Simple Math Bakery » garlic

Monochrome Monday: Garlic

Jeanne — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:30:03 +0000

Garlic is a relatively foolproof crop. It has to be, since we have an impressive yield in our yard this spring. Many of our other crops have been lost to frost, bugs, or general inattention. So it is especially satisfying to pull these fragrant bulbs out of the dirt and chop them up for use in just about any savory dish. I have yet to find a dessert calling for garlic. (If you know of one, please do inform me!)

Today I present two photographs that were originally shot in color. I shot the first photo with Fuji Press 800 color film, and developed it at home using homemade Caffenol-C developer. The Caffenol-C developing process renders color film in black and white, with a bit of tint around the edges in this case. The film negative was scanned and the colors have not been edited. Each photo on this roll came out with a slightly different color cast. The second photo (depicting the first bulbs harvested from our yard) was taken in color with my digital point-and-shoot camera, and converted to black and white using photo editing software.

Have a Monochrome Monday post to share this week? Leave a link in the comments.

Swiss Chard, Tomato, and Ricotta Calzones

Jeanne — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:19:14 +0000

Please send help. The Swiss chard has established a stronghold in our garden and won’t surrender. It’s been going strong since springtime and shows no sign of slowing down. It may have wilted during the hottest, driest days but has never failed to rejuvenate itself overnight. I wish I could say the same for the tomatoes, radishes, and carrots that we planted. Swiss chard has definitely been the superhero of our garden this year and at this rate, these same plants may just be the superhero of next year’s garden too.

One of the best ways to eat chard (or anything, really) is with cheese. But encase the chard and cheese in a sourdough herb crust and then you’ve got something really special on your hands. A chard, tomato, and ricotta calzone, to be precise.

Before I give you the details about these tasty little pockets, I’m going to give you some more details about myself. Cristina from TeenieCakes tagged me to answer a few questions and I’m happy to play along.

1. What are five things that are absolutely a staple in your pantry/refrigerator?

-Fresh, local apple cider
-Three types of flour: organic whole wheat, organic all-purpose, and unbleached bread flour
-Local Gouda cheese
-Organic, free range eggs straight from the farm
-Compost bucket, usually full of scraps because I’m too lazy to empty it every day

2. What are some of your favorite food scenes in movies?

I always have a difficult time answering movie trivia questions. I’m not much of a movie buff, but the first two that come to mind are:
-The tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory (from the original movie, I haven’t see the newer version)
-The lobster scene in Annie Hall

3. What would you consider are three of your cooking and/or baking specialties?

-Sourdough bread
-Pizza with sourdough crust and seasonal veggies
-Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are my current seasonal baking obsession

4. Name a couple of your personal cringe-inducing ingredients or dishes?

-I can’t stand any type of melon. Not even watermelon on a hot summer day. Hard to believe, I know.
-Caraway seeds. I’m always wary of ordering “everything” bagels at an unfamiliar bakery, lest they hide caraway seeds among the sesame and poppy seeds.

5. Favorite movie (doesn’t have to be about food)?

Food, Inc. If everybody watched this movie and took just one small step toward a more sustainable diet, we would be on the right track.

6. With the holidays around the corner, what dish/dessert are you sure to contribute?

Bread, of course!

7. Share a kitchen disaster or funny moment when your cooking or baking just didn’t measure up.

I attempted to make sourdough bread for over a year before I finally got a presentable loaf. I had all kinds of disasters, from dough that didn’t rise to bread that was as hard as a brick. I thought I would never get it right! But persistence paid off and now I enjoy beautiful sourdough loaves every week. With only the occasional disaster, of course.

8. How did you come up with the name of your blog?

I am somewhat of a math geek, and wanted to incorporate it into my blog. Simple Math Bakery just came to me while I was brainstorming. Math and baking certainly go hand in hand so I felt that it was a natural fit. The math skills needed for baking are mostly just fractions and basic multiplication or division, so it made sense to call it simple math.

