Tag Archives: Cheese

Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread)

Essentially, Khachapuri (pronounced hatch-a-pooree), is a bread canoe filled with hot bubbling cheese and topped with a runny egg. How bad could that be?

This decadent dish originated in the Republic of Georgia,. It’s been on my “must bake” list for several years now. It checks all the boxes for pandemic comfort eating, so I decided the time was right. I pulled out all the various recipes I had been collecting and started baking.

Over the past month my oven has churned out over a dozen khachapuri. I wanted to get it perfect. The first hurdle was what to use for the cheese filling. In Georgia they use a combo of imeruli and sulguni cheeses, neither of which are available in Ottawa. I tested some possible substititions and discovered that I liked a combo of mozzarella, ricotta and feta.

Once the filling was settled, I turned my attention to the dough. The more traditional recipes called for an enriched (butter and milk added) dough. While quite delicious, we found that version to be just too rich. I decided on a leaner pizza dough, enriched with just a tablespoon of olive oil. Storebought pizza dough is fine, but homemade is better.

In a desperate attempt at delusion, I added a big heaping handful of massaged kale to each khachapuri, in order to convince myself that these were healthy.

To get the classic canoe shape, the dough is rolled into an oval. Add the filling, leaving about a one inch border. Then roll up the edges, toward the centre and pinch and twist the top and bottom of the canoe to seal.

When the khachapuri are almost done, pull them from the oven to add the egg for the final few minutes of cooking. I tried it with whole eggs and just the yolk, and preferred the yolk.

In addition to finishing the dish with an egg, the traditional recipe also adds a few pats of butter once it comes out of the oven. Shockingly, this butter lover decided to omit that step of the recipe. Just too much.

The best way to eat khachapuri is with your hands. Rip off a piece of the crust and dip it in the runny egg and cheese, preferably while sitting in front of the TV watching Netflix. We’re watching Fauda right now and it makes for messy but very delicious eating.

Click here to print recipe for Khachapuri-Georgian-Cheese-Bread-Download

Havarti and Strawberry-Rhubarb Grilled Cheese

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This is a grilled cheese sandwich for grown-ups. For me, grilled cheese is a once in a while indulgence, when I feel the need a big food hug. The inspiration to add strawberry-rhubarb to my sandwich came from my daily breakfast habit. I roast a batch every week, as I like to mix a big spoonful of it into my morning yogurt and granola.

I made the bold decision to add a smear of the compote to my sandwich. I threw in a few slices of pickled jalapeno for fun.

I was surprised to see fresh rhubarb at the grocery store. It was certainly not local, as Ottawa is still burried under a ton of snow. It was undoubtedly “forced rhubarb”. Most of the year, I use frozen fruit. Rhubarb begs for the addition of sugar. I added 1/3 of a cup for a 6 cups of diced fruit.

The melting qualities of Havarti cheese made it an ideal candidate for this sandwich. While making a grilled cheese sandwich seems to be a fairly simple thing, here are a few tips that can take your sandwich from meh to yeah!

Grate or thinly slice the cheese. If you opt for slicing, dip your knife in cold water before each slice. It prevents the knife from sticking to the cheese.
Butter the outside of bread, rather than just putting butter in the pan. You will get a more even golden crust.
Low and slow for the heat. Don’t be impatient and crank up the heat. You will just end up with buttered toast and unmelted cheese.
Sandwich the strawberry-rhubarb and jalapeno between two thin layers of cheese. rather than just one cheese layer. It helps to hold the sandwich together better and makes for more even melting.

Click here to print recipe for Havarti and Strawberry-Rhubarb Grilled Cheese

Indulge your inner child today and make these. The outer layer of crunch yields to a center of melted goodness. The tart fruit and spicy jalapenos are a wonderful surprise.

