Onion, Garlic & Rosemary Artisan Loaf

I made yet another loaf of bread made this weekend. If you're wondering what the heck is wrong with this poor herbivore - don't worry! I'm not going crazy. I'm hosting the family Thanksgiving dinner this year and only want to impress everyone with my awesome bread making skills. Hence the weekly attempts to make something amazing :) !!! This week's recipe is a slight variation of a the Rosemary Garlic Artisan Loaf I tried a few weeks ago and this version was loved much more by the hubby! 

Onion, Garlic & Rosemary Artisan Loaf

Time Required: 20 min prep time, ~3.5 hours rise time, 45 min oven time.

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups King Arthur's Bread flour (plus more for dusting)
2. 1.5 cups (+ a couple extra tbsp) Water
3. 1 Medium Red Onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
4. 2 tbsp Minced Rosemary (fresh)
5. 2 tbsp Minced Garlic 
6. 2 tsp Coarse Salt (Sea or Kosher)
7. 2 tsp Black Pepper (freshly cracked)
8. 2 tsp Dried Chives 
9. 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions:

Measure out the flour, yeast, salt, diced onions, chives minced garlic and rosemary in a bowl. I measure directly into my Cuisinart Stand Mixer. 

Add water and start mixing (I used the lowest speed setting #2) using the dough hook. As the water is incorporated, the dough should come together as a large ball. If there are crumbs still sticking to the sides after a couple of minutes, add more water in 1 tablespoon portions until everything is incorporated. Depending upon how fresh or old your flour is it may sometimes need just a tad extra water. Be patient. It is very easy to overdo the water and you will then need to add more flour. You will most likely not need to much. I needed just 3 additional tablespoons of water today. Mark the clock time and knead for 15 minutes.

Once you successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough, you can stop kneading (a piece of dough and be stretched out and it will become translucent, allowing light through like a window pane). This is how my dough looked after 15 minutes of kneading. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to a well floured surface. I find a silicone baking mat works best for me. Lightly dust your fingers and the surface and shape the dough into a ball. I put the ball back into the Cuisinart bowl and set it aside to rise on the kitchen counter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approximately 3 hours. If your house is cold as it can be in the fall, try the oven method I talked about in an earlier recipe). 

I allowed an approximately 3 hour rise time today. The dough expanded to about 3x its original size in this time. Start preheating the oven to 450° F. In my past attempts, I've actually preheated my cast iron dutch oven at the same time as the oven. However, several of the recipes I've come across do you preheat the dutch oven so I decided to try it without this time. I was however, worried about the dough sticking to the bottom of a cold dutch oven so I decided to cut out a round of parchment paper and use that to place my dough into the bowl. 

Remove dough from the bowl it is rising in and using lightly dusted fingers, shape it into a bowl. At this time be careful to not disturb the gluten fibers by kneading it too much. I placed the dough on my round piece of parchment paper and scored it once, straight across the top. Let the dough sit in the cold bowl for another 15 minutes or so. Once oven is ready, and the loaf has rested for 15 minutes, cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450° F.

This is how my loaf looked after 30 min. Remove lid and set aside. Bake uncovered for another 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.

Remove pot from oven. With the parchment paper, the loaf had no chance to stick to the pot at all. gently turn it over onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing into this awesome bread. Here are some pictures of the crumb

As you can see, there was a lot of rise and a lot of air. The rise held really well. The crust was a crunchy golden brown, but it was not so hard that I was scared to slice into it. 

On this slice of bread you can see the sprinkling of black pepper and the pieces of onion as well. Overall, this was an awesome loaf. According to Tony, this has been my best loaf so far (yes!). He wants this one on our Thanksgiving table. We'll see ... :)

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1853 (Fat Calories 13)
Total Fat 1.4 g; Carbohydrates 371 g; Fiber 22.3 g; Sugars 2.5 g; Protein 67.8 g


If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Garlic Rosemary Artisan Loaf

As most of you know by now, I've been on a bread-making kick since I received a bread machine for Christmas last year. To be honest, my bread machine adventures have been far from successful. Okay maybe that's overstating how it's been. I've just not gotten the success I was hoping for. A few weekends ago, we finally bought a cast iron Le Creuset and I made Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread and that came out great. Wasn't perfect but was pretty darned good. I've tried to make it a few times since then and the kids love it. I don't like the commitment required for it though. If I start the dough on Saturday, I have to make sure I'm home on Sunday, or Tony needs to complete it for me (which he does great at by the way!!). 

