Pain Bouillie

I think of Goldilocks and the Three Bears when I think of porridge. When I was little, when I pretend-cooked, it was always porridge. Stirring barkdust with pine cones and pine needles, “What are you making, Rachel?” Porridge. At the beach, mixing sand and shell and water, “What are you making, Rachel?” Porridge.

Last night was the first time I gave this response without a trace of fantasy. It really was porridge, which turns out to be the natural fermentation of flour and water and sugar when allowed to percolate with the wild yeasts of the air. Reality, as it ever turns out, is even better than fantasy.

Pain Bouillie

Porridge Bread

Adapted from the Village Baker

Bouillie

The night before, mix:

2 cups rye flour

1 3/4 cups boiling water

2 tsp honey

in a medium bowl, cover with saran and leave for 12 hours in a warm place.

Dough

1 cup sourdough starter

2 tsp crushed caraway seeds

2 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons warm water

Raisins (optional)

Make the porridge and let sit out over night (or more!)
Grease a loaf tin with olive oil.
Stir the yeast mixture or rapid rise yeast, salt and caraway seeds into the rye porridge.
Add the bread flour bit by bit until a firm dough forms.
Turn onto a floured surface and knead gently for 6-8 minutes until smooth. (It will seem SUPER dry, but that is okay)
Return the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling-film and put in a warm place for an hour and a half or until it has nearly doubled in size.
Turn out onto the floured surface again and punch down.
Cut the dough into 2 pieces and roll them both into rectangles roughly the size of the bottom of your loaf tin.
Fold the bottom third up over the middle third and the top third down over the other two so that you have a small rectangle, three widths thick and pinch the edges together a bit.
Turn over and put the 2 little loaves into the loaf tin.
Cover loosely with oiled cling-film and leave to rise for another hour or until the top of the dough nearly reaches the top of the tin.
preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Brush the top of the loaves with olive oil and slash the tops.
Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 degrees and bake another 45 minutes or until the bottom of a loaf sounds hollow when knocked.

Cool on a wire rack.

Totally goofed on this one. The ugliness is all mine, not the recipe. I left the loaf pan with the rising dough in the oven and turned on the oven for something else forgetting they were in there. Dang. So they went through all kinds of trauma, and came out looking like it. Whoops. Tastes good anyway, though. As the adage on my calendar reminds me, Live imperfectly with great delight.

Izzy is sad because once again I’m going away for a few days. I am leaving her in good company.

Deep Dish Pizza

Who would have thought potatoes were the secret ingredient of excellent deep dish pizza? The reason? The high starch profile jump-starts fermentation, therein creating a complex profile of flavors, and even leaves a little sugar in excess to sweeten the deep dish crust; also, the potato starches interfere with the gluten bonding among the flour molecules so the dough stays a little looser and more moist. If none of what I just said made any sense, just do it anyway because it tastes awesome. Mash a potato to the Contours song that discusses proper mashing methods among other things, and add potato your pizza dough. SOOO good.

Deep Dish Pizza
adapted from Baking Illustrated
Makes two 9-inch Pizzas (Serves about 6)

Dough
1 medium russet potato (peeled, boiled, and grated, should yield about 1 ½ cups mashed potato)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 cup warm water
6 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce

½ cup marinara sauce
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil

1-2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

First, make the dough. Combine the flour, salt, yeast, and potato in a large bowl. Add the water and oil and mix with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until fully combined. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth.

Rinse and clean the bowl, and coat it with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place the kneaded dough in the bowl, turning the dough to get its surface coated with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature the dough has nearly doubled in size, about an hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down, turn the dough onto a dry work surface, and pat into a 12 inch round. Coat a 10 or 14 inch cast-iron skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer dough to the skillet; press the dough into the pan, working it into the corners and about 1-inch up the sides (you may have to fold over the sides to make it all fit within 1-inch up the sides). If dough resists stretching, let it relax for a few minutes before proceeding. Cover and preheat oven to 500 degrees. Uncover and prick the dough with a fork, reduce the oven heat to 425 degrees and bake on a baking stone for 10-15 minutes.

Remove and spread marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella evenly over the surface of each pizza, and return to the oven to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Easily 5 stars, and Carol and Bruce, I’d have to say this could compete with your Lou Malnati’s in Chicago. I’ll make it for you next time we visit (hopefully in May!) and you can decide.

