Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Il Pane di Matera #BreadBakers

A wonderful crusty loaf made in the tradition of Matera bread, or il pane di Matera, from milled durum wheat and a sourdough starter.


Let me start off with a disclaimer. This loaf cannot officially be called il pane di Matera. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s what the title says. Hear me out. Pane de Matera is special, with specific requirements, including not just milled durum wheat (which I have used) but from 100% Lucanian milled semolina grain known as "Senatore Cappelli," which I have not. The water is also supposed come from a local source in the Matera area of Italy. Finally, it should begin with a piece of dough from the previous day’s loaf, with yeast made from a fresh fruit starter. I used a sourdough starter.

Such is the tradition and history behind this loaf that it was given the European Union Denomination of Protected Origin (DOP) which means, just like sparkling wine can’t be called Champagne unless it is produced in the Champagne region of France or random ham cannot be called IbĂ©rico unless it comes from Black Iberian Pigs raised in the Iberian Peninsula region of Spain and Portugal, it must be produced the right way in the right place to be called Il Pane di Matera.

So while I’ve made a valiant attempt at producing my own version of il pane di Matera, and it’s a fabulous crusty loaf, it doesn’t officially qualify for the name. That said, you should make this guy. With all due respect to Italy, it reminds me of my favorite baguette tradition in France and that says a lot.

With the substandard help of Google Translate, I made my bread from this recipe in Italian. That was part of the fun!

Watch this video to see how to shape the dough.

Ingredients
150ml or 160g sourdough starter or 20g brewer’s yeast
3 3/4 cups or 600g Italian semolina durum wheat flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
warm water

Method
Mix your sourdough starter or brewer’s yeast with 6 3/4 oz or 200ml warm water and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and 1 1/4 cups or 300ml warm water and mix for a few minutes. Mine was too crumbly for the bread hook so I just kept mixing with the K cake beater.


Add in the yeast mixture and beat/knead for five minutes. At this point, I did change to the bread hook.


Add in the salt and knead another few minutes.

Put the dough in a bowl dusted with flour and cover it with cling film. Poke holes the film with a toothpick.



Leave to rise for two hours in a warm place.


Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface and put it back in the bowl, covered again for another two hours.

After those two hours are up, you can knead the dough, shape and bake. But at this point I strayed from the recipe I was working with and turned to another source I found online which said that traditionally the dough was left to rise overnight, then it was brought to the communal ovens in the morning to bake. So, after kneading again, I popped the dough in its covered bowl into the refrigerator. If you’d rather skip this step, preheat your oven to 220°F or 104°C, with a pizza stone on a middle shelf, if you have one, and proceed down one more paragraph.

The next morning, I removed the dough from the cold and left it to warm up again.


When it was no longer chilled, I preheated my to 220°F or 104°C with my pizza stone on a middle shelf.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and knead it. (As you can tell from the photos, mine was still quite slack compared to the dough in the video.

Form the dough into a ball, press a crease in it, and then fold the ball in half.


Flour a baking sheet and transfer the dough to it. Use a sharp knife to slice three cuts into the dough. (See YouTube link above for a visual on this.) According to a source online that may or may not be Wikipedia in Italian (I forget but I read it somewhere and made a note), the three cuts represent the Holy Trinity.



Place the baking sheet on the pizza stone and bake for 15 minutes. Raise the temperature of your oven to 350°F or 180°C and bake for more about 40-45 minutes more, or until the loaf is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped. About midway through, I also slid the loaf off of the baking pan and straight onto the pizza stone.

There were plenty of holes, but I was expecting the rest of the crumb to be more open. Next time, I'm going to let the dough rise just a bit after shaping and before putting it into the hot oven but overall I was extremely pleased, especially with the crusty outside and the enormous flavor.

Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!


This month my Bread Bakers group are baking Italian breads and we have a fabulous line up for you. I can’t wait to travel all over Italy, loaf by loaf. Many thanks to our host, Anshie of Spice Roots for all of her hard work and this great theme.

BreadBakers
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Pane di Matera!

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Sunday, April 9, 2017

Grilled Baby Octopus

Grilled baby octopus is one of our favorite dishes, for a main meal or appetizer. The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. Believe it or not, even children love this dish!

Food Lust People Love: Grilled Baby Octopus. Grilled baby octopus: The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. #SundaySupper


Years ago when we lived in Brazil, our house was just a block from the beach. Living so close to the coast meant fresh seafood at reasonable prices, even during a time of hyperinflation. We fell in love with octopus there and have looked for it and cooked it everywhere we’ve lived, ever since. This same recipe can be made with larger octopuses. Just extend the cooking time until they are tender and cut them into manageable pieces for grilling.

