Mustard and Cheese Bread

This is a must-try bread. Just take my word for it. Even if you've never baked another bread in your life, do try this. Its delicious, easy and very forgiving. I received this recipe from a friend many years ago. I've made it many many times since then, but have only just realized I haven't posted this on my blog.

It's from Martha Rose Shulman, who is a columnist for the New York Times and an author of several cookbooks. After the great success of this bread, I ran out and bought her book. It's just amazing. Buy a copy. 

Cheese and Mustard Bread

(From Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman)

2 1/2 tsps Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm Water
1/2 cup lukewarm Milk
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Oil
1 large Egg, lightly beaten (about 1/4 cup)
1/4-1/2 cup Mustard (the recipe recommends Dijon but I used an Indian mustard, Kasundi. Also I used a little more than 1/2 cup, as I love the spiciness of Kasundi).
1 tbsp Shallots/ Onions, finely chopped (I used 2 tbsp)
1 cup Sharp Cheese like Gruyere, grated (I used Pecorino, because I love it)
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 beaten egg, for egg wash (optional. I didn't use it).

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and let stand for five minutes until frothy.

Mix all the ingredients together including the yeast, in a bowl. (You can add several other options to this dough like cumin seeds, black pepper or any other herbs or spices, maybe even some nuts would be lovely). Keep mixing until they come together as dough. If too sticky, add a little bit of flour, but please go easy on the flour. Of course, you can add some water if the dough is too dry.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the warmth of the room.

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Punch down and shape the dough into a loaf. (Or any shape you desire). Place in a loaf pan and cover with a cloth. Leave again in a warm place and allow to double in size.


Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until down. (Adjust timings if you are making anything smaller than a regular loaf). To test if a loaf is done, knock on it gently and you'll get a hollow sound. Let it cool slightly and then remove from pan. Allow to cool for a further 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm.

Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a pasta made primarily with mashed potatoes and a little bit of flour. When it's good, they can be little pillows of heaven - light and flavorful. But when they're badly made, they are just lumps of lead. The key to making good gnocchi is a light touch and lots of practice! Let's just say the recipe I used from Smitten Kitchen was absolutely fantastic but I need lots of practice - mine were definitely not pillows of heaven, but they were full of flavor and we loved them.

Gnocchi
(recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

2 pounds Potatoes (the more flour-y the potatoes, the better. We don't get russet here, so I made do with large golden potatoes)
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 Egg, lightly beaten


Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork and bake in the oven until tender. Allow to cool slightly and peel the potatoes. Grate the potatoes using the large holes of a box grater.

Add the salt and the egg to the potatoes and mix well. Spoon the flour into the potato mixture a little at a time, just using enough so that the dough comes together and doesn't stick to your hands. Transfer the dough out onto a kneading surface and knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, with a very light touch, roll each piece into a long rope about 3/4" thick. Cut 1" pieces from the rope.


Now comes the part that requires a lot of practice. Gnocchi has little ridges that are, I think, mainly there for cosmetic reasons, but they also trap sauce very well. And, hey, it just doesn't look like gnocchi if it doesn't have the ridges.


To get the ridges, pass each piece on the inside of a fork, pressing slightly on the tines. I was afraid of handling the dough too much and so didn't put enough pressure. The ridges were there, but not very prominent.

The gnocchi can be frozen at this stage. Remember to first freeze them on a tray and then drop them into a ziploc bag once frozen. If cooking them right away, drop the pieces into a pot of salted boiling water. The gnocchi will start to float to the top, let it cook for another minute and then remove with a slotted spoon.

I tossed the gnocchi with homemade spinach-walnut pesto and grated some fresh Parmesan over it. Delicious!


For some lovely unusual gnocchi, see the Celery Leaf Gnocchi at Ideas in Food, Sweet Potato Gnocchi at Wild Yeast, Olive Gnocchi at Vegalicious and Peach Gnocchi at 101 Cookbooks.


Check out my fellow marathoners:
DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi, Sripriya, Viji, Kamalika, Pavani, Karuna and Roochi.

Homemade Pasta

I've been wanting to try my hand at making pasta for a very long time. Ever since I got a little confident after baking bread at home. A friend gave me a pasta machine - which I had yearned for - but to my utter amazement, I never took it out of its box! After wanting it for 6 months, I'm still surprised that I never did take it out.

And then I saw this video and wondered why I had even wanted the machine. It looked so simple to make pasta even without a machine. And it was very simple. It really was! For anyone else who is as apprehensive as I was, do try it and you'll be as happy as I am!


Homemade Pasta

1 cup All-Purpose Flour OR 1/2 cup All-Purpose + 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 egg

Make a little mound of the flour and make a well in the center. Break an egg carefully into the well (as you can see from the picture, I wasn't very careful!).


Start by beating the egg with a fork while slowly incorporating the walls of the flour around until all the flour has been incorporated and it has come together into a dough. Pour the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rest for 1/2 hour.


Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to as thin as possible. This is where the video was invaluable. It is amazing how well that chap rolls out the dough. I did a fairly good job.


With a sharp knife, cut the dough into the desired shape. I wanted tagliatelle, and so I folded the dough down from the top until the middle, and fold the bottom half until the middle, like so:

And then cut into pieces. To unravel, slide the knife down the underside of the pieces and lift the knife up.


Voila! Perfect pieces of tagliatelle. I tossed the uncooked pasta with some olive oil because I was scared that the pasta would clump together when cooked.


Throw the pasta into a pot of heavily salted boiling water. When they rise to the top, or after about 5-7 minutes, they're done. Drain and cook with preferred sauce or no sauce at all (like I did). I tossed it with olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper. Delicious!


Here's another entry for DK's AWED: Italian!