It's sourdough

I mixed a lump of dough for a loaf of no knead bread a couple months ago, I didn't have time to bake and left it in the fridge.  Soon enough I forgot about it, and when I opened the lid a few days later, it smelled a bit sour and it had a layer of grayish liquid on the top.  Toss it out?  Nah, stir it up and add some water and flour, leave it on the counter and see how it turns out.  A day or two later, the thin soupy mixture had come back to life, making bubbles.

I took a cup out to which I added flour, water and salt.  Then I fed the mixture with some water and flour. A day later I baked the dough, yielding a modest loaf, but quite sour.

Days later, the starter looked more like a wet dough.  For the next two loaves, I took 250 gm of starter, added 200 gm water, 310 gm white flour, 40 gm whole wheat flour and 1.5 tsp salt.  I fed the starter with 1/4 cup water and 1/4-1/2 cup flour, but the starter seemed to need more when I mixed for the fourth and fifth loaves.  time was about 14 hours. baked better loaves of bread, with regard to loaf height for 800 gm of flour/water (the amount for a "traditional" no knead bread).

In conclusion, the process by which one gets a sourdough starter can include using the yeast from a one pound package of SAF Instant yeast, of which I still have at least an ounce after four or more years.  Maybe the wild yeasts are superior, and maybe you could say you got yeasts resident to your part of the world, but sour is sour and the bread is great, especially in combination with the long ferment times.  ITrader Joes' sourdough breads never tasted this good!

Bread ver. 2.98

This is the bread with the crunchy crust and chewy crumb and the big holes.  New York Times no-knead bread recipe is great for a crowd of ravenous teenagers, but for one or two people it doesn't quite fit. I often take up to three days to finish a loaf using the original recipe.  Sometimes I'll eat bread to the exclusion of other tasty dishes. 

The solution is either to freeze half the loaf, or just make a smaller loaf that I can eat in a day or so. I elected the latter. I halved the ingredients, fermenting for the same amount of time and baking 20 minutes covered and 11 minutes uncovered at 450 degrees.

I also discovered a great place to ferment the dough:  on top of the Sub-zero fridge in Mom's house. In my house in Washington state, I'll probably put a light bulb and thermostat in an ice chest.

The Recipe:
Mix in a bowl:
1.5 cups all purpose flour (some of it can be whole wheat)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon yeast
6 oz (180 gm) water

Cover the bowl and let ferment for at least 12 hours.

A great ferment gives itself away by the presence of bubbles on the dough surface 12-24 hours after mixing. Don't worry if it ferments even longer--the dough will just become more like sourdough. 

Sprinkle the dough with flour and coat your palms with flour. Pick up the dough and fold it several times using flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Holding the dough in one hand, spoon about an inch of flour into the mixing bowl,  and gently lay the dough in the bowl. Sprinkle flour around the dough to keep it from sticking to the bowl's sides as it proofs. Let the dough proof for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 deg F. Place a covered baking dish in the oven to preheat. When the dough has doubled in size,  gently drop it into the dish,  cover the dish and bake 20 min covered and about 10-12 min uncovered until the crust has browned to your taste.

A note about the baking dish. I have used a 4-5 qt Dutch oven of aluminum and another of cast iron with great results. I baked the pictured loaf in a thick cake pan with tin foil as a cover.

Butter up!

Razor clams go with almost everything

I mean it, razor clams do go with almost everything.  Just don't overcook them!  Actually, if you separate the critter from its shell by dipping in boiling water, about 20-30 seconds will cook them enough to keep them from tasting "too" raw and not so much as to turn them into little white rubber bands.  Do not fear the tender razor clam.

Some ideas about what to do with chopped razor clams:

A razor clam garnish on drained pasta, with tomato sauce, pesto sauce, Alfredo sauce or just Balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  A little pepper and salt, if you please.  Don't forget that fish sauce and sesame oil from your local Asian grocery store makes a hearty noodle soup.  

Got tortillas?  drop in a few ounces on the middle of a tortilla and make a wrap.  Don't forget some veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, garlic for a little bite, hot sauce or pesto.  anything goes.  \

Got bread?  Make an open face sandwich.

