Artisan Rye Bread

Fall is right around the corner and my food thoughts turn to soups, stews, roasted meats and of course great bread.  This past weekend we were walking around Findlay Market and noticed an increase in the number of artisan bread bakers presenting their fine breads for purchase.  We decided to try a rather large baguette and a loaf of half rye and half pumpernickel ( they called it marbled) from one of the new vendors.

Making great bread at home is really easy.  This bread practically makes itself.  Allowed to raise on the counter overnight it is ready to go into the oven the next morning providing not only a great fresh treat but also making the house smell incredible.  Completing our late morning shopping we stopped at our favorite butcher shop for great ground chuck.  We decided to try a bowl of their vegetable soup, sit in the sunshine and enjoy the people watching.  They offered us some crackers for the soup but we had a fresh, warm baguette calling us.

Easy Rye Bread

Combine flour, caraway seeds, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, beer and vinegar and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 14 to 18 hours. Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 -15 times. Line a round pan or basket with parchment paper. Spray parchment with PAM and place the dough on the parchment, spray the dough with the PAM. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise to double in size, about 2 hours. Pre-heat a Dutch oven in the oven at 500 degrees for ½ hour (with lid on). Remove lid and carefully, using the parchment under the dough , lower the dough into the Dutch oven, parchment and all, put lid on and lower oven temperature to 425. Bake for 30 minutes, remove lid and back an additional 10 minutes until the bread is nicely browned.
Recipe adapted from American’s Test Kitchen.

Try some of our really tasty Fall recipes at emealsforyou.com.

Old-fashioned Homemade Bread

The weather is still a little chilly here.  We had a week in the low 60′s and then the rain, which brought back the chilly weather.  It’s a good day to bake bread.  We have company coming next week and then Easter brunch here so I will begin to bake the breads I will serve.  I usually bake it and freeze it until I need it; then simply put it in a warm oven just before serving.

This recipe comes to us via my partner, Chef Teresa.  It is a wonderful addition to any meal and is great for those leftover sandwiches.  Give it a try but be fore-warned; you ‘d better make two loaves as the first one will disappear while it is still warm from the baking.

I found a new bread recipe the other day and decided I needed to get back into the bread baking mode.  Maybe I overdid it a little but once you have flour all over the kitchen why not make more.  My wife mentioned she would like to have some date nut bread; I call it date and nut bread but then again she “knows” better. ( updated correction: she looked it up on the Internet and looks like she is right and I am wrong; for the first time I might add)  Anyway, so there I was making rye bread and the date  nut bread and why not add some ciabatti to the mix.

I especially like the ciabatti and rye breads as they develop their taste and “crumb” texture by resting overnight on the counter.  Once you learn how to deal with the really moist, sticky dough it is a simple task to shape the loaves and bake them.  The date / nut bread takes about 5 minutes to mix; although you have to let the dates and nuts sit in hot water for 15 minutes.  I usually bake them in small loaves, then freeze them.  A minute in the microwave when I feel like eating some is quick and always a special treat.

The recipes are on the website: emealsforyou.com along with many more.  Now that Fall is coming I will begin to try different artisan breads and pass along the ones that work to you.

Date & Nut Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 81/2 X 41/2 X 3 inch loaf pan.

Put dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt, karo syrup and butter in a bowl. Heat water to the boil and pour on top of date mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flours and stir. Add in the date mixture and stir until well blended. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 40 -50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slide a knife around pan and invert over a serving plate. May be frozen.

Ciabatta

I have no patience; this is not just my wife telling me, I know this of myself.  One way to overcome this was to learn how to bake bread.  You see baking bread takes patience, lots of patience.  Most people think it is hard to bake bread; truth is it is fairly easy but requires short periods of activity and then lots of waiting, patience is a virtue, especially in bread baking.

We are talking breads that need to rise, yeast breads not sweet breads.  The main goal for those of us, who are learning patience, is a golden chewy,crust and an airy, moist “crumb” the dough part of the bread with lots of holes.  See, here is where it gets a little dicey, trying to get all those things to happen by themselves.  Most breads require kneading, folding and “TLC” and maybe some luck.  Those of us who bake bread talk to everyone we know who bakes bread to try to find the answers.  We trade recipes, equipment and mostly well wishes.  So when Capt. Jim (Capt. Jim’s Tomato Focaccio ) sent me this recipe and told me it worked and was very easy, I decided to give it a go.

So if you find your life is a series of 5 minutes bursts, you like great bread or maybe you need to learn some patience here is Capt. Jim’s recipe.

Note the holes and moist "crumb"

Ciabatta

Add flour, yeast and salt to a large mixing bowl; stir in warm (not hot) water. Mix until a a very soft, very sticky dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a cool, dry place for 18 hours. Place dough on a floured surface, punch down and fold into itself in thirds. Place a piece of parchment paper; a little bigger than the dough on a work surface, flour the paper. Place dough on the parchment and shape into a long loaf. Cover with a white cotton towel and let rise for 2 hours. Dough will spread out but not up.

Preheat oven to 425º. Cut off any excess parchment showing around the ciabatta. Slide a pizza peel or an upside down cookie sheet under the bread. Slide the bread, paper side down onto the pizza stone or preheated cookie sheet. Spray the bread in the oven with a spray bottle with just water every 2 minutes for the first 12 minutes; this will give you a good crust. Bake for 35 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting. May be frozen.

(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)