Garlic Rosemary Bread

This weekend, I was reminded that I don't need to worry about only looking for no-knead recipes because I have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer - that came with a handy-dandy dough hook (duh!). I decided to search for a bread recipe that used both my stand mixer for kneading and my cast iron dutch oven. After a few trials and tribulations, I found this recipe. It used a full stick of butter but I figured I'd easily substitute with good old water and even if my bread didn't 'bloom' like Pastor Ryan's ... I'd have a pretty good loaf. Also, I can make this in one day, without the need to commit an entire weekend. Also, this recipe can be made without a Stand Mixer by using your hands for kneading. It just takes longer to knead the bread to the right consistency. 

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman - The Bread, In His Words

Time Required: 20 min prep time, ~3.5 hours rise time, 45 min oven time. 

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups All-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
2. 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp Water 
3. 2 tbsp Minced fresh Rosemary
4. 2 tbsp Minced Garlic 
5. 2 tsp Coarse Salt (Sea or Kosher)
6. 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

Directions:

To get the yeast started, dissolve in a cup of tepid tap water (the water should be barely warm to touch) and set aside while you're measuring your other ingredients. In the next 5-8 minutes the water will be become cloudy and foamy. 

Measure out the flour, coarse salt, minced garlic and rosemary in the Stand Mixer bowl. If you're using dry rosemary, you may need to add a tad more, about 3 tbsp to get the same flavor as the essential oils in herbs are often volatile and tend to evaporate over time. 

Add 0.5 cups of water and start mixing (I used the lowest speed setting). As the yeast/water  mix begins to cloud and froth, start adding small portions of it to the mixer bowl (adding all that water at once makes a mess with flour flying everywhere ;)!!). In the end, the dough should come together as a large ball. If the dough looks like it's not coming together and there are crumbs still sticking to the sides, add water in 1 tablespoon portions until everything is incorporated. Depending upon how fresh or old your flour is it may sometimes need just a tad extra water.  Be patient with this step as it is easy to add too much and you will most likely not need to much. I needed just 2 additional tablespoons of water.  Once you have everything incorporated, make note of the clock time. You will need to knead for about 10-15 minutes depending upon the dough. 

If during this time, all you see is a big fat pillar like in the picture above, I would stop the unit, use a rubber spatula to make the dough drop to the bottom of the bowl and then turn the mixer on again. 

Once you successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough, you can stop kneading. This is when stretched out dough looks somewhat translucent (light goes through it like a windowpane). Mine took about 13 minutes to get to that point. The original recipe indicated that they needed only 10 minutes.  I took a picture of mine but you don't see the translucency very well. Another good sign is when you can stretch it a lot without tearing.

At this point use a rubber spatula to remove the dough onto a well floured surface. In my trials and errors I've used pastry stones, the kitchen counter itself and found that what works best is a silicone baking mat. It uses very little flour to help shape the dough and doesn't stick as much as some other surfaces do. Lightly dust your fingers and shape the dough into a ball.

before rise .. 

Keeping the seam side down, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approximately 4 hours. Yeast needs a temperature of 80° F–90° F (27° C–32° C) to grow and reproduce at dough fermentation stage. It will however, work as low as 70° F although it takes longer. One way to aid the process is Oven Rising. Turn on your oven at the lowest temperature setting (usually 150-170 F) for home appliances. Leave on for 2-5 minutes and turn off. Do this just before or while you're preparing your dough. Then, once the oven feels like it just nice and cozy warm, put the bowl of dough to rise in there. Make sure that the air feels only barely warm and anything over 90° F will burn i.e. KILL the yeast. Here's a nice primer on the Science of Bread. This is especially helpful in spring/fall when our houses are cooler than usual.

After a 2-hour rise .. 

