Fall Days are Here!

We were looking for a way to share a great recipe for bread that we baked today and finally remembered...we have a blog we can post it on!! Can't believe it's been nearly a year since we wrote here about how he Lord is blessing us and teaching us to redeem the time. I suppose we've been too busy learning and forgot to doing the sharing part ;)

Well. . .back to the original reason for today's post. Fall weather and a long weekend finally coincided to give us a day of quilting and baking. Over the last year, we decided to take the plunge and learn to bake bread the artisan way - something we've longed to delve into for a long time. We've experimented with no-knead breads in a dutch oven (super awesome way to bake!), naan flatbread (scrumptious!), and today we tried our hand at ciabatta bread. Here's the recipe we used from "The Essential Baking Cookbook" Murdoch Books publication, 2000.

Ciabatta
Prep time: 30 min (+5 hours 15 min rising)
Total cooking time: 30 min
Makes 1 freeform loaf

7g (1 1/4 tsp) dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour (we used all-purpose flour since that's what was on hand)
50 ml olive oil
2.5 oz  + 7 oz water

1.  Place the yeast, sugar and 2.5 oz warm water in a small bowl and stir well. Leave in a warm, draft-free place for 10 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface. The mixture should be frothy and slightly increased in volume. If your yeast doesn't foam it is dead, so you will have to discard it and start again.

2.  Mix the salt and 2 cups of the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, oil and 7 oz water to the bowl and stir to combine. Use a cupped hand to knead the wet dough, lifting and stirring for 5 minutes (this was so much fun!!). The dough will be quite wet at this stage.

3.  Shape the dough into a ball and place in a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 4 hours or until doubled in size.

4.  Stir in the remaining 1 cup of flour, using a cupped hand, and mix until the flour has been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Cover again with plastic wrap or clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 hr 15 min.

5. Liberally sprinkle a large baking tray with flour. Do not punch down the dough but carefully tip it out onto the tray. Use floured hands to spread the dough into an oval about 12" by 5" . Use well-floured hands to spread the dough evenly and tuck under the edges to plump up the loaf. Sprinkle liberally with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F. Place a heatproof container of ice on the base of the oven (this creates necessary steam!). Bake the ciabatta for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Remove the melted ice after about 20 minutes. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped.

We really love bread recipes that are completely hands-on (i.e. no mixers, paddles, machines...) so this one seemed right up our alley. It was great to put our hands in the dough and shape it into that classic "slipper" shape. Added bonus...it doesn't require long periods of kneading that can make one's arms go to sleep :) Yay!

Drumroll please.....

Enjoy these beautiful fall days! Spend them with family doing some of your favorite things. Celebrate the blessings our Lord has bestowed so graciously on us.

Until next time, (hopefully sooner than later)...
Stephanie and Virginia

Rainy Day

It's been a rainy day here on the East Coast...that's an understatement. We are in the midst of Hurricane Sandy. Steady rain and gusty winds all day, and expected to continue into tomorrow. But we were determined to look on the bright side and take advantage of a day off from work for catching up on household chores as well as some more relaxing activities. Since we still have power, it seemed like a good day for a nice, hearty soup. So after a bit of brainstorming, I came up with a recipe for a potato chowder.

Unfortunately, I realized too late in the process to take pictures of this soup, but I can tell you the combination of spices and herbs give it a beautiful color, and a good depth of flavor. Here's the recipe if anyone wants to give a try.

Smoky Potato Broccoli Chowder

Time: 1.5 hrs

serves 5

1 lb. bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

3 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup chopped broccoli florets

1Tbsp chopped fresh garlic chives

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp crushed red pepper (use less or omit if you don't want spicy chowder)

2 cups chicken stock, divided

2 Tbsp. flour

1 10 oz. can condensed cream of potato soup

1 ½ cups milk (adjust for desired thickness)

1. Parboil diced potatoes for 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. While potatoes are cooking, crisp the bacon in two batches in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Transfer two tablespoons of drippings to medium saucepan. Discard remaining oil.
3. Add potatoes, broccoli, garlic chives, paprika, cumin, red pepper, plus ¼ cup of chicken stock to the pan used for the bacon. Cook over medium-low heat while making the sauce.
4. In the medium saucepan, heat bacon drippings over medium-low heat and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Once combined, slowly add in the remaining chicken stock whisking constantly to keep mixture smooth. Simmer for one minute to cook the flour. Then mix in the cream of potato soup and milk. Add bacon and bring back to a simmer for a few minutes.
5. Add this mixture to the potatoes. Simmer chowder for about 30 minutes, adding extra milk or chicken stock if thinner soup is desired. Serve with crackers or slices of crusty Italian bread.

Recipe inspired by Real Simple Smoky Corn Chowder.

Stephanie