Wordless Wednesday : Making Italian Sausage

Ah Focaccia!

For the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge, I made Focaccia yesterday. Focaccia is a flat bread, but not as flat as a tortilla or nan. Focaccia comes to us from Luguria Italy, also where lovely ravioli got it's start. It is a lovely light airy flat bread, which usually has one or more toppings and lots of olive oil. However, toppings can never make up for an inadequate crust. The bread should have lots of big translucent holes. A proper focaccia can not be made quickly or by machine. It is a dough that takes fermentation and at least two days to make. It needs to be handled gently and folded over a few times for best results. I made mine with herb oil, sun dried tomatoes, porcini mushrooms and calamata olives with fresh mozzarella.

You can make your own mozzarella. I have done it and it is very simple. This video is a clear example of how to make your own. It is best if you can find unpasteurized or at least organic milk, avoid ultra pasteurized milk though.

I began by making a poolish, a very wet lightly fermented starter. It can be made a day or more ahead of time. I like to keep some poolish or biga on hand so that when I want to make bread, it is at the ready. Poolish is more liquid and has less yeast in it than Biga. We used a Biga when making the Italian Bread last week.

After fermenting the poolish for two days I made the focaccia by mixing the poolish and other ingredients in the Kitchen Aid until the dough formed a ball but still stuck to the bottom of the bowl. This is key in making a bread like focaccia or cibata, the dough must remain very wet, but still firm enough to be formed. It is a fine line which really makes a difference in this bread.

Once the dough has been sufficiently kneaded, it is formed into a rectangle and set to rest on the counter. This relaxing period is also crucial. Then twice the dough is stretched and re-folded and then set to rest covered for 30 minutes on the counter. The third time you allow the dough to rise for one hour.

The dough is then placed on a baking sheet lined with an oiled silpat (that is what I used) or parchment paper. I think if you are using parchment you need a little more olive oil. You use your fingertips and a generous amount of herb oil to shape the focaccia. You will see a this point how important the very soft hydrated dough is. You want to degas the bread in some places, but not all over. This is what creates the large holes in the bread.

Reconstitute Porcinis and drain, then chop

Making the herb oil... like my herb cutting scissors? 12 blades!

So, now you have a large flat dimpled bread covered with herbs and oil. You can choose to bake it just like that and it will be fantastic. You can also add toppings. Here is the key:

• Pre-Proof toppings would be added now, these are things that are sturdy and benefit being incorporated into the dough. This would be things like sun-dried tomatoes; olives; pine nuts sauteed mushrooms or peppers or onions.
• Pre-bake toppings are added after the dough has risen but before baking, these are things that are higher in moisture such as high moisture cheeses like fresh mozzarealla, blue cheese or feta, cooked ground meat or meat strips. Also coarse salt or sugar.
• During-Bake toppings would be dry or semi-hard cheeses, such as Parmesan, Romano, Mozzarella, Jack, Cheddar or Swiss cheeses added about half way through the baking.

From here, the final rise begins. It takes about 2 hours loosely covered with plastic wrap. The oven is pre-heated to 500 degrees. A few minutes before baking, more herb oil is added if desired and pre-bake toppings are also added. Then the bread goes in! When the bread is put into the oven, the temp goes down to 450. Bake for 10 minutes, turn 180 degrees, bake for 5-10 more minutes till the dough is golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is about 200 degrees measured in the center.

Remove from the oven and place onto a rack to cool. As tempting as it is, wait about 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Want the whole recipe? Buy Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice!

Succulent Thai Braised Short Ribs

Can we say "finger licking good"? I made these slowly braised sweet, sour, spicy, sticky short ribs last night and we ate them again for lunch today. They cooked for four hours slowly urging flavors into the fibers of the beef short ribs and delectably cooking the meat till it was falling off the bone and juicy. It is an easy and awesome way to cook short ribs, serve with polenta or rice and a simple salad. A good Shiraz matches well with the flavors, but a Singha Beer would do an even better job. We only have one store that sells them and it was across town, so we opted for wine last night and ginger mint tea for lunch today. One recipe was enough for a dinner and a lunch portion for two people.

Here is the recipe. You will need a Heavy dutch oven or casserole for this. I used a mortar and pestle to do the pepper corns, but you could use a coffee grinder or mini food processor. No other special equipment needed.

*Beef short ribs are abundant here and quite reasonable, they are cut Asian style here and we even get boneless ones here. Your market, if on the mainland may cut them British Style and if that is the case, the recipe works equally well with that cut but you do want the bone-in style.