Fritters?  Definitely a time honored method of eating these boys, if you don't mind all the oil that soaks into the breading.  You can also fry them without the breading.  NO matter what, don't overcook.

Ceviche?  Why not?  Scour the web for a recipe and substitute clams for whatever other seafood it calls for.

In ice cream or yogurt?  Yeah!   It's great!

Vegan Hoppin' John

my Vegan Hoppin' John recipe
A new year's recipe to bring good luck.

Ingredients:
2 C. brown rice
1 C. black eyed peas
15 gm of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, 1 medium yellow or white onion
2 T of paprika, 2 t of thyme, Tabasco to taste, a dash of Liquid smoke, a half cup of white wine or vegetable broth
bell peppers, raisins, fresh tomatoes, parsley or cilantro if desired

Pressure cook for 15 minutes:
2 cups of brown rice with 1 cup of black eyed peas, 5 cups of water, a dash of salt

Chop up 15 gm of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, 1 medium yellow or white onion and about 15 minutes after mutilating the garlic, saute everything for 6-8 minutes in 2 Tb of oil or til the veggies are soft
add 2 T of paprika, 2 t of thyme, Tabasco to taste, a dash of Liquid smoke, a half cup of white wine or vegetable broth, let it simmer a bit .   then add the black eyed peas and rice
top with parsley  or cilantro if desired.
For some real fun add red pepper flakes.  and raisins.  Bell peppers of any color or ilk always like this party--saute with the garlic celery & onions.
Fresh tomatoes on top finish the dish nicely, if desired.

Bread 600 gm

for Manchester race 600 gm loaf made, with 500g water. ferment about 13 hr. proof 2 hr. baked 40 min covered, 15 min open. Great!

How to cook with tofu

Whoa, draining the tofu. The ultimate drain: http://video.about.com/vegetarian/Tofu.htm

Pugliese Bread

This is the Bread bakers laboratory of ireproducible results.

I made three loaves of Pugliese bread using the big oven.com recipe http://www.bigoven.com/9353-Pugliese-Bread-recipe.html referenced to:

Geminis MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

After having used the recipe for at least 3 months now, I am still a little baffled. what does it mean by:

Roll each part into long strand. Roll up along length, stretching slightly. Turn dough sideways and roll to long string again. Roll up into tight ball, tucking to ends under. Let rise 1 hour, covered with towel. Pre-heat oven to 450, with pan of water in the oven, about 20 minutes before baking.

Does it mean manipulating the dough wet? Or on a floured surface with a rolling stick/pin?

I used 2 1/3 cups biga (http://www.bigoven.com/38243-Biga-(Italian-Bread-Starter)-recipe.html) though the recipe calls for 13/16 cup biga. I don't know how anybody measures 13/16 cups, that's really stupid. I added an extra cup of water to the bread recipe--7.5 cups would have left the dough too dry, weighing a total of 2600 grams. I stirred it all together by hand with a wooden spoon, which is for me the best considering I don't want to own a stand mixer for just one task. I let the dough rise for 3-4 hours then, I made two 650 gm loaves to rise in 4x8 glass loaf pans, & one 1300 gm loaf to proof in a pyrex casserole 8.5" x 3.5" high.. I rolled one small loaf wet, the other on a floured surface. The big loaf went on a floured board where I used the stretch and fold method, per instructions for Ciabatta bread in Baking Artisan Bread by Ciril Hitz.

9.15 p.m. the loaves have risen just past the tops of the bread pans and the large casserole dish. they'll go into the oven which is steamy from the water in pans on the bottom elements.

10 p.m. I baked the bread loaves at ~425 deg F for 35 min., spraying the bread w water every 3 min during the first 15 min. Just looking at them, I cannot tell the difference between the two little loaves--they are almost exactly the same height. I'll have a chance to see in about 30 minutes. And tomorrow I shall bring one to Westport for lunch during the fiberglassing of the splashguards on Vern's big canoe--the large loaf, I think I'll share with Lydia.

Oh ya, saw some bread making videos, um you didn't know people video every thing but to me this takes the loaf!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZt552aGox8&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LaODcYSRXU&NR=1&feature=fvwp