bread made with dairy

I was very excited to find some local milk in glass reusable bottles on 1/2 off because of an upcoming expiration.  Yay!  Make yogurt!  So I did ... but it didn't work.  And then I tried again.  Nope again.  So I had half a gallon of runny gloppy sour milk. The chickens and dog are quite happy to eat it but I also wanted to make bread, so ...

This recipe was outstanding.  A perfect sandwich bread.  Fantastic.  Great flavor and soft texture.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 c. liquid total: in original recipe: 1 cup buttermilk (or runny sour milk that should be yogurt) + 3/4 c. water; I also use whey, milk, etc. 
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter (or less if dairy is high fat)
• 2 cups whole wheat bread flour (or whatever whole wheat flour you have)
• 2 cups white flour
• 3 tablespoons rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• ⁽¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda) - unnecessary, makes it very poofy

Directions

1. Heat the 1 3/4 c. liquid (yogurt/buttermilk/water) with the salt, sugar, and butter.  Let it cool to 100-110 degrees F.
2. Put 3 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, (and baking soda) in a bowl and add the liquid.  Stir it in.  Add flour until it's the right consistency.
3. Knead for 10 minutes, then set to rise in the bowl. 
4. Cover and let rise for about an hour and a half (depends on kitchen temperature). 
5. When doubled in size, punch it down.  Shape into the greased bread pan. 
6. Set to rise again for about 30-45 minutes. 
7. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Note: you can proof the yeast with 1 tsp. sugar and 3/4 cup water if you like.  I don't bother anymore since I'm using SAF instant yeast which is very user friendly.

cornbread made with yogurt

I had some starting-to-turn yogurt and wanted cornbread and found this recipe which is SO GOOD.

1 cup yellow cornmeal (160 g)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (40 g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

 
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
3 T canola oil
1 T honey

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine the egg, yogurt, milk, oil and honey. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Here is a slightly modified version, and with muffins.
 

shakshuka with feta

This is shamelessly taken from NYT and adds feta. Which I have a fair amount of to use up. And simplifies prep because I don't to turn on my oven most of the year.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (I usually omit, but could be jarred peppers)
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
• ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
• 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 6 large eggs
• Chopped cilantro, for serving
• Hot sauce, for serving

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper and garlic. Cook gently until very soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in crumbled feta.
2. Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon hot tomatoes over eggs and let cook on stove top until eggs are desired texture, about 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with bread.

Note:  I make a whole batch like this, cook two eggs in it and eat that, then use the leftover sauce to make another meal or two by reheating it and cooking more eggs in it.  

bierrocks from More with Less cookbook & another

I have no idea how I came upon this cookbook as a young adult.  Was it a family member's that I liked and gifted to me?  My father's family are from a church very closely related to Mennonites, so that sounds plausible.

Anyway, my dietary world was shaped by More with Less, Diet and Recipes for a Small Planet, Laurel's Kitchen, and Moosewood.  I know I can find just about everything on line and I've long since gotten rid of most books, but I'm thinking of rebuying these.

I bought a big head of cabbage at the farmer's market and for some reason I started to crave these bierrocks, which are handpies with yeast dough, ground beef, and cabbage.  They freeze up well and are very satisfying.  So, it's a long weekend project.

Bierrocks 

Dough:

2 c. warm water 
2 pkg. dry yeast 
1/4 c. sugar 
1 1/2 t. salt 
1 egg 
1/4 c. oil or butter 
6-6 1/2 c. flour 

Meat mixture: 

1 1/2 lb. beef 
1/2 c. onion 

Remaining ingredients:

3 c. cabbage, finely cut 
1 1/2 t. salt 
1/2 t. pepper 
Dash Tabasco sauce 
Minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and smoke flavoring, optional 

Chill dough for several hours and prepare as for roll dough (or substitute frozen dough). 
Brown beef and onion in a skillet and add remaining ingredients. Cover skillet and continue 
cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender. Do not add liquid. 
Cool slightly. Roll out dough into thin sheets. Cut in 5-inch squares. Place 2 T. meat 
mixture on each square, pinch edges together, and place pinched side down on greased 
cookie sheet. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. 

This recipe 
is from the More-with-Less Cookbook (Doris Janzen Longacre, Herald Press, c 1976).

****

This is another version that I found when looking for a recipe for ground bison. 

I find it amusing that they refer to salt and pepper as "spices" - but that shows it's authentic.

Nebraska Bison Stuffers

A classic Nebraska recipe, usually passed down in families, with a bison spin. Though more labor intensive, then many of our recipes, well worth the payoff.

---

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Ground Bison
1 small onion, chopped
6 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
cheese slices, optional (I would never use cheese slices, but this is a Midwestern recipe)

Dough:
2 pkg. dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups warm water
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup melted margarine
6 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
Mix water, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Add beaten egg and margarine. Stir in flour and refrigerate for 4 hours in a covered bowl.