Pain Sur Poolish

If I’ve ever made April Fool’s bread it is this. I’m still learning to “de-gas” my dough in the shaping process. When you don’t properly or sufficiently de-gas, you get silly shapen loaves such as these. Basically, bread aneurysms.

Pain Sur Poolish

Basic Sponge Bread

Adapted from the Village Baker

The Poolish (sponge):

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup filtered water

1 cup unbleached white flour (all-purpose flour)

Add the flour to a bowl, stir in the yeast for even distribution, then pour in the water. Stir with your hands to make sure there are no small balls of flour left in the poolish. Cover the bowl with a lid, a towel or plastic film and let rise in on the counter. The poolish will be ready when the top is covered in bubbles, approximately 3 to 5 hours later, but I let it go overnight.

The Dough:

2 cups unbleached white flour (all-purpose flour)

1½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

½ cup water

In the bowl, add the flour, salt and yeast. Stir to combine. Add all of the poolish and the water. Mix on low speed for about 4 minutes to incorporate the ingredients. Switch to a medium speed and mix for another 5 minutes. The dough should come together in a ball and be moist, but not sticky. Place the dough in a bowl that’s been lightly coated with olive oil and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rise for 2 hours. Divide the dough into two pieces, and then shape each piece into a round. Cover the loaves with a towel and let rise another 1 to 1½ hours. The loaves will be ready to bake when the dough slowly springs back when pressed with a finger.

While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 450° with a baking stone set on the bottom deck of the oven. If you do not own a pizza stone, the loaves can be baked on a cookie tray. Place the risen loaf on a cornmeal-dusted peel or cookie tray. Make two vertical cuts in the top of each loaf using a razor blade or a serrated knife.

Prior to placing the loaf in the oven, use a spray bottle filled with filtered water to spray the top and sides of the oven to create steam, then put in the loaf. Spray the top and sides of the loaf before you close the oven door. Bake the loaves for approximately 30 to 45 minutes or until the crust is at your desired shade.

5 stars, regardless of its strange bread bunions and gas-omas, the loaves tasted fabulous and healthy.

La Couronne de Figeac

Happy Easter. Since we don’t have children to decorate eggs with or give baskets to, here is how we have come to treat our bulldog as child—Izzy’s story time: in the cookbook.

I thought it was appropriate to make the crown loaf today, in honor of the resurrection of Our Lord. The crown loaf is popular in rural France because the peasants, my book says, prefer the crust. Figeac, the town where this bread recipe comes from, is on the Way of St. James, a major medieval pilgrimage trail in SW France. I’m thinking about making my own bread pilgrimage at some point in my life.

This was my first go at pate fermentee or the “old-dough method.” If you have left over dough from pain ordinaire, like I did, you can wet it down and use it for another batch, although the rising times must be reduced.

This loaf is exactly how I imagine a giant Cheerio would be.

La Couronne de Figeac

Adapted from The Village Baker

1 cup very old (5 to 8 hours) yeasted pain ordinaire dough

½ cup warm water

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons rye or whole wheat flour

½ tsp salt

Break up the old dough completely and pour the warm water over it, mixing vigorously for four or five minutes. Mix flours together and add pinch by pinch until all but 1/3 cup of flour has been incorporated. Sprinkle the salt over the mixture and move to a worktable to add the last bit of flour. Do NOT add more flour. Let dough rise in a bowl covered with a damp towel until doubled in bulk. Punch down and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Punch dough down again and shape into a boule (round loaf).

With your elbow, punch a hole in the center of the round, and form a circle.

Put a teacup into a bowl and cover with a towel and flour.

Put the dough ring in the bowl and let rise until doubled.

Heat baking stone and oven to 450 degrees. Place dough on parchment paper and bake for 45-50 minutes.

We brought this over to the Wiseman’s the other day, and it tasted sublime when topped with a bean spread they got from Z-Zest, the name of which escapes me. The crust is really crispy and dark. It is a giant Cheerio. It occurs to me know I should have placed an egg in the middle of the O for Easter. tee hee.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Buckwheat is merely grain-like, more related to rhubarb than to wheat. It is gluten free, as are these pancakes en totale. This is was my first buckwheat experience. If you had asked me to describe buckwheat prior to today, I would have probably stuck out my front two teeth and whistled out the side. Buckwheat is the wheat of bumpkins and rubes, I surely assumed. I now would have to say that buckwheat is the smell of a Saturday morning pillow. It has the sweet musk of sleep; it brings the tongue to an ease.