Swiss Chard, Tomato, and Ricotta Calzones with Sourdough Herb Crust
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 4 large calzones

For the crust:
1 batch of sourdough pizza crust
Dried herbs to taste (I used oregano, basil, and thyme)

Prepare the pizza dough as directed through the first rise, adding the dried herbs during kneading. Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 450° and prepare the calzone filling. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven while the oven preheats.

For the filling:
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 Cipollini onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 leaves Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Gouda cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped chard leaves and continue to cook until the leaves have wilted and the stems are tender, stirring frequently to prevent the leaves from burning. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Turn out the pizza dough onto a well floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Coat your hands with flour and gently pat each portion of dough into a 6″-8″ circle.

Spread 1/4 cup of the ricotta over the bottom half of each dough circle, stopping 1/2″ from the edges. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Gouda. Top the cheese with tomato slices. Spoon 1/4 of the chard filling over the tomatoes. Using your finger, moisten the edge of the dough circle with water. Fold the top half of the dough over the fillings and match the edges up, pressing to seal. Gently slice 2 or 3 vent holes through the top of the dough.

Using a well-floured peel, slide the calzones into the oven, directly onto the baking stone. Alternatively, you may bake them on a baking sheet. Depending on the size of your baking stone, it may be best to bake just 2 calzones per batch. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Look for these calzones on YeastSpotting, a weekly showcase of yeasted baked goods!

Swiss Chard Galette

Jeanne — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:03:05 +0000

The aroma of nutty whole wheat pastry crust, browning butter, and melting cheese hung in the air as this galette baked. I resisted the urge to pull it from the oven before it was finished baking. Quickly and carefully, I transferred the piping hot galette to a fresh piece of parchment paper for its photo shoot. I snapped a few quick (blurry) photos, then got to work slicing and eating this galette. When you make this for yourself, you’ll understand.

Swiss chard was prolific in our garden this year. It was the easiest crop to take care of and produces more chard than we can eat ourselves. It doesn’t show any signs of stopping, even with the cooler temperatures we have (finally) been experiencing this week!

Fall is just around the corner, which means that it must be football season. I don’t know much about football, and you probably won’t catch me on the couch every Sunday morning. But add a football theme to a baking challenge and I’ll definitely be cheering.

September’s “You Want Pies With That?” theme is football, so I decided to honor my alma mater with this Swiss chard galette. Portland State’s colors are forest green and white, so chard is the perfect vegetable to represent PSU!

I sliced this galette into four generous slices, though you could get six servings out of it if you prefer. My inner math geek loves that these slices look like right triangles.

Swiss Chard Galette
Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Filling created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 4-6 servings, depending on how you slice it

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, coarsely diced
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

For the filling:
1 bunch chard (about 16 leaves)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

To make the crust:
In a large bowl, stir the flour and salt together. Add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and ice water. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon until lumps form. Gather the lumps together into a disc shape and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

To make the filling:
Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Separate the chard leaves from the stems. Chop the stems into 1/2 inch pieces, and slice the leaves into strips. Boil the stems for 3 minutes, then add the leaves and continue to boil for another 3 minutes. Pour the chard into a colander, rinse with cold water, and allow to drain. Press out as much water as possible with a kitchen towel or paper towel.

In a large bowl, combine the chard, feta cheese, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble the galette:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to facilitate easier removal of the galette, or just leave the baking sheet ungreased.

On a floured surface, roll out the galette to a 12 inch circle. Spread ricotta cheese to within 1 or 2 inches of the edges. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the ricotta. Spoon chard filling in an even layer over the cheese. Fold the edges of the galette over the top of the filling, leaving the center open. Football laces are optional. Using a pastry brush, coat the exposed (folded over) part of the crust with melted butter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Place the entire baking sheet on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Jeanne — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:15:09 +0000

This pizza was inspired by our favorite local pizza place. They put all kinds of crazy toppings on pizza – mashed potatoes, peanut butter, pasta, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, and many more! My favorite pizza is topped with mashed potatoes, BBQ sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. Since I stopped eating industrially processed meat, I have missed eating this pizza.