Succulent Thai Braised Short Ribs with Maui Onions

2-3 Pounds Beef Short Ribs (bone in)

2 teaspoons each coarse grey sea salt, green pepper corns and Szechwan pepper corns crushed in a mortar and pestle

2-3 Maui Onions halved and sliced thinly (about 4 cups)

6 cloves of garlic minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups ketchup

1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup maple sugar (*if you cannot find maple sugar use all brown sugar)

4 tablespoons fish sauce

juice & zest of 1 lime

kafir lime leaves (optional)

1 habanero seeded, membrane removed and finely diced* optional for extra heat

2-4 Hawaiian or Thai Chiles seeded and diced *optional for extra heat

1-2 teaspoons chile flakes

3 tablespoons Indian Ginger Garlic Paste (you can make your own by grinding equal amounts ginger and garlic with a little lemon juice, this keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator and is nice to have on hand.)

1/2 cup of beef stock or dark beer

Pre-heat oven to 365 degrees

Let ribs come to room temperature and season with the crushed pepper & salt mixture on all sides. Allow to sit for about 20 minutes.

Place the olive oil in the dutch oven and sauté the short ribs till browned on all sides. Remove the ribs from the dutch oven and add the onions and sauté till soft, then clear a hot spot in the middle of the pan and add garlic. Allow to brown briefly and then stir. When the onions have just started to caramelize pour in the beef broth and deglaze the pan. Then add all sauce ingredients and stir well to mix.

Put the ribs into the pan *(they will be submerged in the sauce) and then cover and place in the oven for 4 hours, turning down the heat to 325 degrees after two hours.

You will know they are done when there is a nice crust on the edge of the dutch oven and the meat shreds off the bone, being ever so sweetly tender and as supple as the kiss of a lover.

Show and Tell Friday

As promised I am continuing my Show and Tell on Fridays. I am starting with one of my favorite blogs and then will pick one blog from their blog roll to share with you and then another from that blog and on and on. I call it "Blogwandering":

Nicole from Pinch My Salt is a woman who has been a great inspiration to me in many ways. She is the one that started the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge, where 200 of us food bloggers and some bakers who do not blog from around the world have been baking together through Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice since May. Nicole's blog Pinch My Salt has been noted by Bon Appetitit as one of their favorite blogs and since I have been following her I can see why. She posts about food and takes the most delectable photographs. Some of her work has also been featured on Food Porn Daily... more on that site in a bit. Nicole is also an inspiration to me because she has been holding down the fort while her husband is serving in Iraq. He is coming home to her soon! She also got to live in Italy while he was stationed there and she often shares photos from her time there. Nicole generously doles out advice to novice bakers and is supportive of the many bloggers that she follows. She is one of my personal heroes!

I already gave you a hint about this one, Food Porn Daily. It is not so much of a blog, but a daily indulgence into some rather wonderful food photography that gets you salivating and wanting to hit the kitchen running. You can sign up for food porn to come directly to your e-mail box daily. Some recipes are provided, but it is mostly eye candy that gets the salivary glands oozing. There are savory dishes, amazing cakes as the above devil's food cake with peanut butter cream cheese filling, ganache and peanut frosting. Their mantra is "click, drool, repeat." I have been doing so for a few months and I love it!

While we are on the subject of food porn, the creators of that site have another site with their own recipes and photos, many of which naturally make their way to Food Porn Daily. Tyler and Amanda have been sharing What We're Eating since 2005 through their blog. More beautiful photography and luscious ideas for food that is cleverly composed and exquisitely photographed. A few ads appear on this site that don't really fit with the kind of food that Amanda and Tyler present, but that is the price we pay for getting all of this beautiful content. The above picture from their site features mahi mahi in slow roasted tomato tarragon broth. Click, drool, repeat here too!

While browsing my way around What We're Eating I looked at their blog roll and saw one that interested me, Boots In the Oven : An Orgy of Food, Travel and Other Awesomeness. The name intrigued me and then after I opened the page I was blown away because Rachel and Logan, the bloggers had just left Hilo after spending a few days here dining and visiting the zoo and Volcano! There are several great posts with awesome pictures including the one above with the double rainbow. They got a good taste of some local food, but I wish I could have hosted them and shared some more of the big island with them. I could have saved them from their Thai disaster at least. Rachel and Logan hail from Austin, Texas which has the amazing City Market. Take a peek at Boots in the Oven and look through their adventures in Hawaii, then dig deeper they have had a fun time since they started their blog in 2005.So, who did Boots in the Oven have on their blog roll?

Wooly Pigs of course! This is a blog from a pig farmer who has imported a special lard (NOW we're talkin'!) type breed of pig, the Mangalista (aka Mangalitza and Wollschwein) that is supposed to be one of the world's tastiest pigs. They use European techniques to produce the best pork in the New World. They are located in Auburn Washington. They air cure hams and make wonderful products as well as provide the pigs to restaurants such as the French Laundry.

I guess the pig stops here because the Wooly Pigs did not have any blogs to share. I will be back next Friday with more great blogs for you.

Wordless Wednesday : Yosemite

Watch Ken Burns Special on The National Parks on PBS starting Sunday Night, September 22.

