Chocolate Schwarzbrot (Blackbread)

This is truly a bread and not a cake.  It is a decadent and lovely bread, but make no mistake it is an adult's delight.  This recipe makes 2 loaves

You'll need:
3 Cups Organic kamut/khorasan flour  - Two names for the same flour.
2 1/2 Cups white unbleached flour
1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
1/2 Scant Cup Cocoa powder
2 TBSP finely ground dark roast coffee I used Italian Roast Stumptown (a local roaster here, chances are there is a good one near you)
1/3 Cup vegan sugar (or demerara or other raw sugar or other less refined) you wont want to skip this little bit as the darkness of the real chocolate needs a hint of lightening and this doesn't make the bread in anyway too sweet.
1 egg both yolk and whites (you can replace with butter or oil but a good sized egg is a perfect amount so it seems a bit more difficult to get right with anything else.  Go easy on oil as it can make your bread a little oily like a cake.)
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
A tiny handful -1/4 Cup of the darkest chocolate chips you can find.  At least 70 % cocoa solids chop and fold in while kneading.

Approx. 2 1/2 Cups Tepid water and 2 heaping tsp yeast
I dissolve the yeast into 2 cups and add water as I go so there isn't too much.  If there is too much just add more flour.

Run all dry ingredients through a sieve or flour sifter.  Do the coffee alone through the sieve so you can throw out any large chunks, you want just the dustiest pieces to go through.

Mix all ingredients.

Turn out dough onto floured surface, knead until nice and elastic.  Cut into two equal pieces. Knead and ball up then let rest on floured surface and sprinkle lightly with flour and cover with a clean towel to rise.  I like to let it rise twice for half an hour at a time.  Knead in a sprinkle more flour and lightly shape to your pan's shape, flour top and cover again for the second rise for another 30 minutes.  Your oven should be preheating at this point to 480-500 degrees. Grease your bread pan.  I used pork fat, but butter or olive oil should work as well.  Bake for 20 minutes (watch it closely and remember the top will look darker than normal bread like it is burned, but it is just the darkness of the ingredients).

Let sit for a couple minutes in the pan and remove by turning over.  Bread should slide out easily.  Knock lightly on the bottom and it should sound hollow.  Done.  Das ist alles!  Let rest for 5 minutes at least!  The center will do a lot of finishing in this time, it is vital.  If you cannot wait and rip into it, at least place cut side down against the board as this will let the rest finish and keeps moisture in. ;)

I served this bread alongside lavender raspberry pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes over rice and a big glass of mead.  This bread is substantial enough to have for breakfast with coffee or a strong tea.

Excellent for cheese sandwiches with some good beer! Not kidding!

So...

Herb bread

For this recipe you can make small double loaves or dinner rolls (and about a million variations beyond that, but for now we're keeping it simple).

This recipe can be halved if you find it makes too much.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of yeast or 1 heaping tsp  (adding a touch more yeast if doing more whole wheat than white wheat so it will help the heavier wheat rise well)
• 1 Cup warm water (you may need a standby 1/4 - 1/2 Cup warm water for later when mixing)
• 1 tsp vegan sugar or granulated
• 1-2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp or more of each favorite herb if dried,  Unless your herbs are especially potent then cut in half -1 TBSP of each if fresh
• (basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme nearly anything)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 slightly heaping Cups unbleached white flour (you can do a whole wheat version by doing 50/50 or 75/25 whole wheat -white but adding a touch more yeast to help the heavier whole wheat rise well)
• 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
• Small amount of cornmeal --  I use polenta cornmeal grits, to keep bread from sticking to the pan while cooking.  You don't need more than a sprinkle and the extra will just burn around the bread smelling like burnt popcorn.

This bread can have cured olives, red pepper, hot pepper flakes with seeds and/or feta worked into the dough and voila! Mediterranean table bread for kings! Get freaky and make it "wow wee" (said like Christopher Walken).

You can leave out the herbs and add a dominant other ingredient to gear it towards whatever your meal may be.  This dough makes an excellent Soft Pizza Dough and a wonderful Stromboli (both coming soon).

Preheat oven to 200 degrees to create a warm environment for the dough to rise on and to help the yeast be happy.

In the 1 (or more as needed) Cup of warm water, add your yeast and within 5-10 minutes the yeast will become frothy and foamy.  You can add the sugar to the water and yeast or you can add sugar to the flour.  It doesn't matter so much in this case.

In a bowl, mix flours, salt, herbs, olive oil and then the water and yeast. Stir with spoon until a silky ball starts to try to form.

If a lot of the flour is on the sides of the bowl, add a touch more water and press into the dough.  On a floured surface, turn out your dough.  Knead the dough by bringing in the outer edges to the center and then with the heal of your hand work gently in towards the table and away from you.  Repeat this motion until a ball forms collecting light amounts of flour from the surface and a silky dusty dough ball is within your hands.  The underside will not be so pretty, but that is fine!  In a clean bowl large enough for the dough to double in size, pour a TBSP of olive oil.  Put the ugly side of dough down into this and gently slide and swirl the dough around the the bowl to coat the sides in the oil and now as the dough rises it will not cling to the bowl and will come right out for your next step.

Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm spot to rise for 45 minutes.  I usually use the stove top since the oven is already heated to 200 degrees.

Nearing the last moments of the rise, preheat your oven to 400.

Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.

On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough ball in half.  Form it into the final result (a silky dough ball, a tad tighter feeling than the first time) slicing an X on top of the bread.  You want to make a shallow cut so the bread doesn't spill out of itself as it bakes.  The X gives it room to grow, helps it bake thoroughly and makes it look pretty swell.  Place onto the cornmeal grit coated baking sheet with good space between the loaves. I wet my clean hands with water and just touch the tops of the loaves with my wet hand.  It helps the crust to not burn and also helps it get crispy.  Bake at 400 for an uninterrupted 15 minutes. Check and cool, or check and add 5 minutes.  When the bread crust does not yield to your touch and it sounds hollow when knocked on it's bottom then it is done.

This is a very moist bread and keeps for a couple days easily (unless its eaten).  I just slice pieces off as needed then keep the cut side flat against the counter or cutting board. This keeps the crust crusty and the inside moist where bagging it can ruin the crustyness.  ENJOY!

Flour Tortillas

 Tortillas are really just a flatbread minus all the scariness that the word bread carries with it.  They are very quick in the world of breads and probably the easiest of all.  You can roll them thick and make gyros and falafel styled sandwiches or make them thin and load them with vegetables and hot sauce.  Not much else is tastier than cucumber sauce and whole wheat tortillas.  SO good.  I have tried dozens of variations (at least) over the years and a dozen recently to find a good ratio, good ingredients and the best result.  My favorite of them all is below. 

Ingredients:   This recipe makes approximately one dozen 6-8 inch tortillas.

•  2 Cups flour (I use 1 Cup Whole wheat pastry flour, and 1 Cup unbleached white flour)
• 1 fat pinch of salt (not too much more than a teaspoon)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2-3 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2-3/4 cup hot water (as hot as you can do without boiling) 

Finger sift dry ingredients together first, then drizzle the olive oil over the top then without concern for its well-being pour hot water in a little at a time.  Fold ingredients with a spatula taking the outside of the flour and pushing it into the center, and as the flour sticks together it should form one mass.  If there are a lot of crumbles outside of the mass or a lot of flour remaining all over the bowl then add more water and fold any remnants in to your dough ball.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Using the heel of your hand, knead the dough out to collect a little flour and then fold it back onto itself.  Rotate this as you do it and it will become less sticky and trade that for silky.  Once it has become completely silky and the texture is like a love handle or an ear lobe then you have a perfect dough. Wrap the dough disk in some plastic or slip into a plastic baggie  (covered by a towel on a table is fine too).  Let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Put the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and roll out a disk to where it is still nice and thick (approx. 3/4 - 1/2 of an inch).  Put it on a cutting surface and cut into 2" squares.  Videos for help are available and I've included the links within the writing where it matches the video information.

 You can then use a tortilla press to help flatten the dough quickly and without overworking.  Or you can do all the rolling needed manually with a pin.  I split the difference.  I flatten it a bit with a tortilla press to get it started.  When using a press plastic wrap or parchment paper between the dough and the wood or metal will help you in removing the tortilla and lessen the clean up. My press is a wooden version and cost 12 dollars new.  Often you can find these at thrift stores like the Salvation Army and most folks don't know what they are unless it states so on the tag.  Sometimes you can get them at ridiculously low prices used.

Anyhow,  if you are rolling out the dough by hand or are planning on making more breads like this or any breads then I'd recommend using a "French" pin.  I find them easier to use especially if you are wanting speed, or working with multiples (tarts and pastry dough too).  French pins have a totally smooth tapered end with no separations for handles.  Mine is a Polish pin, it cost 3.50 new from Pasta Works in Portland.  No need to get too fancy... it's a piece of wood for crissakes!

Your tortillas should be thin enough that if you hold it on top of one of your hands it drapes nicely and takes your finger impressions into it.  Once they are ready - have a pan warming.  I cook mine on a med-High heat and I use a DRY (no oil, no butter) cast iron skillet.  This means great things.  It holds heat fairly evenly, stays hot for a long time, no added fat or waste of fat that can go in something else, and clean up is as simple as wiping the scorched flour dust out of it. 

Carry your tortilla using your whole hand to support it,  you don't want it to stretch or slip out of your fingers.  Place your tortillas into the pan.  It will take only a few seconds before you see little bubbles on the surface... once those appear then flip the tortilla, the second side will take even less time to cook and you can judge your pan's heat from the darkness of the bubbles or scorch marks.  Adjust to your tastes.  I like a little darkness in spots.  Too much and it is carbon.  None at all and it looks like packaged food.  Variety is nice.