A Toast to Summer: Honey Roasted Tomatoes on Whipped Feta Toasts

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If I’m being completely honest, I really only have myself to blame. It all started with a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy in 2011. It was there I first discovered the joys of Prosecco and “Aperitivo.” The literal translation is an alcoholic beverage that is consumed prior to a meal with the intention of stimulating the appetite. It almost always involves a few nibbles to have along with your drink, and I’m not talking about a “happy hour” dish of peanuts.

Depending on your location in Italy, the snacks change. In the south it is typically freshly roasted warm salted almonds, a bowl of spicy marinated olives, home made potato chips, or little squares of pizza.

Several years later we visited Umbria in Northern Italy. Aperitivo here meant little crostini topped with pecorino cheese and drizzled with local wildflower honey, suppli (deep fried breaded rice balls stuffed with cheese) and all sorts of amazing charcuterie.

I decided to adopt Aperitivo hour at our cottage. It was recieved quite well by all our visiting friends and family. (What a shock, I know!) It’s gotten to the point that around 6 pm, my husband, children, siblings and friends will ask, “What are we having for aperitivo tonight?” I have conditioned them to expect a little snack along with pre-dinner drinks. Like I said, all my own fault! Truthfully, I love aperitivo hour. Everyone comes together on the back deck, cell phones are put away into pockets and we chat.

I am always looking for interesting snacks that can be put together without too much fuss or bother. A few months ago, my sister Bo sent me a recipe for whipped feta. I filed it away, thinking it would be perfect, spread on some crusty bread for aperitivo hour.

I decided to top the whipped feta with roasted tomatoes. Little grape or cherry tomatoes get tossed with garlic, olive oil, honey and thyme.30 minutes in a hot oven until they are slightly shrivelled and bubbly. You can roast the tomatoes early in the day and just leave them out on the counter until you need them. The whipped feta dip was a recipe from Ina Garten. I adapted her recipe, cut back on the feta and added some whole milk ricotta to the mix. It love the lightness it added to the spread. This can also be made in the morning. Just wrap well and chill until serving time.Start with some really good bread. A baguette or ciabatta loaf are perfect for this. Good quality bread will have big holes in it like this. I bought a ciabatta lunga from Ace Bakery. In bread freak lingo, these big holes are known as “an open crumb structure.” They are achieved by a long slow cold fermentation, gentle handling so you don’t deflate all the built up gas and a high hydration dough.

I like to split the loaf horizontally, toast it gently on a grill or in the oven, and then cut it into serving size pieces before topping them.

Click here to print recipe for Honey Roasted Tomato and Whipped Feta Toasts.

Roasted Tomato and Carrot Soup with Cheddar Crisps

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I may get drummed out of the core for saying this, but even though the Farmer’s Markets are still full of beautiful ripe tomatoes, I find myself shunning fresh sliced tomatoes with a hefty pinch of malden sea salt and a chiffonade of basil. With October just around the corner, I am yearning to roast something.Red ripe plum tomatoes are halved and combined with some sweet carrots, aromatic garlic, onions, thyme and rosemary. Salt, and a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes woke everything up. I wanted a grown up tomato soup. Tossed with some olive oil until glistening, the veggies are roasted in a hot oven for 45 minutes.

I pureed it all in the blender and added some water to thin it out. I decided against using chicken stock as I really wanted the taste of the vegetables to shine through. A tiny bit of 35% cream stirred in just before serving really brings all the flavours together.

I decided to serve the soup with some cheddar crisps. This is what I imagine the childhood classic of tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich would grow up to become!

If you have never made cheese crisps before, you need to try them. They can be made with almost any firm grating cheese (Cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, Manchego, Asiago). They are delicious with a glass of wine, served on the side with a salad or even slipped onto a burger for some crunch. Beautiful to look at, salty and crunchy, they are the perfect counterpoint for this velvety soup. The crisps are quite simple to make. They can be flavoured with almost anything you like. I decided on fresh thyme leaves, a pinch of cayenne and some black pepper. The trick is to spread the cheese out into flat circles so that they are lacy when baked. They will be a bit soft when you remove them from the oven, but they will harden upon cooling.

