Dutch Oven Bread

After many requests from my housemates, I am going to make dutch oven baked bread. Once I learned about using a dutch oven to make artisan style bread in any crappy home oven, I was hooked. There are various other tricks to making super bread at home such as putting water in a pan at the bottom of the oven, baking the bread initially at a very high temp, etc, but the dutch oven is the most life changing.



It all started with the infamous no-knead bread article by Mark Bittman written in the New York Times years ago by Jim Lahey. This recipe is the one I turn people if they are intimidated/have had scarring bread baking experiences in their past. It's infallible, impressive, and delicious.

If you want to buy me a gift anytime soon, I'd probably ask for Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. Check out their website for great recipes and bread baking advice. I am especially excited about their book because they have developed gluten-free bread using their moist, no-knead, dutch oven baked technique. The other great part is that it takes no time at all because you whip up a batch of dough, store it in the fridge and tear off portions when ever you feel the desire for fresh baked bread come on. I recently found out I have a gluten allergy this past month after getting a horrible, itchy rash. This was pretty devestating at first, being a baker and all, but I accepted this new dietary restriction and have become excited about exploring the realm of gluten-free baking.

However, today I will be baking Jeff and Zoe's basic gluten-filled bread recipe because I still need to buy some xanthan gum and tapioca flour before I dive into the world of gluten-free artisan bread and my housemates aren't the patient types.

Super Easy Artisan Bread
Adapted from Jeff and Zoe
(I'm only making half the recipe because we are running out of flour, but this is the full recipe)

In a large bowl or container with a lid mix together:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbs active dry yeast
1 1/2 tbs course salt

Let the mixture sit for a few minutes and then dump in:

6 1/2 cups flour

Mix well with a spoon and let sit for a few hours covered until it has risen and then deflated a bit. Store in the fridge until you are ready to bake. The flavor develops as the dough sits, so there's no need to use the dough in a hurry; it's good for a week or so.

I'll go through the baking process with ya'll later this evening. Have a lovely day!

Fermentation Window

I forgot to let you all know that I pulled out the yogurt from it's cozy sleeping bag this morning and it turned out great. The best way to get consistent results is to use a kitchen thermometer when heating and cooling the milk, but we don't have one yet, so the result is always just a little different, which is fun too.






Because I've been been on the topic of fermentation, I thought I'd post a photo of our wild kitchen windowsill full of various fermenting and sprouting things. Some people are a little freaked out by it, but we like this kind of hippie shit. On the left we have some kind of sun tea brewing, the next three jars are various kinds of sprouts, then we have a jar of rejuvelac (a fermented drink made from wheat berries), next to that is one of the jars we make sauerkraut in, and lastly we have two jars of kombucha brewing away.

Morning Ritual

Mornings are very important to me and my morning ritual is critical to my morning happiness, anyone who knows me will attest to this.

This is a major point of contention for Scott, arguably the biggest source of contention in our relationship. You see, he likes to wake up slowly, in bed, drift in and out of sleep, cuddle, etc. I on the other hand, can not stand this; I get super antsy and can't deal with being awake, yet not caffeinated. I feel unproductive (I know this is totally irrational and a little disturbing). It makes me feel very unloving admitting this, but it's just the truth. So, our morning routine is for me to wake up and try to get out of bed before Scott notices, which he always does, then he will start whining and physically pin me down so that I don't leave him. Then I have to lie and say I will just go make coffee than come back to bed. He knows this is a lie and points it out. Then I make a face and feel badly, but head to the kitchen despite it all to start my morning ritual.

It always starts with caffiene. I'm extremely pretentious about my coffee. I like it strong. I like dark, usually french roast and I like it with whole milk. I think sweetened coffee is sickening.



















I always make breakfast first thing after I make coffee. I usually sip my coffee as I do this.

I'm usually not too adventurous in the morning when it comes to food. It's the one meal I don't feel the need to experiment with too much, I don't want to throw off my morning with any new, drastic culinary moves.

I pretty much eat the same thing every morning. I know this sounds boring, but really it's not at all; it's ultimate comfort actually. I am an oatmeal in the morning kind of girl. Sometimes I have cold cereal instead, but usually oatmeal. I don't like to get too fancy with my oats, I like to add some fruit, an apple or banana, sometimes berries, cinnamon, two big pinches of sea salt, some nut butter or sprinkled nuts, that kind of thing. I don't like too many toppings at once; simple and satisfying is what I'm aiming for.















Sometimes I go crazy and scoop some yogurt on top, or add some coconut flakes, chopped figs, a sprinkling of granola, but you get the basic idea.















Here's today's bowl, nothing flashy or fancy, but, damn, it never fails.

The last part of my morning ritual is to sit down with my breakfast and coffee and read the news, cookbooks, philosophy reading I've put off, that kind of thing. It's oh so relaxing and if for some reason my morning ritual gets thrown off, I get absolutely pissed.

Blog Crazy

Some would say I've gone to blog city today...



















but I just had to leave one more photo with ya'll tonight.

Boyfriend

I feel a little silly writing this post because I'm worried it might get gushy/gross/annoying and this is a food blog, not a bunch of sappy shit, but non-the-less he's important to me so here I go...

