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tuesdays with dorie / baking with julia: oasis naan
In my continuing quest to find bread recipes that fit into a working girl’s schedule, this week’s selection for Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking with Julia, Oasis Naan, fit the bill.
This is a flatbread with savory toppings. The flour canister was emptier than I expected, so I made half a recipe. Four breads would be enough for our household of two anyway.
It was easy enough to mix up and knead in the morning before work. No machinery was required for this one, a completely unplugged recipe. I stirred yeast into warm water, then added flour and salt gradually until the dough was stiff.
Dough Before Kneading
Then, I “vigorously” kneaded the dough, adding flour until it was smooth and elastic and a whole lot less sticky that when I started. I needed to add more flour than called for, but perhaps that was due to the humid weather. At that point, I set the dough in the refrigerator to rise while I was at work.
Dough After Kneading, Before Rising
After work, first thing, I took the bowl out of the fridge to warm up. Then I put my pizza stone in the oven and let it heat up to a high temperature. The dough was divided and rolled between my hands into four balls. Then, with the rolling pin, I rolled the each ball into a 6-inch disk. Each disk was moistened, and then, “with determination”, I used a fork to prick the center of each one. Finally, I sprinkled each bread with kosher salt, chopped scallions, and some seeds. The recipe gave the option of cumin or caraway. I had both on hand, so, for the first round, I made one of each I preferred the cumin, so the last two were topped with cumin seeds.
I have never mastered the art of using the floured back of a baking sheet as a baking peel. My doughs did not slide, but stuck, to the baking sheet. I had to use a spatula to help transfer. My breads lost their round shape in the process. This method also lacked precision. I was baking two at a time, and they ended up touching, both times. If you have any tips on how to make this work, I’d love to learn.
So, the verdict? I like how easy this was and enjoyed the taste. To be honest, I was a little disappointed at how puffy it was because I was expecting a flatter flatbread. Mine was more like pizza dough. Perhaps I didn’t use enough determination to flatten the center of my bread. I’ll be checking out the other links to see how to improve my technique. You can too here at the Tuesdays with Dorie “Leave Your Link” post for this recipe.
french fridays with dorie: provençal olive fougasse
One of the things I want to do more of in the kitchen is bake bread. While much of the time involved in bread baking is waiting time, my waking hours at home are limited, and even recipes that rise in the refrigerator usually need a couple hours out of the fridge to rise before baking. That means the bread is never quite done to coincide with a meal. It frustrates me that I can’t make it happen.
I’m very excited about this week’s Dorie recipe. I might have found a workable option in fougasse. Fougasse is not a loaf of bread for sandwiches and taste, but it’s just right to accompany a meal. I would liken it to a French or Provençal foccacia. Timing-wise, once the dough has risen in the refrigerator overnight, it only takes 45 minutes or so from fridge to table. Warm yeasty bread with dinner. Awesome!
The yeast is proofed in warm water, then combined with olive oil and mixed in with the flour. I also want to add more whole grains to my diet, so I used half all-purpose and half whole-wheat flour which seemed to work well. The KitchenAid did the work of kneading while I pitted and chopped oil-cured olives, minced fresh rosemary, and zested an orange to mix into the kneaded dough.
I don’t know what it is about them, but I really like oil-cured olives. They are so fragrant and soft. They sort of remind me of savory prunes (which I mean as a praise for them, not an insult).
The dough did need to spend an hour or so rising, but the bread proofing setting on my oven does a great job at that. The setting holds the temperature at 100 degrees F, and the inside of the oven is draft-free. I did this after dinner, before bedtime. Then it’s into the refrigerator for a minimum 6 hour chill or up to 3 days.
After the First Rise
Wednesday night, I made half the dough into my first fougasse, after it had spent nearly 48 hours in the fridge. I quickly rolled out a rectangle, made some decorative slashes, and let the bread rest for about 15 minutes while the oven preheated. The bread was brushed with olive oil and water, and sprinkled generously with coarse kosher salt. Then, it’s just 20 minutes in the oven and voilà! Warm bread with dinner. My fougasse accompanied a potato chip tortilla (Dorie’s recipe too).
Early this morning, I made four mini fougasses with the remaining half of the dough. I also sprinkled coarse grey sea salt on top instead of kosher salt. I like the sparkly effect. These will make the perfect individual accompaniments to today’s lunch.
Petit Fougasses
Having made on fougasse, my mind is wild with ideas of what I can do with this recipe. I make even smaller fougasses for individual lunch-time servings to go with a bowl of soup or a salad. I’m also salivating over other mix-ins, like sun-dried tomatoes, some hard cheese cubes, or abundant fresh herbs. Other suggestions anyone? I can’t wait to try this again.
To see how my fellow Doristas did with their fougasses, check their link at French Fridays with Dorie. We don’t post the recipes, but you can find it in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
(Special note to my fellow Baking with Julia friends, I’m decided to sit this Tuesday out. After reading the sticky bun recipe through several times, I just don’t have it in me to make a recipe with that much butter in it. I’ll have to vicariously enjoy your creations. Can’t wait to read about them.)
A Plateful of Happiness 