Kitchen Essentials and the World's Best Grilled Cheese on Country Sourdough

The last couple of weeks have been a flurry of frantically reading everything on organic natural eating, in particular, baking bread. I was sick of buying four sad looking wheat pitas at Whole Foods for $2.99 when I could make 100 pitas for the same amount of money. That, and they didn't taste that good. They were fine, I usually got them because I knew I wouldn't OD on them. Anyway, a part of converting to a whole food way of livin' was converting my cupboards and fridge. Riveting activities like sorting through spices to determine that yes, indeed, I have had most of my spices since I lived in the Monkey House. Mind you, that was before I graduated from GWU, which means over FIVE years old. Half of my spices didn't even smell like spices. So, I revamped my spice collection.

I also had to start experimenting with non-refined sugar sweeteners. I mean, I had used honey before on PB and honey sandwiches, in sauces, and uh... stuff. I knew raw sugar existed and that I sometimes used it for coffee. But other than that, I was pretty clueless. Molasses, raw honey (not the refined stuff that strips out all of the nutrients), agave nectar (I knew I went to the town of Tequila for a reason -- its the agave plant used for tequila and mescal from which this is derived -- in fact, they give you a roasted piece of the plant so you can taste how sweet it is), and real maple syrup are all now in my arsenal.


Until today, my bread repertoire was whole grain pita. That's it. Just pita. And it was a mediocre attempt. I mean, they tasted good, but they didn't rise completely right and didn't poof all the way like they were supposed to. After some poking around online as well as buying a book on whole grain breads, I realized that a little additional yeast and vital wheat gluten can do wonders for whole grain breads. And so, invigorated, I decided to attempt a Country Sourdough, which is a tangy hearty bread that uses whole wheat and ground rye.

This was in part because I made an impulse buy of a baking stone at the impossibly cute and expensive kitchen store around the corner from my house. But the service is spot on and one of the girls who works there is absolutely awesome. We were chatting about baking bread, and she just whipped out a pen and paper and jotted down a random bread recipe for me. This is why I love this area. I almost wanted to ask her to hang out, except that might have been a little weird.

Yesterday, I took one cup of whole wheat flour and one cup of warm water and mixed them with 1/8th of a teaspoon of dry active yeast (not the instant stuff, which isn't recommended for making a sourdough starter). Stuck the lid to my pyrex on and put it in a happy warm place to ferment for 24-36 hours. Today, I opened it and lo and behold, it had that nice yeasty tangy smell that said the yeast had done its job. The only problem with sourdough starter is that it is high maintenance. You store it in the fridge, but then once you use it, you have to replace what you used with equal parts water and flour, and leave it at room temperature for another hour or so. Then, if you don't use it for a while, you need to keep feeding it every four days. Hmmm. I'd rather just have to make the starter fresh each time, since who knows how much I'll make sourdough. Although, this was some pretty damn good bread.

The thing I love about my bread book is that it provides the measurements and instructions for "sampler loafs", which means it makes the perfect size loafs for me, especially since I like to try different kinds of breads. Anyway, the modified recipe is as follows:

Mix 2 TBS of warm water with 1/2 cup of sourdough starter (at room temperature) and 1 tsp yeast. Let stand 5 minutes until the yeast begins to bubble. Add 1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt (this adds an awesome tanginess to the bread). In a separate bowl, mix together 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup rye flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Then beat in slowly into liquids until smooth. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Mix together 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unbleached allpurpose (you could do all whole wheat, but I had already modified this recipe by refusing to use bread flour), and 1 TBS gluten. Slowly add this mixture until a smooth dough forms. Do not force more than necessary -- I only used about half of this mixture, which leads me to think that maybe I should add the gluten in with the rye and whole wheat flour step. Turn the dough out on a floured board and knead until smooth and springy (about 5 minutes, didn't take long).

