I know posting a weekend round up on a Wednesday sort of misses the point, but until someone gives me a large grant so I can focus my efforts on chronicling the trials and travails of a beginning bread maker this will have to do.
I decided to make pizza on Friday, and I really like the No Knead method for it because it is one of the recipes from that book that only requires a few hours of rising time, instead of overnight. So basically it has the ease of the No Knead method without the long wait. I made a simple tomato sauce by adding a can of tomatoes (with their juice) from Whole Foods (28oz can I think), a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and some salt into a blender and turning it on for a few seconds. I think made a simple pizza with shredded mozzarella and one with sliced pieces of fresh mozzarella, sliced green olives, and crushed red pepper. I am not going to lie to you, it was awesome!
Initial dough (drier and shaggier than other No Knead Dough):
Dough after initial rise:
Dough cut in half and ready for second rise:
Dough stretched out on an oiled pan:
Mozzarella and Olive pizza with crushed red peppers:
Simple cheese and tomato sauce:
The finished product – simple sauce and cheese:
The finished product – cheese, green olives, and crushed red pepper (didn’t look as nice as I would like, but tasted amazing):
My second project for the weekend was to try a recipe from some other place besides the No Knead book. I decided on this recipe which uses a poolish which is basic a technique where you create a pre-ferment with flour, water, and a touch of yeast. You let it sit the night before, it ferments, and you use it the next day to make your bread.
The goal was to create some baguettes, but not having researched how to fold the bread to make a baguettes, mine ended up looking like long tubes. The bread came out tasting good, and passed the “Ewa Test” (my wife who has discerning taste in bread), so it was a minor success. Having done some research on how to shape a baguette I think the next time may be better.
Rolled out dough:
The finished product:
Until next weekend….
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I liked Zeke’s better.