Simple Sourdough Focaccia

Simple Sourdough Focaccia

What you need... a sourdough starter. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe requires an initial 4–18 hour rise followed by a second 4 to 6 hour second rise. 

After the initial rise (depending on the time of year and temperature of your kitchen), you can deflate the dough, and stick it in the fridge for 8 to 10 hours (maybe longer), which might help you regarding your schedule. Keep in mind, when you remove the dough from the fridge and transfer it to a pan, it will still need to rise for another 5 to 6 hours. 

Apparently, chlorine in water can adversely affect sourdough. Leaving water at room temperature for 24 hours will allow most of the chlorine to escape. When I am in the habit of making sourdough bread, I fill a large pitcher with water and leave it out at room temperature. I use this for my sourdough breads and starter. 

Water quantity: Depending on where you live and the time of year, you may need to cut the water back. If you live in a humid environment, for instance, I would suggest starting with 430 g water. If you are not using bread flour, you also may need to cut the water back a bit.

Timing:

The more I make sourdough, the more I realize so much depends on the time of year and the temperature of my kitchen. In the summer, because it is so warm, the first rise (bulk fermentation) takes between 4 – 6 hours; in the winter the first rise takes 12 – 18 hours.

The key with this recipe is to make sure the first rise doesn’t go too long — you want the dough to nearly double. A straight sided vessel  (as opposed to a bowl) makes gauging the first rise easier. (Note: If your dough rises above double, don’t despair … recently my dough tripled in volume during an overnight rise, and the resulting focaccia was still delicious, light, airy, etc.)

A few thoughts: If you are making this focaccia in the summer (northern hemisphere), use 50 g of starter and check the dough every couple of hours. If you are making this in the winter, use 100 g of starter, and plan for a long first rise.

Flour choice: 

I’ve been using King Arthur Flour’s special patent flour — bought a 50-lb. bag of it at Restaurant Depot. Its protein content, 12.7%, is the same as the protein content of its bread flour. I also have used all-purpose flour (11.7%) with success, but I recommend bread flour, which seems to be more reliable for people especially those living in humid climates. If you only have ap flour on hand, you may consider reducing the water a bit — bread flour absorbs slightly more liquid than all-purpose flour.

INGREDIENTS

•50 g – 100 g (1/4 to 1/2 cup) active starter

•10 g (about 2.5 teaspoons) kosher salt

•430 – 440 g water, room temperature

*512 g (about 4 cups) bread flour

•3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling

•Nice, flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated.  If time permits, perform one “fold”: 30 minutes after you mix the dough, reach into the bowl and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times.

Drizzle with a splash of olive oil and rub to coat. Cover bowl with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen — in summer, for instance, my sourdoughs double in 6 hours; in winter, they double in 18 hours. Do not use an oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it will be too warm. It is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done.  A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.).

When dough has doubled, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch pan. (I have been using this USA Pan, which I love. I have had no sticking issues. If you are using a glass pan, you may, as a precaution, want to butter it it first — I have had disasters with bread sticking when I’ve used oil alone with other baking vessels.)  Drizzle dough with a tablespoon of olive oil. Use your hand to gently deflate the dough and release it from the sides of the bowl. Gently scoop the dough into the center of the pool of oil in your prepared pan. Fold dough envelope style from top to bottom and side to side to create a rough rectangle. Turn dough over so seam-side is down.  Rub top of dough with oil. Leave alone for 4 to 6 hours, uncovered, or until puffy and nearly doubled.

Heat oven to 425ºF. Rub hands lightly with oil, and using all ten fingers, press gently into the dough to dimple and stretch the dough to nearly fit the pan. Sprinkle generously with sea salt. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden all around. Remove pan from oven and transfer bread to a cooling rack. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Source:  https://alexandracooks.com/2019/03/22/simple-sourdough-focaccia-a-beginners-guide/

Captain Rodney's Dip

• ½ cup mayonnaise Blue Plate or Duke's
• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups cheddar cheese grated (like this)
• 2 whole green onions sliced thin
• ⅓ cup butter crackers crushed (like this brand)
• 8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled, or bacon bits
• ½ cup Boucan Pepper Glaze Captain Rodney's Boucan Pepper Glaze or pepper jelly

Preheat the oven to 350°F. For easier mixing, allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature.

Mix together the mayonnaise, cream cheese, cheese, and green onions.

Spread in an 8 or 9-inch pie dish. Top with crushed butter crackers.

Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until heated through.

Remove from the oven and top with cooked, crumbled bacon and Captain Rodney's Boucan Glaze. Serve with sturdy crackers, tortilla chips, or Scoops.

Creamy Cheese Sauce

Creamy Cheese Sauce

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: 10 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes

SERVINGS: 2 cups

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 ½ cups milk

¼ teaspoon onion powder

⅛ teaspoon white pepper or a pinch

1 ¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add milk a small amount at a time, whisking smooth after each addition.

Add onion powder and white pepper.

Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking continually until slightly thick.

