behind on london and bread

My goal had been to blog regularly about my London Semester adventures, and I didn't even get through the first month of three! Still, through photos, I have a pretty good record of the walks and excursions, so I'll keep posting about them every so often, if only so I have a record of the experience.

Meanwhile, feast your eyes on this loaf of bread:


I made this a couple of days ago using the Cook's Illustrated Almost No-Knead Bread recipe that appeared in their January/February 2008 issue. It's a simple recipe, and it's nearly perfect. I still have to figure out why my loaves come out with a slightly over-browned bottom crust, but I have some ideas about how to address that problem.

Almost No-Knead Bread

An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. Use a mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser (mild non-alcoholic lager also works). The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.

3cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2teaspoons table salt
3/4cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
1/4cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
1tablespoon white vinegar

Makes 1 large round loaf

1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

from Cook's Illustrated, Number 90, January & February 2008

cherry tomato salad

I subscribe to Cook's Illustrated magazine, and even though there aren't many vegetarian repices featured in their publications, what few they include are usually very good. Last night I made the Greek Cherry Tomato Salad that was featured in the July/August 2008 issue. It turned out well, so I thought I'd share the goodness:

Greek Cherry Tomato Salad

2 pints ripe cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 4 cups)
Table salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Toss tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and sugar in medium bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed, 45 to 60 seconds, stirring to redistribute tomatoes several times during spinning. Return tomatoes to bowl and set aside. Strain tomato liquid through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
2. Bring 1/2 cup tomato liquid (discard any extra), garlic, oregano, shallot, and vinegar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Whisk in oil and pepper to taste until combined. Taste and season with up to 1/8 teaspoon table salt.
3. Add cucumber, olives, feta, dressing, and parsley to bowl with tomatoes; toss gently and serve.

You can find the recipe with illustrations and a video here, although you may need to be a subscriber to the Cook's Illustrated site to access these.

The trick here is to salt and spin the tomatoes so as to get rid of the excess liquid, but then to use the strained liquid for the tomato vinaigrette. It may sound like extra work, but it's not really, and it's worth the effort to keep the salad from getting waterlogged.

The tomatoes I used were a mixture of green, red, and yellow heirlooms, which were both tasty and attractive.