Authors: Zoe Francois,Jeff Hertzberg MD
Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients (27 page)
Msemmen (Algerian Flatbread)
Msemmen (Algerian Flatbread)
This is one of the most fascinating breads we’ve ever made. The flavor is haunting: an otherworldly combination of richness, salt, and spice. Its color and spiral make it one of our most visually intriguing breads as well. Serve it with North African lamb dishes and other hearty fare (see
photo above
).
Makes one 12-inch flatbread
Use any of these refrigerated pre-mixed doughs:
100% Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil
,
Master Recipe
,
100% Whole Wheat Bread
, or other non-enriched dough
¼ pound (peach-size portion) of any pre-mixed dough listed above
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for sprinkling on the top crust
2 tablespoons olive oil for the skillet
1.
Mix the 3 tablespoons olive oil with the spices and ¼ teaspoon salt.
2.
Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a ¼-pound (peach-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Flatten the ball with your fingers and then with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick.
3.
Evenly spread the spice-oil mixture over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border, and roll it up into a log. Coil the rope tightly around itself. Place it on a work surface lightly greased with olive oil and allow it to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.
4.
Once the dough has rested, roll the coil out until you have a 1/8-inch-thick circle.
5.
Heat a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop, until water droplets flicked into the pan skitter across the surface and evaporate quickly. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and allow to heat until hot
but not smoking.
6.
Drop the rolled-out dough into the skillet, decrease the heat to medium, and cover the skillet to trap steam and heat.
7.
Check for doneness with a spatula at about 2 to 5 minutes, or sooner if you’re smelling overly quick browning. Adjust the heat as needed. Flip the
msemmen
when the underside is richly browned.
8.
Continue cooking another 2 to 5 minutes, until the
msemmen
feels firm, even at the edges, and the second side is browned. You’ll need more pan time if you’ve rolled a thicker
msemmen.
9.
Allow to cool slightly on a rack before breaking apart and eating.
Grissini (Olive Oil Bread Sticks)
Grissini (Olive Oil Bread Sticks)
Grissini
are Italian bread sticks infused with olive oil. Since the oil infuses just as nicely when drizzled over the unbaked sticks as when mixed into the dough, you have a variety of choices of which premixed dough to use—you don’t have to use an olive oil dough (even our olive oil dough benefits from additional oil).
Immediately after being photographed (see
photo above
), the
grissini
consented to being wrapped with strips of prosciutto and consumed with Italian white wine.
Makes twenty-four 12-inch grissini
Use any of these pre-mixed doughs:
Master Recipe
,
100% Whole Wheat Bread
,
100% Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil
, any other non-enriched dough, or any gluten-free dough
½ pound (orange-size portion) of any pre-mixed dough listed above
Olive oil for brushing on top, preferably extra virgin
Kosher salt for sprinkling
Rosemary for sprinkling (fresh or dried—some chopped, some whole leaves)
Prosciutto, cut into 1-inch strips (optional for serving)
1. Preheat the oven to 400
°
F,
with a rack placed in the middle of the oven. A baking stone is optional, but if you’re using one, allow for a 30-minute preheat, otherwise 5 minutes is adequate.
2.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, or simply grease it well with olive oil.
3.
Roll the dough into an 8 by 12-inch rectangle, 1/8 inch thick. Then cut 1/8-inch-wide strips with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
4.
Lay the strips out on the prepared cookie sheet with ½ inch or so between each strip. Generously daub olive oil over each strip with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary.
5.
Bake near the center of the oven for approximately 10 to 16 minutes, depending on thickness and width. The
grissini
are done when they are nicely browned and beginning to crisp (they will firm up when they cool). Serve plain as an hors d’oeuvre or with one half wrapped in a prosciutto strip.
Spicy Chili Whole Grain Snack Crackers
Crackers were developed long ago as a baked product that could be stored for a long time, yet wouldn’t go stale—they were hard and dry in the first place. If you make your own crackers, you won’t need to store them long because they won’t last—they taste too good. These colorful little squares are bursting with the flavors of grain and chili. Just make small quantities and use healthy oils like canola or olive, and salt them to your taste. Top them with a bit of cheese and you’re ready to watch the game.
