Sundays Are For Baking Bread - Part Two

One of the first things I purchased from King Arthur Flour Company was a sourdough starter. They send it to you in a small plastic container which you immediately have to adopt, Brangelina style, or it will die.  You not only have to feed it once a week you have to also bake some recipe that uses a part of it or throw a part of it away.  You also have the option of giving some to a friend - just make sure it's a friend you can loose.   Sourdough starter is a lot of work, so if you get some know it is a commitment. I tried several times, over the course of my life, to start my own starter, but it never worked out for me.  I never had the right container, it would spoil or I would spill it in the refrigerator.  King Arthur has a wonderful crock that you can purchase that will hold the starter and that's what I did.  It not only works but looks great too.

I lifted this bread recipe directly form the King Arthur website.

Rustic Sourdough Bread

1 cup "fed" sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

5 cups King Arthur Unbleched All-Purpose Flour

• Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.
• Allow the dough to rise, in a covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 minutes
• Gently divide the dough in half; it'll deflate somewhat
• Gently shape the dough into two oval loves, and place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Spray the loves with lukewarm water.
• Make two fairly deep horizontal slashes in each; a serrated bread knife (I use a razor blade) wielded firmly, works well here.
• Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Notice my bread looks a little dark. I added 1/4 cup of ground flax seed for a quarter cup of the flour. Since there are only two of us I usually cut this recipe in half. Life is good - Enjoy!

Romaine Salad with Oranges and Red Onion

Picture from Wikipedia

I love a good orange.  I don't ever remember eating a bad orange when I was a child. I used to eat so many that the acid from the juice would make my chin and lips raw.  Santa Claus always put an orange in my Christmas stocking. Over the years oranges have not been my favorite. Most seem dry and flavorless.  Maybe we only ate oranges in season where today we eat them year round. In 2009 oranges have been back on my grocery list.  I haven't eaten a bad one.  I was delighted that Giulia Melucci, author of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, has given me a new way to eat an orange. This salad is light, healthy and quick to make.

Romaine Salad with Oranges and Red Onion

1 head romaine lettuce

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch strips

2 navel oranges

1 tablespoon olive oil

Splash of red wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Wash and dry a head of romaine lettuce and cut the leaves crosswise into 1-inch pieces.  Put them in a bowl with room enough for tossing and add the onion. Remove the stem ends of the oranges, then take off the skins with a paring knife. Cut into slices 1/4 inch thick and then cut the slices into quarters, removing any seeds and startlingly obvious white pith. Dress and toss the salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, a little salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Yield: 4 servings

We ate this salad last night at dinner.  Next time I may sprinkle a bit of ground flax seed, over the top, to ramp up the Omega 3's. Life is good - enjoy!