Homemade Bread | 8.ate@eight

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July 15, 2013 · 10:00 am

A Whole Lotta Goodness @Everything Whole is New Again

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On a lazy Sunday afternoon two friends hatched a plan to trade one’s newly bottled homebrew for the other’s freshly caught stream trout. And they drank and they ate and they said it was good. So good, in fact, that they decided to share these fine things with 8 unsuspecting guests who knew not that they would be asked to eat frog legs and fish eyes, but who simply signed up for a dinner celebrating all whole foods. Everything Whole is New Again was on the calendar and the seats were full.

And so for the past six weeks, I was brewing, fermenting and bottling a 4 gallon batch of Yerba Mate Wheat, while Keith grabbed his fishing pole — and frog net — and stockpiled our bounty. The rest of the menu was filled in with local, seasonal fare, a lot of handmade goodness, and, as always, an abundance of chilled beverages.

The Menu {use of hands encouraged}:

Local Market Bounty
w/ Bagna Cauda

Brown Butter Pond-Caught Frog Legs
Caught by Keith Gibson, Ghent, NY

w/ Yerba Mate Wheat Homebrew, NY

⌘

Balsamic-Drizzled Watermelon Steak
Topped with Feta, Rooftop Mint and Pistachios

w/ 2012 Reichsrat von Buhl Pinot Noir Rose, Germany

⌘

Homemade Wheat and Spent Grain Bread
w/ Homemade Grass-Fed Milk Ricotta
and Hand-Churned Salted Butter

Grilled Stream-Caught Wild Trout
w/ Lemon Butter and Green Garlic
Caught by Keith Gibson, Ghent, NY

w/ 2010 Blanck Pinot Gris, Alsace

⌘

Market Blueberry-Lemon Tart

w/ Banfi Sparkling Rose Regale, Italy

While the rain clouds loomed overhead, I poured the beer and tried to add a little brightness to the evening with an array of colorful market veggies — purple carrots and zebra heirloom tomatoes, oh my!

A Yerba Mate Wheat is born

Local Market Bounty w/ Bagna Cauda

Remember that fancy side burner on the new grill? Well it got used. Keith’s prized frog legs, caught in upstate New York, did a little al fresco dance in a hot pan with a generous amount of butter and garlic scapes. The 8.ate@eight crew looked suspiciously over my shoulder as the delightful smell of brown butter wafted in their direction. All were good sports and took a tentatively tiny sampling on their plates. And then they tasted them. And quickly the platter was passed around the table for seconds leaving nothing but a pile of happily cleaned bones. It’s hard not to like something cooked in butter, but these little guys were beautifully browned and crispy on the outside and tender {dare I say like chicken} on the inside.

Brown Butter Pond-Caught Frog Legs

And because it was 90 and humid and we couldn’t rely solely on chilled wine to keep us from sweating, it was time for one of my absolute favorite summer salads. I discovered this genius whole preparation of a “watermelon steak” from the Umami Mart blog and then adjusted for a combination of flavors that I think were made to go together — a little salty feta to counter the sweet melon, the pistachios add a crunch to each bite that would otherwise dissolve in your mouth, a drizzle of aged balsamic for a touch of acidity and a sprinkling of fresh mint because mint and watermelon belong together.

Watermelon-Feta Steak

Ok and now it’s going to start to sound ridiculous. While I heated the BBQ to grill our other Keith-caught prize — the main event, the stream-caught wild trout — I brought out the homemade bread {which used spent grain from our beer and sage-rosemary-thyme from the rooftop garden}, served with homemade butter and homemade ricotta. Amazingly, it was the homemade butter that threw people for a loop — seemingly difficult to many, I had to explain it’s really just overwhipped whipped cream. The key is excellent ingredients — I used Keith’s 100% grass-fed heavy cream from his farm, Grazin’ Angus Acres {@Union Square greenmarket on Saturday, @79th st greenmarket on Sunday}, and deliciously flaky Jacobsen Sea Salt from Portland.

Whole Wheat & Spent Grain Bread + Two Best Friends: Butter & RIcotta

And now the drum roll…an early morning trip to the market to pick up the prized trout

Our man Keith and one lucky fish

Please, please notice the amazing pink flesh shining through the beautiful skin. These fish are beauts! So happy together…

So happy together

Even happier with some fresh garlic scapes.

Even happier with some fresh garlic scapes

A peek inside — pretty in pink! Simple seasonings — lemon, butter, garlic scapes and scallions.

A sneak peek

Dinner is served

Nothing but the bones remained. Even a dare to eat the eyeballs was met openly and with great confidence {perhaps this had something to do with the amount of wine that had been consumed.}

And we’re done

Oh, and dessert. The simplest celebration of sweet seasonal blueberries in a savory tart shell.

Sara Moulton’s Blueberry Lemon Tart

Thanks!

Thanks to Keith Gibson for wading through the stream and ponds to put dinner on the table. And for also raising amazing grass-fed everything that makes everything taste the way nature intended. Thanks to Ryan and Angela for helping with the brew process and storing a whole lotta beer at your apartment. Thanks to Allison and Kristin for all the help clearing our many empty dishes — and washing them {best roommates ever}! Thanks to Kristin for also snapping some pics while I was worrying about the rain. And I of course want to thank everyone who grabbed a seat at the table — it was lovely to have you all!

I’m ruminating on some future events for the fall and winter, so stay tuned. If you aren’t on the dinner distribution list, email me at 8ateateight@gmail.com to be added. See you at the table!

