The Baker's Dad

Ok, so I travelled to San Fran and went to a VERY famous bakery to try the famed San Francisco sourdough. Eh … Mine, made in Virginia, is better.

Ingredients:

2 cups sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups water

3 1/3 cups flour

1 tbsp salt

Prepare:

Mix starter and water to break up starter a bit

Add flour and mix lightly to a rough dough

Let rest for 20 minutes

Add 1 tbsp salt and knead dough about 20 minutes – roll your sleeves up and get to work! This is the tough part but very satisfying. Knead until smooth and you get a window pane effect when you stretch out tightly between your fingers. Do not add flour during kneading – the dough will soak it up and the result will be a heavy bread. Use a dough scraper to deal with the stickiness instead. It will get easier as you go.

Proof dough in the bowl for 3 to 4 hours.

Turn out into lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Sprinkle with flour. Shape each half into a tight ball by pulling dough from the sides and over top repeatedly and tucking and pinching underneath.

Sprinkle resulting tight ball with flour. Place in floured proofing basket upside down and proof 3 to 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge.

I use these proofing baskets:

Carefully turn out dough onto oiled baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal, or a baking stone. Let rest 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with flour. Score with sharp knife.

Preheat oven to 425 (with baking stone if you’re using one). Put a steam tray on bottom rack, fill with warm water.

Bake each loaf 30 to 35 minutes.

Here in this pic you can see the result (the bottom bread loaf after the kids already ate 3/4th of the loaf right out of the oven!)

Well … If you’re making hummus, you may as well make the flat bread to go with. Store bought flat bread is expensive and generally tasteless. This recipe is easy and is gone in seconds!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbsp minced herbs (use your imagination on the herb blend. I use a blend of Greek / Mediterranean herbs, or simply rosemary and thyme)

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

2 cups of flour

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

Prepare:

Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Make a well in center, and add the water and olive oil. Stir together to form a dough.

Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, add flour only as necessary to prevent stickiness.

Place dough in large bowl oiled with olive oil. Turn dough in bowl to cover with oil. Cover with clean dish towel and let rise until doubled in bulk in a warm spot.

Dive dough into three or four pieces. Roll each piece out on lightly floured surface until about 1/8th inch thickness. I like smaller, pancake-size pieces, so adjust as you prefer.

Heat skillet to just below medium. Add tbsp of olive oil to skillet. When hot, add a flattened dough piece to the skillet, 2 to 3 minutes each side. Cook one at a time. Be careful the skillet isn’t too hot or it will burn the flat bread. After each piece is done, add some more olive oil and cook them all.

There are any number of hummus recipes out there, but this one is tried and true and never lasts more that one day in my kitchen.

Ingedients:

3 cans of garbonzo beans, rinsed and drained.

1/3 cup tahini

8 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

Prepare:

For added smoothness (this is an optional step) heat beans in skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp of baking soda, stirring constantly until all skins come loose. Then place the beans in a large bowl filled with running cold water, massaging with hands until all skins removed and float over the top of bowl.

Reserve 15-20 beans for garnishing.

Place all ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth, about three minutes.

Scrape down sides, taste for salt and cumin, add tablespoon of water for consistency, if needed, then process some more until smooth.

Transfer to your serving bowl, garnish with the reserved garbonzo beans, then drizzle olive oil over the top. Garnish with paprika and parsley, if desired.

This is an amazing and easy dish and you’ll love it. If I’m not in the mood, or in a hurry, or just don’t want to make a bigger mess in my kitchen, I don’t remove the skins from the beans – I just dump all the ingredients into the food processor and process.

Inspired by a visit to a San Francisco restaurant, I’ve created this amazing puree that can be eaten as a side dish, a dip, or in any number of appetizers.

Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

8 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

4 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup cilantro

Prepare:

Saute onions and garlic in oil until soft.

Add black beans and broth. Bring to boil, then simmer until all liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Put hot black bean mixture in food processor. Add salt, cumin, lime juice and cilantro. Process until smooth.

Taste for salt and cumin balance. Add tablespoon of water for consistency, if needed.

Return mixture to small sauce pan, low heat, so that you can serve this hot.

My interest lies in baking breads and other foods – particularly desserts – that require precision and technique to come out right.  I like a technical challenge and am always willing to jump into something most people will avoid because it’s too intimidating, difficult or time-consuming.

Along those lines, I love bagels.  Bagels are one of those things that require technique and precision to come out right. Unfortunately, the vast majority of bagel shops outside the Connecticut-New York-New Jersey area make only average bagels. It’s an obsession of mine to find better bagels everywhere I travel.  I’ll share with you what I find and will hopefully be able to point you to a better bagel experience in places you may not expect.

I also hope to share with you some great recipes I’ve found (usually altered to make them better tasting or more practical) and to share with you my techniques for making them perfect every time.  You wont require expensive kitchen gadgets or unheard of ingredients to make anything I’ll post here.  I’ll keep it clean and simple, but correctly prepared.

Enjoy!