Eating Well Anywhere

The greatest benefit we’ve realized from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is not in baking loaves of bread so much as having a highly versatile bread dough in the house all the time. That means not only fresh bread anytime, but bread anytime as well–and specifically, no running out of hamburger buns. It’s easy enough to make buns by forming small balls of dough just like the basic boule, slapping them a few times to get the classic bun shape, then baking them in the oven. But we discovered you can cut out a few steps at the grill and make a bun that’s better than just a hamburger holder.

Our standby is the Light Whole Wheat recipe (p. 74), but this idea could be applied just the same to the basic dough.

The method is simple enough, although as with any grilling you’ll need to experiment to make it work with your setup. Pull off a small piece of dough, closer in size to a tennis ball than a golf ball. Lightly toss the dough in flour and pat it out to about 3/8″ thick. I use a lightly-floured plate for this step so I can take it straight to the grill. Make two rounds for each sandwich. No need to let the dough rise or even warm up.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill. We use a charcoal grill. You can oil the grate if you like, but honestly, I don’t. The key is a hot grill. Indirect heat, or low heat at least, just doesn’t work because the dough fails to firm up quickly and sinks into the grate. Gently toss the rounds onto the hot grill and close the lid. When the buns begin to puff and brown on the bottoms (check them after three minutes or so), flip and cook another minute or two. The result: very thin crust–almost crisp–and a soft and chewy interior.

Note: We like the two rounds approach for low-fuss outdoor grilling, but you could also make a slightly thicker round and slice it into a top and bottom after grilling.

“One reason some people take up the bread-baking hobby is to be able to eat organic bread every day, as it is usually unavailable commercially or is prohibitively expensive.”
- Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

My neighbor told me the other day, in one of our occasional chats that take place in the long swath between our yards where we let the grass grow taller like a friendly fence, that the rising price of bread ($4 or so here) made her wish she could make bread at home. “I just don’t have the time,” she said. Two busy kids and a demanding job certainly justify her statement. Not that a trust fund or homesteading inclinations are requisite for baking bread, but it certainly is something one must work into his or her schedule, an activity that does not easily make itself a priority.

I think the technique in the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day changes that. It has for me, an only occasional breadmaker, anyway. “Five-Minute Bread” has seamlessly worked its way into my kitchen repertoire. And the bread is good, too.

The book is a new take on breadmaking with a nod to proven techniques like delayed fermentation, and it’s garnered plenty of good reviews. The method–which is just a very wet dough stirred together, refrigerated, risen, and baked with steam–enables the home cook to make delicious, affordable bread from good ingredients with little time commitment.

I’ve read some criticisms of the book, too, saying that it’s not real bread baking. I see the point; yes, you’re missing out if you only stick to Five-Minute Bread, but the book makes good homemade bread doable for cooks who weren’t regularly baking before, and how can that not be a good thing?

It’s not quite the same as the Levy No-Knead Bread recipe in that there’s less waiting, less pre-planning required once you’ve got the dough in the frig, and one batch of dough potentially yields more fresh loaves of bread.

I know a lot of people like a bread machine for hands-free homemade bread. I used to own a bread machine, and I didn’t dislike it, but I’m fond of the gadget-free simplicity of Five-Minute Bread as well as its style: the thin, crispy crust is something I never got with my bread machine.

To try a recipe from this book, see The Splendid Table’s Five-Minute Artisan Bread. But keep in mind the book covers a host of other breads, from a basic boule to Brioche, all which can be stored in the frig for at least a few days and the freezer for longer, as well as recipes for using the doughs beyond plain loaves. I’m sure we survived just fine without challah cinnamon rolls on a whim, grilled flatbread with salad for lunch, and pizza dough waiting in the frig, but, as with any good homemade bread, once you’ve tried it, it’s hard to go back.

Notes: Errata here. The recipe halves easily, even if just to fit it in a smaller container in the frig.

Later this week I’ll post about the versatility of the basic dough and how we’ve been using it beyond the recipes and ideas in the book.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

We recently purchased an Aerogarden after thinking about it for over a year. I’d like to use this space to document our experiments and review the Aerogarden in detail, but I’ll keep the posts to a minimum–no incessant updates that leave you feeling like you’re watching our grass grow.

A sale at Amazon.com put us over the edge; that combined with some gift certificates put the price at just under $50. The basic unit retails for around $150 (looks like it’s a little cheaper right now at Amazon), including a seed kit and two CFL bulbs.

Goals.
1. Achieve some self-sufficiency with a little help. This website is about eating well absent a wide selection of fresh foods for a reason: we live near a small town, a short drive from even the closest stores. Frequent trips to the supermarket aren’t an option, and selection can be limited; the farmers’ market opens only once a week for a few months every year.
2. Extend a short growing season. An Aerogarden isn’t required for starting plants, but the dual purpose makes us feel like we’re getting more for our money (someone who lives in a climate where they can grow year-round might find the Aerogarden less attractive; that’s definitely not us).
3. Eat good food. You can’t get much fresher and local than plants grown in your own backyard. Since our backyard is covered in snow for a good six months out of the year, we’ve tried indoor options to grow produce in those months. We’ve had some success with grow lights and dirt but lacked patience and time to learn more; we hope the Aerogarden will be our beginner’s introduction to hydroponics.
4. Save money, less waste. We hope the easy, affordable access to produce will get us eating more of it, too.