Click here to print recipe for Roasted Tomato and Carrot Soup with Cheddar Crisps.

Confessions of Home Alone Diners…and Comfort Eggs

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When you are used to cooking dinner for a family of five every night, finding yourself alone for supper comes as a bit of a shock, a pleasant one, mind you, but still, quite a jarring change to the system. Having solitary meals quite frequently this past summer got me curious about what other people fix for dinner when they are flying solo.

Out to dinner this week with a bunch of friends, I posed the question to the table. Almost every man at the table said they ate a bowl of cereal or picked up some take-out, while practically every woman said they made a salad with some fish, chicken or eggs mixed in for protein.
Really???

Are my sister Faith and I the only ones to conduct a frantic search for our spouse’s hidden chocolate stash, dump the Party Size pack of peanut M&M’s into a bowl (because our mom raised us right, and eating out of the bag is for animals), guzzle a diet coke from the can (because it tastes better that way, right?), and call it dinner?

The late Laurie Colwin, wrote about this very subject in her book, “Home Cooking.”
“Dinner alone is one of life’s pleasures. Certainly cooking for oneself reveals man at his weirdest. People lie when you ask them what they eat when they are alone. A salad, they tell you. But when you persist, they confess to peanut butter and bacon sandwiches deep fried and eaten with hot sauce, or spaghetti with butter and grape jam.”

I suspected that because I posed the question in public, where answers would not be anonymous, that not everyone was being 100% honest with me (just a hunch!). So I sent out an email to about 40 of my closest friends and relatives and posed the question, with the promise of zero judgement and total anonymity.

The replies came flooding back almost immediately. I was so relieved. Yes, these were my peeps. I knew they wouldn’t let me down. Here is a sampling of some of my favourite confessions.

Entire bag of baby carrots (but he/she only did this once because their skin turned orange)
Stacy’s Pita Chips with guacamole (Impossible not to finish entire bag as they are laced with some secret substance that causes addiction)
Frozen Purdy’s Mint Meltie Bars (had never heard of these and I think I am going to be very sorry I learned about them!)
Pint of Ben and Jerry’s half baked
Large bowl of Miss Vicki’s Sea Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips followed by either 2 “Healthy Choice Fudge Bars” or 2 PC Honey Greek Yogurt Smoothie Bars (This person imagines that the “healthy choice bars” or “yogurt bars” cancel out the chips!)
Entire bag of Ace Bakery Rosemary Artisan Crisps (see Stacy’s chips above!)
Large cinnamon bun with an ice water chaser!
Bowl of oatmeal and blueberries with a white wine chaser!
Chef Michael Smith’s olive oil popcorn with a Diet Coke Chaser!
Large glass of red wine. (not chasing anything)
Baked Beans (eaten straight from the can).
$1.39 Double Cheeseburger from the McDonald’s extra value menu (I think this person was putting me on…I don’t believe it for a second!)
Turkey hoagie and a bag of chips (That’s a sub sandwich for those of you not from Philly!)

Now, lest you think that I subsist on a steady diet of Peanut M&M’s and Diet Coke, rest assure, I mix it up. Sometimes it’s a bowl of Kettle Brand Baked Sea Salt Chips (the only baked potato chips that do not taste like baked cardboard) with a chaser of Villa Sandi Prosecco.

I think that we are looking for comfort when we are dining alone at home. Cooking for yourself should feel slightly indulgent and not at all a chore. After all, you only have yourself to please, no spouse or picky kids! Sometimes, comfort means something warm. When that craving hits, this is what I make myself:I always have eggs, cheese and tomatoes in the house.

I’d love to hear what you eat for dinner when you are home alone! Leave me a confession comment.

Click here to print recipe for Comfort Eggs.

