Himalayan Salt, Olives, Rosemary, and Garlic Sourdough

 

 

I hadn't made bread in awhile and wanted to replenish my sourdough starter... so this is what happened. So what's in the loaf: naturally fermented sourdough starter, Mediterranean olives, fresh rosemary, garlic, and Himalayan Pink Salt. I've really been into Himalayan Pink Salt lately, so many benefits from  minerals we're lacking in our diet to helping regulate hormones!  On with the loaf, I love the texture of this bread and the toppings were perfect too. I'm glad I decided to throw some garlic in there last minute. Overall, a good moist interior, with a crunchy exterior. It also turned out really airy, which creates a nice artisan feel but good mouth feel too. I really liked the saltiness of the olives, and feel healthier (although it's supremely delicious too!) using the Himalayan Pink Salt. This bread pairs well with an Italian meal, or I even like it for breakfast with a nice spread of butter. 

If you need some basic info on beginning your own sourdough, begin with your sourdough starter. Next step try a basic boule for your first loaf. Happy baking! 

RECIPE

______________________________________________________________________

Himalayan Salt, Olives, Rosemary, and Garlic Sourdough
Original Recipe Sourdough Series

Active Time: 1 hour Inactive Time: 4 - 5 hours  Yield: 1 - 2 loaves

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sourdough starter, at least 2 weeks old and set out at room temperature before use
2 cup lukewarm water (add 1/4 cup if using whole wheat flour)
3 cup ap white flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 tbsp Himalayan Pink Salt, ground

1/4 cup chopped Mediterranean olives

1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced
cornmeal for dusting

Process:
1) Pour sourdough starter into a large bowl. Add water and flour to bowl. Stir to combine. Let rest for 20 minutes.

2) Add salt and incorporate into dough. Cover bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 2 - 3 hours (higher elevations may take up to 4 - 5 hours to rise). After rising, the dough can be stored in the fridge for up to seven days, and formed chilled; OR proceed to forming loaf.

3) On baking day, preheat oven to 450ºF placing a dutch oven inside to allow it to heat gradually. No need to heat the lid. Coat a clean surface with a little flour and a little cornmeal. Flour your hands well and pull half of the dough up with one hand, and pinch off where you desire. Place piece of dough upon surface.

4)  Gently pat dough flat with your palms, don't poke the dough or use a rolling pin. Make one side thicker and one side flatter, the thicker side closest to you. 

5) Evenly coat the dough with the olives, rosemary, and garlic. Begin forming the loaf. Roll over the thicker side into the middle like you are beginning to roll a jelly roll. Leave it halfway rolled up. Tuck in the sides over this bottom roll. With your hands cupped around the bottom rolled section of dough, stretch it towards yourself to elongate the flatter side, then continue to roll up the dough until it is all rolled up. 

6) The rest of the forming needs to happen quickly, so that the dough doesn't get overworked. Gently tuck in ends of dough underneath creating a ball, so that the top begins to dome, and the loose ends are tucked underneath. Place roughly shaped ball at opposite edge of board. With hands cupped around ball of dough, with the sides of your hands resting on the board, pull ball of dough to yourself. By doing so, the edges are sucked in under the ball you formed and the top is "stretched" to create a tight exterior surface. Repeat this two times or so until nice and tight.

7) With a serrated knife or sharp razor, create lines across the formed loaf. Barely cut the surface by a couple millimeters. 

8) Gently pick up formed loaf and place it inside of the heated dutch oven. Cover with the oven-proof lid. Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, drop temperature to 400ºF, and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes. The internal temperature should reach at least 200ºF - 210ºF. Remove loaf from oven and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, preferably until it feels cool to the touch, before slicing into.

Serve with olive oil or balsamic glaze. Bon Appétit. 

How to form a standard boule: Pictorial

Ribollita

Billy and I just got back from a weekend camping trip. We went up to Zion National Park which was about a 6 hour drive. It was also our first camping trip together since we've been married. I was nervous about remembering everything, because it could be very annoying to forget salt, or ..water. But we did pretty good. The only thing we forgot was the charcoal, but that was luckily remembered on the way rather than right before cooking. My experience after all of this? I like camping, and I especially loved the outdoors cooking and challenges that it brought about. This post has hardly anything to do with outdoor cooking though, just a pretty picture taken outdoors of a great tasting soup.

