What's On My Plate » new york times

Love Affair with Condensed Milk + Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge

Tonya — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:20:06 +0000

While I was in Jamaica I rediscovered my love of condensed milk. I had breakfast at Juici Patties a few times and discovered that they give you a packet of condensed milk with your coffee instead of cream or milk! This would also explain why you can’t find cream at the supermarket but a bunch of different brands of condensed milk. I took to hoarding the condensed milk packets that came with our orders so that I could consume them later for dessert. When I was little I would always get in trouble for eating condensed milk by the spoonful out of the tin. I couldn’t help myself, it’s just that delicious. Upon my return from Jamaica all I wanted to do was buy cans of condensed milk!

Coincidentally the New York Times had an entire article about condensed milk in the paper shortly after my trip. Coincidence? I think not. Clearly I’m not the only one having a love affair with condensed milk.

After looking at the recipes accompanying the article I decided to make the Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge. I happened to have a bag of chocolate chips that I had bought at Costco that were begging to be used. The only other mandatory ingredient was butter. Talk about absurdly easy.

Now, I’ll admit, I’ve never made fudge before so I have no clue how hard it is normally to make the stuff. I’m guessing most recipes involve cooking the mixture to the soft ball stage… there is none of that hear. This recipe is pretty much fool proof.

The results were good. On the sweet side for sure but really good. My results would have been better if I used a better quality chocolate instead of the Toll House chocolate chips I had on hand, but I’m not complaining. I kept these in the fridge to avoid melting but later discovered that if I kept them out they turned to the consistency of Icy Squares. Yum.

Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge

Adapted from Michael Chu, Cooking for Engineers
Time: 15 minutes, plus at least 4 hours’ cooling

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional).

1. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan. Line with parchment or wax paper, letting edges of paper hang over sides of pan.

2. In top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over (not resting in) simmering water, combine all ingredients except nuts. Mix just until melted and well combined. (Alternatively, use a microwave on low power to melt ingredients, stopping every 10 to 20 seconds to mix well.) The mixture should be heated as little as possible. Mix in nuts, if using.

3. Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours or overnight. Lift fudge on paper out of pan and use a large knife to cut into squares.

Yield: 16 two-inch squares.

(Via New York Times)

How to Make Butter

Tonya — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:05:38 +0000

Every once in a while I start feeling extra crafty when it comes to cooking. I get these impulses to make really basic things that are readily available in the supermarket. Once it was jam, another time it was bread – and there have likely been many other things over the years.

A few years ago I was reading The New York Times Magazine when I came across this article on how to make butter. I clipped the article thinking I would make it soon. Well two and a half years and a cross-border move later I finally did!

I decided to make butter at the oddest time. I came home from work one day and decided to go on a cooking rampage. I made sloppy joes and sweet potato fries, a pear crisp, a loaf of bread and then butter…. at about midnight. CRAZY TOWN. I guess that’s when I felt inspired to do it, nothing wrong with that.

I remember making butter YEARS ago. We’re talking when I was in DAYCARE years ago. We made butter by shaking cream in a jar. Every kid got a turn and I remember it being pretty cool learning that that was how butter is made. Our daycare teacher then spread it on some bread and handed it out as a snack. I threw up. Not sure why but ever since then I’ve associated homemade butter with throwing up. True story.

Making butter gave me a quick lesson on cream. The recipe calls for Heavy Cream which is 36% fat. In Canada we don’t have “Heavy Cream” but we do have “Whipping Cream” which is around 36% fat too. But then I went to my regular supermarket to pick some up and took it home. I then looked at the ingredients and there were about 6 or 7 ingredients! I was thinking that cream should have one ingredient, cream, but I guess I was wrong. Apparently cream needs Carrageenan and Guar Gum and a bunch of other stuff. Needless to say I returned the cream. I mean, if I’m making butter from scratch it should be pretty pure. I did some research and discovered that Harmony Organic makes Whipping Cream with only Cream as an ingredient. VICTORY!

Making the butter was pretty easy. The recipe suggests using a stand mixer but I don’t have one so I used my regular hand mixer. A stand mixer would have been less stressful but I”m not knocking my hand mixer for getting the job done. You basically beat the cream until it can’t be beat anymore. It goes from whipped cream to a state where it looks like NOTHING is happening and then all of a sudden the butter separates from the buttermilk and you’re almost there! This took about 12-15 minutes with my hand mixer, although the recipe suggests that it takes 8-10 minutes with a stand mixer.

