No Knead Bread

Story: This is from the New York Times. It has to sit over night but makes AMAZING bread. It's one of the few recipies I follow exactally. The only high altitude adjustment is the rising time.

Recipe: No-Knead Bread
Published: November 8, 2006
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Ladies Aid Red

Story: The women's group at the church in my hometown always make at least 2 soups for the luncheon: a chowder and "the red one"- this is the red one:

Ingredients:
1 cup dried beans
6 cups water
2 15oz cans tomato product (sauce, or crushed, or diced, . )
1.5 cups finely shredded cabbage (about 1/3 of a small head)
1 lb hamburger cooked
1 24oz can V8
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
spices
carrots
celery
onion

cook the hamburg (and onions) in a frying pan. If you're using dried beans, put them in a pan with cold water, bring it up to a boil, and then pour it off, do this at least 2 times or they will take FOREVER to cook. Or else use canned beans. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Put in a crockpot to meditate until done.

Blog start!

I've decided to start a blog of real yummy recipies for myself and my friends. I really like to make a big batch of something on Sunday and the weekly emails I get from those cooking shows are too complicated and expensive for real people. Contact me if you want to be added to post on the blog!