Share the bread

I came across this recipe for rye sourdough bread on one of the blogs I read, and it looked simple enough to not wreck it. Indeed, it was very easy to make and the taste and texture and crust are phenomenal. I made some changes to the original recipe since I did not have the necessary ingredients at hand, but it still worked out great.

Rye sourdough bread:

250g regular sourdough (I use King Arthur Flour's sourdough) (original recipe calls for rye sourdough)

250 gr Pillsbury bread flour (original recipes: fresh ground rye flour)

1 TB non-diastatic malt powder

9 gr salt

2 TB sesame seeds

2 TB linseeds

165 ml warm water

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in your kitchen stand mixer using the dough hook. Knead dough for 2 min until all ingredients are well-combined. Let dough rest in a covered bowl in a warm place for 90 min.

Slightly oil your hands, and form a round/oval shaped bread (not much more kneading required!). Place the bread loaf in a round or oval 'brotform' basket that is dusted with a mix of  rye floor and corn flour and sprinkled with linseeds. (Alternatively, you can also just place the bread on a piece of baking paper/parchment paper on a plate.) 

Let the bread rise at a warm place for 2-4h until the bread has significantly increased in size.

Once ready, preheat the oven to 480F.

Place the bread into the oven (on a cookie sheet, or baking tiles). Bake at 480F for 20 min, and then reduce to 420F, and finish baking for another 25min. (I turned off the heat 10 min before the end of baking).


It made a great addition of a small wine and tapas gettogether later that day. 

Blog Bites: Quinoa Almond Tea cakes

The best thing about baking? The way it fills the house with the aroma of something divine. Ever since I saw Bea's blog post about the rose-shaped quinoa, rice flour and almond meal based tiny 'muffins', I was in love with her photos and I wanted to try the recipe. So, now, several months later I finally got around to it to have all the ingredients: baking supplies, the beautiful baking pan and enough time. The tea cakes are gluten-free, and have a wonderful light texture, but a solid flavor with the almond meal and vanilla. Simply delightful.

As for the recipe, I point you directly to Bea's post.

Weekend morning breakfast egg

It has been sunny and warm (for Maine terms) for over a week, the snow is all gone. It was the 'unsnowiest" February on record for Maine, and when biking the cleaned streets it feels more like May then early March. But, who would complain? It is the last weekend of spring break, and the second Saturday in a winter month. The morning bike ride will have a destination: the winter farmers market. Providing organic free range local chicken breakfast eggs.....

Newly Restored Burden House, Northeast Harbor, MDI

A great article in the NYT about the newly restored Burden House, which was designed by Isamu Noguchi. The Burden House is located nearby Northeast Harbor, Mount Desert Island.

Sauteed Escarole with Bacon and Blue Cheese

The escarole had been waiting for my attention for a few days; I also had picked up a package of smoked country bacon ends recently, and there it was, lunch.

1/3 head of escarole, washed, dried and coarsely chopped

1-2 pieces of thick cut smoked country bacon, cut into small cubes

splash of white wine

salt, pepper

1 TB of crumbled blue cheese

Heat a heavy skillet on low-medium heat, and wait until the bacon releases the fat and gets crispy. Remove the crispy bacon from the pan. Add the escarole to the pan, and add a splash of white wine, salt and pepper (easy on the salt, since the bacon is salty, and also the blue cheese!). Heat for 3-4 min until the escarole is wilted, but still has a slight crunch. Serve the escarole with blue cheese and the crisp bacon.

Mango Pineapple Smoothie

Bright as the early spring this year: a smoothie made with fresh mango, fresh pineapple, lemon juice and some Yoplait Banana cream cake yogurt.

Rustic sourdough bread

It was late at night when I walked into the kitchen, and the bread machine had just finished the baking cycle. The kitchen was filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread. Pause. ..... Fresh bread. I fell for the seduction and angled the piping-hot loaf out of the machine. What's better than the first slice of fresh, crusty sourdough bread with some butter, even if it is late at night ? 

Sourdough bread:

1/3 cup fresh sourdough
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour
1 ts instant yeast (for bread machine)
1/2 TB baker’s milk powder
1/2 TB sugar

Place all ingredients in bread machine, in the order listed, and turn on the machine, and used the setting of firm loaf with normal crust.

Radicchio with Spicy Peanut Dressing and Baked Tofu

On another blog, I found this video link about the kale salad with spicy peanut dressing served by Cafe M.. It looked like a versatile, tasty dressing and dipping sauce. I made some changes to the original recipe (like adding Sriracha sauce for more heat and red miso for more depth), and it tastes fantastic.

Spicy Peanut Dressing:

1 TB chopped garlic

1 TB minced fresh ginger

3 TB mirin

2 TB agave nectar

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 TB chili powder

1 TB Sriracha sauce

1/2 small jar of chunky peanut butter (I like JIF)

1 TB red miso (potentially low-salt)

1 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Fill into a mason jar, and store in the fridge.

Salad:

1 small head radicchio, cut into stripes

1/3 cup garlic lupine beans

1 slice home-made or store-bought baked tofu

Cut the radicchio into stripes, and serve with lupine beans and baked tofu. Drizzle with spicy peanut sauce.

Ready for Maine Restaurant Week?

Check participating restaurants here.
Restaurant week: Mar 1-10 2010.

photo: beautiful Cleonice, Ellsworth