At this point, I could smell the awesome garlicky yeasty aroma of the rising bread every time I came into the kitchen. Because the dough was rising in the oven today, my husband could not smell it very well. I allowed around a 3.5 hour rise time today. The rough was ready to spill out of the bowl I'd used today (see picture). Also, the surface of the dough was dotted with tiny bubbles and crevices. About 30 minutes before the rise is complete, start preheating your oven to 450° F. Set your dutch oven (I used my 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset) in the cold oven and preheat at the same time as the oven. 

After a 3-hour rise .. 

Remove dough from bowl and once again knead into a round ball using a silicone mat and some flour for dusting. Score the loaf either once or twice across the top. While scoring is not essential for loafs made in pans, I think they make for a pleasing visual effect. 

According to The Fresh Loaf - "... the purpose of scoring is primarily to control the direction in which the bread will expand during “oven spring.” Intentionally creating a weak spot on the surface of the loaf prevents the loaf from bursting at weak spots created during shaping. The pattern of cuts made, the angle at which they are made and the depth of the cuts also influence the rate of expansion and the formation of an “ear” - a raised flap of crust at the edge of a cut. The pattern of cuts also can create a pleasing visual pattern on the surface of the loaf. While there are some very traditional patterns, for example for baguettes, the baker can use the scoring pattern to identify the type of bread or to create an unique pattern that identifies the loaf as coming from his or her oven."

Once the loaf is ready, remove preheated pot from the oven. Remove lid and set aside. You do not need to grease the pot at all. No butter/oil is necessary. The enameled pot and the style of cooking (with lid) allows for the crust to form which helps prevent the loaf from sticking to the pot. Slide your hands under the loaf and gently drop the dough into the pot, scored side up. Shake the pan a couple of times to help distribute the loaf, if necessary. This is a more hearty loaf than the no-knead so may not move much.

Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450° F . After 30 min, remove the lid and set aside, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.

Remove pot from oven, give it a good shake and the loaf should shake loose immediately. Gently remove the loaf from the pot and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into it. Enjoy!!! :)

My Assessment: OMG!! The flavor was amazing. If you love garlic bread, this loaf is definitely for you. The crust was awesome which prompted me to call it 'artisan' bread. The inside had some rather large alveoli but in other places the loaf was denser than I imagined it would be after the wonderful rise I got. I'm wondering if that was a combination of scoring and pan baking because there are websites which say that pan loafs need not be scored. I think I will play with the scoring a little bit as I make it more and more. Unless I can find another awesome recipe, this bread may just make it to my Thanksgiving table. 

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1879 (Fat Calories 55)
Total Fat 6.2 g; Carbohydrates 392.9 g; Fiber 17.5 g; Sugars 1.5 g; Protein 54.6 g

If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Rosemary Potato & Celery Soup

Simple pleasures .. bubbles (for him) ..
a glass of wine (for me) ..
.. & warm sunshine in Central Ohio!

I opened a bottle of wine this afternoon after a long time because it just felt right. Nik and I were outside most of the day. Our neighbor visited with us for a little bit .. but for the most part, it was him and I chilling on a rather uncommon (these days!) warm spring afternoon in Central Ohio. He had his bubbles and his baseball bat and his scooter and I had my glass of wine and Nook to read the rest of my latest book! We spent a blissful afternoon under the budding trees (thank goodness I've got a fresh bottle of prescription Flonase!!) 

Anyhow, in the end, I was left with an almost full bottle of wine (since the wuss in me can consume 1 glass/sitting). I also had a pack of celery sitting in the fridge so I decided to use both for dinner and make a celery soup, with a white wine base. 

I looked at various recipes online and then decided to make a variation of one of I found. I included Rosemary since I've developed a fondness for the rosemary-potato combination.  