From there I had to strain the buttermilk from the butter and then knead the butter to expel the rest of the buttermilk and make the butter dense. This is kind of a weird step if you don’t know what you’re working towards. I could have kneading forever! But then your body heat starts making the butter softer. I also kneading in some sea salt because I found the butter needing some flavour.

The verdict, NOT BAD. It was really rewarding to make my own butter and I like that I could see what ingredients I used etc. The butter was a bit sweeter than your typically supermarket butter and did seem “fresher”. Would I do this regularly? Probably not. It’s not that it’s a lot of work but I don’t really do enough with butter that I would want to spread on things for this to be a good option. But I have to say, there’s noting like eating homemade bread with a schmear of your own butter.

Homemade Butter and Buttermilk

6 cups organic heavy cream

Salt to taste (optional).

1. Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk. Tightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and start mixer on medium-high speed. The cream will go through the whipped stage, thicken further and then change color from off-white to pale yellow; this will take at least 5 to 8 minutes. When it starts to look pebbly, it’s almost done. After another minute the butter will separate, causing the liquid to splash against the plastic wrap. At this point stop the mixer.

2. Set a strainer over a bowl. Pour the contents of the mixer into the strainer and let the buttermilk drain through. Strain the buttermilk again, this time through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; set aside.

3. Keeping the butter in the strainer set over the first bowl, knead it to consolidate the remaining liquid and fat and expel the rest of the buttermilk. Knead until the texture is dense and creamy, about 5 minutes. Strain the excess liquid into the buttermilk. Refrigerate the buttermilk.

4. Mix salt into the butter, if you want. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. Makes about 16 ounces (2 cups) each of butter and buttermilk.

Oven-Smoked Ribs

Tonya — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:02:16 +0000

I love ribs. Part of me thinks they should be a food group to themselves. But alas that won’t happen. I make ribs a few different ways and am always on the lookout for new ways to make them. Having always lived in an apartment I’ve never been able to do the whole backyard grilling thing and have always relied on my oven to make the rib magic happen. A few months ago Mark Bittman wrote about this method for oven-smoking ribs. I was intrigued.

The recipe seemed super easy. Like no-brainer easy. The rub used things already in my pantry and aside from the ribs I just had to go out and buy wood chips and a disposable roasting pan. I thought wood chips would have been hard to find. Nope! I went to Canadian Tire and they had hickory, mesquite, apple, maple and maybe another kind of wood. I opted for hickory although I pondered the merits of mesquite.

The only part that I thought could potentially be scary was the whole foil tent bit. Oh so not EVEN scary! Bittman talks about using 20 feet of foil. I used maybe 6 feet and was totally fine. The whole contraption came together very easily and stayed put which I really didn’t think it would. As for cooking I decided to err on the side of caution and cook the ribs for the full 3 hours instead of 2.5. I would have been annoyed if after all that time I had a rack of undercooked ribs.

The results were great. Obviously not as good as some of my fave BBQ spots, but for a homemade smoking solution they were pretty good. The ribs weren’t intensely smoky but there was a nice hint of natural smoke. It was subtle but a welcome addition to my rib repertoire. I was so happy with the flavour between the dry rub and the smoke that I didn’t even bother with any sauce.

Oven-Smoked Ribs

1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 rack spareribs, 2 to 3 pounds.

1. Heat oven to 225 degrees. While oven heats, mix together dry ingredients and rub them all over pork.

2. Layer bottom of roasting pan with hickory or oak chips and add enough water to create a shallow pool coating bottom of pan and moistening chips; do not drown them.

3. Put a rack over chips and put rubbed meat on rack. Cover entire roasting pan tightly with foil, making a tent at top so smoke-flavored steam can circulate around meat. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat is cooked and tender.

4. Carefully remove foil from pan and run ribs under broiler, watching carefully, until nicely crisp and browned, about 5 minutes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto Style

Tonya — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:08:54 +0000

I was reading the Food Section of the New York Times and stumbled upon this recipe for a risotto-style pasta dish by Mark Bittman. I love risotto and I love pasta so I figured I’d see how this would all work out.

It was kind of labour intensive for no reason! The pasta didn’t end up like the starchy, creamy goodness of risotto. I’m pretty sure I could have achieved the same results that I ended up with without having to stir the pasta constantly so that it didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Did it taste good? Of course! I made it without the chicken because chicken isn’t my favaourite and just upped the amount and variety of mushrooms that I used. I’m not really that committed to try this one again considering the work involved for little payoff.

Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto Style

2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups crimini, shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1/2 pound cut pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
3 to 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 boneless chicken thighs, diced
Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional.

1. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then wine. Stir and let liquid bubble away.

