March has traditionally been a slow month for me at Cooking by the Book. Exhausted by winter, people are anxious for spring, checking flower beds for just one green shoot poking through all that white stuff on top.
Several years ago I had the March-nudgies and I was driving my staff crazy. They said, “Go,” and I did. I had always dreamed about the Artisanal Bread Baking Class at the CIA. So on a March day, I drove up to the CIA [the Hyde Park version, not that other one in the Washington burbs]. Funny thing, I got introduced to Artisanal Bread Baking with a wham. It might have been called Bread Boot Camp.
This professional class was filled with executive chefs from all over the country and then there was me, an entrepreneur from NYC but not a professional chef. The instructor took one look at me and knew I wanted to learn sour dough. Learn I did and have been baking sour dough ever since.
If it’s a weekend and I’m in a kitchen, there is dough rising in some warm corner. These bread skills came in handy when Cooking by the Book was testing the last two editions of The Joy of Cooking. When it came to the bread chapter, we had to test the sour dough starter and ensure the recipes worked all the way to a perfectly baked loaf. That testing was back in 2004, and I have kept that starter (or mother) active all these years. I go through the ritual of feeding my mother several times week
My weekend baking gives me plenty of opportunity to experiment. Recently I came across a really solid sour dough recipe by Richard Bertinet from his latest book Crust. Try this easy recipe and you’ll have plenty of options: from simple snacking to toast to sandwiches to croutons.<strong>
Crust’s Sourdough
700 grams bread flour (sometimes I use a little rye flour with the bread flour)
14 ounces active sour dough starter
About 2 ⅔cups water(Tiny pinch of instant yeast)
4 teaspoons kosher salt
Put all ingredients except the salt in your mixer, and mix on medium for about 7 minutes.
Add the salt and continue mixing for another 7 minutes until you have a nice shiny elastic dough.
Proof overnight in the refrigerator and bake the next day.
I know these are not the most detailed instructions because I am writing from memory. But the real part of the story is that I amended the recipe this week. Joyce (CBTB’s Executive Chef) wanted me to try a different bread, one she can use for our cooking events. And Joyce wanted cheese. So I took the basic recipe and added 200 grams of grated Parmesan cheese in the second stage when I added the salt. Everything else was the same. I proofed and baked as I normally do, and oh my goodness…such nice bread! Great lightly toasted and wonderful for a ham sandwich