9.17.2008

Revolutionary

Ok, remember that kooky book I used to make bread out of? All of the recipes were really good (oh god, remember the blueberry orange sweet rolls?) but they took a long time. Like all day. Bread is hard, you know? You have to proof the yeast and mix it all up and get flour all over you, and then you have to knead it and let it rise and knead it again and shape it and let it rise again and then bake it. A Very. Long. Time.

So when I read about this book on another blog, I added it to my wishlist and got it for my birthday. (Thanks Mom!)

It's genius. You mix up a bunch of very wet dough, without proofing the yeast, without kneading, and then let it set for a couple of hours and then stick it in the fridge. Active time: about 10 minutes. Voila, you have bread dough for a couple of weeks. For the most basic recipe, you just pull out a hunk of dough, make it into a ball, let it sit for about a half hour, and then stick it in the oven. And out comes a perfect boule, with crunchy outside, soft yummy inside, and not a single egg to make Saul blow up like a puffer fish.

(btw, that's not mine, that's from google. But mine looked just like that. Well, maybe a little less round, but whatever)

There are recipes for several types of dough, and several types of bread products that can be made with each dough. Right now, I have a tupperware full of wheat bread dough, and another one full of olive oil dough. We will have fresh, homemade bread with dinner every single night. And over the weekend, I'm thinking about mixing up a batch of brioche dough, although that one is not appropriate for Saul.

Ok, so let me brag for a minute: I'm going to whip up some onion and rosemary focaccia tonight to go with dinner. Wanna know how much time it will take? About ten minutes, and most of that will be chopping onions and going outside to cut some rosemary.

The only problem is that now I will have homemade bread around all of the time, while I'm trying to start a new Fat Ass Reduction Plan. Ah, well, priorities.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

okay, now I am hungry

Badger said...

I swear, they should be PAYING me to recommend that book, I love it so much. (Er, but they're not. Just so there's no misunderstanding there.) I'm glad it's working for you, too! That olive oil dough makes the BEST pizza and foccacia!