2. Ladle stock into skillet 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.

3. Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done — it will be white on inside when cut — and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

(From the New York Times)

100% Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread

Tonya — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:18:27 +0000

At last! After months and months of experimenting I’ve finally nailed the 100% Whole Wheat Bread baking.

If you’ve browsed through the archives you may have noticed my obsession with bread making. And not just any bread making but the no-knead technique brought to the attention of the masses (I’m totally the masses and love it!) by the New York Times back in November 2006. I’ve baked many many loves. For the most part they have all been delicious but have varied in success based on my flour ratios, add-ins, moisture etc. The goal has always been to make a fabulous all whole wheat loaf.

After A LOT of research I came across a site (mentioned in my last post about the bread) that suggested using Gluten Flour. At the time I hadn’t even heard of gluten flour but I went over to my local Bulk Barn and picked some up and got to baking. I tried it first on a loaf with a white/whole wheat mix. The loaf was great and rose very well. I knew that 100% would be next.

For my maiden voyage into the 100% whole wheat effort I used of course 3 cups of whole wheat flour, about 3tbsp of gluten flour, just shy of 2 cups of water and the usual recommendations for salt and yeast. I have to say the results were great. The loaf wasn’t too dense but it had the great nutty whole wheat flavour. The loaf rose well, not as great as my last mixed loaf but pretty impressive for the whole wheat. Part of me thinks that I left it to rise for too long. I didn’t time things out properly so the first rise was about 20hrs. Next time I’d monitor it more closely so that I wouldn’t lose any height in the first rise.

Definitely delicious and a great alternative to buy airy supermarket loaves with HFCS. Also a great alternative to buying $6 loaves at the bakery or gourmet shop. Now that I think of it… I kind of want to put another loaf together…

Falafel!

Tonya — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:07:06 +0000

Falafel! gets an exclamation point every time because it’s one of my all-time fave foods. Seriously, I LOVE LOVE LOVE a falafel! My fave falafel! is from L’As de Falafel! in Paris. It’s the gold standard and absolutely delicious. But alas I don’t live in Paris and my quest for the perfect falafel! in Toronto is ongoing. I try to hit one or two falafel! places a month. I’ve had some good and some passable but nothing AMAZING.

(from here on in i’m dropping the ! after falafel… it’s hurting my brain trying to remember to type it).

So as I always I’ve decided to take matter into my own hands. Over the years I’ve. experimented with packaged falafel mix. Some are OK but generally they are too salty and the texture is off. I’ve tried a few make-them-yourself recipes using canned chickpeas and they were OK but again, not great.

About a year ago I stumbled upon this recipe from Mark Bittman from the NY Times. I could tell that I could make it work. I like that it started with dried chickpeas. I also like that he gives the option of using either parsley or cilantro. And generally I enjoy Mark Bittman. I love his little videos. I kind of want to be his friend. He also seems like the type of guy who knows his way around a falafel… so I gave the recipe a try.

GREAT results. I use the recipe as a starting point and then adjust the seasonings to my liking which means pumping up the cumin and coriander count. I also used a mix of parsley and cilantro for extra fun. I don’t remember but knowing me I likely ignored the “Scant teaspoon cayenne” recommendation and kicked it up even further. The heat is in my blood.

The biggest change that I made to the recipe was not frying the falafel balls. I’m not a fan of deep frying. Not because it’s unhealthy (deep fried is my fave food group) but because a.) it uses a lot of oil and b.) i’m afraid of getting grease burns! Instead I pan fried them a bit to get them crispy on the outside and then finished them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. I ended up with crispy falafel balls without any grease burns (or you know… extra fat/calories etc).

I turned the falafel balls into a sandwich by stuffing them in a whole wheat pita with lettuce, tomato, parsley, roasted eggplant and homemade tahini. Delicious. I kind of want to make falafel again this week… I’m not kidding, they make me THAT happy.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Falafel

1 3/4 cup dried chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 small onion, quartered
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Scant teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for frying.

1. Put beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans submerged.

2. Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil; pulse until minced but not puréed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.

3. Put oil in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately).

4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties. Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

(From the New York Times)

Lahey’s Bread — Once Again

Tonya — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 17:42:17 +0000

I’ve made no secret that I’m obsessed with this bread. It has literally changed my life. I don’t buy bread anymore because homemade is so much better.

If you do a quick search on this site with the term “lahey” you’ll come across my previous attempts with the bread. My goal is to find the right balance between whole wheat and white flour. The more whole wheat I use the less the bread rises and the flatter the loaf (and it ends up being super dense). I’ve made it with varying amounts of whole wheat flour, tried using whole wheat soft flour to varying degrees of success. So the other day I decided to start from the beginning and make the bread in its purest form — 100% white all-purpose flour.