Makes about 50 small crackers
Use any of these refrigerated pre-mixed doughs:
Master Recipe
,
100% Whole Wheat Bread
,
100% Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil
, or any gluten-free dough
½ pound (orange-size portion) of any pre-mixed dough listed above
3 teaspoons chili powder (or make your own, see Southwestern Focaccia with
Roasted Corn and Goat cheese
)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Olive or canola oil for brushing the crackers
Coarse salt for sprinkling on the top
1.
Mix the chili powder and salt in a small bowl until uniform.
2. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 400°F
, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack. The baking stone is optional and if you omit it, the preheat can be as short as 5 minutes.
3.
Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a ½-pound (orange-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
4.
Dust the dough with flour and flatten the dough with your hands and a rolling pin to get it as thin as possible without tearing. Paper-thin’s the goal—no thicker than 1/16 inch or it won’t be like a cracker. Use as much flour as is needed to prevent sticking. It’s easiest to get it super-thin by cutting the dough into smaller balls first.
5.
Use a pastry brush to paint the rolled-out dough generously with oil, then sprinkle it with spice mixture (you may have some of the spice mixture left over; it can be stored for the next batch). Dock (puncture) the dough all over with a fork to prevent the crackers from puffing.
6.
Cut the dough into 1½-inch squares with a pizza wheel. Using a spatula, transfer them to a greased cookie sheet or one prepared with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Don’t let the crackers touch or overlap.
7.
Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 15 minutes, until browned and beginning to firm up. Don’t overbake or you’ll get a scorched flavor. You’ll need less time if you successfully rolled them very thin. They will be a bit soft when they first come out of the oven but they will become crisper when they cool completely.
8.
Serve with robust cheeses, with beer, or all by themselves.
GLUTEN-FREE BREADS AND PASTRIES
On our
Web site, many people asked us for gluten-free versions of our stored doughs, but only a few of them can’t eat gluten themselves. The rest were people entertaining guests with celiac disease who can’t tolerate this particular wheat protein. It quickly became obvious to us that many of our readers might want to have some delicious gluten-free recipes, even if gluten wasn’t a problem for them. If you’re ever unsure whether an ingredient is a problem for people who can’t eat gluten, a great resource is the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center. Their Web site, at
www.celiacdisease.net/gluten-free-diet
, has a terrific list of ingredients that do (and do not) contain gluten. Some foods containing gluten will surprise you (blue cheese?). The University of Chicago Web site is aimed at people with celiac disease, an allergic digestive condition. People with celiac absolutely cannot eat gluten at all.
We really wanted to create recipes that emulate both the taste and texture of traditional breads. Many of the existing gluten-free recipes tasted odd to us, or were overly sweetened—often they didn’t taste much like bread to us at all. Creating recipes that met our standards and were able to be stored posed a challenge, but we are quite pleased with the results. Check out the flatbreads and pizza chapter; many of those recipes work beautifully with gluten-free doughs.
There are a few ingredients in gluten-free breads that you may not be familiar with (xanthan gum, tapioca starch, and others), so we covered them in some detail in
Ingredients
(chapter 2).
Gluten-Free Crusty Boule
Shauna and Danny of the Gluten-Free Girl Web site generously shared their wealth of knowledge with us to develop this fabulous crusty loaf. The dough is incredibly versatile; we bake it as a classic boule or in a loaf pan for sandwiches (follow
baking instructions
). It also makes a wonderful pizza crust with your favorite toppings or great crackers if it is rolled thin.
Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
2 cups brown rice flour
1½ cups sorghum flour
3 cups tapioca starch (tapioca flour)
2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
2
2
/
3
cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
1/3 cup neutral-flavored oil
2 tablespoons honey
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, tapioca starch, yeast, salt, and xanthan gum in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the liquid ingredients and gradually mix them with the dry ingredients, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle), until all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated. You might have to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises, approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
5. On baking day,
use wet hands to take out a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of the refrigerated dough. Quickly shape it into a ball; this dough isn’t stretched because there is no gluten in it—just gently press it into the shape. You might need to wet your hands a little to prevent the dough from sticking and to create a smooth surface, but don’t use so much water as to make the dough soggy.
6.
Allow the dough to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet.
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack.
Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
8.
Just before baking, slash the loaf with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
9.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 35 minutes, until lightly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it two-thirds of the way through baking and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
10.
Allow to cool on a rack before slicing or eating.
