Getting to be a Certain Age

Some of the more recent posts on this site point to the evidence: I have reached that point in life whereupon it is appealing to me to make homemade bread. I honestly never thought that this would happen to me. Baking my own bread seemed too complicated and labor intensive. It is easy to purchase bread of a decent quality at any number of bakeries and grocery stores.



That was before I realized that it could be rather fun to make bread. It has also proven to be more economical and not nearly as difficult as I imagined. And so, with little realization until now, I have begun this new quasi-life stage. Who knows where it will take me? I only know that I still have much to learn. One of my next projects (I think) will be to make my own sourdough starter.



This past weekend, I decided to use some leftover whole wheat flour to make two loaves of honey wheat bread. Though whole wheat bread is often very tough, this was nutty and soft (I think the presence of canola oil helped with this), with a nice, crispy crust on the outside. I froze one loaf, and I have been happily munching through the other, toasted with a little butter, for breakfast.

Happy Birthday, John K!

In honor of John K's birthday, I tried a recipe from one of his favorite bakers, Bernard Clayton. These are described as breakfast rolls, and are quite delicious when paired with tea or coffee. That said, I found them to be tasty as an afternoon snack. I originally discovered the recipe on The Wednesday Chef, and I knew that I just had to try them. The rolls taste best, naturally, fresh from the oven. After a day or two, they are certainly edible, but toasting them with a little butter really improves the flavor and texture at this point. I would also like to taste a little more honey and more lemon in the rolls. Finally, I don't really feel that placing a pan of ice on the oven floor really did much to improve the the crusty texture of the bread. This may have been the fault of my crazy oven, but the steam rising from the bottom of the oven caused the underside of the rolls to cook faster. The rolls don't taste burnt, but some of them certainly look over-cooked. I would, however, make them again.
I did not follow the kneading instructions exactly as printed on Luisa's blog. Luisa follows the food processor method to prepare the bread, which is one technique that Bernard Clayton offers. In his book, Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads , he gives instructions on how to make the bread by hand. As I did not have access to the hand-kneaded version of the recipe, I made my own directions at this point. I must admit that I was proud of myself when the rolls turned out well, since I don't know too much about making bread! Below is the technique that I used to knead the bread by hand. As it is pretty basic, it most likely bears a strong resemblance to the book's instructions.

Bernard Clayton's Honey-Lemon Whole-Wheat Rolls
Makes about 24 rolls

3 cups bread flour
2 envelopes dry yeast (or just over two tablespoons)
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups hot water (120 to 130 degrees)
1/4 cup honey (using more would give a stronger flavor of honey)
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 to 3 cups whole-wheat flour
Oil, for brushing on top of the rolls before baking

1. In a very large bowl, mix together the bread flour, yeast, salt, hot water, honey, butter and lemon peel to the bowl of the processor. The ingredients will form a batter-like dough. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of whole-wheat flour. Blend well. Let the batter rest for 3 minutes, until the whole-wheat flour has been absorbed. Commence stirring and gradually add 1 to 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour. At this point, the dough should be soft and a bit sticky, but a solid (not hard) mass.

2. Discard your spoon, if you have not already done so, and knead until the dough begins to stay together. If your bowl is big enough, you can continue to knead inside of it. If you need more room, turn the dough onto a lightly floured board. It will be sticky but light. Add sprinkles of bread flour or all-purpose flour as necessary and knead by hand. You may be kneading for up to 10 minutes, adding flour, as needed, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Test to see if you've kneaded enough by slapping your hand on the dough, holding it there for a count of 10, then lifting your hand up. If bits of dough stick or cling to your hand, continue to knead, adding flour. If the hand comes off clean, the dough's ready for the next step.

3. Form the kneaded dough into a mound and cover it with wax paper or a clean dish towel. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

4. Knead the dough for 30 seconds to press out any air bubbles. Using a sharp knife or dough blade, cut off pieces of dough a little bigger than golf balls. Roll between your hands to form balls. Place each ball on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, flattening slightly with the palm of your hand.

5. Brush the rolls with oil (I used light-tasting olive oil, do not use extra-virgin olive oil). Cover with plastic wrap that is loose enough to allow the rolls to rise but is sealed around the edges to hold in the moisture. Place the sheets of rolls in the refrigerator overnight.

6. Remove the rolls from the fridge and let them sit, covered, at room temperature for 25 minutes while the oven heats to 400 degrees. Place a small cake pan on the floor of the oven to heat as the oven heats. Have about a dozen ice cubes ready.

7. Uncover the rolls. Place them in the oven, then quickly and carefully place the ice cubes into the hot pan on the bottom of the oven (steam will rise immediately) and close the oven door. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the rolls are browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Roast Chicken

I've been feeling nostalgic lately for some of the foods I first learned to prepare while in high school and college. One of my favorite dishes to make was a roasted chicken with garlic, lemon, honey and herbs. It was originally printed in Yankee Magazine, sometime around 1996. The recipe is not available on the magazine's online archives, so I decided to reproduce it from memory.
While the chicken I made is not not exactly as I remember it, the result is a warm-tasting, savory-sweet chicken dish. It is surprisingly flavorful, given the relatively small number of ingredients used. Below is my version of Honey and Lemon Roasted Chicken.

Honey Lemon Roasted Chicken
Adapted from Yankee Magazine
-1 4 to 5 pound roasting chicken, preferably organic or kosher
-1 lemon half, juiced; the lemon reserved
-2 or 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
-1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic (I used garlic from the jar), or about three medium-sized cloves
-1/8 cup honey
-1/8 cup olive oil, plus more, for rubbing the chicken
-salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
-Four springs fresh rosemary or thyme (optional, or to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse the inside and outside of the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Trim any excess fat. Place the chicken in a large glass pan. Place the whole garlic cloves and juiced lemon half inside the cavity of the bird. Drizzle olive oil on the outside of the bird, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub into the skin. Place in the oven and allow to roast for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the rest of the olive oil with the honey and lemon juice, then add the chopped garlic, salt and pepper. After the chicken has been in the oven for 20 minutes, remove from oven and baste with the lemon and honey mixture.
After basting, place back in the oven for another 20 minutes, then remove and baste with the lemon and honey mixture. Spoon the juices on the bottom of the pan over the chicken. Continue this pattern until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Roasting chickens typically require 18 to 20 minutes per pound for cooking when there is no stuffing inside the cavity. Allow the chicken to rest 15 minutes before carving.
If desired, use the extra pan juices to make a gravy to spoon over the meat.