The Best Thing I Ate Today in Umbria Day 6

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This morning we headed out on our little bus, driven by Claudio, to the outskirts of Montepulciano (home of the noble Italian wine by the same name). From there the bikers began their 24 kilometer ride for the day. The hikers headed off on a 6 kilometer trek, taking us through the tiny hamlet of Montichiello, where the plan was to stop and have a cappuccino, before continuing on for a further 3 kilometers.

We arrived in Montichiello, huffing and puffing (the last kilometer was almost entirely uphill!)

Leif got us seated at a charming outdoor café and went inside to get our drinks. Of course coffee means snacks, and he came out with some almond biscotti and these amazing little crispy cookies. I am not quite sure what gave them their crispy texture, but our best guess, after finishing off the entire platter, was cornflakes.

By day 6, our B&R guides were getting to know us quite well, but we still managed to leave Leif shaking his head in amazement this morning when we disappeared after coffee and managed to find the only clothing store in town. Actually, it was the only clothing store within a 25 kilometer radius, from this pastoral little hamlet. Hidden in a little alleyway, just downhill from the café, my sister-in-law managed to sniff out this shop. She has a nose for these kinds of things. Leif was inside paying for the coffee, when she came running back to the café, all excited, and dragged the rest of the women hikers back to the store with her. We spent a good 45 minutes inside that tiny shop, trying on nearly everything they had. I bought the most adorable grey embroidered fall coat (pictured on the left) and a long grey jersey skirt. The shop was filled with beautiful knits and gorgeous, very boho chic clothing. Think of Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and Mary Kate and Ashley and you get the idea. Layered knit dressing.

The boutique is called Madalisa and they have another branch in Pienza. The shop owner spoke no English, so Leif had to come in and translate for us. Imagine my surprise to discover that we were not the only group of women shoppers to succumb to his charms! Check out this YouTube video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOxMvQ-guyU

We hiked the last 3 kilometers of our journey, laden down with shopping bags, but we just pretended they were resistance weights to make our hike more efficient for our arm muscles!

As we rounded the last corner of our hike, we could smell our next stop, Podere Il Casale, before we could actually see it. Not surprising, given that we were about to visit a farm. But this was not your typical farm. Podere Il Casale is an organic farm, run by a very unusual family. Ulisse and Sandra moved to Tuscany from Switzerland over 20 years ago. Along with their five sons, the farm is home to pigs, sheep, cows, goats, a donkey, shepherd dogs, cats, bees and peacocks. They produce cheese, pasta, olive oil, honey and pasta.

The farm overlooks the Val d’Orica and has sweeping majestic views of Monte Amiata. On a clear day you can see all the way to Pienza.

Ulisse and Sandra are very passionate about the “Slow Food” movement. While we were having lunch, Sandra explained that the farm is a member of WWOOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms). This organization links volunteers with organic farmers, and helps people share more sustainable ways of living. In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.

And lunch… what a feast. We had broccoli, tomatoes still warm from the vine that actually tasted like tomatoes, spicy marinated eggplant, roasted peppers glistening in the farm’s own olive oil, farro salad with carrots and sun-dried tomatoes, penne pasta, made here on the farm with tomato sauce, homemade charcuterie, five varieties of cheese and a local red wine that went down way too easily.

After lunch Ulisse gave us a cheese making demonstration. Dressed in a clean white tee shirt, white jeans and white rubber boots he reminded me of a Swiss Mr. Clean. The cheese making facility was even more spotless that Ulisse. He showed us how he heats sheep’s milk and then adds rennet to cause the proteins in the milk to coagulate. Right before our very eyes, we saw curds being formed as they separated from the whey, just like in Little Miss Muffet!

Rennet in case you were wondering is a complex of enzymes, produced in the stomach of all mammals to digest the mother’s milk. Just a warning to you, if anyone ever passes you a jar of rennet, DO NOT take a whiff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The curds are cut into larger pieces for the fresher younger cheeses and into smaller pieces for the cheeses that will age longer. The curds are then put into molds to compress them and continue draining. The leftover whey is treated to some citric acid and transformed into ricotta cheese. Any excess whey is fed to the pigs. Nothing is wasted on this farm. After draining for almost 24 hours, the cheeses are given a bath in salt water,. This helps dry out the surface of the cheese and creates the rind.

