This weekends cheese bread
Before
And after.
I never really though of baking as a political act. At least I have a pretty good idea where all these ingrediants came from. And at a time when we don't know where so much our good supply comes from that's an important thing.
Found another variation for the foccacia dough. It makes a pretty good pita bread.
We're a little roundness challenged here. It's been ages since I've tried pocket bread so this isn't bad for the first go round. At least this batch didn't split at the bottom like my original experiments. I think I need to invest in another peel and use corn meal next time so they slide a little easier onto the hot stone and air pan I had in the hot oven. Part of me has the "good enough" attitude. The other part has the feeling the the Creator/Creatoress was generous enough to make the good ingreadiants available. The least I can do is make the best use of them I can.
I forget where I ran across this last fall but everybody was on vacation or working their butt's off. (and it's finally paying off for you, Lisa) Anyway, I've been rereading some of my entries and a few of them seem to be worth a rerun.
Keep being an irritant and who knows how big the final pearl will be.
I was rereading the entry this sentence was part of. And I got to thinking. Warning amateur philosopher at play.
Jesus told the story of the merchant in search of pearls. How the man found one that was the very best of all and sold everything he had to posses it. And I got to thinking about how pearls are made. What begins as a tender oyster’s attempt to protect itself from something that hurts becomes a jewel that is precious to us. So, try this out on the next person who says that we all need to be neat, orderly, follow our leaders without question and color within the lines.
“I am a pearl beyond price. I’m just not finished yet.”
I baked a variation of this bread last Sunday. I did a double batch finished some for us and parbaked the rest. Lisa knows all about parbaking. Heaven knows we did enough of it at the Little Bakery in the Mall. ;-).
HERBED FOCACCIA
2 ½ to 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour plus additional for kneading
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
¾ salt preferably kosher or sea salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 cup very warm water (110 to 120 degrees)
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Vegetable oil spray
1 tablespoon yellow corn meal
Focaccia topping
1 teaspoon rosemary
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil.
Dissolve the yeast in a couple of tablespoons of the warm water and put aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flours, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Make well in the center and pour in the water, dissolved yeast and olive oil. Mix together with a wooden spoon or the dough hook of an electric mixer until a dough forms, about five minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead by had for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Coat a mixing bowl lightly with cooking oil, place the dough in the bowl, cover and set aside to rise until doubled. Punch down the dough and form into a rough rectangle. Lightly oil a 9x13 rectangular baking pan and sprinkle the bottom with the corn meal. Pat and stretch the dough until it fits the pan. Cover and put it aside until the dough is doubled.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use your fingers to make light indentations in the dough. Brush the surface with about 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake until the focaccia is golden brown and well risen, about 25 to 30 minutes. Turn the bread onto a rack to cool slightly and cut into squares. Can be frozen for up to a month. To reheat wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 5 minutes, unwrap and heat another 5 minutes to crisp)
Variations:
Substiture dried sage, marjoram, or basil for the rosemary
Knead in ¼ cup chopped black olives such as kalamata, gaeta, or nicoise into the dough.
Knead ¼ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes into the dough
Add two tablespoons grated parmesan cheese to the dough and sprinkle another two tablespoons on top before baking.
Add garlic to taste to the olive oil used for the dough and the topping.
Top with a half cup of thinly sliced sautéed in a little olive oil.
From The Family Health Cookbook put out by the AMA back in the nineties.
To parbake you prep the bread and bake it to the point where it just starts to brown. I baked some of the foccacia all the way with extra garlicy olive oil and parmesan cheese for us Sunday and froze the rest until tonight whenI finished the rest to take to work tomorrow.
And this is how they turned out. These were topped with fresh parmesan, rosemary and olive oil.
The house smells so good right now. You can have those flowery air fresheners, I'll take garlic anyday. So far it's going over very well. It's fun to take a recipe and figure out how to make it better or different.
Wear a smile and have friends-plum.