Adapted from: Crash Test Vegetarian [Vegan] Potato Soup

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (Serves 6):

1. 1 lb Celery (diced)
2. 1.5 lb Russet potatoes (diced)
3. 3 cups of White Wine (preferably dry, and not too sweet)
4. 3 cups water or Home-Made Vegetable Broth
5. 1 tbsp 'Better than Bouillon' Mushroom or Vegetable Base
6. 3 tsp Onion powder
7. 2 tsp Garlic powder
8. 1 tsp Nutmeg powder
9. 2 tsp fresh Rosemary, diced
10. 3 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
11. 3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
12. 1/2 cup Almond Milk
13. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Rosemary Potato & Celery Soup

Directions:

In a deep stock pot, add 3 cups of wine and add celery with a sprinkle of salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer to allow celery to cook down into the wine (it will become more translucent). Then add diced potatoes, onion, garlic and nutmeg powders, bouillon base and more water (or broth) and simmer until potatoes are tender (~15-20 min). Cover partially to prevent over-drying. Add more water (or broth) as needed to keep the soup runny. In a separate stock pot on medium-low heat, dry roast the whole wheat flour until golden and then add a splash of water and then almond milk. Whisk this mixture to make a smooth roux. Add more water (or broth) as needed and whisk until smooth and frothy. Then add nutritional yeast and whisk again. Bring to a slow boil (on simmer) and then transfer contents to the soup. Mix well and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes to allow the soup to become thick and creamy. Taste test for salt and serve hot with a sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)*: Calories 185 (Fat Calories 9)
Total Fat 1.0 g; Carbohydrates 30.3 g; Fiber 5.8 g; Sugars 3.5 g; Protein 5.5 g

* Nutrition facts are provided for the water option as vegetable broth calorie content can vary tremendously.

Rosemary Potatoes

Potatoes, especially roasted potatoes, with any kind of seasoning are very well accepted in our family. I've posted a recipe for Herb Roasted Red Potatoes before. Today, I tried a variation of my recipe, using only a lot of rosemary. They turned out really good :) 

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (6 Servings):

1. 20-25 small Red Potatoes, quartered
2. 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
3. 1 tbsp Goya Recaito Cilantro Cooking Base
4. 1-2 tsp Lawry's Seasoning Salt
5. Pepper, to taste
6. 3-4 Sprigs of Rosemary (fresh)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a cookie sheet with a SilPat mat, or grease lightly with cooking spray. Rinse, clean and quarter potatoes. Transfer to a gallon-sized zip-lock bag, and add all the spices, except of rosemary. Close the bag and toss well. Spread the seasoned potatoes in a single layer on the cookie sheet and bake uncovered for 10-12 minutes. Remove, toss well to turn, mix in sprigs of rosemary and return to the oven for another 10-12 minutes until tender and beginning to crisp around the edges. Leave in longer if you like them crispier. Remove, garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, more fresh rosemary and serve warm. Adding the rosemary too soon makes it char and causes all the essential oils to burn off. That's why I added it only for the last 10 minutes. A friend advised me that if you want your rosemary flavor to be mild, leave the sprigs intact and remove before serving the potatoes. 

My Assessment: A success with the whole family! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 95 (Fat Calories 2)
Total Fat 0.3 g; Carbohydrates 21.4 g; Dietary Fiber 2.4 g; Sugars 1.3 g; Protein 2.6 g

Roasted Cauliflower and Black Bean Soup

Sitting at home on a lazy Saturday afternoon, with no plans for the day, I felt the need for a hearty wholesome soup. I had New Veggie #66 - A Green Cauliflower - sitting in the fridge for the last few days and while I knew I wanted to roast it, I knew I wanted to do something more! 

Roasted Cauliflower & Black Bean Soup

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (6 servings):

1. 2 x 15 oz cans of Black Beans (~3 cups, drained and well rinsed)
2. 1 head of Green Cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets (~2 cups)
3. 2 Portabella Mushroom caps, diced
4. 1 Medium White Onion, diced
5. 2 tbsp Garlic, minced
6. 8 cups of home-made no-added-salt Vegetable Broth, or water
7. 1 tbsp Miso
8. 1 tbsp 'Better than Bouillon' Mushroom Base
9. 1/2 tsp fresh Rosemary, diced finely
10. 2-3 tbsp fresh Cilantro, diced finely
11. Salt and Pepper, to taste
12. Lemon/Lime Juice, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or Pam and spread cauliflower florets in a single layer. Place in oven and turn the broiler on Hi. Monitor the progress of the cauliflower as your prepare the rest of the soup. Turn florets over after about 5-7 minutes, and if needed, turn the broiler down to Lo. Roast until the florets are tender (not mushy) and aromatic, and a hint of brown at the tips. Mine took about 8 min on Hi, and 10 min of Lo before the aroma and look was just right. 