Once dough is ready, brown ground bison and onion. Drain. Add cabbage, seasonings and water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Cool.

Take a small amount of dough and roll into a thin layer. Fill with filling. Bring each side of dough up over the filling and pinch sides together to create a seal. Place on a cookie sheet - seam side down. Repeat until dough and mixture are used up.

Cook for 18-20 minutes at 350* F.

This made about three baking sheets worth, with four rolls made of leftover filling.   

spaghetti carbonara

from NY Times 

Ingredients

• Salt
• 2 large eggs and 2 large yolks, room temperature
• 1 ounce (about 1/3 packed cup) grated pecorino Romano, plus additional for serving
• 1 ounce (about 1/3 packed cup) grated Parmesan
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 ½ ounces of slab guanciale, pancetta or bacon, sliced into pieces about 1/4 inch thick by 1/3 inch square
• 12 ounces spaghetti (about 3/4 box

Preparation

1. Place a large pot of lightly salted water (no more than 1 tablespoon salt) over high heat, and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with hot water, and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and pecorino and Parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and generous black pepper.
3. Set the water to boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the pork, and sauté until the fat just renders, on the edge of crispness but not hard. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Add pasta to the water and boil until a bit firmer than al dente. Just before pasta is ready, reheat guanciale in skillet, if needed. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and add to the skillet over low heat. Stir for a minute or so.
5. Empty serving bowl of hot water. Dry it and add hot pasta mixture. Stir in cheese mixture, adding some reserved pasta water if needed for creaminess. Serve immediately, dressing it with a bit of additional grated pecorino and pepper.

 
 
 

sauerkraut

 Update 4-17-22

Just made a wide mouth quart jar of sauerkraut with the following:

• 29 oz of cabbage chopped (2 small heads once cleaned and chopped one was 12 oz and the other 17 oz; harvested from my yard today, with slugs and such to clean out which I did with filtered water but also just cut around it)
• 1 T salt

Put cabbage in bowl and salt it; liquid will come out after half hour or so, especially with massaging. No need for brine.

 

In a quart jar, I used a glass weight to keep cabbage submerged with a fermenting top (to let carbon dioxide release) that a friend gave me. (If I'd used a leaf, it would be less cabbage)

 

Going to let it ferment for about 30 days (taking to my office so it stays around 72 degrees instead of my warmer house). 

 

***

 

Sauerkraut - also from the fermentation class -

Chop up a head of cabbage in consistent-ish pieces.  Put into a bowl and salt it (somewhat less than 1 tsp to 1/2 cabbage).  Mix it up. 

Let it sit on counter 30-60 minutes to draw out the water.  Mix it and massage it.

Make a brine of 1 c. unchlorinated water and 1 tsp. salt.

Fill the jar with cabbage and brine.  Put an outside cabbage leaf on top, held down by rock or avocado pits to keep cabbage under brine.  Cover with lid or cloth with rubberband.  Leave on counter.  If use a lid, open to "burp it" every couple of days. 

Keep out of direct sunlight.  Leave it a minimum of 7 days per taste. 

Take out leaf, put in fridge.  It will stay good for a long time (many months).

water kefir

I took a fermentation class a few weeks ago and she gave us water kefir grains.  They're not the same as milk kefir and they're supposed to make a carbonated beverage that can be mixed with juice.  Or, as one site said, can be like a light lemonade.  That appeals to me, as we're pulling into a hot summer.

First ferment:

Warm up 1 quart water with 1/4 c. sugar to dissolve sugar.

Drain grains and put into quart jar.  When the sugar water is room temperature, add it to the jar.  Cover with cheesecloth, thin cloth towel, or coffee filter and rubber band it.

Leave it on the counter 24-48 hours.  The grains want to be refed every 48 hours.

Second ferment:  
Strain.  (Save kefir grains for another first ferment.)

Put the strained kefir water into a bottle, like the old Grolsch bottles with the flip top lids.  She suggested 2/3 water kefir and 1/3 flavoring such as fresh juice, whole fruit, crystallized ginger, mint).  I think I want to try it with cucumber pieces and watermelon juice.

Close it and keep it on the counter for 24-48 hours.  Then put in fridge if storing for longer.  Be very careful opening it as the pressure can build.

Longer-term storage:
for the first ferment, just put into the fridge for up to two months or so.  Some molasses will help revive the grains.     

**
I have now made it with strawberries, cherries, lime-cucumber, watermelon, and calamondin.  All good.

In the heat here I've been warned to do a second ferment in flip-top bottles for no longer than 12 hours.  So ... I'm putting the in the shower for a 24 hour ferment and no explosions yet (knock on wood).  The 12 hour secondary ferment made it slightly effervescent (drinking lime-cucumber now); when fermented longer (with strawberries) it was so bubbly it exploded a third of it all over my kitchen when I opened it and it tasted like a carbonated soda.  But better.