Read About Past 8.ate@eight Dinners:
Boozy Robert Burns Night w/ The Tippling Bros. & Highland Park Scotch
A+ 8.ate@eight Back to School Nite
8.ate@eight Went Whole Hog and Hog Wild @ the Big Southern BBQ
Who Cut the Cheese Didn’t Stink!
Silencing of the Spring Lambs was Lambtastic!

The crew

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Filed under 8.ate@eight, Do This!

Tagged as 8.ate@eight, Bagna Cauda, Blueberry Tart, Christina DiLaura, Frog Legs, Grazin' Angus Acres, Grilled Trout, Homemade Beer, Homemade Bread, Homemade Butter, Homemade Ricotta, Keith Gibson, Sara Moulton, Supper Club, Watermelon Feta Salad, Whole Foods!, Wild Trout

February 16, 2011 · 9:38 am

Breadmaking 101: How to Make Bakery Quality Bread @Home

Homemade Bread

Yes, you too can achieve these results. No, you don’t need a bread machine or fancy mixer. Just your two hands, and the recipe below. This is the week of generously sharing family secrets to put excellent handmade food on your table.

A good meal is not complete without a great crusty bread that is also soft and chewy on the inside. I never thought this was something that could be accomplished at home, but after spending the day with my highly talented cousin, KimNora, I learned differently and a new bread baker was born! KimNora has been perfecting her bread for many years, experimenting with technique, ratios and environment, to create a bread that would give even Daniel Boulud a run for his money!

Homemade Crusty Whole Wheat Bread {Stretch & Fold Method}

Makes 1 Loaf | Total Time: 4 hours

2 cups unbleached bread flour {~305 grams}
1.5 cups whole wheat flour {~213 grams}
50 grams dried spent grain {optional}
2.5 teaspoons kosher salt {~14 grams}
2 teaspoons (scant) rapid rise dry yeast
Optional: 1 Tablespoon (scant) barley malt powder {~14 grams}
1 tablespoon each of fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, finely chopped
450 milliliters room temperature filtered water
corn meal for dusting proofing basket

If you want to flavor your bread {ideas: thyme-rosemary-sage, thyme-meyer lemon, rosemary-meyer lemon, raisin}, add the zest and herbs to the water and let sit for 15-20 minutes to infuse with the flavors. Raisins are best when they are plump, not totally dry, so letting them absorb some of the water is key.
Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk.
Create a well in the middle and slowly add half the water, stirring with a butter knife {tip: this is an easy tool to pull sticky dough from}. As the dough comes together add remaining water to the center and stir with the knife to bring in the remaining flour, working from the center outwards, so as to minimize the amount of dough that sticks to the side of the bowl. Dough should be slightly sticky, but not smooth at this point. If it is too sticky add a few pinches of bread flour.
Cover the top of the dough loosely with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 10 minutes so flour hydrates and gluten bonds form.
After 10 minutes, dip hands and bread scraper in olive oil to prevent dough from sticking. Loosen dough from sides of the bowl and gently work into a smooth ball.
Lightly pour olive oil on counter or marble working surface and spread with hands to oil both your hands and surface.
Grab the dough with oiled hands and bring to the oiled counter to gently stretch the dough into somewhat of a rectangle shape. DO NOT pull or tear at dough — you just want to gently work it from the center to the outside to reshape.
While gently stretching the dough by grabbing one end, pull it up and fold like a letter into thirds. Right side folded first, then left side over that {stretch and pull, but don’t let the dough tear}. Then take the opposite ends that were just folded and fold into thirds again — top to the center and the bottom over that, stretching and folding. In the end, you will have almost a square shape.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out for 10 more minutes.
Repeat steps 5-8 two more times, so you will have stretched and folded and let rest for a total of 3 times. After the 3rd stretch and fold, allow the dough to rise for 1 hour, covered with plastic wrap.
After 1 hour rise, very lightly flour the surface and remove dough from the bowl to the counter. Spread and fold a 4th time and then start to form into a smooth ball by grabbing the edges and tucking the dough under itself, turning as you smooth and round the ball.
Generously add corn meal to a bread banneton {or place a clean towel in a small bowl and flour the towel}. Generously flour your hands and pick up the ball of dough, adding it to the basket or bowl, smooth side down, so your tucking seam is facing up. Gently pinch the seam to smooth the top of the dough facing up.
Cover with plastic wrap and let allow for a 2nd rise for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile make sure your rack is in the center of the oven, with no rack above it and turn on your oven to 500 ºF with a metal baking sheet, pizza stone, piece of slate or terra cotta tiles on the rack to come to temperature with the oven.
After rise is complete, work quickly {so you don’t lose your heat} to dump dough from your basket onto the hot slate or pizza stone and using your sharpest knife or a bread lame, slash a fairly deep cut across the center and in any design you would like. Cutting the dough will open it up to expand upward, giving you good rise and will also look beautiful!
Turn oven down to 450ºF and cook for ~30-40 minutes.
Around 30 minutes, be sure to smell for any burning — remove immediately if necessarily. When bread has a nice dark crust, remove to the counter and while holding with one hand (use an oven mitt) check the temperature of the bread by inserting a thermometer in the bottom of the bread. If it reads 200-205º, it’s done! Add back to the oven if any less than 200.
The hardest part: resist the temptation to slice into your masterpiece right away, allowing it to cool for 1-2 hours as it completes its baking process on a wire rack on the counter.