Homemade White Bread

First off, I’m sorry for not posting yesterday. It completely slipped my mind until I was driving home. That happens as you start to fossilize, like the dinosaur I am. To make up for that, today I’m going to type up my recipe and technique for baking fresh, white bread.

Some might ask “Why bake bread when you can get a loaf for less than $2.50?” First off, that store bought loaf of bread is loaded with all kinds of preservatives and flavorings, either artificial or natural. If I bake a loaf, it will have all purpose flour, water, salt, sugar and yeast. No Calcium Propionate or any other chemical. Secondly, I can purchase a little over 2 kilograms of flour for about the same price. Over 100 grams of yeast costs about $4.50. And if you don’t keep sugar and salt in your house, do you really cook? I have make 2 loaves of bread for about $1.75. Almost half the price of a single loaf in the store.

Ingredients

1,000 grams (1 kg) All Purpose Flour (Type 550 Flour in Germany)
720 grams warm water (about 105 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Centigrade)
5 to 7 grams of Dry Active Yeast
5 grams sugar
21 grams Fine Sea Salt

Method

Combine the flour and 620 grams of water and mix well into a dough. Let this sit for 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate and expands the gluten proteins. I’m sorry, this isn’t a gluten-free recipe.

After 15 minutes combine the remaining water (100 grams), the yeast and the sugar. Stir this together and let it rest until the flour has finished hydrating. This will bloom the yeast. Watch for bubbles along the edge as this will be carbon dioxide being released by the yeast as it feeds on the sugar.

Add the yeast mixture to the dough and mix in as well as you can. This will result in a wet dough ball. Allow this to rest another 30 minutes in the mixing bowl. Set a time for 5 hours.

After the second rest, remove the dough from the mixing bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes to develop and align the proteins in the dough.

Place the kneaded dough into a large, greased bowl to rise. Flip the dough ball a few times to make sure it is greased on all sides. This will prevent the surface from drying out and creating a skin. The  dough should nearly triple in size.

Punch the dough down after 5 hours. This will release the trapped carbon dioxide. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in 2 equal portions. Shape the portions into loaf shapes, placing them into greased loaf pans, with the seam from the shaping on the bottom.

Allow the loaves to rest between 75 and 90 minutes to proof. The dough will again roughly double in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Centigrade). Score the top of each loaf with a sharp knife and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and load pans and allow to cool on a rack. The loaves are done when you tap on the bottom and hear a hollow sound. This makes 2 nice sized loaves but can make 3 smaller loaves.

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When I bake this, one of the loaves is eaten shortly after it comes out of the oven. Freshly baked bread is quite irresistible. I also want to thank one of my co-workers, Craig, for giving me the basic recipe I follow. I added the yeast blooming, as I remember many times when I used dead yeast to try to make bread in the past. I’ll know quite quickly if the yeast is dead by blooming it.

Russel

 

 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Since Marc and I were both sick this week, I fixed a large batch of chicken noodle soup. Since I was a child, that was always the go to meal when someone in the house had a cold or sore throat. Tuesday, when I felt my worst, that is what I cooked.

Here is the recipe that I used.

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Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 9 boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
• Canola or Olive oil
• 2 small onions diced
• 4 carrots cut into rounds
• Chicken broth, chicken stock or water
• Ground sage, to taste
• Ground or fresh thyme to taste
• Dried or fresh parsley to taste
• Salt an pepper to taste
• 1/2 box or bag Rotini Pasta, cooked

Method

If the pasta hasn’t been cooked, prepare it according to the instructions on the box or bag.

Clean the fat from the chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Heat the oil on a soup or stock pot over medium high heat and brown the chicken. Remove the chicken and add more oil if needed and soften the onions and carrots.

Return the chicken to the pot and add enough liquid to cover the chicken and vegetables by 4 inches (10 cm). Bring to a boil and reduce the to a simmer stirring occasionally. Simmer for 30 minutes and add the sage, thyme and parsley. Simmer an additional 25 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta, stirring well. Return to a boil and remove from the hear. Serve with crackers or bread.

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Most of the recipes I found call for using basil and oregano. I prefer the flavors of sage and thyme when I’m ill.

Enjoy!

Russel

Jambalaya Recipe

Since Marc loves Jambalaya, I’ll post a recipe I modified from one I found at the Gumbo Pages. It is similar to the large pot recipe I was given by a friend, Byron Gautreaux, who is an undefeated Jambalaya Festival Champion of Champions. I’ll post approximate measurements in metric as well as English units. The calculations may not be exact, but will be close enough to make a good Jambalaya

I haven’t cooked this exact recipe, yet, so let me know how it turns out. When I do cook it, I’ll add some photographs and other notes.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds (0.75 kg) Pork roast cut into 1 to 1.5 inch (2.5 to 3.5 cm) cubes
1/2 pound (0.25 kg) Smoked sausage cut into rounds
3 cups (about 525 grams) Uncooked, long grained rice
1/2 cup (120 ml) Vegetable oil
3 medium onions, diced
6 cups (1.42 liters) Water or stock *
1 Tbsp (18 grams) Salt or to taste
2 1/2 Tbsp (24 grams) Granulated garlic
1/4 Tsp (1 gram) ground Black pepper
Cayenne or red pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste

Method

Add the oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork. Brown the pork well, stirring often, until it starts taking on a brown color. Use the spoon to release any of the fond that forms on the bottom of the pot. The fond will be what colors the Jambalaya.

Add the smoked sausage to the pot and brown it lightly, rendering some of the oils.

Add the diced onions to the pot and brown them, stirring often. Make sure they do not burn as this will produce a bitter dish.

Add the water or stock and bring to a boil. Add the Salt, Garlic, Black pepper and Cayenne pepper. Stir well and remove the pot from the heat.

Let the pot sit for several minutes and allow the oils to rise to the top. Skim the oils, leaving some to lubricate the rice. You can reserve the skimmed oils for use on another pot of Jambalaya as it is now well seasoned.

Bring the pot back to a rolling boil and add the rice. Stir in well and reduce the heat to low, as you would with white rice. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the liquids absorbed.

Fluff the Jambalaya, making sure the meat and sausage are well distributed. Allow to sit covered for another 5 minutes.

Makes 8 generous servings. Serve with a green salad and bread.

Notes

* The water should be twice the volume of the rice as accurately as possible

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Russel