Sunday, February 6, 2011

Food for the Soul


There she is, isn't she beautiful?
Bread amazes me, just a few simple ingredients combined to make such a loved food! I've had my share of bread making flops- usually in the form of loaves that won't rise. My first bread making success was with Christopher- our 5th date fell on Valentine's Day and he recommend I come over and we try to make a German bread recipe from his Mom together. We played "4-arm chef" and had such a great time kneading the dough and forming it into little twists and buns. Fast forward four years and we are happily married and a week away from celebrating our first Valentine's Day together as a married couple! We will be celebrating at home by making a special dinner together.

If you are thinking about staying in to enjoy quality time with your special someone instead of fighting the crowds at the restaurants next Monday, here is an awesome Valentine's Day Menu Planner Quiz through Epicurious to help you decided what to serve.

Almost No-Knead Bread
From America's Test Kitchen Baking Cookbook

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3/4 cup water, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup mild-flavored beer (room temperature)
  • 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
  1. Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together in a large bowl. Fold in the water, beer, and vinegar with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
  2. Lay an 18 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper inside a 10-inch skillet and spray with vegetable oil spray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges into the middle with floured hands. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the prepared skillet.
  3. Mist the dough with vegetable oil spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when poked with a knuckle, about 2 hours.
  4. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, place a large covered Dutch Oven (we used two cast-iron pots- the top one inverted to use as a lid) on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees.
  5. Lightly flour the top of the dough and score the top of the load with a sharp knife. Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Pick up the parchment and dough and carefully lower them into the hot pot, letting any excess parchment hand over the edge. Cover the pot.
  6. Place the pot in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees, and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake until the center of the load registers 210 degrees and the crust is deep golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Carefully remove the bread from the pot, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.

1 comment:

lucidflux said...

bread truly is an amazing food. So delicious, so versatile. It's too bad that more people don't make bread at home! It is totally worth it!