 

Brocoli Rabe and Sweet Potato tacos

On the right you can see the nation's 5th president, Lex Luthor.

These are good the next day without any fuss over them.  I don't even bother heating them up again as they remain pliable as long as they are stored outside of the fridge overnight and covered.  If you wish them to last longer you can refrigerate them.  I haven't.   If you see that you forgot them two nights out of the fridge after their debut, then you can cut them up and bake them to make little toasts for soup, salsa, salads and other meals that begin with 's'.  These do not last long.  They will mold.  I would say within 5 days sooner if warm and humid.  Unless you are sneaking some sort of preservative in there.  Fresh or day old is the way to go with these.

Besides, now you're a master and can make them anytime so don't bother hoarding them!  Cut the recipe in half if you don't want extras next time. MMMmmm.

Whole Wheat Focaccia

This is a FAST focaccia.  It wont have the complexity of a tenderly loved overnight focaccia. Chances are no one will complain. You can get wild with what goes on it or in it. ( I like to add jalapeno seeds on top) This recipe makes one loaf and you can make a smaller loaf which is much thicker by not rolling it out too vigorously in the end stages and that way you have something thick enough to cut for sandwiches and roll it out thinner if topping with cheese or sauces.

Directions:
3 cups whole wheat flour (this recipe isn't JUST for whole wheat so you can mix it up and half it with another fluffy flour)
1 teaspoon or 1 packet active dry yeast (you're safe with it rising as long as you cover the top of the water in the measuring cup, little more, little less wont hurt)
1 1/4 cups warm water (if the water is too warm it kills the yeast, so it should be warm to the inside of the wrist and a little less warm to the fingers)
6 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt (my house likes it's salt so we use a coarse sea salt to top it with so it has that kick to it)
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 Tbsp olive oil

Oil for brushing
fresh black pepper and coarse sea salt to taste (my house likes it's salt so we use a coarse sea salt to top it with so it has that kick to it) Garnishes include but are not limited to: oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper(s). Anything like olives or softer things (feta) I recommend blending into the bread.


In the mixing cup:
Combine warm water and yeast. (let stand for at least 5 minutes so the yeast can activate and becomes foamy, if nothing changes stir the yeast with a spoon to get it saturated and let sit another 5 minutes)


In a large bowl:
Mix 1 tsp salt and flour together, you want the salt either already blended in or under the flour as it will kill the yeast. Stir in olive oil, 2 Tbsp chopped rosemary, pour in the water and yeast.

Work into a dough.
Add more flour if dough is too sticky.

Turn the dough on to a floured surface.

Knead the dough for a few minutes, in a folding motion until dough is smooth and 'happy' - when you see this in bread books it means silky and bouncy. Too much and it will be leather.

Grease the large bowl with olive oil and plop dough into it. Roll around a few times to coat dough in a gloss of oil.

Cover bowl with a warm damp cloth or clean dish towel. It is best to have towels just for bread and pastry baking, keep them clean and make sure they haven't any terry cloth loops to catch debris.  Paper towels may sink into dough, so are not recommended! I keep the dough near the stove and set the stove to a low warm setting to help the dough have a warm environment.

Let dough rise for 30-60 minutes. {Quick-rise yeast allows for only a 30 minutes rise time. Regular yeast is about an hour. Generally the longer you give a dough time the better it tastes, this isn't a wife's tale of patience making you hungrier it is the nature of the yeast  PUN NOT INTENDED like with sourdoughs which use a poolish (dough reserved from past recipe kept in the fridge and then added to the new dough) it adds a punch of flavor. But this at it's under 2 hours total prep time is considered a fast focaccia although faster if you use rapid yeast, I use Bob's Red Mill and not the rapid yeast, I have found that there is something in Redstar that kills me.  BRM is in the refrigerated section of many stores.} Be careful of yeasts as a lot of them are tainted with the bad stuff.

After the rise:
Punch out the dough. Just the one will do to collapse the dough.
Place it on your floured surface and knead gently a few more times. Should be silky and stretchy.

With a rolling pin, roll out dough to about 1 inch thick. You may modify this based on how thick you can your bread. 

Place dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Poke rows of holes in the dough with your fingers.

Brush or drizzle or spritz top of dough with a mixture of your remaining ingredients: olive oil,  chopped and whole rosemary and chopped garlic. Sprinkle some course sea salt on top as well.  Let rise again for 20 minutes, in a warm spot. ( I often skip this last step - put my temp on the oven and let it rest on the pan just until the oven is hot enough after transferring the dough and then popped it in the oven, so maybe 5 or 10 minutes - this is just to regain a little fluffiness from its handling trauma and seems fine enough) A good time to have the oven near ready.

Bake:
Place your dough in a 350 degree pre-heated oven. Let bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a light brown crust forms. Check bread for firmness with a toothpick. Let the bread cool for a few minutes before slicing.  You can cook it to you own preference. Behold the glory you have created.