Two Loaves - Fannie Farmer French Bread

These two photos are from two different loaves of french bread. I made the dough together and refrigerated one and baked it the next day. The first was made fresh and the second was from the dough that came out of the refrigerator.
These were not baguettes. The only way I can really describe them is as the type of french bread that is perfect for soup or a french bread pizza, but ultimately they were not baguettes. Everyone who tired them though agreed that both loaves were delicious. Being my own harshest critic I felt the second loaf was inferior to the first because as I rolled the dough I did not pinch it enough and the dough had a ring in the center as the layers rose. The first loaf had a great crumb and perfect crust. It was used for an awesome french onion soup. Gail and I visited our friend Sharon, of Thyme to Cook Personal Chef Service for dinner, and she showed Gail how to make the French Onion Soup from Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home. This type of bread was perfect to slice up for use in the soup.
The recipe for this 'French' bread comes from an old printing of The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook dated 1975. It makes a loaf with a nice golden crust that is not too dense. A good loaf to practice with and adapt.

French Bread
makes 2 or 3 loaves
These long thin loaves with chewy crisp crusts are perfect for French or Italian style meals. If you like shape part of the dough into small rolls. This dough is also good for English muffins or pizza.

Put in a large mixing bowl:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 package yeast

Let stand 5 minutes. Add:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons shortening (I used butter)

Stir well. Add:

• 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

Beat thoroughly with a rotary beater or an electric mixer. Add:

• 1 cup flour (or enough to make a stiff dough)

Sprinkle a board with flour. Put the dough on it and let rest 10 minutes. Knead well, let rise, punch down and let rise again.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and divide into two or three parts. Let rest 10 minutes. Flatten each part with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness. Roll up each sheet of dough tightly to make a long slender loaf. Press firmly along the rolled edges to seal. Sprinkle cookie sheets with:

• Corn meal

Put the loaves on the sheets leaving enough space between them so that they will be crusty on all sides. Cut diagonal gashes in the loaves about 1/2 inch deep. Beat together:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Brush over the top of the loaves. Let rise until double in bulk (about 1 hour).

Put a large pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven with the pans of bread on a rack above. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Brush again with egg mixture Reduce the heat to 375 F and bake until the bread sounds hollow when you tap it (about 25 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.

The recipe above is at is presented in the cookbook. Obviously give some time for the oven to warm up and to boil the water before you bake the bread. As I said at the top of the post, I make one loaf fresh and refrigerated the other one. Though the recipe claims this can make 2 or 3 loaves I think 2 is more accurate, as 3 loaves would be fairly small. As a note, I had better results with the loaf that was made fresh then with the dough from the fridge, but both had a pretty nice crumb and a great crust.

(submitted to yeastspotting)

Garlic Rosemary Focaccia

Squares of rosemary infused heaven!

If it isn't already apparent, I really love bread. The impetus to hone my baking skills sprang from a desire to teach myself to make delicious bread, everything would be a bonus! Last year I had some great success with the very easy Blitz-Bread/No-Fuss Focaccia recipe. A very simple, beginners recipe to make a fluffy seasoned bread that somewhat resembled focaccia. With some recent baking success to encourage me I decided it was time to tackle the real thing. Using our often drooled over and much loved Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook I set out to make my own pan of the amazing, flavorful and pillowy bread that I love so much from the countless sandwich's I've devoured at Chang's Flour Bakery. My first attempt was not the delicious golden brown perfectly seasoned squares of fluffy goodness you see above, no the first result was a bit more... well done. The initial attempt at making the bread ended with my having over-baked the bread due to the oven running hotter then I anticipated. 

Don't you just want to reach into the screen and eat some?

Despite the first attempt yielding a big square of overcooked, slightly darkened bread  that wasn't exactly soft, Gail and I managed to devour the focaccia cracker in a few short days. The recipe had all the potential in the world, I just had to try again, and keep the fickle oven in the front of my mind. 

My second attempt yielded a perfect pan of fluffy, garlic infused rosemary focaccia that would be awesome for soaking up an infused oil, great for sandwiches  and the potential base for a really fantastic pizza dough! I followed the recipe in the book as directed with only two minor adjustments: mincing two garlic cloves to sprinkle on top of the bread and sticking to the lower end of the cooking time to ensure that the bread was not overdone. Gail and I agreed the second attempt was a rousing success, and this is definitely the focaccia recipe I will be using from here on in, if I have the 3.5 - 5 hours required to produce such a delightful outcome. 

So far I've really enjoyed this cookbook! Gail has had great success with the homemade oreo's, and I loved the rosemary shortbread. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the recipes within, until I feel confident enough in my baking skills to tackle Flour's legendary sticky buns!