Concerns.
1. Price.
2. Is the quality sufficient to last a very long time?
3. Ease of use. We don’t want this thing just sitting around taking up space.
4. Does it run all night? Is it loud? Does it use a lot of electricity or water?
5. Must the lights really be replaced every six months?
6. Will we be tied to expensive proprietary supplies (lights, seed pods, fertilizer)?

Setup.
- Quick and easy, basically just removing plastic wrappers and plugging things in.
- Nice that the packing material was mostly recyclable cardboard.
- The lamp hood is a little wobbly on the supporting arm but seems sturdy enough itself.
- The unit takes up relatively little space, maybe a 9- by 16-inch footprint plus a couple electrical cords. The height is adjustable; fitting it under kitchen cabinets might be an issue long-term as plants grow taller. I did tape the cord to the table out of fear the dogs would pull the whole contraption off the table.
- The CFLs have special connectors that plug into the unit differently from a regular light socket.

Next up. We hacked into the seed pods. Sprouts in just two days.

“Can things get any easier than slipping a few buttercup squash under your bed, or finding a place in your closet for sweet potatoes?”
- Barbara Pleasant, in “Enjoy Fresh, Local Food All Year” for Mother Earth News

This 2007 article advocates food storage for self-sufficiency, saving money, and supporting local farmers and economies. The article’s accompanying .pdf guides cover cool and cold storage, freezing, water bath and pressure canning, and dehydrating.

“Even when canned or frozen, home-stored foods save huge amounts of energy in reduced processing, packaging, transportation and storage costs,” Pleasant says.

The implications? Buy apples in peak season when they’re plentiful and cheap and store them yourself. Stave off pangs for garden-ripe tomatoes in mid-winter by breaking out a jar you canned in July. You don’t have to grow your own; patronize local producers during peak seasons and “put up” the food so you can eat local even when local food is scarce.

“Enjoy Fresh, Local Food All Year,” Mother Earth News; August/September 2007

So we know fresh peas, only a few hours removed from the plant, taste better than any others. And a garden-ripe tomato is hardly the same as one from a hothouse. But garlic?

Garlic is one of those things that is a real treat, in my opinion, when it is truly fresh (it will make you wonder where exactly some of the stuff in the supermarket has been) and yet it keeps for months when properly stored. My mother grows several varieties of garlic in her garden and always gives me a portion of her harvest, which I eagerly accept and horde as if it were the last garlic this planet will ever produce, or a chocolate bar. The firm, plump, unblemished cloves that we enjoy in the waning summer months are the best, but the balance is enough to get me through most of the year, keeping in mind the following:

Don’t refrigerate or immerse it in oil. Store it in a place that is cool, dark, and provides plenty of circulation; I use a paper sack, which serves the purpose quite well, and have an unusually cool kitchen, which I of course keep that way just for garlic storage and not because during long winter months I horde firewood like garlic and chocolate bars.

It always bothered my frugal mind how much heat was left in the coals after we’d grilled for supper. Because I worry about nothing else. Yep, my mind is free to fret about wasteful charcoal use. Marshmallowless, I one night threw a head of garlic on the grill in between cleaning up the kitchen and watching a movie, and now it’s all I can do to keep from dragging out the charcoal just to have grill-roasted garlic.

Is it any better than garlic roasted in the oven? Well, I like the way the slow, imprecise heat of the grill leaves some cloves pearly white and plump, yet buttery soft, and others nearly charred, with chewy edges. And the timing is perfect: put the garlic on after supper, go away for a couple hours, then pull the garlic out to cool a bit and throw it in the frig before bedtime.

Here’s what I do:

Lop off the top of a head of garlic. Wrap the entire head first in parchment paper, then aluminum foil. Set the garlic package on the grill over indirect heat and close the lid for a couple hours. The garlic is done when it wholly yields to the slightest pressure from the tip of a knife. Leave the garlic in its packet to cool, then refrigerate.

(Refrigerating cooked garlic is supposedly safer than raw, but for my peace of mind and yours, too, promise me you’ll use it within a few days.)

Use the tines of a fork to pull out the cloves with fully-exposed tops. Peel the papery skin away from others. I’ve never much liked the suggestion to squeeze the whole head, as it just gives you just a mess mushed garlic and no whole cloves, but you could try that, too.

And a few serving ideas:

• Serve a few cloves alongside a green salad (my favorite);
• Spread on crusty bread;
• Fold into bread doughs;
• Top pizzas with whole or chopped cloves;
• Use in any recipe that calls for roasted garlic (dips, soups, etc.).