Roasted Cauliflower & Black Bean Soup

While the cauliflower is roasting, line a deep pot with water or broth and add garlic and onions. Once the garlic begins to release its aroma add the black beans, and mushroom base and the remaining broth (yes, it will look very soupy at this time) and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to allow a simmer and add rosemary, cilantro and diced Portabella mushrooms. Simmer for 15 min. Once the cauliflower is done roasting, remove the sheet from the oven and allow to sit for a couple of minutes (which allows the outside of each piece to dry up some, which prevents them from disintegrating in  the soup). Then add each floret, piece by piece, to the soup and once all the pieces are added, give the whole thing a gentle stir. Turn off heat, dissolve miso in a few tablespoons of water and add to the soup. Mix again gently and then cover and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld before serving with freshly cracked black-pepper and/or a few drops of lemon juice, with warm bread. 

My Assessment: My DH had 2 bowls. He preferred it without the lemon juice. I liked mine better with a few added drops of lemon juice. Both of us ate it with some of last night's bread. Li'l Nik didn't want nothing to do with the soup :) ... we loved it!!

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)*: Calories 161
Total Fat 0.9 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 34.5 g; Fiber 8.9 g; Sugars 3.4 g; Protein 10.4 g

* Nutrition facts are provided for the water option as vegetable broth calorie content can vary tremendously.

East-Indian Dressing/Stuffing

Masaledaar Dabalroti or Masala Bread was something my mom used to make for us kids when we were growing up. It was one of those dishes that must have been improvised on a hot summer day when either my mom, or one of my aunts, didn't feel like making chapatis for the kids, but had sliced bread handy. Traditional Thanksgiving Dressing or Stuffing is very similar to its Indian counterpart, so it was relatively easy for me to Indianize it for my Thanksgiving. The cool thing about this recipe is that you can eat it any time of the year.

East-Indian Stuffing

Ingredients:

1. 1 loaf of White or Wheat bread, air dried overnight; cut/torn.
2. 1/2 loaf of 12-Grain bread, air dried overnight; cut/torn.
3. 4 tbsp Earth Balance non-dairy butter (optional).
4. 2 Large Yellow onions, diced, ~3 cups (cut/refrigerate on previous evening!) 
5. 1 big bunch of Celery, diced, ~3 cups (cut/refrigerate on previous evening!) 
6. 4 links Field Roast Italian (vegetarian) sausage links (optional)
7. 1/4 cup fresh Parsley, coarsely chopped. 
8. 8-10 fresh Sage leaves, coarsely chopped
9. A spring of fresh Rosemary, chopped
10. 1 tbsp Better-Than-Bouillon Vegetable Seasoning. 
11. 2-3 cup Vegetable Broth
12. 2 tbsp Garam Masala
13. 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
14. Salt and Pepper, to taste 
15. 1/4 cup raisins, or pine nuts, or chopped walnuts/pecans (optional). 

Directions (2-3 hours before Dinner):

In a large pan, or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat and add chopped onion and celery and cook until translucent. If using vegetarian sausage, saute the sausage first in a separate pan, and transfer to the dutch oven in which the stuffing will be prepared. Depending upon how greasy the sausage is, adjust the amount of butter, or skip it altogether. Then add celery and onions until translucent, mix in sausage, add spices, mix well. If using cubed bouillon, add to 1 cup of broth and microwave for 2 min to help dissolve the cube. To the pan with celery and onions, add cubed bread, a little bit at a time and mix well using a sturdy wooden spatula. Add nuts or raisins (I generally skip the nuts and raisins if I'm using sausage). Moisten with vegetable broth, mix well. Add more bread, and broth until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a buttered lidded casserole dish and let sit in the oven, at 250 F until ready to serve. Bake uncovered at 350 F for about 15 min for a crisp crust just before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

I used a crock-pot to keep the dressing warm this year. Instead of transferring to a casserole dish, I transferred the prepared stuffing to the crock and let sit on warm until I was ready to serve dinner.