January Cooking
Ice inspired gluten free bread and low fodmap soup
When it looks like this, what do you do?
Well, you plan ahead and you make one of the most wonderful friends in the world about 15 years ago. Oh, and make sure they bake. I mean BAKE. As we all know, I do not bake, but I was clever enough to befriend my beloved Heather some years back and on Sunday afternoon I got a text from her, “There is bread in the oven for you. Steve could maybe drop off around 5?” And no, I don’t know how I could possibly deserve that.
Heather gives all the credit to King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Bread Flour and their recipe but I know she makes it even more special.
This is the best gluten free bread I have ever had. The fragrance, the crumb, the CHEW of the crust. I could just bury myself in it. I woke up the next morning thinking about it. Is that normal?
This recipe would intimidate the hell out of me but for those of you with the baking gene, I heartily recommend it. I also heartily recommend finding a friend like Heather, but good luck on that one.
King Arthur Flouur Gluten-Free Artisan Bread
Starter
3/4 cup (170g) water, lukewarm (100°F)
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
3/4 cup (90g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
Dough
all of the starter (above)
3/4 cup (170g) water, lukewarm (100°F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups (210g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
1 teaspoon table salt
To make the starter: In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, mix the starter ingredients together until combined; some lumps are OK. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 2 to 24 hours.
To make the dough: Add all of the dough ingredients to the bowl with the starter. Fit the mixer with the flat beater attachment and beat at medium speed to make a smooth, sticky dough, about 2 minutes. (You can also mix by hand — some lumps are OK.) Cover and set aside for 20 minutes. The dough will begin to firm up slightly during this time and look more like dough than batter.
Transfer the dough to an oiled surface and fold and press it over onto itself, turning it 90° (a quarter turn) between each motion, about 5 to 6 times. Cover the dough with an inverted bowl and let it rest for 40 more minutes, or until the dough is puffy.
Preheat the oven to 450°F with an uncovered Dutch oven or cloche inside; the baking vessel should have at least a 4-quart capacity.
Uncover the dough and repeat the folding and pressing motion 5 to 6 times, then loosely shape the dough into a round. (The dough doesn’t need to be as tightly shaped as a conventional wheat loaf; the proofing vessel will do most of the work for you to ensure a round final loaf.) Place the shaped dough seam-side up in a floured brotform or towel-lined bowl. Let it rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until puffy.
Flip the dough out onto a sheet of parchment; gently tuck any loose edges under the dough, reshaping it slightly for a more perfected round look, if desired. Use a lame or sharp knife to cut slashes (score) the top. Use the parchment to carefully lift dough into the preheated pot.
Bake the bread for 40 minutes with the lid on, uncover, and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until deep brown. The internal temperature should be between 206°F and 210°F when measured with a digital thermometer, depending on the crust color. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
And here it is, in its swaddling clothes.
Cynthia’s Vegetable Stone Soup
Fortunately for the bread, and me, we had made soup the day before. I like chicken broth but I like it with all vegetables.
I made this batch because I really needed to use up some kale and potatoes that were getting old. Imagine little potatoes walking around with canes. I don’t know how old kale would get around but you get the idea.
We started it by heating a tablespoon or so of olive oil in the stock pot, then adding the cumin and coriander (about 2 t cumin and 1 coriander) and cooking until fragrant. Now if you’re not low fodmap you would of course start with a couple of onions.
Then we added the potatoes, the kale, two cans of chopped tomatoes, about a quart of chicken stock (Better Than Bouillon), a couple of carrots, a ton of black pepper and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. It’s really just a clean out your kitchen kind of thing.
We simmered it for about 40 minutes or so. We decided it needed something else so we added cabbage, about a quarter of a green cabbage, sliced thinly. We also tossed in half a sweet potato diced up. That did it! It added a bit of the sweetness you miss when you can’t use onions. We let it hang out in the refrigerator for a day and then devoured it with Heather’s heavenly bread, on an icy night.
There really are no amounts as it’s just whatever you have. It’s always best if you make it a day ahead of time. And it, of course, is best with a hunk of Heather’s bread.
And for dessert. Apple pie bars. I’m not sharing the recipe yet though.
Side note: while I know that brown sugar is white sugar with molasses in it, I was still somewhat stupefied by the fact that I could do it myself.
Ernie had an MRI today and I was so grateful to Leo for taking him as our patio was completely icy. He gets some extra drugs for these so he is now soundly sleeping next to me on the couch.
My sweet peas.
Onward. Be careful with the ice and snow. I hope you have bread and soup to warm you.
Love,
Cynthia