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Bread
Our friends Debora and Ralph inspired this recipe—they’ve been experimenting with gluten-free ingredients for years. This dough is enriched with delicious olive oil, and is a great fit for pizza and other Mediterranean-style specialties. It is also lovely as a free-form loaf with a crispy crust.
Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup soy flour
1 cup tapioca starch (tapioca flour)
3½ cups cornstarch
2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
2½ cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
2/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons white or cider vinegar
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, tapioca starch, cornstarch, yeast, salt, and xanthan gum in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the liquid ingredients and gradually mix them into the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle).
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, or you can refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 7 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
5. On baking day
, use wet hands to take out a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of the refrigerated dough. Quickly shape it into a ball; this dough isn’t stretched because there is no gluten in it—just gently press it into the shape. You might need to wet your hands a little to prevent the dough from sticking and to create a smooth surface, but don’t use so much water as to make the dough soggy.
6.
Elongate the ball into a narrow oval. Allow the loaf to rest and rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper, for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F
, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
8.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
9.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
Gluten-Free Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella, Olives, Basil, and Anaheim Peppers
The secret to making really good gluten-free pizza is a thin crust. The
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Bread dough
is our favorite and makes the toppings shine. Our testers thought they were eating traditional pizza crust.
Makes 1 pizza, 12 to 16 inches across
½ pound (orange-size portion)
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Bread dough
, or
Gluten-Free Crusty Boule
½ cup canned Italian-style chopped tomatoes, well drained by draining through a strainer, or use any prepared tomato sauce you like
¼ pound sliced mozzarella cheese, fresh buffalo-milk variety if available
6 basil leaves, roughly torn
1/8 cup sliced Mediterranean-style black or green olives
½ Anaheim pepper, thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)
Olive oil for drizzling on top of the pizza
White or brown rice flour for dusting
1. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 500°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. You won’t be using steam, so you can omit the broiler tray.
2.
Prepare and measure all toppings in advance. The key to a pizza that slides right off the peel is to work quickly—don’t let the dough sit on the peel any longer than necessary.
3.
Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with rice flour and cut off a ½-pound (orange-size) piece. Dust the piece with more rice flour and quickly shape it into a ball; this dough isn’t stretched because there is no gluten in it—just press it into the shape of a ball. You will need to use lots of rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, but avoid working lumps of flour into the dough.
4.
Flatten the dough with your hands and a rolling pin directly on a wooden pizza peel to produce a 1/16 to 1/8-inch-thick round, dusting with lots of rice flour to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and board. A metal dough scraper is very helpful here; use it to scrape the expanding dough round off the work surface when it sticks. Be sure that the dough is still movable before adding the toppings; if it isn’t, sprinkle more rice flour under the dough.
5.
Distribute a thin layer of tomatoes over the surface of the dough.
6.
Scatter the mozzarella over the surface of the dough, then the basil, olives, peppers, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, if desired. Drizzle the pizza with about a teaspoon of olive oil. No further resting is needed prior to baking.
7.
Slide the pizza directly onto the stone (it may take a number of back-and-forth shakes to dislodge the pizza—use the dough scraper to help). Check for doneness in 10 to 12 minutes; turn the pizza around in the oven if one side is browning faster than the other. It may need up to 5 more minutes in the oven, or until the cheese and crust are nicely browned.
8.
Allow the pizza to cool slightly on a rack before serving, to allow the cheese to set.
Gluten-Free Sesame Baguette
It’s not traditionally French to put sesame seeds on top of a baguette, but who cares? It’s delicious and really adds another dimension to this bread. These loaves look beautiful, too, with the slashes alternating with curving rows of sesame seeds.
Makes 1 large or 2 small baguettes
1 pound (grapefruit-size portion)
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Bread dough
,
Gluten-Free Crusty Boule
, or
Gluten-Free Cheddar and Sesame Bread
Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top crust
1. On baking day
, use wet hands to break off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of the refrigerated dough. Quickly shape it into a cylinder; this dough isn’t stretched because there is no gluten in it—just gently press it into the shape. You might need to wet your hands a little to prevent the dough from sticking and to create a smooth surface, but don’t use so much water as to make the dough soggy.
2.
Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with rice flour or lined with parchment paper for 60 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
3. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
4.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with water, then sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Slash the loaf diagonally with longitudinal cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
5.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 25 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
6.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before cutting and eating.