Buckwheat Pancakes

From a man named Miller in Wisconsin, served at People’s Food Co-op in Rochester, MN, sleuthed and gifted by Ed Hayes Sr (aka, bread guru)

1 cup buckwheat flour

¾ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup light brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ tsp baking soda

2 cups rice milk

1 T canola oil (I used olive)

1 T apple cider vinegar

Whisk dry and whisk again the wet ingredients in a large bowl. It is important to whisk to avoid any lumps. This is a direct quote from the break baking guru, “Do this or feel the wraith!”

5 stars. Serve with real maple syrup, and watch out because the pancake will absorb liquid so quickly and completely that if you get distracted, you won’t be able to tell if you have already put the syrup on or not, so pay attention! Or get a double dose of maple. Would make for the best Easter morning breakfast.

Pain Ordinaire in Boule

Finished teaching the last installment of the Mayo Medical School course Disruptions in Development today, to which Dr. Bostwick and I brought loaves baked with our own bare hands to break and share with the students on today of all days. I then read this poem, shamelessly.

From the IV movement of East Coker in TS Eliots Four Quartets…

“The wounded surgeon plies the steel

That questions the distempered part;

Beneath the bleeding hands we feel

The sharp compassion of the healer’s art

Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.

Our only health is the disease

If we obey the dying nurse

Whose constant care is not to please

But to remind of our, and Adam’s curse,

And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.

The whole earth is our hospital

Endowed by the ruined millionaire,

Wherein, if we do well, we shall

Die of the absolute paternal care

That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere.

The chill ascends from feet to knees,

The fever sings in mental wires.

If to be warmed, then I must freeze

And quake in frigid purgatorial fires

Of which the flame is roses, and the smoke is briars.

The dripping blood our only drink,

The bloody flesh our only food:

In spite of which we like to think

That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood—

Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.”

Pain Ordinaire in Boule (Round)

Adapted from The Village Baker

6 cups flour
2 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp salt
2 pks active dry yeast (I used a cup of sourdough starter)

Mix the flour + water. rest 20-30mins.

Mix in everything else ~ 4-5 mins.

Rest first proof: either overnight or (he says 1 1/2 – 2hrs til doubled)

Punch it back and let rise again 30 -45mins.

Divide dough in half and one of the halves in half again so recipe makes two baguettes and one round— roll the dough following the instructions from this video.

Shape each piece into tight balls. rest 15 mins, covered.

Shape the loaves, and leave to rise ~45mins – 1hr till doubled, scored and baked in preheated 450degrees F oven on a baking stone that has been preheated for an hour. 40 – 45 mins for the round (till golden brown and hollow sounding).

And again, because I can’t help myself, from the third movement of East Coker, an indelible image for Good Friday, a dark theater—

“I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you

Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,

The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed

With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of dark-

Ness on darkness,

And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant

Panorama

And the bold imposing façade are all being rolled away—

Or as, when an underground train, in the tube, stops too

Long between stations

And the conversation rises and slowly fades into silence

And you see behind every face the mental emptiness

Deepen.

Leaving only the growing terror of nothing to think about;

Or when, under ether, the mind is conscious but conscious

Of nothing—

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without

Love

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the

Dancing.”

Pain Ordinaire in Baguette

The breads of France are beguiling, but only for their high-faluting nomenclature. Flour and water and yeast and salt. Last night’s fellowship dinner for Calvary we served the following loaf, a fail safe, I do believe. This is the basic bread in the new book, the Village Baker from my bread guru, out of print!

Pain Ordinaire in Baguette

Adapted from The Village Baker

6 cups flour
2 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp salt
2 pks active dry yeast (I used a cup of sourdough starter)

Mix the flour + water. rest 20-30 mins.

Mix in everything else ~ 4-5 mins.

Rest first proof: either overnight or (he says 1 1/2 – 2 hrs til doubled)

Punch it back and let rise again 30 -45 mins.

Divide dough in half and one of the halves in half again so recipe makes two baguettes and one round—the round I’ll report tomorrow.

Shape each piece into tight balls. rest 15 mins, covered.

Shape the loaves, and leave to rise ~45mins – 1hr till doubled, scored and baked in preheated 450degrees F oven on a baking stone that has been preheated for an hour. 20 – 25 mins for baguettes and 40 – 45 mins for the round (till golden brown and hollow sounding).

Glaze with egg white and one tablespoon of water.

5 stars. Impossible to mess up. I made one whole loaf and one squat, the extra dough was needed for a recipe forthcoming.

