yard critters snatch them off the vines before I do!!

Notes for next year: marigolds, bone meal and a better fence:

Someone reminded me that the scent of marigolds is a natural repellent for rabbits and squirrels. So is bone meal. (So is urine, but I’m not going there!) Next year the fence will be higher, stronger and extended below the surface. The squirrels have learned to jump over the current fence to get what they want, and the rabbits have either dug under the fence or crashed right through it!! These are the lessons learned in my first year of gardening, so squirrels and rabbits take note, I’m on to you… but I will share my bounty if you cooperate :-)

I’m having a caprese salad for lunch today…

Bruno