Wear a frown and have wrinkles-prune.
Found this in that little fund raiser cookbook. I chuckled over it, like I was supposed to and then I got to thinking. I get the frown part but, big but. The prune is a much maligned fruit. And the usual comparison is to some one wrinkled, and sour. Somebody you don’t want to be around.
But, maybe prunes are kind of like life. Most of the time you have to look below the surface to see what's really there. The road you end up on may have more potholes than you expected, a lot more. A bounce that would bruise a fresh fruit will be just that for a prune. In fact it may not only bounce it'll roll under the table and you'll have to go look for it. But, it will still be sweet, very sweet, often much sweeter than its smoother sister. . Even the tougher ones can be softened up with a little extra attention. By the way, if that extra attention involves orange juice and a little heat the results are fantastic.
Plums, like most of the summer’s fresh fruits don’t last long. You have to use them, lose them or (for the right ones) turn them into prunes Years ago my dad delivered fruit to the local cannery. He was surprised when the guys on the receiving dock to him that the plums he was hauling in would be going out as Italian prunes.
Under the wrinkles the plum is still there. Grandparents, moms and dads, aunts, uncles and the old codger down the street are a lot like that. I look at my mom. She’s eighty now. She’s a little shorter than she used to be.Her face has become a road map of her life. I look at her wedding picture or pictures from the early years of my parents’ life together. The plum is still there. It’s been through a lot. But, it’s still surprisingly soft and sweet under the wrinkles.
We have a fantastic little Irish cookbook in our library. Got it off a remainder table I don't remember when. The recipes are ok but the descriptions of the family kitchens are what really got to me. The author described the kitchen in her grandmothers old cottage. Her family had lived there for nearly two hundred years and for most of her life she cooked and baked in an open fireplace. When she finally hit her nineties she finally had to move in with one of her children. This lady absolutely refused to leave the house until a piece of the hearth fire had been taken to her new home and kindled. Family history claimed that the fire on that hearth had not gone out during those two hundred years.
This is image I had in my mind when I chose the title for this journal. There is nothing more basic than gathering in the kitchen surrounded by the smell of fresh bread or a good meal. I've probably baked more bread since the first of the year than I've done i the last five years. I got this recipe for a cheese and onion bread from a great little book called The Village Baker. If you don't go for cheese and onion bread, you can just stop with the challah, which is one of the traditional Sabbath breads.
CHALLAH
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Makes 2 braided 1 ½ pound loaves
2 packages active dry yeast. One tablespoon plus one teaspoon of yeast.
2 cups warm water
2 whole eggs or 4 beaten egg yolks
3 tablespoons corn or soy oil (I use olive oil)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
6 cups unbleached white or all purpose flour
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk for the glaze
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds for topping
Proof the yeast in a little of the warm water and, when it is creamy add it to the rest of the water, the eggs, oil, and sugar. Mix the salt in the flour and then start adding the dry mixture to the liquid mixture by handfuls while mixing with a spoon. Continue adding the flour until you have only a few handfuls left and the dough has come together. This can take up to ten minutes. I tend to use more flour than the recipe calls for.
Empty the dough out onto a work surface and knead the rest of the flour into the rest of the dough over about 5 to 8 minutes. I have good luck leaving the dough in our nice stoneware bowl and turning the bowl while using a spatula to work in the flour. Not nearly as messy.
When the dough is soft and satiny, round into a ball and let rise in a large bowl or other container covered with a damp towel. It should double in size in an hour to an hour and a half.
Use half a batch of dough to make the cheese and onion bread.
2 cups finely diced or shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
½ cup minced green onion
You can also add rosemary, thyme or oregano. Say a tablespoon of dried herbs for a batch.
Punch the dough down after the first rise and let it rest for fifteen or twenty minutes. Gently stretch the dough out into a square the size of say a medium pizza. Sprinkle the cheese and onions over the dough and gently push it into the dough. I have luck folding the dough over in thirds and continue working until the cheese pokes through the dough.