The wheels of cheese are given different treatments for aging. Some are wrapped in walnut leaves, to impart a nutty flavour to the cheese, others are wrapped in ash, and still others are wrapped in straw. Some are allowed to ferment with San Giovese grapes and the wine flavour seeps right into the cheese.

My favourite cheese of the day, of perhaps ever, was a 2 month old Pecorino, still fresh enough to be slightly creamy and with a nutty saltiness that almost made me swoon. If I close my eyes right now, I can still taste it. Definately a top candidate for the best thing I ate today

After the farm we visited the town of Montepulciano for a bit of retail therapy, and then it was onto dinner at La Frateria di Padre Eligio, a magical 13th Century Monastery, just outside the town of Cetona. It took over 17 years to lovingly and painstakingly renovate and restore this former monastery to its former glory. La Frateria was created to offer moments of tranquillity, reflection and peace to those who feel the need. It serves as a type of rehabilitation centre for young people dealing with drug, alcohol or other sorts of personal crises. Under the auspices of Mondo X, Padre Eligio restored this convent, and several others around the world, as a haven for those in need. It provides these troubled youths with the discipline of a community, which they so desperately need. They garden, bake, cook and clean.

We had aperitivo in a room which contained, for want of a better description, a walk in fireplace. It was huge! My husband, a card-carrying pyromaniac, was busy taking pictures and measurements, trying to figure out how we could build one at our house!

Accompanied by flutes of Prosecco, we feasted on wood-oven baked bread, olive and caper patè, preserves, salted meats, enormous wheels of local cheese and extra virgin olive oil milled by the young people using the original old stone millstones.

This minor feast was followed by a major feast in the dining room. We began with smoked salmon, followed by fragrant saffron risotto and then some tender pillows of homemade ravioli filled with local beans and a pesto sauce. I inhaled them before I had a chance to take a picture. So sorry, just got carried away! For secondi we had a choice between flaky white fish braised in Orvieto wine or Brasato Barolo (veal braised in Barolo wine).

The service was impeccable. The waiters would silently appear before you to refold your napkin, refill your water-glass or whisk away some imaginary crumbs, and then, just as quietly, slink away. It was slightly unnerving and just a little bit creepy. That being said, you have to admire what is being done here to turn around the lives of these troubled youths.

The bus ride back to Casali di Monticchio was, as you can imagine, silent, save for the occasional gentle snoring as most of us slipped into a carb and alcohol induced coma. We were rudely awakened about 10 minutes from the villa when Claudio slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting a giant wild boar. Ah, life in the Umbrian countryside.

Stay tuned for Day 7 when we visit Firenze (Florence) where our well-trained B&R guides almost lose their carefully crafted composure and we eat bread in the shape of a femur bone at one of the best restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of dining in!

Les Fougeres Cheese Biscuits

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In my last post I declared that this would be the “Summer of Ice Cream.” I had grandiose plans about creating a different flavour every few days and posting about them. It began well with this. So well in fact that I got stuck on dulce de leche ice cream and made it about 5 more times. Finally I moved onto making Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream. (Sorry, no pictures, I ate it all too fast). If you are interested in trying it, use a basic vanilla ice cream recipe and reduce the milk by about 1/2 a cup. Add 1/2 a cup of cold espresso or strong coffee, and about 1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds. When the ice cream is finished mixing, swirl in about 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce. Store bought fudge sauce will do but the Cook’s Illustrated recipe is sublime. Unfortunately, my plans for the summer of ice cream came to a complete halt when it became obvious that I was eating most of the ice cream and my shorts were getting tight.

