Do you have problems getting a through a tasty loaf of fresh bread before it's stale?
Tip of the Day: Making the most out of your loaf of bread
Continue reading Tip of the Day: Making the most out of your loaf of bread
Slashfood Ate (8): It's cool to eat grilled pizza
And to blog about it. And to share it with your friends. Don't believe me? Check out these recent items from around the interweb. As I said: All the cool kids are doing it.Grilled pizza...
With caramelized fennel and olives from 101 Cookbooks
Margarita from Mario Batali on the Food Network. It's also in his new book, Mario Batali: Italian Grill
With minimal toppings from the Washington Post and toppings of your choice from the Boston Globe
Tips from Serious Eats
With bacon, brie, garlic and arugula from House Spouse, a blog I recently discovered
Without sauce (White) from Andrea's Recipes, another blog I recently discovered
With herbed mascarpone, asparagus, and smoked salmon from Napa Style
The Book: Grilled Pizza and Piadinas by Craig Priebe
You're cool too? Share your grilled pizza recipe with us!
When you don't have the right flour for no-knead rye bread
As soon as I heard about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I had to have it. I love bread. It's my most important food group, and I'd go into a never-ending fit of withdrawal without it. In the past, I used my bread machine, but it just didn't produce loaves as tasty as the artisan variety, and that damned whirring noise right next to my desk was quite annoying.
This week, I attempted to make the rye bread recipe. I'd recently bought a whole slew of different grains and flours, so I didn't check my ingredients first. The one thing I didn't have: rye flour. Since I already had my little yeasties going crazy in the lukewarm water, I decided to find a substitute. I used multigrain flour, and hoped for the best.
Oh, it's so very worth it. It's got the soft chewyness of a white bread, the tasty grains from multigrain, and that added caraway kick. It baffles me why caraway seeds have been relegated only to the dark and tasty halls of rye bread. Next time you run out of rye flour, or are in the mood for something different, try it out.
Za'atar bread and za'atar croissant
While in Dubai, I tried a lot of foods with za'atar, a spice mix containing the herb za'atar, dried oregano, thyme, marjoram, and a combination of sesame seeds and salt. My favorite dish for breakfast was za'atar bread and za'atar croissants. They're crispy, sweet, flaky, salty, and zesty. In the Middle East, za'atar bread is often eaten in the morning, because the spice blend is supposed to make your mind more alert.
I highly recommend za'atar bread and za'atar croissants for their unique pungent spicy flavors. A great way to balance out the saltiness is to dip them in labneh, a yogurt that's been drained to form a thick tangy cheese. Next time you're in a Middle Eatern restaurant, make sure you ask for these piquant pastries.
Cheese-imbued bread that looks good enough to make you drool
A couple of days ago, a friend sent me a direct message on Twitter that said, "My God. You should blog about this recipe. I'm drooling down to my socks." He included a link that took me to the picture you see above. It turned out to be a post on the King Arthur Flour blog from March with a pictorial recipe for Hot Cheese Bread that is so wonderful and gooey with cheese that it just begs to be ripped into.
I'm not much of a yeast baker, quick breads are more my style. I'm thinking though that I might need dip my toe into the bread baking world again in order to try out this bread (I'm already dreaming of the cheese I'd use in the middle).
Has anyone tried this recipe? Was it as delicious as it looks?
Artisan Baking, Cookbook of the Day
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to participate in a class with Maggie Glezer as the instructor. The class was about baking with whole grains, and we made some really great bread. The thing I liked most about the class, besides baking some fabulous bread, were the stories that Ms. Glezer had to go along with each one.That's something that I'm also enjoying about her book Artisan Baking. The recipes are great, of course, but there's so much more to this book. It is full of stories, background, information, insights and all kinds of tips and hints. Not only that, but everything is written in an approachable and interesting way.
Artisan Baking is a baking book that can be useful for all levels of baker. The first section is even dedicated to breads that are best for beginning bakers, though they are good for experienced bakers as well. Maggie Glezer is a proponent of the "no kneading" style of bread making, so you don't need to have any kind of mixer. I've tried a couple of these, and they've all come out really well. If you're interested in baking, this would be a good place to start. If you're already into baking, this is definitely worth having in your collection.
Wife Saver French Toast
Not really sure why this is called Wife Saver French Toast (I'd love to hear the story of how they came up with the name for it - I imagine a wife mad at her husband and he has to make his own breakfast that morning), but it sounds quite good.
Note: it's not a recipe for French Toast where you just dip the bread in liquid and throw it in a pan. You have to soak this overnight and then bake it in the oven for 50 minutes. So maybe the wife got mad at the hubby the night before and had to really plan this out for the next day's breakfast. (It also says to use "French bread," which I assume means the kind in the pic above and not square slices of thick toast?)
Food Oddities: Crazy, creepy food art
Here at Slashfood, we tend to post a lot about food art. Like, a lot.
So, obviously, I didn't hesitate when I found these crazy creations. Made primarily out of produce and baguettes, these ain't your grandmomma's food sculptures.
The images have that creative, slightly eerie feeling of those in Joost Elffers' books, like Food for Thought.
For more, go here.