The results were great and so different from the whole wheat. The bread rose so much both times which meant I got a nice high loaf… perfect for sandwiches. As you can see there was also a great crumb.

The one thing that I forgot to do was sprinkle the top with something. I usually play around and do either flour, wheat germ, cornmeal or oatmeal… but I totally forgot this time around. Didn’t make a difference but I enjoy an extra something something.

I also get super nervous about my loaf burning and I’m also awful at knowing when to take it out… so I always think my loaves are a tad under-cooked. But maybe that’s just my paranoia setting in.

Once I find my whole wheat sweet spot then I’ll start experimenting with additions… olives, cranberries, pecans, rosemary… the possibilities are endless!

For the uninitiated here is the follow-up article about the bread. Follow the links along the side to see the video and get the full recipe.

Lahey’s No-Knead Bread — Revisited

Tonya — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 04:18:24 +0000

Okay, so I know that I wrote about the no-knead bread before BUT I kind of want to chronicle my success/ failure with the bread. So you get other post.

This time around I did about 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 white. I also decided to kick up the health factor and added ground flax seed to the mix as well. I didn’t measure but it was probably about a 1/4 cup.

For the original recipe from the NY Times either click on the link above or just click here to go directly there.

I did my first rise for about 16 hours and the second rise for a bit over 2 hours. My dough didn’t rise that great. It rose a lot during the first rise but not so much in the second. The dough was also stickier than I could deal with. I completely massacred the folding over which I think contributes to a weak second rise… but who knows.

Here’s a look at the whole loaf. I decided to sprinkle with oats instead of wheat germ for no reason other than for kicks. I like the look of the oats. And I love that they didn’t scorch at all.

I’m still obsessed with this bread. And now that it’s winter I want to make it all the time because you have to turn up the oven SO high and so it keeps the house warm and toasty.

Next time I think I’m going to make an all white loaf, mainly to see how much it rises. I really want my bread to come out looking like a lovely boule. I think I’m missing that gene.

My Kitchen: The Essentials

Tonya — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:59:31 +0000

So I had a special request to do a post about kitchen essentials. I interpreted this as being about tools that I absolutely need (or totally enjoy having) in my kitchen. They range from things that you can use everyday to things you may use once every year.

Mark Bittman wrote a great article for the NY Times about this. His spin was outfitting a kitchen on the cheap. Definitely worth checking out. Next time I move there are a few things on the list that I need to buy.

Now for my picks…

Wooden Spoon — this is probably the most important kitchen tool. I use my wooden spoons for just about everything. I actually have two, one for sweet and one for savory. That way when I”m making cupcakes they don’t taste like shrimp.

Dutch Oven — I’m OBSESSED with dutch ovens. For the longest time I was coveting Le Creusets but couldn’t bring myself to buy one. Then I did some sleuthing and discovered that Target makes a dutch oven by Chefmate that Cooks Illustrated ranked as being as good as Le Creuset. Only difference, price. The Target oven was about $40 whereas Le Creuset is about $160. I bought the Target version and it has changed my life. It’s about 4.5-5 qt which is a great size for making soups or braising meat or making sauces. A few weeks ago I caved and bought the 3.5 qt Le Creuset from Williams Sonoma. This is the perfect size for making the No-Knead bread.

Tongs — Until fairly recently I doubted the power of the tongs. I always thought they were pretty useless. Until I started using them. They are an AMAZING thing to have around. Now you’re probably wondering what the heck do I need tongs for? Well… for flipping meat, for grabbing pasta, for grabbing things out of hot water in general etc. Seriously, by tongs and you’ll find about 50 things to use them for.

Candy Thermometer — Ok, this one isn’t such a staple if you don’t get too creative with your food. BUT if you ever have aspirations of making jam, ice cream, candy or deep frying it is SO essential. It takes the guesswork out of cooking and makes life a lot easier. Once I started using a thermometer to make jam it turned out SO much better. The bonus, candy thermometers can USUALLY be used as a deep frying thermometer.

Microplane — I love this tool. I bought it not too long ago. I had some left over cash on a William Sonoma gift card to spend. I didn’t want to get too involved and make a big purchase so it came down to a microplane OR a fancy pepper grinder. I clearly went for the microplane. I no longer by the preshredded Parmesan. I could spend hours grating citrus rind because it’s so easy. Don’t even get me started on the ease of grating ginger.