Ribollita is a family favorite (of the two of us). I started making it that first year we were married. The first recipe I found was out of Sunset magazine, and it never occurred to me that they didn't suggest the bread to be cooked into the soup. It was still quite delicious, and I think they omitted the bread step on account of carb conscious readers. Three years later we took a cooking class for our anniversary (gifted to us by my mom) and one of the courses we learned to cook was Ribollita. The chef let the bread soak into the soup. It dissolved. The soup was thickened. I never would've known such a simple thing.

I hope you are enjoying your summer and maybe get out there and camp! Cook Ribollita too, for a fun throwback to rustic Italian. And lastly, love you all. Thank you for your sweet comments and support. It helps a ton to have sweet friends and family.

RECIPE

______________________________________________________________________

Ribollita
Adapted from Sur La Table
Time: 45 min - 1 hr Serves: 6
Cook's Notes: This meal could easily be vegetarian, just omit the bacon and also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

Ingredients:
2, 15 oz cans cannellini beans (or white beans), drained and rinsed
4 -5 cups chicken broth, homemade or low sodium variety
2 tbsp olive oil
4 slices bacon or pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1, 28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
2 cups kale, sliced into ribbons
2 cups bread cubes, crust removed
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Process:

1) Add beans to a saucepan and cover with 3 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil, drop heat back down to medium and let beans simmer for 30 minutes or until tender.

2) Add oil to a stock pot or dutch oven, over medium heat. Add bacon. Stir occasionally or until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside to drain. Add onions to this pot. Turn heat down to low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and until softened and browned. 

3) Add carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to onions. Turn heat back up to medium. Cook for 8 minutes, scraping up any bits. Halfway through cooking pour in the rest of the chicken broth, about 1 - 2 cups. Add tomatoes and kale.

4) Remove half of the beans, with liquid, from the saucepan and puree in food processor. Add the puree and the whole beans with liquid into the stock pot with the rest of the vegetables. Bring to a simmer. Taste vegetables for doneness. Continue to cook until tender about ten minutes or so.

5) In the last ten minutes, add in the bread cubes. Stir to incorporate into the soup and the bread will slowly dissolve into the broth, making it nice and thick.

Serve with parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese. You may also serve the crispy bacon as a topping too. Happy cooking.

Pomegranate Syrup | Mom, I Love You

These days have been washing over me like untiring waves. It's hard to catch my breath, but moments of peace do come; praise be to God. My sweet mom who was and is everything to me, has gone to be with Jesus. For months her voice got quieter, and laughter came to a halt with that. It's hard to not hear it anymore. For a few weeks I wanted to do nothing, or be no where that wasn't with her. Soon though glimmers of light began to shine down on me. Little rays of truth giving me hope for a future, to be strong for what I have before me. My mom was an amazing example to me in strength, grace, beauty, amongst so many things I could write an unending list. I am so happy to have been given such a woman as my mom. I know my mind will recall her all the time, and I won't be foreign to writing those recalled moments down. I'm thankful for the ability to write and have those things close to me anytime I want to pick up the words to remember.

In these days, when my heart is tired. Jesus is carrying me.

A sweet simple morning. A new day.

RECIPE

______________________________________________________________________

Pomegranate Syrup

Time: 7 min Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds, fresh or frozen

1/4 cup maple syrup

Process: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat add pomegranate seeds and syrup. (Whatever fruit you add to the pan, just have enough syrup to cover the bottom of the pan, up to however much you want.) Heat until mixture begins to simmer. Drop heat to low and continue to simmer for 4 - 5 minutes. The syrup will reduce a little, and also take on the pink color of the pomegranate, making a lovely addition to french toast, waffles, or pancakes. 

I like to add fruit to my syrup just for something a little different (with added fiber/nutrients). Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries also work really well for this application. The exact amount of ingredients doesn't really matter, just how much syrup you'd like to serve.
Bon appétit.