Raisins and Almonds

Improvising a no-knead rye bread

[posted by Ann]

Our neighborhood artisan bakery doesn’t offer a rye bread, so rye is the bread that I always make at home. I adapted Jim Lahey’s no-knead recipe, a cousin to my whole-wheat formula, using rye for one fourth of the total flour amount.

For the liquid I like to use leftover coffee or tea, and the prize-winning, pourable Traders Point plain yogurt, made from the milk of grass fed cows. Today with no coffee or tea on hand, I actually brewed a cup of Irish breakfast tea just for the rye bread. When it seemed that more liquid was needed, a little orange juice did the trick. I measure the flour on a scale now, so the flour measurements are given in grams.

Dry ingredients:
150 grams bread flour
150 grams white whole-wheat flour
100 grams whole rye flour
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp caraway seed
1 tsp dry yeast
Optional: 25 gram (ca ¼ cup) of another whole grain flour: spelt, buckwheat, kamut, amaranth…

Wet ingredients:
½-¾ cup plain yogurt
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cups warm but not hot liquid (can be some combination of water, tea, coffee, apple cider, orange juice, )
2 tablespoons natural sweetener (maple syrup, agave, molasses)


Phase 1: Mixing the dough and first rise
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the sweetener to the warm liquid and stir to dissolve. Add the yogurt to the flour mixture and stir.
Add the warm liquid to the flour mixture gradually, stirring to incorporate the flour. The dough should be quite wet.
Cover and let sit in a warm place for 10-16 hours, dough will have doubled in volume.

Phase 2: Prep for second rise
Generously dust a wooden board with the bread flour or whole wheat flour, then
scrape the dough out onto the floured board. With floured hands fold the dough into a loose ball.
Place a clean dishtowel on board or work surface, and generously dust with rye flour. Put the dough on the floured towel, seam die down and fold the towel ends to cover the dough. Let the dough rest in a warm, draft free spot for 1-2 hours.

Phase 3: Baking
Preheat oven to 475 degrees with rack in lower third of oven.
Place covered 4-5 quart heavy pot in center of rack and heat for 30 minutes.
CAREFULLY remove pan (wearing oven proof mitts) from oven, take off lid.
Lift towel and quickly but gently invert dough into hot pot.
Cover pot and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and bake about 15 minutes more, checking to see that it doesn’t burn. Carefully remove from oven using heatproof mitts and remove bread from pot to cool on board or rack.

The yogurt and rye flour that I bake with:

Roasted applesauce with a kiss of lemon

[Posted by Ann]
Ohio and Minnesota are both great states for apples. Joan and I made this recipe (featured on Food52 from Judy Rogers of the Zuni Café) using Winesap, Haralson, and Regent apples from the Minneapolis Fulton Farmers market. Then I made it again in Ohio using Macoun, Braeburns, and Suncrisps.

The original recipe roasts the apples with only a little salt, sugar, and butter in the pan, with an optional splash of cider vinegar after the roasting. I took a different path, and drizzled the roasted apples with honey, a fruity balsamic vinegar, and meyer lemon-infused olive oil, and then stirred in a little crystallized ginger. The roasting and the lemon flavors impart depth of flavor.


Part 1: preparing and roasting the apples

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

Ingredients
2-3 pounds local apples (a mix of soft, crisp, tart, and sweet is best)
2 teaspoons sugar (preferably turbinado or brown sugar)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter cut in pieces

Cut the apples in quarters, core and peel. Place them in a bowl, add the salt and sugar and stir to distribute evenly. Spread out the apples in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet. Cut the butter into thin slices, and sprinkle the butter pieces over the apples. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake about 30-40 minutes, until apples start to soften. If using a ceramic pan, it will take a little longer. (After half an hour in a stoneware baker I raised the temperature to 425 and roasted for an additional 10 minutes) When the apples have started to soften, remove the foil and increase the temperature to 500. Set the timer for ten minutes, which is how long it will take for the edges of the apples to just brown.

Part 2: After the roasting

Ingredients: honey, lemon-infused oil or grated zest of one lemon, balsamic vinegar, crystallized ginger



Transfer roasted apples to a bowl. Spoon on 2-3 tablespoons of a raw, flavorful honey and stir gently to melt and incorporate the honey, and to break up big chunks of apples. The texture should be chunky. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons lemon or meyer-lemon infused olive oil, or alternatively, grated lemon zest.
Add 1-2 teaspoons fine balsamic vinegar, preferably a fruity one and 1-2
tablespoons of crystallized ginger. Stir to incorporate the flavorings.

This applesauce pairs beautifully with yogurt and nuts or granola. Joan enhanced her applesauce-yogurt-granola combination with a shot of fresh ginger syrup.

    Judy Rogers' recipe  and  Ginger syrup recipe from A Tribute to Woody