Focaccia Please

One of the most beautiful things to make is homemade bread and the satisfaction of the perfect bite brings you back again and again. Focaccia it is today !

What you need:

• 3 cups 00 Italian Flour + 2 cups all purpose (a little extra in case.
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon organic sugar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

What you will do:

• Put the sugar & yeast into the warm water. Stir gently and let sit to activate in a warm area for at least 15 mins.
• Meanwhile add your flour, salt, 1/2 cup olive oil into a mixing bowl (I used a stand mixer with a bread hook). Now add in your yeast mixture and put on medium speed to incorporate all the ingredients (approx 5-6 mins)
• Now pull the dough out into a clean floured surface and knead approx 2 more times. Sprinkle with a little more flour if your dough is to sticky. Coat your mixing bowl with olive oil and put your dough back in the bow and cover with plastic wrap- now set aside in a warm dry area to let your dough rise for at least 1 hour or u til the size has almost doubled.
• Now get a hello roll Pan / cookie sheet and pour the second half cup into the pan. Put the risen dough into the pan and stretch out to fit the pan, now turn it over to coat the other side. Now super important! Take both panda and poke your fingers across the whole sheet right through, yes right through, this is what creates the scraggly bits or texture.
• Now put to the side and let rise again till it doubles and set the oven to 425 F

• Now liberally sprinkle coarse salt or Malden salt across the whole dough sheet and add any her you wish (I used fresh rosemary and drizzle with some more olive oil.
• Put in the oven fro between 25-30 minutes

• Now when it looks golden brown pull out and cool – cut with scissors & enjoy!

This will be heaven on earth and should t last long! If you need to you can always reheat to crisp up! Sever with olive oil and your favorite vinegar or just by itself. Buon Appetite ! You will make this again!

Dutch oven No Knead bread. Staub

No Knead Dutch oven Italian 00 Flour bread!

Happy Sunday great long lost foodie friends! It’s been far too long since my last post!

Ever since we got our new Staub Cocotte I have been literally been dreaming about making bread.

I did have some criteria that were a must and 00 flour from Italy was the “Must Have” in the recipe!

I have loved everything we have used this Cocotte pot for and expect it to perform equally in every way making perfecto italiano no knead bread.

I used Molino Favero 00

Why 00 flour? I’m looking for a similar feel to the bread that any Italian would have grown up eating and expect. Typically 00 is best for pasta and cakes.

To better explain:

The names 00 and 0 Flour refer to specifically Italian milled flour that is used for pasta making. You will find that this is also called Doppio Zero just meaning double zero. The grading system is 2, 1, 0 or 00 and indicates to how finely ground the flour is and how much of the bran and germ has been removed.  2 for instance is a wholemeal flour while 00 is the most refined of the three and has the lowest level of bran. It is similar to unbleached all purpose/plain flour, which is a mix of hard and soft wheat, and though while finer, it creates a dough that is silkier and maintains a chewiness when the pasta is cooked.

If you are looking for pasta, bread flour or baking flour, 00 will work for all and you can substitute 00 flour if you run out mid way through pasta making with just plain old high-grade flour. Again this has been refined more so than standard flour making it higher in protein. Pizza dough is perfect with single 0 flour but again it is interchangeable.

Grading systems for flour are used elsewhere in the world as well so the Italian system is not unique. The French have a grading system that is similar but it seems most recipes will call for the Italian 0’s.

To make life more confusing the terms hard and soft get used to also explain flours so to try and put it simply:

Low Protein + Low Starch + Low Gluten = soft flour – 00 flour or high grade flour – use this for pasta, pizza and cakes as you would any high grade flour

High Protein +High Starch + High Gluten = hard flour – semolina flour or standard flour – perfect for bread doughs and most other uses.

In basic the 00 will likely make my loaf not quite as tall and a little more silky and chewier.

