Sicilian Bread

Midnight Blue

Hi, I dont know if any of you like bread but I thought I would share this recipe with you. its one of my favourites (Deborah Mele's). Notning beats the smell of fresh bread !



1 Cup Biga (see post below) Made The Day Before

3 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (Plus More For Working & Shaping)

3 Cups Fine Semolina

6 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

1 Teaspoon Salt

Cornmeal For Baking

3 Cups Warm Water

Oil For Brushing Top

1/3 Cup Sesame Seeds

Combine the yeast and one cup of warm water in a large bowl and let rest until bubbly. Add the rest of the water, the two flours, salt and the biga, and stir until the dough is mixed. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter or breadboard, and using as little flour as possible, knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Place the dough into a large bowl three times the size of the dough that has been lightly oiled first. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm spot for 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough has doubled. Alternatively, you can place the covered bowl of dough in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning punch down the dough, shape, and let rise again at room temperature until doubled.

If making the bread the same day, once it has doubled in size, punch down the dough. If using baking sheets, sprinkle them lightly with cornmeal. If you are using a baking stone, flour two kitchen towels, or bread making peels with flour, and place the shaped loaves on them to rise. Shape the bread in either two small round loaves, or one large one. Preheat the oven at this time to 425 degrees F. Cover loosely with towels, and let rise an additional 45 minutes. Brush the bread with a little olive oil, and sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Bake for about 30 minutes for two small loaves, or 45 minutes for one large one, rotating the loaves once during this time, or until the bread is a dark golden brown all over, and hollow sounding when tapped with your fingers. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Midnight Blue

I generally start with a biga, or bread starter with most of my homemade breads. Using a biga seems to give the bread a better flavor and texture. By making it the day before, and then refrigerating it once it has proofed, it will be ready the day you want to bake your bread. You can keep this biga covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Simply stir it every day or so and recover it.


1/4 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

1 Cup Warm Water (About 110 Degrees F.)

1 1/3 Cups Bread Flour

2/3 Cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour


Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a bowl large enough to fit all of the ingredients, and let sit 5 to 10 minutes. Add the flours, and stir to combine. The dough may seem stiff, but will soften up as it sits. Cover the biga tightly with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 6 hours at room temperature. Stir it, and refrigerate it until the next day, or at least 12 hours.

kinetic

I'll give you my addy, you can send me a loaf!

ToshiroOC

"Sea Shells with Shrimp, Feta, and Olives"
The flavors in this dish are as lively as a busy Greek taverna. The sauce is made with uncooked tomatoes, so they must be very flavorful. Make it when they are at their summertime peak.
Makes 4-6 servings

3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup Mediterranean black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb conchiglie (sea shells)
6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, 2 tablespoons oil, the dill, garlic, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Let stand for 1 hour.

Heat the reminaing 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until firm and pink, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cover the pan to keep the shrimp warm.

In a large pot of biling salted water over high heat, cook the pasta until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well. Return the pasta to the empty pot, and add the tomato mixture, shrimp, and feta. Toss until the feta begins to melt, then season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Quoted from "The Essential Cook Book", by Caroline Conran, Terence Conran, and Simon Hopkinson

One recipe I just found, and I really want to try cooking sometime soon... sounds so good

Midnight Blue

INGREDIENTS (4-5 PORTIONS) :
5 sheets of pasta for lasagna
(either home-made, or in ready-made square sheets)
800 gr. of zucchini
150 gr. of onions
80 gr. of butter or margarine (20-30 gr. of which for preparing the bechamel sauce
2 table-spoons of flour
½ litre of milk
100 gr. of parmesan cheese
a little olive oil
a pinch of salt and nutmeg powder
a few basil leaves

Prepare a bechamel sauce not too thick, and add a pinch of salt and nutmeg powder.
Put the thinly sliced zucchini together with the chopped onion, and cook them in a little olive oil.
Butter a square pan, and place in it alternate layers of pasta and some bechamel with zucchini and parmesan cheese, and then again pasta, etc., for five times.
Add to the top layer of pasta, covered with bechamel and parmesan cheese, a few pieces of butter or margarine and a few basil leaves.
Cook in the oven till golden.

Davidgt

Brownies with Candy-Coated Chocolate

2 cups candy-covered chocolate pieces, divided use
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour


Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Place 1 1/2 cups candy in a resealable plastic bag and coarsely crush with a rolling pan. Reserve remaining candy for topping.
Place butter and crushed candy in a large bowl. Microwave until just melted; stirring every 20 seconds; pieces of candy coating will still be visible. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Whisk in sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour.
Spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate pieces on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean.
Makes 16 bars.

YUMMY!!!

Mac Daddy

Well although ToshiroOC mentioned this thread to me ...
I have avoided it all night ... I love to cook

I love the recipe for the bread(hey Kinetic stand in line .. maybe she would rather send her bodyguard one first)
Both the seafood pasta and the Zucchini Lasagna

OK Sat is my non-cooking night .. Busy music day for me so ..........
I'll just share what I had for dinner:

A Chicken Pita:
Ingredients:

Onions
Green Peppers
Cucumbers
Green Olives
Hot Banana Peppers
Alfalfa Sprouts
Feta Cheese
Tzatzki .............

mmmmmmmmmmmm

HawK

It sure does I always make my own bread (when i have the time) and that smell makes my neighbors come by with some excuse, to reliefe me of the surplus I make.
they hear me slammin the dough so they already buy less bread in the market.
I do however use fresh yeast, ask your local baker for it, he'll sell you usually 100 gr. and you only need 4-6gr per 250gr. flower for bread, but you can freeze the rest of the yeast.

FuNsTeR

i would much rather pop out to the local Indian restraunt for a meal so my fave bread is a sweet nan (almonds etc) with my indian meal .... or rustle something up myself