Love = bread!

One of these days I should give up the charade that this is a "cooking" blog and acknowledge that it's actually a baking blog.  Here are a few recipes from the last couple of weeks that have been lingering on my desktop, waiting to be shared.

Oh, and by the way, here is this week's excuse for not blogging more often:

 

We've been renovating our bathroom.  Like, down to the studs.  This is why we can't have nice things...

Focaccia with onions
From: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Grade: A- (Not too hard to make, though time consuming like any bread, with a nice texture and taste.  Added points for having lots of fun slapping the dough around!)

Dough:
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
2 c lukewarm water
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour (unbleached is always preferable)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp salt

Topping:
2 tbsp exta virgin olive oil + 1/4 cup for the emulsion
4 cups very thinly sliced onion rounds
2 tbsp water (for emulsion)
1 tsp salt (for emulsion)


She creates this dough in a way that I don't quite understand, adding water and flour in steps rather than all at once.  I suppose it's so you can really control the texture of your dough if you know what you're looking for, but I found that the proportions of ingredients were just right and I didn't need to do any fiddling.  Follow her directions as you like or just mix everything at once.

Dissolve the yeast in water and let it sit 10 minutes until it's foaming.  Add in 1 cup flour and mix.  Then add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp salt, 3/4 cup water and 3 cups flour and mix until the dough sticks together but is not sticky to the touch.  Then add the remaining flour and 3/4 cup water and mix, adding more flour or water as necessary to get a good texture to the dough.  It should be soft but not sticky.

Now for the good part!  Remove the dough from the bowl and slap it down on the counter top.  Do this a few more times to stretch it out, then begin folding it back on itself and kneading, pushing away from yourself in long motions.  Then pick up the dough by one end and slap it on the counter from a good height, and repeat a few times.  Continue kneading and stretching for about 10 minutes, then pat the dough into a ball.

Oil a baking sheet with 2 tbsp olive oil and place the dough on this, pushing it toward the edges so it fills the pan.  Let it rise, covered with a damp cloth, for 1 1/2 hours (I was short on time and only did an hour).  After the first rise, stretch the dough again toward the edges of the pan so that it is about 1/4 inch thick, cover with a damp cloth and let rise again about 45 minutes.

To make the topping, put 2 tbsp olive oil and the sliced onions in a pan and cook on medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the onions become tender.

Once the second rise is finished, make indentations all over the bread with your fingers (about 1 inch apart).  Make the emulsion (1/4 cup oil, 2tbsp water, 1tsp salt) and brush it over the bread.  Spread the onion topping over the dough and bake at 450F for 15 minutes.  At this point, check to make sure it is cooking evenly on both sides (if not, rotate the pan) and then bake another 7-8 minutes.  Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a rack (I don't have one big enough so I just used wax paper).  If storing, it's preferable to freeze leftover focaccia.


Walnut Challah
From: 1,000 Jewish Recipes by Faye Levy
Grade: B+ (Not a bad challah dough on its own, but you need something to hold the walnuts in place.  Also, the flavor is a little bland - maybe using a sugar/oil mixture to hold the walnuts in place would fix both issues.)

3 eggs
1-1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp warm water
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil (use walnut oil if you have it)

Mix yeast, 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp sugar in a bowl and let sit 10 minutes until foaming.  Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center.  Add the yeast mixture, remaining sugar, oil, 2 eggs, remaining water and salt and mix. 

Mix the flour together with the well contents (eventually you'll have to use your hands) until you form a dough that is soft but not sticky.  Knead the dough on a floured work surface, adding more flour if the dough is still sticky.  Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl covered with a damp cloth for a little over 1 hour or until doubled.  Knead lightly after the first rise, then let it rise again for about 1 hour.

Spread the dough out into a square (about 9"x9") and sprinkle with the walnuts.  Press the walnuts into the dough, then roll it up into a tight cylinder like a jelly roll.  Place in a greased bread pan (9"x5") and cover with a damp cloth.  Let rise another 1 hour.

Beat 1 egg with a pinch of salt and brush this on top of the bread (this is optional - I ran out of eggs so I didn't do this step).  Bake 45 minutes at 375F - the bread should sound hollow when tapped if it is done.  When I have done the egg wash before, it teds to give the top of the bread a very brown color, almost looking burned - but don't be fooled and take the bread out too early.  Let it cool on a rack and serve!  Be careful of cutting into this before it has had a chance to cool and set - you'll get walnuts everywhere.