annecros
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Posts posted by annecros
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I have only recently been introduced to this sort of sauce, via a recipe for a polonaise sauce I did on a whim.
I think it is an absolutely brilliant concept, and that bread crumbs are a wonderful carrier for flavor. Opened up a whole new world for me at the time. Easily prepared, frugal, and just plain good! Bread sauce has it all!
Thanks for the history lesson, and the recipes! I love this sort of geeky, historical food stuff.
Anne
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Happening here, and I love it. Also have a congealed cranberry salad in the fridge.
Why the objection to conjealed salads? I never have understood. After all, a conjealed cranberry salad is the same theory as the cranberry sauce dumped from the can and sliced.
We don't do green bean casserole, but I buy Miracle Whip from the Gordon's Food Service store...
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I found hard rolls here:
http://not-too-shabby.net/eats/?p=90
This person just tented a muffin pan with aluminum foil. They look great.
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Since the thread is incredibly long at this point I am going to summarize some of the feedback I've read thus far for selfish reasons and for the use of readers also new to this thread.
SYNOPSIS OF FEEDBACK
2) For second rise, a greased bowl and naked dough work, too.
2) At least one baker finds the floured towel a bit of a hassle, resulting in sticking, tearing or scary, uneven plop into the Dutch oven. Just turn the sufficiently slick bowl containing the shaped dough upside down over the heated casserole.
Does letting the dough rise in an oiled bowl change the texture of the final crust?
Wondering as well. I haven't seen any mention of a greased bowl on the thread, but think I saw one in the video.
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I haven't read through this entire topic today, but I have been following it and I don't recall anyone posting a link to this thread Ways to eat grits. That was very active in the summer of 2005.
And this thread, earlier in '05 that discussed where one can find heirloom grits
with listing for several vendors.
And soon after I joint eG there was this thread on "Cheese Grits".
I now have some dried blue corn and some dried blue corn posole that was given to me by a friend who has been visiting in New Mexico for two months (she also brought me a huge ristra of Hatch chiles).
I don't recall every preparing grits with blue corn meal - I have made cornbread with varying success - sometimes found the blue corn to be a bit bitter.
However I plan to grind some of each and see how it works. I am particularly interested in seeing (and tasting) the differences between the plain corn and the posole.
I've always found blue corn bitter as well. Thought it was just me.
Make Johnnycake kind of grits I think, honey or sugar, though I love honey. If you can pour sugar into cream of wheat, surely it is not a sin to pour it into cream of corn?
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The dampness was because you cut into your bread too soon. When the Flour becomes hydrated and then cooks it becomes a gel. When baked, that gel needs time to set. Cool your bread for at least 45 minutes after baking and you will have a much better result. This also allows the bread to develop its final flavour.
Carry on!
Do you have suggestions as to what I can do with myself during that 45 minutes? Never in my life have I mustered 45 minutes worth of self-restraint, and doing so with the aroma of freshly-baked bread in the house is unthinkable!
While I'm sure that what you say is true, how does one get through that 45 minutes? 
It is a hard thing.
Mow the lawn, rake the grass, change the oil in your car, go grocery shopping for the week, play catch with a kid. Remove yourself.
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I have made this bread three times already. Thus far, I have not tried any other flour other than bread flour (Pillsbury) and corn meal to coat the towel for the last rise.
The first time I made the bread, I cooked it at 500 F in my le Crueset Dutch oven. It was very brown after 30 minute, and I overcooked it a bit after removing the lid. The second time I lowered the temp to 450. This worked fine, but I felt the interior was a bit underdone. Yesterday, I cooked it at 475 and I was quite pleased. Since I will be using this loaf for turkey dressing, I have not yet tasted it, but it looks beautiful.
Someone above mentioned that this recipe will make home bakers out of a lot of people, and I have to agree. I recently began using The Bread Bakers Apprentice, and I love that book. It made me more succesful at baking than ever before. But this recipe is quick (except for the rise time) and it produces a product that rivals what I can get locally.
I haven't read through all the messages on this thread to see how others have experimented, but I am excited about the prospect of experimenting. Has anyone yet tried to make hard rolls with this?
I want to do rolls as well! Maybe start with a pull-apart type of thing? I've been wondering how to shape the rolls.
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I've been making tiny changes with each loaf (I've probably made 6 or 7 by now). Yesterday, I dialed the oven up to 500 instead of my usual 450; the loaf went into a Lodge cast iron dutch oven. The top was gorgeous--brown and crackly--but the bottom burned so badly I had to cut it off before eating. Anyone else have this problem? Any way to avoid it? Might it be prevented by using enameled cast iron instead? I might have left the loaf in too long, but I got the sense the burning happened pretty early on, since the top didn't get black.
FWIW, I've topped a couple of these loaves with a scattering of sesame seeds--as Borat would say, "Very nice."
Susan
I think you are right. When the lid comes off the enamel, the top is more uniformly brown. Perhaps the light enamel has some convective properties that the dark cast iron does not? My cast iron loaves stay in longer in order to brown the top, and just now comparing the bottoms, the cast iron loaf definitely has a darker bottom.
