DDD #151 – Crazy Super Easy & Quick Artisan Bread

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2020

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I had this sort of Artisan bread when I had the pleasure of being a guest at the Arkansas home of my friends Ed & Andrea.  Andrea has a cool food blog of her own called On Life & Beans.  HERE is her recipe for a large quantity of this sort of dough.   It is a simple, hearty, rustic bread that works well for everything.  Hers was delicious!

I started smaller than her recipe.  The secret to this bread is 1) making the dough & letting it rest for AT LEAST 2 hours but up to 12-18 hours and 2) putting a pan of water in your oven when you bake the bread – which results in a crazy awesome & crusty exterior.

There are few recipes more simple than this one.  You can make as much dough as you like & it will keep, raw, in your fridge for up to TWO WEEKS for you to rip hunks off of at will & bake yourself some fresh bread any day.  It’s kind of a miracle.  I cannot recommend strongly enough that you try this at least once.

Click the image below to watch the video.

Crazy Super Easy & Quick Artisan Bread

INGREDIENTS

6 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 TBS salt

1 1/2 TBS yeast (or 1 1/2 packets of yeast)

3 cups warm water

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the yeast into the warm water in a very large bowl.

Add the salt & let it dissolve.  Add the flour & blend with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated & you have a very sticky dough.  Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking oil & let it sit for 2-5 hours in a warm spot in your kitchen.

At this point, you can bake immediately or you can put the bowl of raw dough in the fridge.  It will keep for up to two weeks!!!  I let mine chill overnight but this is not necessary.  You can bake it after the two hour rising & get on with the show.  Here is how it looked after a night in the fridge:

To bake, pre-heat the over to 450 and be sure to let it get to 450 before you put your bread in there.  I used a pizza stone that I never use for pizza – but only because the thing lives in my oven anyway – so why not put it to SOME use?  You could use a cookie sheet or a cast iron pan or cast iron Dutch oven.  Place a pan (or pie tin or something) on the bottom of your oven with a cup of water in it.  This is critical as it will steam your bread into – counter-intuitively – a very crusty exterior.  If you hate crusty bread (weirdo!) – skip the pan of water.

I tore off a hunk of dough (about 1/2 the entire quantity I made) & rolled & stretched it a bit until I formed a loaf that was sorta smooth & round on the top.  I slashed the dough a few times with a serrated knife & then placed the dough on parchment paper & then put this on the pizza stone on the middle rack.

I baked mine bread for 20 minutes.  Time will depend on the size of the loaf you make.  It should look nice & golden – even browned – on the outside.  Be sure to let it get golden or your risk a wet & doughy center in your loaf.

Remove from the oven & let cool or devour immediately.

DDD #95 – Vegan Vietnamese Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich with Pickled Vegetables & Sriracha Mayo

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image above to watch the video. This fucker was awesome!  There are a few steps to assemble the ingredients but they are all easy.  You can make this with any sort of chicken substitute you might like.  I am obsessed with Beyond Meat strips.  They do not have an overpowering taste & can easily be manipulated & I like the texture, too. Seitan works nicely, too!

Traditionally, banh mi have pork in them but I haven’t found a decent fake pork – unless you believe that pork is “the new white meat.”  If so – this fake chicken could masquerade as fake pork, too.

This takes a few hours of planning ahead so that you can marinate the chicken & pickle the carrots & jalapeno & daikon.

If you cannot find vegan fish sauce – there are lots of pretty simple recipes for vegan fish sauce HERE.  Whatever you do, do not skip the marinade because it tastes great & the sriracha mayo is good enough to eat with a spoon.

 

Marinated Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich

Makes two sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

2 crusty rolls or some high quality baguette

8 oz faux chicken

1 avocado – cut into slices

1/2 cucumber – sliced thin

leafy lettuce

2 radishes – sliced thin

1 jalapeno – seeded & sliced thin

cilantro

Olive oil or cooking spray

For the pickled vegetables

1 carrot – cut into matchsticks

daikon – cut into matchsticks

1 jalapeno – seeded & cut into matchsticks

3 cups warm water

3 TBS sugar

2 TBS salt

4 TBS white or rice vinegar

For the marinade

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

6 garlic cloves (or to taste) – minced

4 shallots (or 1/2 small onion) – diced

2 TBS fish sauce (vegan version – or omit it)

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp Chinese five spice

1 TBS hoisin sauce

1 tsp sriracha (or to taste)

For the spicy mayo

1/4 cup vegan mayo

1 lime

3 TBS sriracha

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350.

For the pickled vegetables

Warm the water & add the sugar, salt & vinegar & stir until the sugar & salt dissolve.  Put the matchstick veggies in a bowl or jar & cover with the warm water mix.  Store in the fridge for at least and hour or two.

For the marinade

Blend all the marinade ingredients & add the chicken to it.  Store in the fridge for at least an hour.

For the spicy mayo

Blend the mayo with the sriracha & the juice of the lime.  Store in the fridge.

For the Banh Mi

Prepare the cucumber, avocado, radishes & jalapeno.  Set aside.

Heat a frying or grill pan.  Treat it with cooking spray or olive oil & cook up the marinated chicken.  Set aside.

Scoop the soft part of the bread out & throw it away.  Heat the bread in the warm oven for 5 minutes.