Ingredients
1 lb 10 oz or 750g baby octopus, ink sacs and beaks removed
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 red chili peppers, stems removed
1/2 cup or 120ml hearty dry red wine
A few generous grinds from a black pepper mill

Method
Cook the octopus in a covered saucepan or pot over a medium heat with the garlic, peppers and wine for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Food Lust People Love: Grilled Baby Octopus. Grilled baby octopus: The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. #SundaySupper
The liquid will come out of the octopus and the whole thing will look very soupy.

Food Lust People Love: Grilled Baby Octopus. Grilled baby octopus: The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. #SundaySupper


After the 15-20 minutes are over, take the lid off and continue to cook until the liquid reduces by at least half. Perhaps another 15-20 minutes. The octopus should be fork tender now.

Put the baby octopus on a hot grill just off to the side of the charcoal. Put the lid on because these are going to sputter and spit.

Remove lid every couple of minutes and shift the octopus around. Remove when charred your satisfaction. Ours took about 10 minutes.

Food Lust People Love: Grilled Baby Octopus. Grilled baby octopus: The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. #SundaySupper


Depending on the size of your octopus you might want to chop them up into bite-sized pieces but if they are really tiny, you can serve them whole.

Serve with plenty of fresh lime juice squeezed on and a good sprinkling of flakey sea salt.

Food Lust People Love: Grilled Baby Octopus. Grilled baby octopus: The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. #SundaySupper


Enjoy!

This week our Sunday Supper group is sharing our favorite seafood recipes. Many thanks to Em, our event manager and our host, Claire from Sprinkles and Sprouts.

Love seafood? Check out these Sunday Supper Recipes:

Appetizers

Main Dishes


Food Lust People Love: Grilled Baby Octopus. Grilled baby octopus: The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. #SundaySupper


Sunday, April 2, 2017

Cupboard Tomato Mozzarella Salad

A beautiful, colorful, delicious salad made with mostly cupboard ingredients plus tomatoes, mozzarella and purple onions. Great for barbecues, buffets and potlucks. It's even better the next day!



I know that is a strange name but I honestly couldn’t think of a better one.  This gorgeous salad is made mostly with ingredients from your kitchen cupboards, with the exception of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and a little onion. And perhaps a bit of chopped basil. But look at the colors!

It’s great for a buffet table or to bring to a potluck because this salad just gets better after it sits a while.  So forgiving, beautiful and delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 large purple onion


  • 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice or vinegar
  • 10.5 oz or 300g red grape tomatoes (I used NatureSweet Cherubs.)
  • 10.5 oz or 300g yellow grape tomatoes (I used NatureSweet Sunbursts.)
  • 1 jar (12 oz or 240g) marinated artichoke hearts
  • 1 can (drained weight 6 oz or 170g) pitted black olives
  • 1 can (15 oz or 425g) chickpeas or garbanzo beans
  • 8 oz or 226g fresh ciliegine or cherry size mozzarella balls
  • 1 can (14 oz or 400g – 7.5 oz or 212g drained) hearts of palm
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • A few leaves of fresh basil (optional)


Method
Slice your onion very thinly and add to a salad bowl that will be big enough for all of your ingredients.   Pour in the juice or vinegar and set aside for a few minutes.


Open the jar of marinated artichokes and add them to the onion, with all of their marinade, along with the tomatoes and mozzarella.


Drain the cans of olives and chickpeas, rinsing the chickpeas if necessary, and add them to the salad bowl.


Drain the can of palm hearts and cut into pieces about the size of your tomatoes.


Add them into the bowl.


Toss and then sprinkle the whole bowl with sea salt.  Add black pepper to taste.


If you are adding basil, stack the leaves, roll them up and slice them thinly.  Add to the salad and toss again.  (This salad did actually have basil but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to photograph that step.)

Bring to your sister’s house for a barbecue or wherever you have been fortunate enough to be invited.


Enjoy!



My mom took this one showing a little of the basil.  Thanks, Mom! 
If you are looking for more dishes using fresh tomatoes, you are going to love this week's Sunday Supper. Check out the link list below to see what our talented tastemakers are sharing. Many thanks to our host, Rini from Healing Tomato, and our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections.

Sunday Supper Recipes Using Fresh Tomatoes

Chicken Recipes

Main Courses

Pizza, Pies, and Pastas

Side Dishes

Snacks

Soups and Salads