Coffeecake in Twisted Coil with Sweet Cheese Filling

Speed post.

Coffeecake in Twisted Coil with Sweet Cheese Filling

Baking Illustrated

Rich Coffeecake Dough

4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (2 envelopes )

1/4 cup warm water (about 110 F)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (21 1/4 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened but still cool (2 sticks)

Sweet Cheese Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool

1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces)

2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping (optional)

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (2 1/3 ounces) or 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 1/3 ounces)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (2 1/2 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Coffeecake Icing (optional)

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (3 ounces)

3 1/2 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Wash

1 large egg

1 teaspoon heavy cream (preferably) or 1 teaspoon whole milk

Directions:

For the Dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer; stir to dissolve. Add the sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla; attach the paddle and mix at the lowest speed until well combined. Add 3 1/4 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing at low speed until the flour is incorporated, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the butter pieces 1 at a time, beating until incorporated, about 20 seconds after each addition (total mixing time should be about 5 minutes). Replace the paddle with the dough hook and add the remaining 1 cup flour; knead at medium-low speed until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes longer. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough tightens up slightly, about 2 minutes longer.
Scrape the dough (which will be too soft to pick up with your hands) into a straight-sided lightly oiled plastic container or bowl using a plastic dough scraper. Cover the container tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 3 to 4 hours. Press down the dough, replace the plastic, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, for a quick chill, spread the dough about 1 inch thick on a baking sheet, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.
For the Filling: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer at high speed until smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium and continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and chill thoroughly before using. (The filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.).
For the Streusel: Mix the brown and granulated sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat. Pinch the butter chunks and dry mixture between your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Chill thoroughly before using. (The streusel can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.).
For the Icing: Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth. (The icing can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week. Thin with a few drops of milk before using.).
When you are ready to shape the coffeecakes,remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, scraping the container sides with a rubber spatula if necessary. Divide the dough in half for 2 cakes.
Working with a half recipe of cold dough at a time, shape the dough into a log about 8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Using your outstretched hands, roll the log evenly into a 40-inch rope about 1 inch in diameter.
Loosely coil the rope in a spiral pattern, leaving a 1/4-inch space between coils. Tuck the end under and pinch to secure. Place the coil on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with second half of dough.
Proof until slightly puffed (they will not increase in volume as dramatically as a leaner bread dough), 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (After this final rise, the unbaked cakes can be refrigerated overnight and baked the next morning.).
For the Egg Wash: Beat the egg and cream in a small bowl until combined.
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F Working with and baking one coffeecake at a time, brush with egg wash evenly over the exposed dough. Place half of the filling over the center of the top, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around the perimeter. Sprinkle the top evenly with half of the streusel. Slide the baking sheet onto a second baking sheet to prevent the bottom crust from overbrowning and bake until deep golden brown and/or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the cake reads 190 F, 25 to 30 minutes. Slide the parchment with the coffeecake onto a wire rack and cool at least 20 minutes. Drizzle the cake with half the icing and serve.

Sausage and Bell Pepper Pizza with Basil and Mozzarella

And finally, the last pizza in the pizza marathon. At the finish line was Izzy and KP. So good to be home.

Sausage and Bell Pepper Pizza with Basil and Mozzarella

Adapted from Baking Illustrated

INGREDIENTS for the Basic Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water (about 110°)

1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) instant yeast

1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting (used all-purpose)

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

For the Extras
3 cups pizza sauce, I use marinara

4 ounces mozzarella, shredded

1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

¾ pound bulk sweet Italian sausage, broken into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and stir to combine.
Add flour and salt to the liquid ingredients. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.
Shape into smooth round ball and cover with a damp cloth. Let dough relax for at least 10 minutes (no more than 30 minutes)
Brush rolled out dough round with oil. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce even over dough round, leaving ½ inch border. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella. Scatter a third of the sausage and peppers over the sauce.
Slide on peel (covered with corn meal) onto pizza stone (which should have been heated for at least 30 minutes at 500 degrees) and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Repeat with the two other rounds.

A Retreat in Woodinville Washington

Mother Daughter Retreat in Woodinville, Washington. Sixty degrees and humid in the air, hence, big hair.

Ducks in love under the picnic tables at Chateau Ste Michelle.

Staying at Matthews Estate Winery. There is a theater in the bed and breakfast house, and tonight we watched Anna Karenina on the big screen, gorgeous.