I am fortunate to be able to spend the entire summer at my cottage. When we first got the cottage we had guests almost every weekend. My kids were small so we would invite other families with kids so they would have playmates. As the years have gone by, the kids are busy with other things and don’t spend as much time here at the cottage. We have gotten lazy about inviting company. But this summer I decided to be sociable again. So sociable in fact that we have had back to back guests since mid-July. One set of guests would leave and by the time the sheets were washed, dried and put back on the bed, the next set of guests were arriving.

I do not stress out too much about all this entertaining because when my friends or family ask if they can bring anything, I reply, “Yes, could you bring dinner for Saturday night?” Everyone is used to it by now and they are all happy to contribute. I make Friday night dinner, Saturday and Sunday lunch and everyone has a great time. To make things easier this summer, I came up with a standard cocktail time snack, that we have been serving every weekend.

This cheese biscuit recipe comes from a Quebec restaurant called Les Fougeres. They are the perfect accompaniment to Frozen Peach Bellinis. They are crunchy and a little bit spicy. And best of all, the dough freezes beautifully. They are like the savory version of Pillsbury Slice and Bake cookies. It makes me feel very happy and secure to know that my freezer is stocked full. I think it harks back to my childhood when I would pick the frosting off the frozen Sara Lee bananna cake (Yes mom, it was me!).

These biscuits are easy to put together. Butter and cheddar contribute to their richness and toasted pecans and a surprising ingredient (Rice Krispies) contribute to their crunch. A pinch of cayenne adds some welcome heat.

You can mix the dough in a big bowl by hand or do it in the food processor. Form the dough into logs and wrap in waxed paper to chill. Then just slice and bake.

Add a big bowl of raw peas in a pod and a pitcher of frozen peach bellinis and watch the good times roll!

Les Fougeres Cheese Biscuits

1/2 pound (227 g) butter, softened
1/2 pound (227 g) sharp cheddar, grated
2 cups (500 mL) flour
2 teaspoons (10 mL) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) freshly cracked black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) cayenne
3/4 cup (175 mL) chopped toasted pecans
2 cups (500 mL) Rice Krispies

1. In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the stainless steel knife, add flour, sugar, salt and cayenne. Pulse to combine.
2. Add butter and pulse about 10-15 times until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add cheddar, pecans and rice krispies and process breifly, about 30 seconds until crumbly.
3. Dump dough out onto counter, divide in half and and form each half of dough into sausage shape. Roll each log in in wax paper.
4. Chill.
5. Slice into 1/4 inch rounds and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
6. Bake in a preheated 350°F (190°C) oven until golden, about 15 minutes.

Note: These biscuits can be successfully frozen in the sausage shape and simply sliced and baked when desired.

Frozen Peach Bellinis (serves 2-3)

3/4 cup prosecco (Italian sparkling wine)
1/4 cup peach schnapps
1/2 cup fresh peach puree* or peach nectar (such as Ceres brand)
1/2 cup ice
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

* Only use fresh peach puree if peaches are ripe and juicy. To make your own puree, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut a small x in the bottom of each peach. Plunge peaches into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove peaches from boiling water with a slotted spoon and dunk in a bowl of cold water. Skins will slip off easily. Cut peach in half and discard pit. Puree peaches in blender or food processor. Any left over puree can be frozen in ice cube trays. When frozen, pop cubes into a zip loc bag and keep in freezer.

#42. Cheesy Goodness!

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With only 2 breads left to go in this challenge, I have been dragging my heels somewhat. I sort of feel a bit sad that the end has come. I have come to love hearing from my fellow Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challengers and feel like they have become my new friends. It will be a bit lonely around here without their feedback and support. Aggh!! I’ve become my own worst nightmare, “A group person!!” In school, I always hated group projects. I’m a bit of a loner and prefer to work in isolation. However, having cyber friends is the perfect solution for me. They are around when I want them and then gone when I click my heels! (well, not quite my heels but my computer mouse).