To assemble – simply spread some spicy mayo on the bread.  Then layer on some chicken.  Then pickled veggies (drained well!) & radish slices.  Add sliced cucumber & jalapeno.  Add lettuce & cilantro.  Add some avocado.  Smash it together.  Shove it in your face – and feel free to dip it in the extra spicy mayo.

See?  What’d I tell you?

Vegan Crispy & Creamy Roasted Potatoes

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

Potatoes.  Is there anything more amazing?  Fried.  Mashed.  Roasted.  Baked.  Stuffed.  Inexpensive.  Yummy!

These guys today are crispy on the outside but creamy to the point of melting in your mouth on the inside.  I, personally, think thyme is an under-appreciated herb – and fresh thyme is critical here.  I used Earth Balance vegan butter & truffle bouillon – but any flavor stock will do.  *NOTE: Cut the potatoes thicker than I did & you will have more distinction between the crispy, crusty edges & the creamy centers.  This is an easy dish & a lovely side to almost anything.  I pan-fried the leftovers to restore both heat & crispiness.

Vegan Crispy & Creamy Roasted Potatoes

Feeds 4-6 as a side – depending on appetites

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 to 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled or not – I did not peel them) Yukon Golds are creamier than other white potatoes but other potatoes could work – especially naturally creamy sweet potatoes.

4 TBS vegan butter

2 TBS fresh thyme (extra for garnish)

1 cup vegan stock

1-4 garlic cloves – minced (optional)

S&P

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.   Slice the potatoes 1/2 to 1-inch thick – depending on how how much creamy center you like.  I cut mine at about 1/2 inch – and I think I will go thicker next time. Cut & toss the round ends away so that all your slices are flat on both sides.

Melt the butter with the thyme & add some s&p.  Toss with the potatoes  Lay the potatoes in a single layer on a metal cooking sheet with a rim.  Roast for 20-22 minutes – depending on thickness – until the bottoms begin browning upward.  Flip them & return to roast another 10-15 minutes.  Flip them again & then add a thin layer of stock (you might not need it all) & the garlic (if using).  Cook another 10-15 minutes or until the brother has reduced a bit & until the potatoes are cooked through & the tops & bottoms are golden.

Serve with more fresh thyme.  The sooner you serve them – the more they will retain the crispy/creamy contrast.  You can drizzle some warm stock on them, too, but that might reduce crispiness.  Still – it will enhance creaminess – so it is your call.  Add more S&P.  Devour!

Crazy Super Easy & Quick Artisan Bread

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

Tweet

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

I had this sort of Artisan bread when I had the pleasure of being a guest at the Arkansas home of my friends Ed & Andrea.  Andrea has a cool food blog of her own called On Life & Beans.  HERE is her recipe for a large quantity of this sort of dough.   It is a simple, hearty, rustic bread that works well for everything.  Hers was delicious!

I started smaller than her recipe.  The secret to this bread is 1) making the dough & letting it rest for AT LEAST 2 hours but up to 12-18 hours and 2) putting a pan of water in your oven when you bake the bread – which results in a crazy awesome & crusty exterior.

There are few recipes more simple than this one.  You can make as much dough as you like & it will keep, raw, in your fridge for up to TWO WEEKS for you to rip hunks off of at will & bake yourself some fresh bread any day.  It’s kind of a miracle.  I cannot recommend strongly enough that you try this at least once.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Crazy Super Easy & Quick Artisan Bread

INGREDIENTS

6 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 TBS salt

1 1/2 TBS yeast (or 1 1/2 packets of yeast)

3 cups warm water

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the yeast into the warm water in a very large bowl.

Add the salt & let it dissolve.  Add the flour & blend with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated & you have a very sticky dough.  Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking oil & let it sit for 2-5 hours in a warm spot in your kitchen.

At this point, you can bake immediately or you can put the bowl of raw dough in the fridge.  It will keep for up to two weeks!!!  I let mine chill overnight but this is not necessary.  You can bake it after the two hour rising & get on with the show.  Here is how it looked after a night in the fridge:

To bake, pre-heat the over to 450 and be sure to let it get to 450 before you put your bread in there.  I used a pizza stone that I never use for pizza – but only because the thing lives in my oven anyway – so why not put it to SOME use?  You could use a cookie sheet or a cast iron pan or cast iron Dutch oven.  Place a pan (or pie tin or something) on the bottom of your oven with a cup of water in it.  This is critical as it will steam your bread into – counter-intuitively – a very crusty exterior.  If you hate crusty bread (weirdo!) – skip the pan of water.

I tore off a hunk of dough (about 1/2 the entire quantity I made) & rolled & stretched it a bit until I formed a loaf that was sorta smooth & round on the top.  I slashed the dough a few times with a serrated knife & then placed the dough on parchment paper & then put this on the pizza stone on the middle rack.  No parchment paper?  No worries.  Cornmeal works to keep the dough from sticking.  Do not be alarmed if the cornmeal browns & smokes in your oven.  That is some excess flour you see on the parchment paper.  It smoked & burned & smelled bad & I will not get any on my paper in the future.

I baked mine bread for 25 minutes.  Time will depend on the size of the loaf you make.  It should look nice & golden – even browned – on the outside.  Be sure to let it get golden or your risk a wet & doughy center in your loaf.

Remove from the oven & let cool or devour immediately.

PRINT THIS RECIPE