The original recipe calls for shaping the dough into twenty rolls. You can also divide the dough into three parts, and roll the sections out in a rope. Braid the dough. It can be left as a loaf or shaped in a wreath. Line the pan with parchment paper. If you are using a stone put the loaf on parchment paper and allow it to rise on a cookie sheet or peel. Allow the loaf to rise in a warm place until it’s about half again as large as it started. Say a half hour or so.
I know, the usual instructions are to let the loaf double, trust me.
Preheat the oven to 375. Using a spray bottle spray the loaf and place in the oven. Quickly spray the inside of the oven until it’s nice and steamy. Wait for two minutes and spray again. Repeat this twice more. Watch this dough carefully. Because of the sugar and egg it will start to brown fairly quickly. Rolls will take 12 to 15 minutes. A loaf will take closer to half an hour. If it’s browning too quickly reduce the temperature to 350 and cover the loaf with a sheet of foil. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the side.
Try to let the loaf to cool for about half an hour before cutting, this allows it to finish baking. However…………. ;-) I've had good luck using a tradtitional French bread pan lined with parchment paper to bake this. The parchment helps protect the oven and the pan from the melting cheese.
This is much better (I think) than the cheese rolls you can buy at the store.
I wrote this just about a year ago. I was rereading some of my old entries and I think I'll post it again.
I owe a lot of this to Joseph Campbell. Joe, wherever you are, I think someone just wiped the grime off that little pane of glass over in the far corner.
Christian apologists find something special in “God entering history” at a specific time and place. Somehow, this is unique and never to be repeated. That is, on a certain date and in a specific part of the world a specific person we now identify as God entered time and space. To enter the world, the Creator would have to have been absent, and I’m not sure the Creator was ever out of the world. Was a Gone Fishing sign left over the door or something?
This discrete identity doesn’t make the Creator any more accessible. In fact I believe it cuts us off. By confining a manifestation of the Creator to a discrete time and place, you get a freeze frame. THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE END OF THE STORY. IT’S FINAL, UNALTERABLE, AND NEVER TO BE QUESTIONED. This to a species that pokes, prods, touches, sniffs, tastes, takes apart everything in its environment, and (this is the irritating part) asks why. And as soon as one why is anwered another one pops up. At least until the world of the big people convinces you that this “just isn’t done” or “we don’t have time for this right now.” Not only are we confined to a specific time and place but to one face of Creation. We are told by too many who claim to speak for this unique face of creation that we are no longer free to find the other faces of the Creator in the here and now. And I believe we’re choking on it.
By claiming that this is what God said for now and all time, too many have put blinders on themselves and limited their freedom to perceive the changing face of Creation and left no room for any other creatures at the inn. Not only do they put blinders on themselves, they insist that the rest of us have to wear them too.
Now that I think about it, this is a powerful metaphor. I got what I can only describe as a jolt when I realized this. Talk about no room at the inn. Not only no room for Mary and Joseph, but no room for the rest of Creation either.
Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672. It can be found in the vicinity of the constellation Dorado, the swordfish. One of Hubble's wonderful shots released by NASA and found on my favorite astronomy site.
This is a small rhodie we've had for several years. It seems to be a natural dwarf. I'm not sure what it's called. And it's an interesting color combo. The rose of the buds and the cream of the open flowers. It's close to the street and gets the most sun, so it's usually one the first of ours to bloom.
Gradually working my way in from the full bush.
We had off and on showers yesterday so the blossoms were still showing rain drops this morning.
Until we get to the closest shot of all.
The God/dess does do a miraculous job, Don't you think?
The newest entry on my favorite astronomy website, Astronomy Picture of the Day is actually a little more earthbound. It's a panoramic 360 degree view of the world from the top of Mt. Everest as you turn to the right. It was taken in 1989 by a climber named Roddy MacKenzie. Note how dark the sky is. The local Nepalese call the mountain Sagarmatha, the "face of the world. "
I'm not sure which direction it starts from but the picture was presented turning as full circle going to the right.
