That's What Bob's Cooking: June 2012

Sunday, June 24, 2012

"Le Creuset" Crusty Bread

Bread, bread, bread….I am and have always been a huge fan of bread. You name it, if its bread I like it….the fresher the better. So when I stumbled across this amazingly simple recipe, I had to make it! And let me tell you it’s SO simple. It calls for the use of an enameled dutch oven, basically a Le Creuset. If you don’t have one….leave the kitchen, right now. Only kidding! But seriously these are amazing pot, and you really must get one. I know they have a factory outlet store, although I have never purchased anything there, I do know that they discount items based on color, so you might just head in on the right day and get your perfect color. I got mine, and a thrift store! So be on the look out!

Le Creuset Crusty Bread

Adapted from simplysogood.blogspot.com, and reviewed at multiple other sites

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt (I used Rosemary Salt)
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Add water and mix until a loose mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours. (Overnight works great.)

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a enameled, or cast iron dutch oven with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. (at this stage I sprinkled the top with some rosemary salt) Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.

This recipe works great doubled. The picture shows it doubled!

That also means 2 Le Crueset Dutch ovens!!

ROSEMARY LEMON GRUYERE VARIATION

After whisking the dry ingredients together add the zest from two lemons, a couple sprigs chopped rosemary and about 2 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere. Mix all the ingredients together well and add the water. Stir until you have a loose dough.

CRANBERRY ORANGE AND ALMOND VARIATION

Mix together the dry ingredients. Add about 3/4 cup cranberries, orange zest from one orange and about 1/2 cups sliced almonds. Mix it together well and add the water. Stir to form and loose dough.

My Complete Profile

I was born and raised on the East side of Portland Oregon, by two native and second generation, Oregonians, my Mom and Dad (Jack and Joan). Oregon, and the Northwest are deep in my blood. That being said, I have always had an interest in cooking. I would love to add a warm loving story here about how my Mom nurtured my love of cooking by setting me up on or near the counter top to help with whatever she was cooking. Well, that's not exactly the case.

Being a child of the 70's and 80's, I had a great exposure to classic foods like Spam, Tang, Rice-a-Roni and Hamburger Helper. While many of these premade, sodium roller coaster, treats where regulars on our table, my Mom would have to hold the title as "casserole queen". Casseroles are her favorite and her specialty. Whereas, my Dad was more of a spur of the moment kind of cook. His creations included many of the items from our makeshift pantry. Sometimes, i think he was thinking, "the more ingredients, the better it'll be!". I think my first attempt at cooking would have to have been making cookies, either peanut butter (with the criss-cross fork tine print on top), or chocolate chip cookies. Over the years I have made so many of both of these recipes, I have surely lost count.

During middle school, my Mom encouraged me to take Home Economics, thinking that all kids, boy or girl, should know how to cook out in this world. This sparked a growing interest in cooking. So when I entered my junior year of High School, at David Douglas, I enrolled in the culinary arts program, we called it Food Services I. This was a class that had been offered many years before, where the students ran a restaurant, The Kilt, during the lunch periods. Unfortunately, since the class had not been offered in several years, so we didn’t have enough students to open the restaurant, that year. Within the first few weeks of this class, my instructor asked if I'd like to be involved in an outside "club" (kind of like a version of Eagle Scouts) that was mentored by local business owners. It sounded interesting so I joined (not to mention it got me out of the first 2 periods of the day).

At our first meeting I was approached by Sylvia Poesdel, the owner of the Portland landmark restaurant, Sylvia's Italian Restaurant & Dinner Theatre. She asked me if I would be interested in an afterschool job, coming to work for her to learn the cooking/chef trade on the job. I jumped at the chance and started in October of 1985. During my senior year I rejoined the culinary arts program (Food Services II) and this year we were able to reopened the restaurant, which the rest of the students voted me to manage. I just absolutely loved it! I worked at Sylvia's until after I graduated, in 1989. I learned a lot about the restaurant industry, and I would have to say it would be one of just a few life altering jobs I have had throughout my career.

After high school, while I was working at Sylvia's, I applied to culinary arts school. The Two things kept me from continuing my career in culinary arts, were financial and having worked out in the field, I saw so many negative attributes to being a chef, I decided that since I love to cook, I wanted it to be a hobby, and not a drag to go work each day.

When I left Sylvia's, I worked at a hotel, then Safeway. From there I joined Fred Meyer in the Service Deli, and was quickly promoted to a manager. During the next 8 years, I worked throughout the Portland and Southern Oregon areas. In 1998, I earned a promotion to the regional specialist position (District Manager) in Seattle. During this career move, I learned so much about the Food Service industry. I was charged to develop a new service salad case program, as well as work on a new catering program. I had the opportunity to work with manufacturers to develop these new programs.

In 2000, I met the love of my life, Craig. I also, moved from the food service program to the grocery department as an assistant manager. In the capacity I learned to develop my management skills as well as managing inventory. By being the best in my category, I earned the position of manager, where I moved from store to store cleaning up and reorganizing as I went. I also was entrusted with training future Food managers for the region. At which point I was pursued by another company to run a store for them, and enter back into the restaurant industry. During these 3 years, I learned the Restaurant Supplier side of the business. While I enjoyed the time I spent in this opportunity, I yearned to go back to the Grocery industry, and spend more time with my first love, cooking, and writing about my adventures….in the kitchen!