Remove from heat, and add cheeses. Stir until melted.

*Notes:  Nutrition information is based on 1 cup of sauce.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 536, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 39g, Saturated Fat: 25g, Cholesterol: 121mg, Sodium: 817mg, Potassium: 334mg, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 1500IU, Calcium: 878mg, Iron: 0.9mg

Chicken and Broccoli Rice with Cheese Sauce

3 c. cooked white rice, or 1 c. uncooked

1½ c. broccoli florets

1 pkg (4 oz.) Velveeta cheese sauce

2 tsp Chicken Better Than Boullion 

¾ c. water

¼ tsp garlic powder 

¼ tsp onion powder 

1 tsp cornstarch

Salt, as needed 

Cook rice according to package directions.  Set aside.

Boil broccoli in lightly salted water until very tender.  You want to be able to mash it with a fork.  Drain water but reserve about ¾ cup.  Dissolve the chicken boullion in the water.  Then add the cornstarch.  Mash the broccoli up small with a potato masher or fork until pulverized.  Add water, cooked rice, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Bring to a simmer on the stove.  Add cheese sauce and stir until thickened slightly.  Serve immediately. 

** Measurements are approximate because I did not actually measure everything the first time I made it.  If needed, I will make adjustments next time for more accuracy.**

Martha Washington's Great Cake

Among Martha Washington's surviving papers was a recipe written out by her granddaughter Martha Parke Custis that utilized different ingredients and quantities from more common Great Cake recipes. Custis' recipe included forty eggs worked into four pounds of butter, four pounds of sugar, five pounds of flour, and an equal quantity of fruit. The recipe also called for mace and nutmeg, and to these dry ingredients, wine and brandy were added. When all the ingredients were combined the cake was baked for five and a half hours.

This recipe is a modern adaptation of the 18th-century original. It was created by culinary historian Nancy Carter Crump for the book Dining with the Washingtons.

1 ½ c. currants

⅓ c. chopped candied orange peel

⅓ c. chopped candied lemon peel

⅓ c. chopped candied citron

¾ c. Madeira, divided

¼ c. French brandy

3 c. all-purpose flour, sifted

½ c. slivered almonds

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground mace

¾ c. unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ c. sugar

3 large eggs, separated

Sugar Icing (recipe follows) (optional)

3 large egg whites at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 Tbsp rose water or orange-flower water

Directions

Combine the currants, orange and lemon peels, and citron in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the Madeira, and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for at least 3 hours, or as long as overnight. Stir the remainder of the Madeira together with the brandy, cover, and set aside.

When ready to bake the cake, preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Drain the fruits in a large strainer set over a bowl, stirring occasionally to extract as much of the Madeira as possible. Add the strained Madeira to the set-aside Madeira and brandy.

Combine 1/4 cup of the flour with the fruit, and mix well. Add the almonds, and set aside. Sift the remaining flour with the nutmeg and mace.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until it is light. Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating for several minutes after adding each ingredient. Whisk the egg yolks until they are light and smooth, and add them to the butter and sugar. Continue to beat for several minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Alternately add the spiced flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and the Madeira and brandy, beating until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to form stiff peaks. By hand, gently fold them into the batter, combining lightly until well blended. By hand, fold in the fruit in thirds, mixing until well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. If serving the cake plain, turn it out of the pan to cool completely. If finishing it with icing, turn the warm cake out of the pan onto a baking sheet, and proceed with the icing.

To ice the cake, spread Sugar Icing generously onto the surface, piling it high and swirling it around the top and sides. Set in the turned-off warm oven and let sit for at least 3 hours, or until the cake is cool and the icing has hardened. The icing will crumble when the cake is sliced.

Directions for Sugar Icing

In the bowl of an electric mixer, start beating the egg whites on low speed, gradually adding 2 tablespoons of the sugar. After about 3 minutes, or when they just begin to form soft peaks, increase the speed to high and continue adding the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until all the sugar is incorporated and the egg whites form soft peaks.

Add the rose water, and continue beating to form stiff peaks. Use immediately to ice the cake.

*Makes one 10-inch tube cake

Bold Chex Mix

6 c. Chex (2 c. each:  rice, corn, & wheat)

1½ c. Cheez-Its 

1½ c. Mini Pretzels 

6 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1 tsp Morton Season All

2 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder 

Bake at 275⁰ for 1 hour on convection bake.  Stir every 15 minutes. 

*Recipe can easily be adjusted to 3 or 9 cups of chex depending on how much you need.

Fancy Creamed Corn

 • 10 oz. package frozen corn kernels, thawed

 • 1 c. whole milk

 • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

 • 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

 • ½ teaspoon salt

 • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

 • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 • dash of nutmeg

 • 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Puree about half of the corn in a food processor.  Put the pureed corn in a saucepan and add the rest of the whole kernels.  Add milk, butter, salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, and flour.  Bring to a boil and simmer about 3 to 4 minutes to let the sauce thicken and the corn cook through.  Add the parmesan cheese at the end and stir through before serving.