Opportunities to purchase meat that satisfies my current standards (local, small scale, pasture raised, respectfully slaughtered) are few and far between. When I went on a farm tour at Quail Springs permaculture farm, I got the chance to order a couple of chickens from livestock manager Brenton Kelly.

The chickens were raised as an important part of the permaculture garden. They eat kitchen scraps and help keep weeds and bugs under control in the garden, while providing a valuable output to enrich the soil. When it comes time for the chickens to serve their next purpose (meat), Brenton uses a low-stress method to process the birds. If you are interested in this process, take a look at Brenton’s turkey processing photos (warning: photos are graphic).

To cook the chicken, I used Julia Child’s Casserole-Roasted Chicken with Tarragon recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 (which also happens to be Meryl Streep’s favorite Julia Child recipe). As usual, Julia does not disappoint. This chicken is simple and flavorful!

To make the pizza, you’ll need:
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Olive Oil
Mashed Potatoes
Chicken slices, roasted or grilled
Red Onion, thinly sliced
Mozzarella and Gouda cheese (or your favorite cheese combo)
BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 450° for at least 45 minutes, with a baking stone in the oven. Pre-bake the crust, directly on the baking stone, until it is slightly puffy and starts to brown on the bottom. Using a pastry brush, spread a thin layer of olive oil all over the crust.

Spoon the mashed potatoes onto the crust and spread thin (you don’t want the toppings to be too heavy!). Add a thin layer of barbecue sauce over the potatoes. Arrange the chicken slices over the sauce and top with onions. Slice the mozzarella thinly and add to the pizza. Sprinkle with shredded Gouda cheese and drizzle with barbecue sauce.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melty and the crust is brown.

Barbecue Sauce
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: approximately 3 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, minced
1 cup ketchup
1 cup beer
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons sucanat
3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chili pepper. Saute just until tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 20-30 minutes.

Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta Cutlets

Jeanne — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 03:34:43 +0000

I’ve only had polenta once before, when my boyfriend cooked it for me. He loves a good cooking experiment just as much as I do. We had been intrigued by it in the store, not quite knowing what to make of the large yellow tube that appeared ready to burst at any moment. We decided that it was pretty tasty, and I vowed to use it again.

When I came across a recipe for polenta made from scratch, I knew I had to try it. Plus, the addition of mushrooms in this recipe forced me to push my comfort zone. I don’t like mushrooms very much. It’s definitely a texture thing, so I figured that if I chopped them finely enough (and tried not to think about it) I could enjoy this dish.

Polenta is basically boiled cornmeal. It’s a simple base that is infinitely adaptable. Polenta is used in a wide variety of dishes from all over the world, and is prepared according to many different methods. Here, I created basic polenta by whisking cornmeal into boiling water.

Then, I dipped the polenta in a mixture of breadcrumbs, Parmesan, cilantro, and garlic. And baked it to perfection!

I chose to top it with a tomato wine sauce, which also makes an excellent pizza or pasta sauce. The whole meal took me a good half day to put together, but the time spent was well worth it.

Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta Cutlets
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
Yield: 12 cutlets

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 cups water
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 egg whites

Heat the red wine just until it boils. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a non-reactive heatproof bowl and pour the wine over the tomatoes. Set aside to soak.

Heat the olive oil in a small pan. Add the minced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Saute until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and 1 tablespoon of the basil. Cover the pot and cook on low, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their juices, about 10 minutes. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, saving the wine for the sauce, if desired. Add the tomatoes to the mushroom mixture and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, then add the cornmeal in a slow stream, whisking rapidly to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat to low, and cook uncovered, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, or until the polenta is very thick. Stir in the mushroom mixture.

Grease an 8 by 12-inch glass or stoneware baking dish. Spread the polenta evenly in the bottom of the dish. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, cilantro, and 2 cloves of minced garlic in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

Cut the polenta into 12 triangles. Here’s how: cut the polenta in half lengthwise. Then cut in thirds crosswise to create 6 rectangles. Then cut each rectangle in half diagonally. You should have 12 triangular cutlets.