Wash the bowl and coat with cold pressed canola or EVOO. Place dough in the bowl and coat all sides of dough. Cover and let rise until doubled (usually between one and two hours). Punch dough down and shape into a loaf (I don't like completely round, so mine looked kind of like a small football). Leave loaf with the smooth side up and cover and let rise again until doubled. In the meantime, place baking stone in oven on the top shelf and a heavy shallow cookie pan in the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Using a sharp knife (serrated works really well), slash a tic-tac-toe design in the top and spray with water. I actually used a spray bottle which worsk well. Then place loaf onto preheated stone. Now, I used corn meal on the bottom to keep it from sticking, but I imagine parchment paper would work well, too. Anyway, sidebar. Right when you put the loaf in, take 1 cup of water and throw it in the pan in the bottom rack. This helps keep the loaf from scorching so you can get that awesome thick and crunchy crust while keeping the inside of the loaf moist and perfect. Back for 25 minutes until the loaf is evenly golden.

You can tell the loaf is done if you turn it over and tap it on the bottom. It should sound hollow. Cool on a wire rack and do not cut into it while still hot as it won't slice as nice. Wait, have patience, and wait for it to cool. I was so excited to pull this out of the oven. It had the perfect crust. I was worried the inside would also be hard as a brick, but no! It was genius.


Now, the perfect thing for this bread is a Hearty Grilled Cheese. I took two of the middle slices of the country sourdough, and piled in slices of fresh mozzarella, part skim mozzarella, fresh basil, a dab of garlicky white bean dip, vidalia onion slivers, and deseeded campanari tomatoes... then toasted it in my George Foreman grill (no oil or butter on the bread because it doesn't need it). Serious heaven on my plate. Served up with some fresh blackberries to finish off the meal.




Also, as part of my renewed effort not to ever have to buy a package of anything that is premade, even if it is labeled organic or whatever, I made some Black Bean Burgers today to freeze for quick dinners during the week. I have become overly aware in the checkout line at Whole Foods that 90% of people's baskets are premade food that they feel less guilty about eating because it says "organic" or "all-natural." Just because those chips are organic doesn't make them better for you, or as satisfying. But I digress...

Mash drained and rinsed black beans (from a can). Mince finely two cloves of garlic, half a small onion, and a jalapeno and saute in grapeseed or cold pressed canola oil. Add to black beans. Whisk together an egg white with chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper to taste. I don't add salt because canned beans already have some sodium. Mix wet ingredients in then slowly add rolled oats, wheat germ, or cooked brown rice. Make sure that you don't add too much so it gets too dry. I did a combination of brown rice and oats because the oats are great for regulating the texture and moisture (brown rice alone makes the mixture too wet). Shape into patties and grill on George Foreman (I looooove this grill, I've had it since my first non-dormitory living space). Anyway, these freeze really well, I layer saran wrap in between layers and freeze in a heavy duty freezer ziploc bag.


I also worked on perfecting a Crustless Spinach and Turkey Sausage Quiche for brunch tomorrow. I'm on a mission to invite each and every one of my good friends over for at least one or two meals each month. I love to entertain and helps the creative juices. Besides, there is nothing better than sharing a great meal with good company. This is something I've learned as I abandoned that practice while studying for the bar exam and throwing myself into my job. Anyway, the recipe isn't worth posting here because of its simplicity. Since portion control is such a battle for many people, the best idea I had was not to do a huge quiche, but rather to make them in muffin tins for individual happiness.

Mindless Eating is one of my new favorite books -- its not really a diet book per se, but rather a book on food psychology and how our brains mess with us when we eat. A biggie is that we think whatever is in front of us is a serving, no matter what our bodies are telling us. This is why the tester loafs are a great idea, because rather than a big loaf meant for a family being my weekly serving size, the mini-loaf is. Same with this quiche. Besides, the first couple of bites are always the best, and the rest is just zoning out while you shovel it in. Why not just make the portion the best part?