I guess a part of me is happy that there are people willing to climb the mountain and take pictures so the rest of us have a faint idea of how it might look like if we could get there ourselves. But, I don't want to go there. And, it's not because I'm a 57 seven year old, not in great shape woman. Beyond these pictures there isn't really anything there I want to see.
Rocks, snow and cold. It's above the limit of survivablilty. Aside from some possible colonies of algae or bacteria there's no life up there. And it's too harsh to send anyone up to research what might be there. It may even be too high for airborn seeds and insects. From what I understand of the climb, you have about enough time to get up the mountain, take a picture and start back down. There's no time to stop and let the spirit of the mountains become part of you. And since the company guiding you flies you into the base camp, takes you up the mountain and takes you home. If you don't want to or don't have the time you don't have to take the time to hike through the country and let the spirit of the land fill you.
In a couple of hours I can be on a cliff on the Oregon coast and I can stand on that headland long enough be filled by the wind, the sun, the rocks, the seabirds, and the manzanita until there is no "me" just the sun and the wind.
We have a fairly new employee where I work who used to run a small restaurant. She's started bringing in a crock pot of home made soup on Fridays. Last Friday I took the plunge and brought in some of my home made bread. This is what I made.
CHALLAH
Makes 2 braided 1 ½ pound loaves
2 packages active dry yeast. One tablespoon plus one teaspoon of yeast.
2 cups warm water
2 whole eggs or 4 beaten egg yolks
3 tablespoons corn or soy oil (I use olive oil)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
6 cups unbleached white or all purpose flour
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk for the glaze
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds for topping
Proof the yeast in a little of the warm water and, when it is creamy add it to the rest of the water, the eggs, oil, and sugar. Mix the salt in the flour and then start adding the dry mixture to the liquid mixture by handfuls while mixing with a spoon. Continue adding the flour until you have only a few handfuls left and the dough has come together. This can take up to ten minutes. I tend to use more flour than the recipe calls for. I also get good results with two teaspoons of yeast per loaf and substituting a cup of whole wheat flour for one cup of the unbleached flour.
Empty the dough out onto a work surface and knead the rest of the flour into the rest of the dough over about 5 to 8 minutes. I have good luck leaving the dough in our nice stoneware bowl and turning the bowl while using a spatula to work in the flour. Not nearly as messy.
When the dough is soft and satiny, round into a ball and let rise in a large bowl or other container covered with a damp towel. It should double in size in an hour to an hour and a half.
If you are making challah, divide the dough in half then prepare the strands for braiding. Allow the dough to rise for a half hour to forty five minutes depending how warm the room is. Glaze the dough with egg mixture and sprinkle with the poppy or sesame seeds.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven. This is how I bake. Spray the loaves with water just before you put them in the oven. Spray the oven interior for steam. Respray the oven at two minute intervals. Do this four times. Loaves are done when they sound hollow when you tap them on the side or bottom. Watch the bread carefully. Because of the egg and sugar it may start to brown too soon. Reduce the oven temp to 350 and cover it with aluminum foil.
Now on to the monster maker.
Use half a batch of dough to make the cheese and onion bread.
2 cups finely diced or shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
½ cup minced green onion, might be able to use fresh onion chives if you have them.
You can also add rosemary, thyme or oregano. Say a tablespoon of dried herbs for a batch.
Punch the dough down after the first rise and let it rest for fifteen or twenty minutes. Gently stretch the dough out into a square the size of say a medium pizza. Sprinkle the cheese and onions over the dough and gently push it into the dough. I have luck folding the dough over in thirds and continue working until the cheese pokes through the dough.