This week’s bread is Potato, Cheddar and Chive Torpedos. The dough is made with a bit of my wild yeast starter as well as some commercial yeast. The addition of boiled potatoes and some potato cooking water make a silky dough. When I first started adding the chives I thought I’d never get them all incorporated into the dough, but after a few minutes of hand kneading, mission accomplished.

Once the dough rises, it’s time to add the cheese and shape the loaf into torpedos.

The dough is left to rise a second time and then it’s scored right through to the cheese layer. Into a hot oven to bake.

Once we sliced into this loaf, it disappeared very quickly. A little chewy and crusty on the outside and soft and gooey inside. A perfect loaf. Damn these caloric little torpedos.

#25. Holy Pizza!

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In week #25 of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge we make pizza. When I first bought this book, in May, I was flipping through it, looking at the pictures. My heart skipped a beat when I got to page 208 and saw our bread guru, Peter Reinhart, tossing pizza dough in the air. I have always wanted to do this and was so excited to learn how.

I frequently make pizza and my go-to dough recipe comes from a little book titled, “Pizza” by James McNair. The ingredients are fairly similar to Peter Reinhart’s recipe. The main difference between the two recipes is that James McNair’s recipe follows the traditional route of dissolving the yeast in warm water, whereas Peter Reinhart has us using ice-cold water. James’ dough rises for 1 1/2 hours and then you are ready to make pizza. Peter has us refrigerate the dough overnight. This supposedly gives the dough better flavour as well as relaxing the gluten in the dough so that it is not too elastic to work with.

After my resounding success using ice water and an overnight fridge rest with Peter’s Pain a l’Ancienne, I was sold on the concept of “cold” as a method to develop flavour. Peter describes the process as “delayed fermentation.” So even though this pizza would take 2 days to make, I was excited to discover a new flavourful dough. Most people think that pizza is all about the toppings. In fact, the reverse is true. If you have a cardboard crust, even the most wonderful toppings in the world won’t save it.

This pizza dough can be made with either unbleached all-purpose flour or unbleached bread flour. The bread flour has a higher gluten content, thus making the dough a little tougher and more elastic. Peter recommends adding a bit of olive oil if you opt for the higher gluten bread flour. He says it helps to tenderize the dough. Never one to pass up the opportunity to add more fat to my diet, I opted for bread flour with olive oil!

The dough came together very quickly. The texture is silky and supple. I refrigerated it overnight and took it out the next day, about 2 hours before we were planning to have dinner. Once the dough came to room temperature I got my camera all set up on the tripod and set it to the timer mode. I was planing to have a shot of me flipping the dough into the air. The timer was set to catch the flip in the air at just the right moment. I was so excited to capture this moment on film.

I dipped both hands in flour to coat them so the dough would not stick.

I got ready to toss. I placed the disc of dough over my fists, not my fingertips, as instructed in the book. It became clear, immediately, that this dough was not going to be airborne. It was such a soft dough that it slumped over my wrists and continued to make a downward slide over my arms.

I quickly transferred the dough to my pizza peel, which I had coated with semolina flour, to facilitate sliding the pizza off the peel and onto the baking stone which I had heating in a 550 degree oven.

Using my hands, as gently as I could, I managed to spread it out into a very rustic circle.

Then I added the toppings. I decided to forgo tomato sauce. I sprinkled it with Monterey Jack, Asiago and Parmesan cheese.

Next came slices of fresh tomato.

Finally I topped it off with chunks of fresh buffalo mozzarella.

I planned to top it off with fresh basil once it came out of the oven.

It slid quite easily into the oven.

I snapped a quick picture after it had been baking for 5 minutes. Almost ready!

And then it all began to go horribly wrong. I ran into a problem when I tried to remove the pizza from the oven. I guess the dough had stretched a bit too thin in some spots, because when I tried to slide my pizza peel under it, to remove it from the oven, it wouldn’t budge. The cheese had melted through a hole in the crust and was now stuck to the baking stone. I finally wrestled it from the stone and here is what we ate for dinner.