This is Scott and, yes, that is a pig head. Scott loves pig roasts, I mean really loves them. One of his favorite things to do is slaughter a pig or two, set up a large outdoor smoker, stay up all night drinking whiskey, stoking the fire, telling stories, and singing songs in Spanish.

We met at school, the story is extremely cute and romantic, but I'll save that for another day. He is a dairy farmer and is about to start a new job in Dodgeville, Wisconsin as the farm manager for Uplands Cheese Company. I'll be moving out to join him in May. So there, he will come up in the future I'm sure.


(Scott, hope you like the blog!)

Yogurt

Here is Katz's yogurt recipe; I think it's the best:















Timeframe: 8-24 hours

Equipment:
Quart/liter jar
Insulated cooler (or sleeping bag/warm blankets--this is what we use!)
Ingredients (for 1 quart):
1 quart/1 liter whole milk (or any kind of milk including soy, coconut, rice, etc.)
1 tablespoon/15 milliliters fresh live-culture plain yogurt for starter culture

Process:
1. Preheat the jar and insulated cooler (I put a sleeping bag in the drier to get it warm, but this is not necessary) with hot water so they will not drain heat from the yogurt and it can stay warm to ferment.
2. Heat the milk until bubbles begin to form. If you use a thermometer, heat milk to 180 degrees F. Use gentle heat, and stir frequently, to avoid burning the milk. If does not need to come to a full boil. The heating is not absolutely necessary, but it results in a thicker yogurt.
3. Cool the mild to 110 degrees F, or the point where it feels hot, but it is not hard to keep you (clean!) finger in it. You can speed the cooling process by setting the pot with the hot milk into a bowl or pot of cold water. Don't let the milk get too cool; the yogurt cultures are most active in the above-body-temperature range.
4. Mix starter yogurt into the milk. Use just 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) per quart. I used to use more starter, assuming that more is better, until I consulted my number one kitchen reference book, The Joy of Cooking (1964 edition), known affectionately as "Joy" in our kitchen. "You may wonder why so little starter is used and think that a little more will produce a better result. It won't. The bacillus, if crowded, gives a sour, watery product. But if the culture has sufficient Lebensraum (German for 'room to live'), it will be rich, mild and creamy." Mix the starter thoroughly into the milk, and pour the mixture into the preheated jar.
5. Cap the jar and place it in the preheated insulated cooler (or sleeping bag). If much space remains in the cooler, fill it will bottles of hot water (not too hot to touch) and/or towels. Close the cooler. Place the cooler in a warm spot where it will not be disturbed. "Yogurt has the added idiosyncrasy that it doesn't care to be jostled while growing," notes Joy.
6. Check the yogurt after 8 to 12 hours. It should have a tangy flavor and some thickness. If it isn't thick (hasn't "yoged"), warm it up by filling the insulated cooler with hot water around the jar of yogurt, adding more starter, and leaving it 4 to 8 hours. You can leave it to ferment longer if you wish. It will become more sour, as more of the milk's lactose is converted into lactic acid. A longer fermentation period can often make yogurt digestible even for lactose-intolerant individuals.
7. Yogurt can store in the refrigerator for weeks, though its flavor will become more sour over time. Save some of you yogurt to use as a starter for the next batch.



















****Please don't be intimidated by the length of this recipe! Once you do it the first time, you get it and it takes no time/effort at all. I included this detailed recipe because I want ya'll to have great results the first time and become life-long yogurt makers, ok?!















Happy yogurt making.

Fermentation

I briefly mentioned our shared passion for fermentation, that we Preston Co-op house members have, in my profile, but I thought I would elaborate on the wonders of wild fermentation in today's post.

We have various fermentation projects going on continuously under our roof and many more which we have hopes and dreams about experimenting with in the future. Our current and previous projects include, yogurt making (which I plan to post about in detail tonight), sauerkraut and kimchis, mead, sourdough breads, kombucha, rejuvelac, and pickles of all kinds. We also have a tempeh starter on the way in the mail!

If you have any interest in getting into fermentation I highly recommend the book "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz. If you are at all into things homemade, fermenting can be a very exciting and rewarding experience for many reasons but some that have jumped out at me recently are:

1. Most fermentation projects are super easy and super cheap. (I was at a local health food store the other day where they were selling tiny jars of sauerkraut for $17 each and we have literally gallons of it in our house that we have been giving away and trying to come up with new creative uses for!)
2. Going through the process of fermenting foods is exciting, kind of like watching a child develop and age. Fermented foods are literally a product of their environment; a sourdough starter or sauerkraut will taste totally different depending on the weather, location, season, and year in which it's made.
3. They are easily digestible, delicious, and nutritious.
4. Fermentation is an ideal way to preserve foods, especially if you have a garden--you can live off of your bounty all year long.















I leave you with a picture of our humble kitchen.

If you are interested in making your own yogurt, check out tonight's post. It's unbelievably easy and takes no special equipment; yogurt makers are totally STUPID and make your own is as cheap as buying milk. At our house we make about 2 half gallon jars a week; it has definitely become a staple (we tend to flip if the yogurt has run out).

Happy February everyone!