(submitted to Yeastspotting, which will be hosted next week by Hefe und mehr)

Rosemary Shortbread

Last year I wrote about picking up Joanne Chang's Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe. Gail has successfully mastered the Oreo's from the book, and we've tried a few others. I found myself at home and in between two kitchen tasks so I whipped up a batch of this wonderful Rosemary Shortbread. They are buttery and have a perfect crumb. The recipe was easy enough without a stand mixer (though the recipe calls for one) and I will certainly be making these again soon! Great with a cup of coffee or tea!

rosemary shortbread, dried rosemary sprigs & fresh cranberries

Rosemary Shortbread from Flour by Joanne Change
makes 12 to 15 cookies
1 cup (2 sticks/228 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 1/2 cups (210g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (65g) cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attached (or a handheld mixer or a wooden spoon), cream the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and pale. (This step will take 3 to 4 minutes if using a handheld mixer and about 5 minutes if using a spoon.) Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar. On low speed, add the egg yolk and rosemary and beat for about 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder. On low speed, slowly  add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and then mix just until the flour mixture is totally incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed. stop the mixer several times to scrape the bowl and the paddle to free ant trapped flour mixture.
Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and wrap the dough in the plastic wrap, pressing down to form a disk about 8 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. refrigerate the dough about 20 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll out.
Position rack in the center of oven, and heat to 325 degrees.
On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 by 10 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 to 15 uniform pieces-rectangles, triangles, or cookie-cutter shapes-and arrange them on a baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (At this point, the cookies can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Bake as directed directly from the freezer. you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time.)
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are medium golden brown all the way through. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Though the recipe leans towards a stand mixer I did the whole thing by hand with no issues. I used the lid of a ball 1/2 pint canning jar as the cookie cutter and got great looking circles. Really easy recipe, one that I would make ahead of time for the holidays when people might unexpectedly stop by you can throw them right in the oven!

Homemade Oreos and New Cookbooks!

This is may be the only time you will see these two particular cookbooks paired together:

Gail and I picked up these very differently but equally spectacular cookbooks for ourselves. First up is Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. Charcuterie is considered a great jumping off point and a must-own for people who are interested in curing their own meats at home. Though I do not own a smoker(yet), I plan to start with the easier recipes and work my way through the book over many many years. I am a sucker for a good Charcuterie plate and look forward to honing my skills over the years to come.

Next up is local baking superstar Joanne Chang's Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe. Joanne is Pastry Chef/Owner of Boston based Flour Bakery + Cafe and co-owner with husband Christopher Myers of Boston's Myers + Chang an Asian inspired restaurant which has a devoted following.

We picked up Flour at our neighborhood independent bookstore where Joanne was signing copies and passing out samples of some delicious baked goods. She was incredibly personable, gracious, and down to earth. It was great to meet her, and even better to take home her cookbook:

I'm looking forward to attempting her infamous sticky buns which beat out Chef Bobby Flay in an episode of his food network show Throwdown.

Much to my delight Gail decided to crack open Flour on Wednesday afternoon and decided to recreate the recipe for homemade Oreos. The results were spectacular:

The above photo is not from the cookbook, but from the plate of homemade Oreos we ended up with. I had some extremely happy co-workers on Thursday morning! The cookies were met with nothing but praise.

Be sure to check out Joanne Chang's recent post abut baking on the Atlantic Food page. She even includes a few recipes!

First Frost & New Cookbooks.

The first real frost of the season came last night November 2nd. When I headed out for work this cold dark morning frost was easily seen across the ground as well as on the all the windshields. The Fenway Gardens are only 2 miles down the road from me and I expect the garden was just as frosty last night. I'll be doing one of my final harvests of the season this weekend as I inch closer to closer to closing the plot up for the season.

As I switch from active gardening to cooking hearty foods I turn to blogs, websites, and cookbooks for new recipes to try out. Gail and I recently acquired 2 new cook books recently that we are looking forward to delving into:

My parents recently traveled to Israel to visit family, friends, and see the sights. While visiting her nephew my mother mentioned my garden and this blog. My cousin sent along a copy of "Fresh Flavors from Israel" a simple and straightforward collection of 60 recipes inspired by traditional Jewish Israeli and Middle Eastern cooking. The recipes were created with simplicity and ease in mind. Published by the editors of Israel's premier food and wine magazine. I've been salivating over the recipes such as garlic hummus, stuffed pepper schnitzel, lamb neck & root vegetables, leg of lamb stuffed with haroset, and apple with honey upside down cake! I can't wait to try some of these new dishes out, they all look really great.

The second cookbook arrived in the mail this week. Gail contributed to the most recent pledge drive for our fantastic local NPR affiliate and as a thank you they sent her a copy of the Ruth Reichl edited "Gourmet Today" is a repository of 1000+ recipes. This encyclopedic tome is full of recipes from around the globe, many designed to be prepared quickly and simply. Along with all the recipes "Gourmet Today" also features menu suggestions encompassing all four seasons and a number of holidays, as well as a glossary of ingredients and sidebars throughout which focus in specific ingredients and proven cooking techniques and tips! Gail and I have already thumbed through it looking for inspiration as we continue to cook our way through the seasons.

As the weather shifts for many of us from heat to cold and we desire heartier foods to keep our souls and bodies warm, where are you finding your cooking inspiration and ideas these days?