Somebody with more experience around here might be able to explain to us the science.
I haven't ventured away from the 450 degree oven, but perhaps the cast iron was too close to the elements in the oven? I don't know, just guessing.
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I wonder how many loaves of bread have been baked and consumed at home because of this New York Times article. I know of three people in my immediate circle of family and friends that have never baked a loaf of yeast bread in their lives, who are now on their second or third loaves.
I'm baking two loaves at a time in the runup to Thanksgiving, one in cast iron the other in enamel on cast iron. I seem to be getting a slightly shinier finish on the cast iron loaves and faster browning on the enamel, but otherwise no decernable difference except for the shape.
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A bit of a digression from the recent posts but just curious - my ex MIL (from Charleston) introduced me to grits for breakfast, but she added tuna or, for special occasions, canned salmon along with the required butter and salt. I had to be very careful when serving the salmon because everyone had to have the same amount of bones! Is this just something she started, or is it somewhat common? I've never seen it on a menu. In case someone is totally turned off, it actually is quite good this way, but my favorite is shrimp and grits, especially from Louis's in Pawley's Island.
I had relatives in Adel, Georgia who made a sardine gravy for grits. Sardines and canned (home canned) tomato if I recall correctly. I can't say that I was especially fond of it, but she was proud of it and her boys loved it. They were about as southern and common as they come, so it is a traditinal variation.
Sounds rather Italian peasant, now that I think of it as well, but they weren't EYE-talyun in the slightest. I guess it goes to show you that there's nothing new under the sun.
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I'm baking them tomorrow, then just putting them in the fridge still in thier jackets until Thursday AM.
No special reason. Just the way Mom always did it, with good results.
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So, jackal10, is it your opinion that taking the lid off after about ten to fifteen minutes would result in thinner crust? Or would that mess up the works?
Anne
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Great fun! I am looking forward to looking in.
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Welcome djyee100. First post, you are in trouble now! I wondered about oiling the dough. I had noticed in the video posted with the original story that the dough ball appeared to be encircled with oil. I like what a nice olive oil does for bread, before and after it is baked.
I am enthused as well. It is one of those recipes that I love in that it is open ended and allows for creativity. Bread is so honest and wholesome, but very very scary for any number of reasons. Nobody likes to flop.
My raisin bread is wonderful! I used the earlier method mentioned with the olive loaf (got to do that one soon) in that I folded raisins in before the second rise, along with cinnamon and brown sugar, rolled up like a jelly roll. Browned faster, but I expected that. Very tasty.
The latest Whole wheat loaf came out nicely as well. I cut down the whole wheat flour to three quarters of a cup, quarter cup of sour manioc, and the rest bread flour (Pillsubry's Best, I am such a bargain slut) with two teaspoons of salt. I was well pleased, and more importantly hubby can't quit eating! Much fun. It did take up a good deal more liquid because the manioc is so absorbant. That's why I like adding the liquid to bring it up to a shaggy ball. Neutralizes the variables.
Yeast is a wonderful thing!
Dianne, let us know how things turn out tomorrow. AP flour kind of scares me.
Anne
Edit: Forgot to add that I dissolved a quarter cup of white sugar into the water before adding the first cup to the raisin bread. Got a shiny finish on the bread.
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On the other hand, the power of grits can be frightening, as Al Green learned:At the height of his popularity, Green's former girlfriend, Mrs. Mary Woodson, broke into his Memphis home in October 1974 and poured boiling grits on the singer as he was bathing, inflicting second-degree burns on his back, stomach and arm;
I love Al Green, but doubt if the story of an assault would have stuck in my mind for this many years if it hadn't been for the grits involved.
From Al Green Biography.
Got some powerful imagery going on with grits.
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Must run - time to cook some grits with . . .with. . .well gosh. There's so many good recipes. But what indeed should one add, besides. . .at best. . .more grits. Sigh.
I had an uncle who was working part time in a prison kitchen in central Florida when he managed to seriously burn himself with an institutional sized pot of grits. Unfortunately, hot grits stick like napalm. Literally took the skin off when he tried to remove the hot grits from his forearms.
Yep, grits are serious.
Grits vs. Polenta cookoff? Where does one get in line to judge?
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Found it.
Bill Neal. Southern Cooking. Revised and Enlarged.
Respec'
Anne
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Note the variety of Grits recipes at RecipeSource.
I have a couple of grits cookbooks that I enjoy a great deal.
Gone With The Grits has quite a few unusual recipes, including some dips made with grits.
Grits.com has 52 recipes for grits plus a bunch of other good southern food recipes including a sweet potato/pecan casserole that is very, very good.
Thanks, but what is authentic ? I am just looking for guidance .....
OK, authentic in a Southern household is very flexible and subjective. It is a very well kept secret, but a southern person will steal the best and leave the rest.
Grits are hard to mess up.
Sheesh, will have to leave the 'puter and look up. I hope your shrimp are not getting warm!
Anne
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So it seems there's some intersection between the sets "grits" and "polenta." But is there union (all grits = polenta and all polenta = grits) or is polenta a subset of grits (all polenta = grits but not all grits = polenta)?
Excellent question, and perfectly reasonable.
Southern people do not necessarily depend upon reason. But you deserve an answer, and it is the best I can give you.
Yes, there is an intersection.
Yes, there is a union.
All grits = polenta, grits, and other various derivations of dried corn, and possibly other ground grains.
Considering history, all polenta = grits, all grits = either hominy or dried corn, all hominy = dried corn.
Corn culture. In my opinion it changed the world, with very little credit to this day to the origin.
I am beginning to sound a bit like Mayhaw Man and Okra, though I do agree that Okra is the universal answer to all the world's problems. Another story..
Just make a nice, lovely porridge, and enjoy.
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What else would one serve with Shrimp and Grits?
To answer another question, Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock published as good a Shrimp and Grits recipe as I have ever seen. See that thread!
I didn't see a recipe in the thread for Shrimp and Grits, can someone brief me? Gonna make 'em for dinner tonight and have several recipes I'm looking at. Still don't know which one or what to serve with it.....other than beer........................
So sorry, was on the "Cookbook Roullete" thread, and Daniel really produced grits that would, and did, make a Southern lady hungry.
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=94980&st=30
Not enough time now, and probably late, but will PM a good recipe later. An awful lot going on in the house at the moment!
Have fun. Grits are not really that hard, and if you have prepared shrimp before, well it all just comes natural. If you have shrimp AND grits on the same plate, you are pretty much assured of a decent meal. Nobody is going to complain with those components.
Anne
Edit: WOW, my really bad, can't find it, but still looking...
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Yes, yankees will serve grits in a rather pretentious manner, then explain that they are actually a more rustic version of polenta, and are therefore better.
Judge not lest ye be judged: My skinny ol' Da was stuck on a boat cruising Italy for the past two weeks, and Motherdear sent a postcard wherein the poor man was heard to wail, "I'd give $10 for a bowl of grits." Moments later, a water materialized with a lovely dish of polenta with cheese and mushrooms, and peace descended over the Adriatic Sea
......Lovely story.
Take comfort where you can, and we all have more in common than we do differences, I think.
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Well, no, I've never gotten the same results using an oven and a stone.
First, I've never made any other no-knead bread, so I can't speak to that part. I've made a lot of cold-fermented several-day-rising bread in an oven with a stone. For one thing, you have to add some steam, which is somewhat iffy at home. I've been throwing water on the bottom of my oven, but I cringe a bit each time. I've never been able to keep the inside of the oven moist for very long, and the crust is definitely thicker all over when baked this way than what I've gotten on the stone. And I'm talking about slack dough plopped right on the stone on a piece of parchment. I've made a lot of quite good bread that way, but it's not exactly like what I get with this method.
I haven't had the same experience either in the past, but it has been some time since I have baked bread on a stone.
I always hated tossing water into a hot oven, kinda scary even if it goes into a broiler pan. And seems contrary to the minimalist philosophy. But, just my opinion.
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I was using "lifestyle" in the way that it is often used to infer something aspirational rather than actual.
I actually hadn't run into anyone using grits in this fashion yet. Live and learn.
P.S. No disrespect intended, annecros, at all.
Oh, don't be silly! No disrespect perceived! I think I understood your meaning, but was probably more concerned about outside perceptions.
Yes, yankees will serve grits in a rather pretentious manner, then explain that they are actually a more rustic version of polenta, and are therefore better. Shrimp and grits, as a feature, requiring explanation. I can just picture Granny's reaction.
South Florida is a very interesting place, socially and culturally.
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Biga and poolish refer to dry (50% hydration) and wet (100% hydration) starter sponges. I think what Tim means is an old dough addition. - usually about 10% by weight, which will add flavour and enzymes.
One criticism of this method is that the webs between the gas cells are fairly thick and waxy, since the gluten is under developed and not oxidised. A pinch of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) powder will help, added at the beginning.
There are two keys to this method:
a) Fairly wet "no-knead" dough. People like Dan Lepard have been advocating the stretch and fold technique instead of kneading for a long time
b) Baking in an enclosed heavy hot pan. The advantages of cloches are well known. Using a hot pan is new, or perhaps a re-discovery and a good way to stimulate a steamy bakers oven.
Personally I'd use a standard sourdough method, with a starter sponge, overnight retard in the fridge and bake in a pan.
I second Jack's recs. The "new" method advanced in the article is in fact very old, but I guess more rediscovered than anything. And you really can get the same results by simply using a very hot pre-heated oven and a baking stone.
Once again, where is "Old Foodie" when you need her? I am sure she has recipes that adequatly trace the method.
I guess I need to PM her. There really is nothing new under the sun.
Do you really get the same results by using an oven and stone?
Anne, I think you're giving me too much credit.
Bravo's Top Chef Season 2
in Food Media & Arts
Posted
Agreed. Am eagerly awaiting the cutting out of the dead wood, and hopefully some great food towards the end of the series.