Bread enthusiast. Vegetable lover. Omnivore. If the kitchen is your happy place, you're in good company. Let's hang.
What a Difference This Simple Step Makes ๐ Plus: Orange-Ricotta Pound Cake, A Springy Salad, A Springy Pasta & More
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Friends, hello. A few weeks ago, I revisited Jim Lahey's N0-Knead Bread Recipe. It was the 5th recipe I ever blogged about it, and in the nearly 20 years of making it, I hadn't strayed from the original recipe. But something I've been doing with nearly all of my bread and pizza dough recipes since writing Pizza Night is this: 30 to 60 minutes after mixing the dough (a period that allows the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate), I perform one set of stretches and folds. It doesn't take much time or effort (about 30 seconds total), and the process transforms the dough from being sticky, shaggy, and weak to being smooth, strong, and elastic. I added a video to the post: Why does this matter? Look at this dough, which received no stretches and folds, after an 18-hour rise: And look at this dough as well as the dough in the top photo, both of which received one set of stretches and folds: The stronger dough is better able to trap all of those gases during fermentation, resulting in a very bubbly dough. And all of these bubbles translate to a lighter, loftier loaf: As you know, I love a no-knead bread recipe โ nearly every bread and pizza recipe on my blog is no-knead. But adding this simple step hasn't ruined the simplicity or removed the joy of the no-knead process. If you've yet to try stretching and folding, give it a go! Would love to hear how it works out for you.
PS: If you are preparing your Easter menu, here are all of my favorite recipes for the occasion, including most especially the ham sauce! It's not too early to order your ham โ this past Christmas, I made a half bone-in ham as opposed to a whole ham, and we still had leftover ham for days as well as a nice bone to make soup with. It was delicious. Review of the Week
โLemon-Blueberry Dutch Babyโ โโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโ "Made this in a nanosecond and everyone LOVED it." โ Rachel โ 5 Recipes to Make Right NowโRaw Asparagus Salad with Walnuts and Parmesanโ
โPasta Carbonara with Leeks & Lemonโ
โCrispy, Herby Spring Chickenโ
โOrange-Ricotta Pound Cake: this cake is SO delicious and SO fast to make. It's one of my favorites. I'll be making a few to bring to our Greek Easter celebration.
โCrispy Roasted Fingerling Potatoesโ
โ In Case You Missed It:โSoft and Pliable Corn Tortillasโ โSimple Soft Sandwich Bread โ โMiraculously Delicious Turkey Burgers โSimple Baked Pasta โ โHow to Save Recipes: โ
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PS: ALL the popular recipes right here โ Popular Recipesโ Arugula + Fennel Forever
In Friday's pizza newsletter, I shared a recipe for a simple, springy arugula and fennel salad. Get the recipe and watch the video here:
Thank YouThank you to all who have ordered Pizza Night. If you haven't left a review yet, I would be so grateful if you did! ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
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PS: All previous editions of this newsletter can be found here. |
Hi. I'm Ali.
Bread enthusiast. Vegetable lover. Omnivore. If the kitchen is your happy place, you're in good company. Let's hang.
Friends, good morning. As I type, snow is falling, the third time this week, and while I should not at all be surprised having lived in Upstate New York for a decade now, it's still, well, I don't know: disappointing? What is not disappointing is discovering that my favorite baked steel cut oatmeal can be made eggless (pictured above). As most of you know, I don't avoid eggs, but I often receive questions about replacing them in recipes, historically for allergy reasons but more recently for...
Friends, hello. This hot cross bun recipe has lived on my site for years and as with many of my bread recipes, it has been tweaked numerous times. When I made the buns last year, I remember thinking they were a little too sweet and dense, and while my family still devoured them, I couldn't help but tweak them one last time. In sum: I've reduced the sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup (gram measurements, of course, are included). I've added the zest of one clementine (or orange) and then,...
Nearly 20 years ago, I had my first taste of really good corn tortillas. I was in San Francisco for a wedding, and after a morning a run โ those were the days! โ Ben and I stumbled upon the Ferry Building Farmers Market and specifically the Primavera stand, where a very long line suggested maybe we should hop in it. We did, and about 30 minutes later, we were eating the best chilaquiles โ maybe the best meal โ of our lives. To this day, I cannot visit San Francisco (if I'm there on a Saturday...