The original recipe calls for shaping the dough into twenty rolls. You can also divide the dough into three parts, and roll the sections out in a rope. Braid the dough. It can be left as a loaf or shaped in a wreath. Line the pan with parchment paper. If you are using a stone put the loaf on parchment paper and allow it to rise on a cookie sheet or peel. Allow the loaf to rise in a warm place until it’s about half again as large as it started. Say a half hour or so.
I know, the usual instructions are to let the loaf double, trust me.
Preheat the oven to 375. Using a spray bottle spray the loaf and place in the oven. Quickly spray the inside of the oven until it’s nice and steamy. Wait for two minutes and spray again. Repeat this twice more. Watch this dough carefully. Because of the sugar and egg it will start to brown fairly quickly. Rolls will take 12 to 15 minutes. A loaf will take closer to half an hour. If it’s browning too quickly reduce the temperature to 350 and cover the loaf with a sheet of foil. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the side.
Try to let the loaf to cool for about half an hour before cutting, this allows it to finish baking. However………….:-)
From The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz. (a very good book with artisan style recipes and techniques.)
Anyway, the large wreath I brought in was gone by about 12:30 or so. That's the kind of food I like. Disappearing. The office manager basically said "it's official, she's in charge of soup, you're in charge of the bread." Heck, if I'd known a batch of half way decent home made bread would raise the cheerfuless level of the place I'd have done it a long time ago.
So I guess I have an office full guinea pigs. I promise to be kind.
One of Pat Oliphant's wonderful cartoons. Downloaded from the Go Comics site. The message is self explanatory, I think. I really like the little bird in corner and his buddy. LOL
I posted this over on Pixels so I don't miss anyone.
Awhile back Lisa suggested a sort of combined blog involving several of us. Each of us contributing what we could. We all thought this was a good idea and that’s really as far as it went. The best reason being that is was Lisa’s idea and she’s been working seventy odd hours a week. And that’s just at the café, that doesn’t include house keeping, cat supervision and finding time to spend with her wonderful husband.
And congratulations Lisa and having three great days back to back. Hey, what’s fifteen bucks less on day three? That is so wonderful.
Sooooo, I’m going to make a suggestion. At least to get the ball rolling. Most of those who read Lisa’s Coming to Terms stop by my journals once in awhile. One of us, me maybe I’m open to suggestions, could propose a topic, we’d have a week or two to work on the idea if it’s something we’d be interested in, send the entries to that person and they would post them in a separate journal. I’m going to jump in with both feet and suggest mirror sites, one on AOL and one on Blogger.
I suspect our interests are very similar, and it would be fun to see how each of us would handle a topic.
Obviously I’ve been turning this over and have some ideas that might be interesting to kick around.
Certain politicians and pundits speak about a “culture of life.” What does this mean when we support companies that try to insert a terminator gene into plants so they can make more profits selling seeds? Of even the whole concept of factory farming plants and animals. Drug companies and their advertising.
If we don’t believe in war how do we remain faithful to our beliefs when we’re faced with those who are willing to kill their own people to oppose us?
If we’re fighting a war for oil, what does it mean to use precious fuel to bring fresh produce and seafood in from the other side of the world? Would you spend time and money to go to a restaurant that served only local products and cuisine?
Most of us have a Christian background. What does the Great Commission mean you? Do we look for similarities in beliefs and work from there or do we believe in converting everyone to our beliefs. Now, there’s a patch of quicksand for you.
If you could plant the ideal garden, what would it be?
What do you think of when you hear the word family?
Is there a book or books that mean a lot to you? Is there a special reason?
The same with movies.
Do you bake, or have time for some other craft? Why do you do it?
As a matter of fact. Why are we doing this in the first place? Why do we write? My first journal is nearly three years old and some of you have been doing this longer than I have. So, what are we doing here?
So, what do you think? I’m not trying to run the show but I do work a job with nice regular hours and I don’t have kids. I do believe it’s good idea and I believe all of us could do something really great if we could just figure out how to get the balloon off the ground.
