pita

An easy and impressive bread. There are a few tricks, but overall pretty straightforward. I use a 66% hydration dough for this - and much more yeast than normal (almost double). Mixture of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour, olive oil and sugar (could use honey). Baked on my primo at an insanely high temperature.

Note, there is no reason to use active dry yeast in particular. It's what I use because I use a lot and can buy it by the jar. Of course if you are using active dry yeast, make sure to wake it up in water with a little sugar.

The sugar in this recipe is indepenent of the yeast. It helps browning a bit and brings out the nuttiness in the wholewheat dough.

Ingredients (6 pitas)

400 g AP Flour
100 g whole wheat flour
8 g salt (1.6% - bakers percentage)
12 g white granulated sugar (2.4% - bakers percentage)
333 g warmish water (about 90F) (66.6% - bakers percentage)
5 g active dry yeast (1% - baker's percentage)
30g extra virgin olive oil (6% - baker's percentage).

Method

Mix together the flours and salt in the bowl of the stand mixture. Dissolve the sugar in the water. If using active dry yeast add to the sugar water and leave to stand for 10 minutes or so, If using instant yeast, you can add it directly to the flour/salt in the bowl.

When you are ready to make the dough, use the dough hook of the stand mixer, turn the mixer to its lowest setting and add the water mixture in a thin stream. When half the water is added, pour in the olive oil.

Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough has become a stretchy mass. It won't be very sticky (relatively low hydration). Once it is kneaded, turn onto the counter (no need for flour or ooil here), and stretch it a few times before forming a ball.

Place a little oil into a bowl large enough to hold the risen dough. Add the dough ball and roll it around do it is lightly coated in oil.

Cover (I use a shower cap for this purpose) and leave to rise - until doubled. About 60 - 90 minutes depending on temperature.

When risen, put the dough onto the counter and cut into 6 equal pieces. They should weigh between 145g and 150 g. Roll these pieces into tight balls and leave to relax for about 15 minutes, covered with a floured towel.

Light the grill (if using) and get it really hot. My thermometer registered 650F. Or heat the oven to 500F. Make sure you have a baking stone on the grill or in the oven.

Roll each ball into a round - 1/4" thick. I find it handy to use spacers on the rolling pin to make sure that the rolling is even. 

The rolled out dough is sturdy enough to handle, so gently place one or 2 at a time onto the baking stone. If using the grill, close the lid. The individual pieces will take 3 - 5 minutes to bake.

Resist the urge to peek - at least for the first 3 minutes. The individual rounds should puff up - the layers separating. Turn them over when done on the bottom to get some color onto the top.

Cover with a towel and keep warm in a 200F oven. (That's one reason I cook them on the grill!)

Killer Brownies - Thanks Bravetart

I have mentioned Stella Parks before. She has an amazing cookbook entitled "Bravetart"where she meticulously describes how to cook amazing desserts. I have made several batches - with some slight variations - of her brownies.  The link to the original is underlined.

Since then I have tweaked a couple of things - I almost can't cook without our "secret ingredient" aka vodka infused with hot peppers. So of course some of that went into the mixture. Because the recipes are so precise, I was worried about the liquid balance. But no need to worry.

The most recent batch was a command performance from Madame. She wanted to reward her amazing students for all of their hard work. We also took a batch to the dentist - perhaps for the dental team to drum up business? And finally I took some into work for an early meeting. Bottom line, all recipients gobbled them up.

Anyhow, to the business end of this recipe.

Ingredients

12 oz unsalted  butter

6 oz chopped 72% Cacao chocolate (I used Guittard)

16 oz granulated sugar

2 1/2 oz light brown sugar

1 1/2 t kosher salt

6 large eggs (cold)

2T Cayenne flavored vodka 

1 1/2 t Espresso powder

4 1/2 oz AP Flour

4 oz Dutch Process Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's on this occasion, but do make sure it is the Dutch Process kind)

Method

Line an 8x13 aluminum pan with foil, leaving a sling over the long sides. Grease the aluminum foil  using either butter or spray.

Turn the oven on to 350F with a shelf in the middle.

Brown the butter in a stainless saucier. This should be done over low heat. As the butter melts, it will foam and sizzle for a bit. Once the foaming subsides, the butter will start to brown very quickly. Don't take your eyes off it! Once the butter has browned, remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until melted and incorporated.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugars, salt eggs, "secret ingredient" and whisk on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy. This will take a while. Usually about 8-10 minutes.

While this is whisking, sift the flour/cocoa powder together in a separate bowl. 

Once the egg/sugar mixture is fluffy, pour in the browned butter/chocolate mixture and mix on low. When the butter is all incorporated, add the flour/cocoa mixture and mix roughly with the whisk.