Whisk — Simple, I know. But it’s hard to recreate the magic of the whisk without a whisk. Scrambled eggs come out better. You need one when you’re making a sauce. Sure, sometimes you can use a hand mixer, sometimes you can use a fork but it doesn’t always work that way.

Can Opener — For some reason, growing up we didn’t have a can opener. How did we open cans you might be wondering? Well, my mom would get a large knife and cut the can open. This went on for YEARS for absolutely no reason. I don’t remember any slips or injuries with the big knife, but there could’ve been. Please, just buy the can opener.

Cuisinart Blender/ Food Processor — I bought this from a couple on Craigslist who were moving from NYC back to France. Pretty much brand new for MAYBE $25. A steal I tell you, a steal! I love that it does double duty. I love that it doesn’t take up that much space. I love that you can buy any parts that you may break on the website. I love that I can grate cheese in seconds and without taking off a knuckle.

Baking Dish — My 8 x 8 glass baking dish is my best friend. I can use it to make brownies. I can make a casserole. I can roast a piece of meat in it if it comes down to it. It’s a beautiful thing really. Just be careful about going from the fridge directly to the oven. Glass dishes have been known to explode. NOT GOOD.

Mixing Bowls — a few years ago I got a set of about 8 mixing bowls in varying sizes. One of the best gifts ever. I use my bowls for mixing (duh) but also for doing prep work or storing food for later or putting dough aside to rise. I had to give up my bowls when I moved back to Toronto but I definitely need to invest in another set.

The Best Of The Rest….

Measuring cups/spoons – I like recipes. I don’t always follow them, but I like them. Especially with baking, measuring is essential.

Spatula — totally necessary. Haven’t you ever had to flip something?

Knives — all you need are a chef’s knife and a paring knife. Maybe a bread knife if you buy or make whole loves.

Pots/ Pans — I have this set from Calphalon and it does an excellent job.

Cookie Sheet – not just for baking cookies!

Strainer — for washing veggies, draining pasta etc.

Lahey’s No-Knead Bread

Tonya — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:53:15 +0000

For the record, this isn’t the first time I’ve made this bread but now that it’s no longer too hot to turn on the oven I can go back to my bread making.

I started baking bread because I was really concerned with all the STUFF in packaged bread. I mean does bread REALLY need High Fructose Corn Syrup in it? Somehow I think not. When you bake bread at home you definitely don’t add HFCS. I had never baked a loaf of bread in my life before I came across the recipe. Bread making to me always seemed like SUCH a chore. Plus I HATE kneading. I’m not good at it. It takes a long time. And it generally SUCKS.

This recipe has revolutionized the world of baking.

Back in November Mark Bittman at the New York Times wrote this article about “No-knead Bread”. He learned about this technique from Jim Lahey at Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. It’s not a brand new idea… people have been doing it for years but it’s new to your average NY Times reader.

It’s literally the easiest thing to do in the world. You combine flour, water, salt and yeast. Mix it to combine the ingredients and let it rise for 12-18hours. After the first rise take it out of the bowl and fold it over itself and let it rest for 15mins. Then fold it again and cover in some wheat germ or cornmeal if you’d like and let it rise for 2-3 hours. Preheat your oven to 450 during the second rise and put your Le Creuset in the oven to heat up (or whatever cast iron dutch oven you have). After the 2nd rise put the dough in the pot. Cover it. Cook covered for 30 mins and uncovered for 15-30mins. AND THAT’S IT.

You’re pretty much letting time do the work which is great. Here’s a link to the article . I also recommend watching the video.

The recipe uses white flour but I’ve substituted whole wheat flour with varying degrees of success. My best loaf is 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 white flour. The bread in the picture was made with 2/3 whole wheat HARD flour and 1/3 whole wheat SOFT flour. It’s yummy BUT really dense and didn’t rise as much. When you use mostly white flour you get amazing bubbles throughout the dough and it’s light and delicious. It’s like those $7 loaves you buy at Balthazar Bakery… if you’re into that thing. The crust is crusty and delicious.

I won’t lie, this bread has changed my life. If you google it you will find tons of entries about it in the blogosphere.

You can also do variations. I made it onces with mostly white flour, some whole wheat and then folded in a variety of mixed olives and rosemary… YUM! I think it would be great with cranberries and pecans. Or cinnamon and raisins (if you like raisins… i hate them). Sky is the limit really. My last loaf rose beautifully and I used it to make a grilled cheese sandwich. It was kind of amazing, I won’t lie.

If you have questions feel free to comment… I’ve made this bread probably a dozen times and have a fairly good grasp on troubleshooting it. It’s easy but you just have to find your groove with it.