I have no doubt that the taste and texture will be good but I may experiment with a few different Italian flours until we find that “just right bite”

What you will need:

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 tsp organic sugar

1/4 to 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast

1 to 1 1/4 tsp of sea salt

3 cups 00 (Doppio zero) Italian flour or 01 or 02 semolina flour

1 cup warm water

What you will do:

Stir yeast and sugar into the 1/2 cup warm water & let sit 5-10 mins or so or until you see a foamy cream start to form.

In your favorite mixing bowl add the flour and salt and stir to mix up.

Add the yeast mixture and the cup of warm water and mix well to ensure that all of the ingredients are mixed together – this is “no knead” so we want to make sure all of the ingredients are well integrated.

When you have finished mixing ensure all of the dough is together in the bottom of the bowl. No cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and place somewhere that is draft free.

When the dough has approx doubled in volume it should be ready to bake. I have learned that this is not the time to rush but instead patience is in order. It could take approx 5-6 hours BUT here’s a bonus, if your not ready to bake it then you can leave it proofing over night and bake the next day, the dreamy bread will be the same either way!

Place your Staub or le Creuset Dutch oven into the oven and pre-heat the oven to 450 F

Now place some parchment paper on your work surface, flour it AND your hands and gently work the dough into a large round ball, tuck in the sides if needed.

When the oven has come to 450, carefully remove the Staub from the oven and equally carefully take off the lid (Hot is an understatement)

Now carefully lift the parchment and place the loaf into the Staub pot and put the lid back on.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 mins.

After 30 minutes, take off the lid and bake for another 15 mins or so until the bread gets a nice golden brown.

Now remove the pot from the oven and the bread from the Cocotte Dutch oven and place your Golden magical loaf on a cooling rack.

Allow the loaf to cool (at least a little) now cut and enjoy anyway that you desire!

I like to cut fresh and dip in olive oil and balsamico or toast and have with butter and jam.

Feel the accomplishment of making something with so few ingredients and so tasty! You might never go back to store bought! Come to think of it, that’s why I love all things Italian… they make magic out of only a few perfect ingredients not to mention real food!

The Italian flour was truly a game changer! Use different Italian flours to receive different textures like more crisp or more chewy (00 makes it nice and chewy with). That said I am sure to try Italian Semolina flour next time to test out the difference.

The Staub Cocotte performed just as expected, Perfecto.

“You Gott Try This”

Pig on the Street-Achin for Bacon

Happy Friday! And it is…….
I was pleasantly surprised to bump into the “Pig on the Street”.
Go down and meet Krissy and Mark and consider their recommendation…. I did and WOW!
I had the “porker” – double smoked bacon with sausage stuffing with apple and sage, topped with caramelized onion mayo and greens on a fresh flatbread.

Okay, if that wast enough Mark said try one of these…. You gotta have this and I mean you Gotta! It’s called Hair of the Hog! Bourbon, bacon Carmel brownie bite! Oink oink… Wowowowowowow
Gooey like brownie should be… This is Not a cake…..it is a brownie

They have only been open since Wednesday and I am sure with there bright personalities, friendly demeanor and oh yeah….. Oinkalicious food!
Go by and try…. I know you go back!

Welcome to the Vancouver Foodtruck scene Pig on the Street!

Cinco de Mayo Mexican brownies

Aaron Sanchez’s Mexican Brownies
Recipe courtesy Aaron Sanchez for Food Network Magazine
Aron Sanchez Mexican brownies

Aaron Sanchez’s Mexican Brownies
Recipe courtesy Aaron Sanchez for Food Network Magazine

Prep Time:20 minInactive Prep Time: — Cook Time:25 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
18 brownies

Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground Mexican cinnamon (canela)
1/4 teaspoon pequen chili powder or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Press the paper into the corners of the pan and lightly grease the paper with butter.

Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat; do not boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack, then use the parchment paper to lift out the brownies before slicing.

Photograph by Kate Sears

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