When mixed, remove the bowl, mix with a spatula ensuring that any flour is pulled up from the bottom into the mixture

When the batter is fully mixed, pour into the prepared pan, put into the oven and bake for around 30 minutes - checking from 25 minutes on. The internal temperature should be at least 205.

Once cooked, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool on the counter/wire rack before turning the brownies out. 

Trim to square off the corners of the cake. 

Using a sharp knife cut into 1 1/2" squares. I dip the knife in hot water between each cut to make the process go more smoothly.

Chicken with grapes, garlic, vermouth and tarragon

I have stolen this shamelessly from Jamie Oliver. It is such a good dish that I have now made it 4 or 5 times. It gets better with each showing. Big advantages are:

• Small number of ingredients
• 1 pot
• oven does most of the work so no need to monitor closely

For 4 people I cook 6 chicken pieces. The downside os that you need a very large saute pan or skillet. And the pan must be ovenproof.

Ingredients

2 T Olive oil (divided use)

6 Whole chicken legs (Thigh and drumstick together)

1 garlic bulb, cloves individually split out, squashed but not peeled

1 lb mixed grapes

1 1/2 cups sweet vermouth (red, Italian)

1/4 cup loosely packed tarragon leaves

Salt/pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 350F. One shelf upper middle rack

In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat the oil until it is shimmering. Meanwhile lightly oil the chicken pieces all over. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken pieces and rub them in with the oil.

Place the chicken pieces, skin side down, into the skillet. Make sure that the is plenty of separation of the pieces. Turn the heat up a little, and cook the chicken skin side down  until the skin has taken on a golden brown color. Turn the chicken over and continue to cook for a few (3-5) minutes, Add the garlic cloves, making sure that each one is in contact with the bottom of the pan - i.e. between the chicken pieces. This is critical. If you don't the garlic will be raw tasting and bitter at the end.

Cook the garlic and chicken for a minute or 2 longer. Add the grapes to the pan, followed by the vermouth.

Coarsely chop the tarragon leaves.

Place the uncovered saute pan into the preheated oven. Cook for about 30-45 minutes. Being dark meat, they don't dry out quickly, so if they go a little long it doesn't matter. Once it is cooked, sprinkle the coarsely chopped tarragon over the dish, and stir so that it is mostly mixed in. You could add a few drops of sherry vinegar if you wanted some extra acidity.

We served it with salt baked potatoes. The chicken on the plate, crispy skin up, potatoes on the side with sauce poured over the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with the remaining tarragon.

Pinot noir wines are the best choice here.

Tomatoes, mushrooms, charred romaine - oh my!

On a trip around our local "Central Market" grocery store the other day, we had a snack of mushrooms/tomatoes/parmesan, etc. It was delicious. Having just seen this post from Dan Souza  I was intrigued with an approach to cooking mushrooms. So merging the two ideas, I came up with this. Well, not quite. Normally I would serve this on grilled bread - as a bruschetta, but for last night I wanted something lighter, so I served it almost as a dressing for a charred Romaine lettuce heart. It came out really well, I am glad to say.

Ingredients

2T high quality olive oil (divided use)

1 1/2 lbs mixed cherry tomatoes, halved

8 oz mixed mushrooms (I used white buttons, and creminis), thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly

3 oz grated parmesan

Some hot pepper flavor (I used vodka infused with cayenne), but pepper flakes would work

1 bunch parsley, chopped fine

4T sherry vinegar (divided use)

4t high quality olive oil for plate decoration

salt/pepper to taste

3 hearts of Romaine, cut into 3 inch lengths, using only the trimmed root, halved lengthwise

1T Olive oil 

Coarse sea salt for crunch

Method

Make the topping first:

In a skillet heat 1 T of the olive oil. When shimmering, add the halved tomatoes and let cook for a few minutes - until soft and the juices have run out. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until fragrant. The liquid stops the garlic from burning, but you do want to give it time to cook through and remove the bitterness. Add in the parmesan, stirring to stop it clumping. Then the hot pepper and allow to cook down some more. Finally add the parsley and 1 T of the sherry vinegar. Turn off heat and allow to come to room temp. Check the seasoning and add salt/pepper if needed.

Now for the lettuce:

Heat a lightly oiled griddle (ridged side up if you have that option) until it is just smoking. While the griddle is heating, oil the Romaine halves on the flat sides, season lightly with salt and pepper. When the griddle is hot, sear the romaine hearts, ut side down until well charred and (if using a ridged griddle) with definite markings.

Pu the grilled romaine, flat, charred side up onto a small plate. Top lightly with the tomato miture. Drizzle oil and vinegar over the topping and onto the plate. Grind some black pepper onto the topping and the plate. Finish with coarse sea salt.

We served this with the excellent, "On the White Keys" - the 2011 from Arietta