Use a spatula to remove each cutlet, dip it into the egg white, and then coat both sides with the bread crumb mixture. Place the cutlets onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, flip them over, then bake for 10 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Tomato Wine Sauce
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
Yield: about 3 1/2 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup red wine
3 cups undrained chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onions have begun to soften. Add the Herbs de Provence and oregano, and cook for another minute. Add the wine, bring the sauce to a boil, then add the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Garlic Sourdough Bread

Jeanne — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:14:15 +0000

I am so thrilled with this bread! You see, sourdough starter and I have had an on again-off again relationship for almost two years now. I cultivated a starter from scratch. It was bubbly and it smelled nice and sour. I used it to make pancakes and cake, with wonderful results.

But something always went wrong when I tried to make bread. I didn’t want to give up on my starter so I tried again and again. Nothing worked…until now. I started a brand new starter from scratch last week, and just look at this bread! I suspect that my old starter may have been the source of my troubles.

These loaves rose beautifully and have a perfect springy texture and sourdough taste. I added just enough garlic for a hint of flavor without it being overwhelming. I’ll definitely be making this bread again. As soon as these two loaves are gone.

This recipe uses a firm starter, which is fermented overnight before being chopped up and incorporated into the final dough.

I decided to shape the dough into bâtards, but since I don’t own a couche, I had to improvise. I used three kitchen towels, coated with flour and rolled up so they would cradle the dough while it proofed. It worked beautifully!

After a short time in the oven, I had two spectacular loaves of bread! Crusty outside, soft inside. Just perfect.

This bread will be submitted to Yeastspotting, a weekly showcase of beautiful bread.

Roasted Garlic Sourdough Bread
Adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice
Yield: 2 loaves

Firm Starter:
2/3 cup sourdough starter
1 cup unbleached bread flour
1/8 to 1/4 cup water

Final Dough:
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
12 cloves roasted garlic

If your starter is in the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour before making the firm starter.

To prepare the firm starter:
In a small bowl, mix the starter and flour together. Add just enough water that the dough comes together. Mix until the flour is absorbed and the mixture is uniform. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature for 4 hours, or until doubled in size. Then, leave it in the fridge overnight.

To prepare the final dough:
Remove the firm starter from the fridge 1 hour before preparing the dough. Slice it into 10 small pieces, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Add the starter pieces and just enough water to bring the dough together, while mixing on low speed with the paddle attachment of your mixer (or by hand with a large spoon).

Knead the dough with the dough hook on second speed for 4 minutes, let the dough rest for 10 minutes, and knead for another 4 minutes. Alternatively, knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes. Add more flour or water as needed to make the dough just slightly tacky but not sticky. Add the roasted garlic during the last minute or two of kneading.

The dough is ready when it passes the windowpane test. Take a small piece of dough and stretch it thin. If it stretches thin enough to become opaque without tearing, the gluten is fully developed. If not, knead for a few more minutes and then test again.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours (or until the dough has doubled in size).

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into boules or bâtards. Or divide into smaller pieces for rolls. I chose to shape the dough into bâtards. To do this, pat the dough into a rectangle approximately 6 inches by 12 inches, with the long side facing you. Fold the bottom third up, letter style, then fold the top third down over and seal the seam with the edge of your hand.

Proof the dough in bannetons, on couches, or on sheet pans lined with parchment and dusted with cornmeal. I proofed my loaves on a parchment-lined peel. Cover the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap and ferment for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. At this point you may also proof the loaves overnight in the fridge. If you choose to proof them in the fridge, remove them 4 hours before baking.

Preheat the oven to 500° for one hour. Transfer the dough to a peel, if necessary. Slide the dough onto your baking stone, or bake on a sheet pan. As soon as you place the dough in the oven, spray the oven walls with water to create steam, and close the door. After 30 seconds, spray the oven walls again. Repeat two more times. After the fourth spray, lower the oven temperature to 450°.

Bake the bread for 20-30 minutes, or until the loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Cool the bread on a cooling rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing.