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Post your questions for the Sourdough Bread course here.

Do you find that the recent trend towards healthy greens is successful? I love them, but am wary of trying a recipe that only takes about 30-45 mins and includes red wine, for instance. And do you prefer one sort of greens or do you mix? I have also tried to make spoonbread and never have I come close to the ethereal, light dish my grandmother made. I have produced a fair approximation of plaster of paris and sheetrock compound. Is there any hope?

Post your questions here -->> Q&A A Sampling of North Indian Breads Authors: Monica Bhide and Chef Sudhir Seth Introduction These breads are the taste of home for me -- wholesome breads prepared with simple ingredients and simple cooking methods. There are many different types of breads in North India. They can be prepared in the tandoor (clay oven, as is done in many restaurants), dry roasted, cooked on a griddle, or deep-fried. They can be prepared plain, or stuffed with savory or sweet filling, or just topped with mouthwatering garnishes. In the recipes below we are merely attempting to scratch the surface, presenting you with a glimpse of these magnificent breads. North Indian breads are prepared with various kinds of flours. The ones listed here use a whole-wheat flour known as atta and all-purpose flour. The dough is prepared in most cases without the use of yeast. (We have shown a special sweet bread here, called Sheermal, that is prepared using yeast.) Also, the tandoori breads are generally rolled out by hand not with a rolling pin. But in the recipes below, for ease of use for the home cook, we have used a rolling pin. As you will also see then, no special equipment is needed. We have prepared the breads in a traditional oven and in a non-stick skillet. (We have included some pictures towards the end of the lesson of a roti being prepared in a commercial tandoor.) A few tips: • Knead the dough well, adding only enough water or other specified liquid to make the dough the right consistency. • A must for preparing these breads is to let the dough rest as indicated. This will ensure that the dough softens and moistens, making it more pliable and easier to stretch • To prepare simple ghee (clarified butter) see below but for a in-depth discussion check out this wonderful thread in the India forum. (See the last few suggestions on preparing it by melting butter.) • You can also purchase ghee or clarified butter at your local Indian grocer or from www. Namaste.com. Clarified Butter (Ghee) Yields: About ½ cup ½ lb unsalted butter Heat a heavy pan over low heat. Add the butter, allowing it to melt. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat, bringing the butter to a simmer. The butter will start to foam. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully as it may burn. The milk solids will start to settle at the bottom, and the liquid butter will float to the surface. When the liquid butter becomes amber in color, remove it from from the heat. Cool to room temperature. Strain the amber liquid into a jar and discard the milk solids. Cover and store, refrigerated, for up to 6 months. Plain Naan Dough Naans are traditional Indian breads prepared in clay ovens or tandoors. They are commonplace on most Indian menus. We have tried here to present a simple dough for Naans and then two of the more unusual preparations for it: the Peshawari Naan and the Onion Kulcha. . • ½ cup milk • 1 teaspoon sugar • 1 cup warm water • 1 tablespoon yogurt • 1 egg • 4 cups of all-purpose flour (labelled "maida" in Indian grocery store) • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (for baking tray) • 2 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee In a bowl whisk together the milk, sugar, water, yogurt and egg. Place the flour, salt and baking powder in a large shallow bowl. Mix well. Pour the liquid onto the flour and begin to knead. Continue kneading until you have a soft dough. If you need more liquid, add a few tablespoons of warm water. Knead for at least 10 minutes, or until you have a soft dough that is not sticky. Oil the dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and place in a warm place for 1½ - 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in volume. Directions for plain naan: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly dust the rolling surface and rolling pin with flour. Knead the dough again on the floured surface for about 5 minutes. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it with your hands. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into an oval shape (about 8 inches). Using your hands, pull at both ends of the oval to stretch it a little. Continue until you have made 8 naans. Brush each oval with clarified butter. Place the naans on the baking sheet bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown. Peshawari Naan In this delightfully sinful recipe, the naan dough is stuffed with dried nuts and raisins and baked. Serve this warm right out of the oven for the best taste. 1 recipe prepared plain naan dough For the stuffing: • 1 tablespoon cashews (crushed) • 1 tablespoon almonds (crushed) • 1+1 tablespoons pistachios (crushed) • 1 tablespoon raisins • 1 teaspoon cilantro leaves, minced • 1 teaspoon sugar • 1 tablespoon Milk Mawa Powder (Dried whole milk powder) • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground • 3 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter Prepare the Naan dough. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Set aside 1 tablespoon of pistachios and the raisins. In a mixing bowl combine all the other filling ingredients. Add a few tablespoons of water to bind them together to form a lumpy consistency. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly oil or flour your hands. Take one portion of the dough and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center. Bring the sides together and pinch them to seal and form a ball. Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour. Roll the flattened ball again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Garnish with the reserved pistachios and raisins. Continue until you have made 8 naans. Brush each naan with clarified butter. Place the naans on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. Onion Kulcha We present this recipe by popular demand. Here the naan is stuffed with a spiced onion mix and baked to perfection. 1 recipe prepared plain naan dough For the stuffing: • 2 small red onions, finely chopped • 1 tablespoon minced cilantro • 1 tablespoon Chaat Masala (www.namaste.com) • 1 teaspoon red chili powder • Salt to taste • 3 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter • 2 teaspoons cilantro, minced for garnish • small boiled potato, grated (optional) Prepare the naan dough. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. First, using the palms of your hands, squeeze out all the water from the chopped onions. If the onions still appear to be watery, add a small boiled grated potato to your filling. This will prevent the filling from spilling out of the kulcha. In a mixing bowl combine all the filling to form a lumpy consistency. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly oil or flour your hands. Take one portion of the dough and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center. Bring the sides together and pinch them to seal and form a ball. Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour. Roll the flattened ball again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Dip your fingers in water and moisten the surface of the kulcha very lightly. Sprinkle with a few minced cilantro leaves. Continue until you have made 8 kulchas. Place the kulchas on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. Ande Ka Paratha This is a unique addition to your recipe collection. A mild and flaky bread, it is a small kid’s favorite at our home. Makes 8 parathas • 2 cups Indian atta flour (whole-wheat flour) • 1½ teaspoons table salt • 2+2 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter • Water as needed • 8 eggs In a bowl combine the flour, salt and two tablespoons of clarified butter. Slowly begin to add the water, kneading the flour as you go. Make a dough, kneading for at least 10 minutes. The final dough should be soft and pliable. It should not be sticky or else it will not roll out well. Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour. Lightly oil or flour your hands. Take one portion and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the prepared floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Now fold the dough over itself. Take the folded dough and roll it around itself into a spiral. Tuck the end under. Do this for all eight dough balls. (This folding and rolling will make the paratha very flaky.) Now flatten the spiral and roll again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Heat a griddle on medium heat. Brush it lightly with butter and add the paratha. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the paratha begins to blister. Brush the top lightly with butter and remove from heat. Put the paratha aside on a warm plate. Grease the same griddle a bit and break an egg on it. Cook the egg sunny side up. Place the cooked side of the paratha on the egg. Press down gently to break the yolk. Let it cook for a minute. Brush the top of the paratha with butter, flip carefully and cook for another minute or two until the paratha is no longer raw. Remove the paratha from the griddle and place on a serving platter. Cover with a paper towel. Continue until all the parathas are cooked. Serve hot. Indian Bread Stuffed With Spicy Potatoes (Aloo Ka Paratha) This filled paratha is a very popular North Indian bread, served traditionally with homemade white butter and Indian pickles of your choice. • 2 cups Indian atta flour (whole-wheat flour) • 4 tablespoons semolina • 1½ teaspoons table salt • 2 tablespoons melted clarified butter or butter • Water as needed • 3 medium potatoes, peeled • 2 Serrano green chilies, seeded and finely minced • 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced • 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, grated • 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala • 4 tablespoons melted clarified butter or butter • A few tablespoons flour for dusting In a bowl combine the wheat flour, semolina flour, salt and two tablespoons of clarified butter. Slowly begin to add the water, kneading the flour as you go. Make a dough, kneading for at least 10 minutes. The final dough should be soft and pliable. It should not be sticky, or else it will not roll out well. Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover for about 15 minutes. Drain. Put the potatoes in a bowl and mash them well with a fork. Add the green chilies, cilantro, ginger root, and chaat masala and mix well. Set this filling aside to cool. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour. Lightly oil or flour your hands. Take one portion and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the prepared floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Lightly brush the surface with the clarified butter. Add a tablespoon of the potato filling to the center. Bring the sides together and pinch them to seal and form a ball. Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour. Roll the flattened ball again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter. Heat a griddle on medium heat. Brush it lightly with butter and add the paratha. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the paratha begins to blister. Brush the top lightly with butter and flip over. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove the paratha from the griddle and place on a serving platter. Cover with a paper towel. Continue until all the parathas are cooked. Sheermal A sweet bread, it is one of the few Indian breads that uses yeast. Keep the dough in a warm place to ensure that it rises. You can increase the amount of sugar if you like a sweeter taste. • 1 packet dry yeast • 1 teaspoon sugar • ¼ cup water • 1½ cups all-purpose flour • ¼ teaspoon salt • 2 tablespoons sugar • 2 eggs (separate 1 egg and set the yolk aside) beat the whole egg and the white together • 2 tablespoons melted clarified butter or butter • Extra flour for dusting • Pitted cherries/raisins for garnish Mix yeast with the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Set aside until frothy, about 5 - 10 minutes. Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the clarified butter, egg and yeast mixture. Knead until a smooth dough is formed. (You may need more warm water.) Set aside to rise until the dough doubles in size. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly dust the rolling surface and rolling pin with flour. Knead the dough again on the floured surface for about 5 minutes. Divide it into 6 equal pieces and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it with your hands. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a disc. Continue until you have made 6 discs. Beat the reserved egg yolk and brush a little on each sheermal. Place a few cherries on the sheermal for garnish. Place the discs on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Tandoori Roti We wanted to show how the tandoor is used to prepare breads. These pictures are of a special roti or bread, called Tandoori Roti, being prepared in the hot tandoor or clay oven. The basic recipe entails preparing a dough of whole-wheat flour. (See the paratha dough prepared earlier.) The flattened rolled out discs are then cooked in the tandoor until the dark spots begin appearing on the surface of the bread. Post your questions here -->> Q&A

Post your questions for A Sampling of North Indian Breads here.

I apologize for geeking out a bit here, but do you have any thoughts about the use of indigenous vs. cultured yeasts in making wine? I ask this because I've recently discovered that some of my favorite American Chardonnays (and I don't have many) were made with indigenous yeast.

Hi All, I am working with BBHasin on a class for eGCI teaching Indian breads. ANy favorites that you would like to learn about?

Hi, I'm wondering if the pastry experts can help me with a conundrum that I've had since I started baking bread fifteen years ago. I'm not a commercial baker and have always been fascinated by those soft breads served in Asian bakeries - the very soft crusted baked barbecued pork and other buns in Chinese bakeries, the golden very fine soft-crust Japanese breads that go by a variety of names such as Milk Bun, Butter top, English loaf, etc. I have no problems creating the hard crust for breads like French loaves, foccacia, etc. but I simply cannot get a long-lasting soft crust like the Asian bakeries. I was told to use lots of butter in a pastry kitchen where I previously worked and it worked for a while but after the bread cooled, it became [permanently] hard-crusted. Perhaps it's the quality of the flour that I use? Can anyone help?

Ling's post in Vancouver got me thinking: What restaurant in Philly has sweetbreads on le menu? I like the stuff, wouldn't mind having it more often. Only had it once, at Sammy's Roumanian in NYC.

Not quite 52nd St. :), but we have reservations for the first time here, first time in the main room that is. Any suggestions?

I have made a lot of bread over the years: real French bread (thank you, Julia Child and Messrs Calvel and Poilane), all manner of sourdoughs, starters from grapes, bigas, poulisches, pizza doughs. Even pane carasau, the Sardinian (leavened) flat bread that is a kind of pinnacle of breadmaking technique -- rather like causing French bread to emerge from the oven as a balloon of crust with no crumb at all. And while my product wasn't as good as that made by Sardinian artisans it was undeniably pane carasau. All this not to brag but to say that I'm not afraid of or uninterested in bread making. Yet, sitting in one corner of our kitchen, we now have a Panasonic bread machine. We use it every day. And I am glad we do. It happened like this. My wife had tried to get one of these things for years. I had steadfastly refused. We had enough machines. Bread was easy to put together. Why did we need it? I was a card carrying foodie. What if a friend spotted a bread machine in our kitchen? My egullet licence might be cancelled forthwith. Finally, on her birthday, I relented and bought the Panasonic. We have used it almost every day since. We don't use it for "creative" breads. In fact, I believe we have only ever made 2 or 3 different recipes. Our daily bread is the so-called "French": 400g of flour, 300ml of water, salt, yeast. That's it. It takes exactly 2 minutes and 45 seconds to measure the ingredients, push the button to start the machine and clean up. No measuring cup: it's all weighed into the machine itself. The product isn't near what you would buy in a good French bakery, but it is simple and good. It gets a long, leisurely rise (6 hours minimum, sometimes 8). The texture is chewy, it actually tastes like bread, and the crust is better than almost anything available in the supermarket. Our children like it and they no longer eat tasteless supermarket bread, filled with chemicals. There are all sorts of other ways we could get bread. We could go to the local bakery in the morning, if it opened early enough. We could bake our own bread. But with two working spouses, 3 children and a busy household, that wouldn't happen. The children's nanny, a catering college graduate who is a formidable cook, just doesn't have time for daily bread buying, let alone baking her own. Neither my wife nor I have time, except on the occasional weekend and holiday. In France, we live in a town surrounded by bakeries: some 30 of them nearby the last time I counted, including one specialising in pain au levain, sourdough breads. The daily bread run is a pleasure. A bread machine would be completely superfluous. Perhaps this is true in central New York as well. In suburban London, it makes a lot of sense. Off my chest at last. As usual, my wife was right. There.

I’ve been experimenting with bread recently & although I can get it to rise & have a decent texture I can’t seem to get it to taste of anything (with one exception - seeded loaf). I’ve tried different flours, mixing flours, adding oil/butter, milk & milk powder and so on. The one thing that I haven’t changed in the yeast – I use fast yeast packets and do so because I have never been able to find dry yeast or yeast cakes. Does yeast make a difference to the taste or does my problem lie elsewhere?

A couple of years back I asked for a decent bread knife for Christmas. What I got was an Oxo brand knife. Some of their other utensils might be good, but this one is not. It takes a serious amount of effort to get through the crust of the artisan loaves I like to buy. So I'm now so fed up with it that I'm willing to shell out money for a new one. Not too much money, mind you (maybe $30-40). Does anyone have any recommendations? I've thought about bringing a loaf of bread to Sur La Table and asking to try out a few knives. How well received do you think that request will be? I don't want to get stuck with another bum knife if I can help it and I'd feel a lot better about buying something if I can have the chance to test-drive it first. --V

My friend Pearl, who loves peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, recommends bread and butter pickles, not sweet pickles. She sez there's a difference, but she doesn't know what. The sandwiches are terrific. Anyone out there know?

For my 21st birthday i just got a bottle of 1981 Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. I know nothing about wine but i do know that this is quite valuable but if anyone would approximately what a bottle of this would be worth i may be able to treat it with proper care. I could also use advice as to what to drink such a wine with. Im sorry im such a novice...i like good food plenty but this is my first experience with fine wine. Thanks!

So I've got a little deep fryer that I like to get out every now and then, but the breading procedure has me stumped. You dip the item in flour (or not), then in egg, then in breading. But my fingers get the same treatment. After about 3 items I've got these crumb lollypop fingers. I've tried utensils, chop stix, to no avail. Anybody have a foolproof method?

Hello I make a very simple eggy bread (white bread in whisked eggs and fried in oil) How can i make it different and unique? Im stuck as its getting boring and tasteless. i need to make my eggy bread come alive. Can i add any other ingredients or cook it differently at all ? Your input is as always gratefully accepted. thanks. cappers

How important was the idea of the in house bakery to the initial concept of St John? Was it something you knew you wanted to do and make a feature of when you thought about setting up your own restaurant, or did it arise when you settled on the premises?

It wasn't the first time I'd made bread, but it was the first time I'd made good bread. Recently I was asked to test a recipe for an upcoming book, for a Flute Gana-type loaf, with a poolish starter and some cornmeal in the dough. I followed the recipe, formed the loaves, baked on a stone, and out came the same disappointing bread I've always made: looked fine, perfectly edible, but bland. I was about to conclude that all the books claiming you could get good rustic bread out of a home oven were bogus. But I was determined to give it another shot, so I turned to The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It has a Pain a l'Ancienne recipe that promises great results. It seemed too simple to work at all: it's a straight dough, with no starter or sponge (this is very uncommon in modern bread books), and after retarding overnight, you shape the loaves and pop them in the oven without even proofing. It's an extremely wet dough, and the best I could do was shape it into some flattish baguettes. The recipe does call for generating as much steam in the oven as possible, which I did by pouring hot water into a heated cast iron skillet and also using a spray bottle. About 22 minutes later, out came some gorgeously brown, if misshapen, loaves. Somehow I forced myself to let them cool completely before diving in. I couldn't even believe what I was eating at first. Was Laurie playing a trick on me, substituting some bread from Dahlia or Grand Central? No, this was my ugly bread. The crust to crumb ration was a little high, but that's the worst thing you could possibly say about this loaf. The crust was crisp, and loaded with flavor, and I got great gelatinization through the crumb, leaving it moist with irregular holes. If you're chary of homemade bread, like I was, try this recipe. You could mix up the dough tonight and pop it in the fridge, then bake the bread tomorrow morning. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy a pound of yeast.

As per Tommy's suggestion, I think this is a topic worthy of the General Topics board. We had some discussion in NJ becuase of a recent experience at a New Jersey restaurant. This is a place that is touted as one of the "better" restaurants in the state. They brought us bread tightly wrapped in a linen cloth-- but upon unwrapping, the bread was "cold" (Room temperature). (Why was it wrapped up?) When I asked for the bread to be heated, they were somewhat nonplussed and we never got the bread back for 15 minutes, and had to ask twice more for it!! Some contend that heating dries out the bread, which has never been my experience, especially if heated properly, as in a warming oven. This bread situation actually put a damper on this restaurant experience. My feeling is that good bread always tastes better warmed, and should ALWAYS be served that way at a "finer" restaurant. Comments?

I have some leftover challah-like bread and a large amount of dried shitake mushrooms so....I'm looking to make a mushroom bread pudding. Anyone have a great recipe that you've tried?

Discuss.

John, in Pot on the Fire you give a recipe for a yeast-raised biscuit (cookie), the Arnhemse Meisjes. Thinking on this, I started to wonder whether pasta could be made out of yeast-raised dough. Might it have more flavour, more "character" than ordinary egg pasta? Yeast-raised doughs can certainly be rolled very thin, and it should be possible to give them enough body to survive cooking in boiling water. Are there yeast-raised pastas in any culinary tradition that you are aware of?

I'm thinking about making either a gargantuan gingerbread house or (most likely) mini-gingerbread houses for the school holiday party this year. But my wife is convinced that most kids don't like gingerbread. Anybody have thoughs on this? I know I loved it as a kid and both my little ones do too. Thanks!

Went into SJ the other day to buy sourdough and was disappointed to find they didn't have any. Thought no more of it until today, when I was told that Fergus was trying to get rid of breads made with non-historically-British processes (i.e., the good ones -- sourdough, rye ...) Raw peas I can live with, but if my source is correct (likely but I haven't had it confirmed from SJ itself) this is 'rigour' gone too far, to the point of destructive and pointless limitation. SJ sourdough is not only the best bread they do/did, it's the best bread I've found in the area (Moro sourdough, hardly fit for breakfast, aside). Let's picket outside or something.

Ripe summer tomatoes are in the markets now, and the pots of basil are bursting with their fragrant green goodness. This is the time of year I make Tomato & Bread Salad. Do you? Mine: Four good-sized slices two-day-old Italian bread, cubed (about 4 cups) 2 C chopped tomatoes (either cherry tomato halves, or other flavorful tomato, seeded and chopped) 1/2 C chopped sweet salad onions (Maui, red, 1015's) Handful fresh basil leaves, chiffonade 3 T EVOO 1 T wine vinegar (or to taste) sea salt & black pepper to taste. Toss all.... let set at room temp about 5-10 minutes. Serves two as a main course luncheon salad.