Gallery: Crazy creepy food art
The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day
Here in Philadelphia, we are lucky to have a small, local chain of bakeries that is devoted to making true artisan bread. Metropolitan Bakery believes in letting bread have a long, slow rise and each one of their loaves, rolls and baguettes are shaped by hand. They've been around since 1993 and back in 2003, for their 10th anniversary, they published a cookbook that is filled with their signature recipes that have been scaled down to make them appropriate for the home cook. The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook isn't just a vanity publication, created for the glorification of a bakery. It is a book that was obviously carefully crafted and systematically thought out, as it is really interesting to read and designed to be used. They've included recipes for all their favorite products, including their French Berry rolls and (my favorite) Millet Muffins.
In addition to the recipes, they've included picture layouts that show off their pastries and breads in all their luscious glory, along with pictures that detail how to recreate their signature twists and designs (on page 77, there are step-by-step pictures to show you how to cut, twist and fold the dough for the Cinnamon Swirl Danish). Admittedly, for those of us lucky enough to be fairly nearby a Metropolitan location, we probably won't be turning to this cookbook for much other than incentive to make a visit to the bakery, but for those of you who once visited Philadelphia and got a taste of Metropolitan pastries, this might one you could add to your collection.
Feast Your Eyes: Mushroom brioche
I've never made brioche. I've spent some time looking at the molds at Fante's (although I've never been able to justify the purchase) and I always enjoyed the bread when it's entered my life fully baked. But it's just one of those things I haven't attempted on my own. Given my tendency to become addicted to bread products, I do believe that if I started with brioche, I wouldn't be able to stop.
I do admire the attempts of others to make this noble, egg-y bread and the Tooknap Press has made some really cool examples of this delicious treat, including the mushroom shaped loaf you see above. I would like a bite right now.
Wonder what foods celebs crave during pregnancy?
Wonder what foods those amazing, incredible, ever-so-unreachable celebs crave during their pregnancies?The same things everyone else does, duh.
Apparently, Angelina Jolie, who is rumoured to be pregnant with twins, has been eating, well, like a pregnant woman. At a recent dinner outing with Baby-Daddy Brad Pitt, she ate: penne arrabiata, two starters, several rolls, profiteroles for dessert, and took an apple pie to go. Earlier during her pregnancy, she Angelina craved mustard-smothered onion rings and cinnamon chilli chocolates, and has since been eating cupcakes made by her kids.
I bet I could eat all of that - onions rings included - and I'm not even pregnant!
Apparently we shouldn't be feeding the birds
You know those tourists who walk around big cities and feed the pigeons? Know how utterly annoying it is if you're trying to enjoy your lunch in the park and huge swarms of birds are invading your personal space?Now you can tell those tourists to cool it, lest they want to harm their squawky friends. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds claims that bread serves as a "filler" for birds and doesn't leave room for the nutrients they need to thrive, especially when they are trying to feed their chicks.
What should we be feeding them instead? Why, "a healthy mix of seeds or worms, grated cheese, porridge oats or soft apples, bananas or strawberries," of course.
But, wait: so is feeding the birds bread actually harmful? Well, no, the Society admits.
Dude: is chocolate cake good for is? No. Could we be eating more nutrient-rich foods? Of course. Is it okay to indulge once in awhile? Yes.
But just to be clear: I'm not condoning feeding pigeons in crowded public spaces. That's just wrong on so many levels.
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
As a devotee of the "more is more" school of sandwich making, this picture of the "Parmageddon" sandwich makes me drool. Two potato and cheese pierogies (Slavic stuffed dumplings), a greasy tangle of grilled onions, sauerkraut, and a slab of cheddar cheese, squeezed between two thick slices of grilled bread.
The photo comes courtesy of writer-photographer David Lay, who captured this beast at Lakewood, Ohio's Melt Bar and Grilled. Melt specializes in a psychedelic variety of grilled cheese sandwiches - smoked turkey, kraut and gouda; beer battered walleye, tartar sauce, American. The Parmageddon was featured as a reader's favorite in Esquire's "Best Sandwiches in America." Now, if I can just get my Polish grandmother to teach me to make her potato pierogies, I'd be all set.
Peanut Butter Bread
I have to admit, I've never heard of Peanut Butter Bread before, but it sounds rather perfect.
I mean, if you're a fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this might be just the thing to make them with. Just think: you won't have to take the time to spread that messy peanut butter anymore, it's already inside the bread. Just add some jelly and grab a glass of milk and you're good to go (unless you love peanut butter so much you want to add more). I wonder if it makes a difference whether it's creamy or crunchy?
Kids' Menu: Garlic bread
Oh, the wonderful, wonderful world of garlic bread. I don't know if there is a more simple or tasty concoction than bread, butter, and garlic. (Unless we're talking about making it into bruschetta, but that's a whole different recipe.) It's so tasty, and pretty much the perfect accompaniment to lasagna. To make it even better -- it's another super-simple recipe for the kids.
Garlic Bread
There are two main suggestions I have for kids, depending on their skill level, tastes, and interest.
To make the super-simple variety:
Very lightly toast some slices from a fresh baguette.
Spread butter on the slices, or drizzle olive oil.
Sprinkle the bread with garlic powder.
Bake or broil at super-high temperature until bread is browned nicely.
To make the more gourmet variety:
Take a small baguette and carefully cut slices -- without cutting through the bottom and removing each slice.
Make a garlic butter by combining a few minced cloves of garlic, a smidge of salt, a tsp or tbsp of olive oil, and about a quarter cup of butter. If you want it a little herby, add some minced remnants of the fresh basil from the caprese.
Spread this butter in between the slices of bread.
Wrap the loaf in foil and back in a 350°F for about 15 minutes. Carefully open the foil and bake for another 5 or so, until browned and crunchy.
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