Italian Bread BBA Challenge

IT IS BREAD TIME!

As some of you know I have been baking through Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice. This week I baked Italian Bread, French Bread's softer and sweeter cousin. I was very pleased with the formula and it turned out quite nicely. I do not usually post the formulas, but this one is so easy and a real winner. I suggest that you try it if you have not done so yet.

First, I qualify this as an Italian American Bread, a loaf that holds up to juicy sandwich making, bruschetta and great garlic bread. It however is not like the more rustic loaves I have eaten in Italy. The formula also includes the option of adding barely malt which adds some color and flavor to the basic formula. I used Barley Malt Syrup, because that is what I had on hand. I think it was a nice addition. You can find Barley Malt Syrup at your local health food store.

If you prefer a crustier loaf, you can lower the baking temperature to 400 degrees after steaming and increase the cooking time.

This formula, like many of Reinhart's uses an Italian Biaga, a pre-fermented dough which is done 1-4 days in advance of the baking day. This adds depth of flavor to the bread and is essential in most rustic breads. The use of this biaga insures a maximum sugar break out from starches which belies the small amount of actual sugar in the formula.

Biaga

2 1/2 Cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounce) instant yeast

3/4 plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) water at room temperature

1) Stir together flour and yeast in a 4 quart bowl or electric mixer. Add the 3/4 cup + 2 tbs of water stirring till everything comes together and makes a course ball (or mix on low with paddle attachment.) Adjust the flour or water according to need so that the dough is neither too sticky or too stiff. (it is better to err on the sticky side, as you can adjust easier during kneading. It is harder to add water once the dough firms up.)

2)Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for 4-6 minutes (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook for 4 minutes), or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. The internal temperature should be between 77 and 81 degrees.

3) Lightly oil a boil and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 2-4 hours or until it doubles in size.

4) Remove the dough from the bowl, lightly knead it to degas and return it to the bowl, covering the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze in an airtight bag for up to three months. I make up a few of these to keep on hand and freeze them.

The Bread

Makes two 1-Pound Loaves or 9 torpedo (hoagie) rolls

3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) Biga

2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1 2/3 teaspoons (.41 ounce) salt

1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) sugar

1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast

1 teaspoon (.17 ounce) diastatic barley malt powder (optional)

1 Tablespoon (.5 ounce) olive oil

3/4 cup + possible additional (7-8 ounces) water or milk if making torpedo rolls lukewarm (90-100 degrees)

Semolina or cornmeal for dusting

1) Remove the biga from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for one hour to take off the chill.

2) Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and malt powder in a 4 qt. bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the biga pieces , olive oil and 3/4 cup of water. If using malt syrup it should go in now. Stir together or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until a ball forms, adjusting the water or flour according to need. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft, but not at all batter-like. If the dough feels too stiff, add water to soften. It is better to have the dough too soft than too stiff at this point.

3) Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter and begin kneading (or use the dough hook with medium speed) adding flour as needed for about 10 minutes. At this point the dough should be slightly tacky, but not sticky and supple. The dough should pass the windowpane test (take a small piece of dough and pull on it to see if it will make a thin membrane that you can see through. If it falls apart before you can achieve this you need to knead more. The dough should also register about 77-81 degrees at this point. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

4) Ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.

5) Gently divide the dough in to two equal pieces of about 18 ounces each (I used three as I wanted smaller loaves) or into 9 pieces of about 4 ounces each for the torpedo rolls. Gently roll the dough into batard shapes degassing the dough as little as possible. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.

Then complete the shaping, extending the loaves to about 12 inches in length or shaping the torpedo rolls. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment or silpat and dust with semolina or cornmeal. Place the loaves directly on the pan and mist with spray oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

6) Proof at room temperature for about 1 hour or until the loaves have grown to about 1 1/2 their original size.

7) Prepare the oven for hearth baking (using a baking stone if you have one.) Pre-heat the oven to 550. Score the breads with 2 parallel , diagonal slashes or one long slash. I use a razor blade for this. Have an empty steam pan on the lower shelf and have a spray bottle of water available.

8) Rolls can be directly baked on the sheet pan. I used perforated batard pans or you can bake directly on your baking stone. If using the baking stone, dust a peel with some semolina or cornmeal and very gently transfer the loaves to the peel, then slide them onto the baking stone. You can also bake directly on a sheet pan if you do not have a stone. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds spray the walls of the oven with water and close the door. Repeat once more after another 30 seconds. After the final spray, lower hte oven setting to 450 degrees and bake until done, rotating 180 degrees half way through the baking process. It should take about 20 minutes for loaves and 15 minutes for rolls. The loaves should be golden and register at least 200 degrees at the center.

9) Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least one hour before slicing or serving.

As I cut into the bread and tasted it, my first thought was that it would be a terrific bread for a meatball sandwich. I am going to make this formula again and make torpedo rolls.