The crust was light and crispy. It was delicious. I may try this one again as I am determined to get my dough airborne. To be honest, I didn’t notice that much difference between my usual crust and this cold fermented one. Maybe I should do a side by side comparison to see if it’s really worth the extra fermenting time for this dough.

Week # 5: Casatiello

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There are some people that believe certain events occur in their life for a predetermined reason and others that believe that incidents are just determined by a random series of events. I have to admit that I usually flip flop between the two ends of the spectrum. Six weeks ago, I was surfing the net, doing research for an article I was writing for my column, and I happened to come across Nicole’s “Pinch my Salt” blog. She was talking about baking her way through the cookbook, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”, and was wondering if anyone was interested in joining her. Without even hesitating, I signed up. At first I thought it was just a random series of events that brought me to her site. But after this week’s baking challenge, I’m not so sure anymore. Maybe there’s a reason why I’m supposed to be baking my way through this book.

When my daughter came into the kitchen on Sunday morning to find me mixing up the sponge for the Casatiello bread, her face fell. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “Oh you’re just starting the bread now. I guess that means it won’t be ready until tomorrow.” Over the first four weeks of the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge, my family became aware that that good bread takes time, usually 2 days. When I told my daughter that this bread only takes 5 hours she was thrilled, “Oh good, it’s a fast one!” This from the mouth of a fast food generation babe! Maybe it was meant to be that I teach my children that good bread, like all things in life is hard work and patience will reap great benefits. including better tasting bread.

Casatiello is an Italian type of brioche enriched with cheese and meat, typically provolone and salami. Since we have a vegetarian in the family, the salami was out. Haley of Appoggiatura had suggested mushrooms but the ones I had in the fridge were too slimy to even consider so I opted to use Kalamata olives and Fontina cheese. In the very back of the cheese drawer I found some Yves spicy italian veggie sausages. I buy them for my daughter but have never tried them. So while my buttermilk sponge was doing its work I decided to dice up few, saute them and see how they tasted. I had my doubts. However, I was pleasantly surprised. They had a meaty texture and salty taste that I thought would be good with the olives and fontina

Yves Italian Spicy Veggie sausages

Fontina Cheese, Kalamata Olives, Spicy Veggie Sausage

After about an hour the sponge was ready and it was time to mix up the dough. When I began mixing it seemed as if the ingredients would never come together. It was just a big shaggy sticky mess.

At the beginning of mixing.

However, Peter Reinhart (author of the BBA book) said the dough would eventually change from sticky to tacky and would finally come off the sides of the bowl. As usual, he was right.

After 12 minutes of mixing

I was very excited to mix in the olives, sausage and cheese by hand. I loved handling this dough. It was smooth and supple and so satiny.

Adding in olives and veggie sausage

Adding in Fontina cheese

Another minute of hand kneading and the dough was ready for fermentation.

I placed the dough into a well greased measuring cup and left it to do it’s magic.

After 90 minutes the Casatiello dough had doubled.

I weighed the dough, divided it in half and formed 2 round loaves (boules). Each loaf went into a greased 5 inch paper panettone pan.

After 90 minutes the dough just peeked over the top of the paper. Oven time.

They took about 35 minutes to bake.

The book said to cut slits into the paper to allow the steam to escape but I was too impatient to see the sides of the bread, so I carefully peeled the papers off and let them cool naked.

We tore into them after an hour . They were a unanimous success. The cheese inside was still warm and gooey. The little bits of cheese that had oozed out of the dough formed crunchy little nuggets on the outside. The sausage and olives added a salty tangy dimention only slightly tempered by the creamy cheese.

Now I’m wondering if my weight gain from eating all this bread is happening for a predetermined reason? If anyone has any insight into this, please share!

Next week’s bread is Challah. Stay tuned.

Salt and Serenity

Tales from my kitchen

Tag Archives: Cheese

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