tartine - sourdough

LlTartine’s Country Bread

THE NEW YORK TIMES

YIELD2 loaves

TIME2 weeks (or 2 days with active starter)

The country bread from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco has reached cult status among passionate bakers, and deservedly so. Based on traditional principles, Mr. Robertson has developed a way to get a tangy, open crumb encased in a blistered, rugged crust in a home kitchen, from a starter you create yourself. It is a bit of project — from start to finish, it takes about two weeks — but well worth the effort. (If you already have active starter ready to go, then the process shortens to two days.) So know that you have to be patient, and that the nature of bread baking at home is unpredictable. The level of activity of your starter, the humidity in your kitchen, the temperature during the rises, the time you allow for each step — all of these elements affect the bread and any change can impact your final loaf. But that final loaf is a wonder, the holy grail for the serious home baker.

Featured in: Tartine’s Country Bread: Be Patient, Perfection Is Near. 

  

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE STARTER AND LEAVEN

1000 grams white-bread flour

1000 grams whole-wheat flour

FOR THE BREAD

200 grams leaven

900 grams white-bread flour

100 grams whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting

20 grams fine sea salt

100 grams rice flour

PREPARATION

Make the starter: Combine 1,000 grams white-bread flour with 1,000 grams whole-wheat flour. Put 100 grams of warm water (about 80 degrees) in a small jar or container and add 100 grams of the flour mix. Use your fingers to mix until thoroughly combined and the mixture is the consistency of thick batter. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature until mixture begins to bubble and puff, 2 to 3 days.

When starter begins to show signs of activity, begin regular feedings. Keep the starter at room temperature, and at the same time each day discard 80 percent of the starter and feed remaining starter with equal parts warm water and white-wheat flour mix (50 grams of each is fine). When starter begins to rise and fall predictably and takes on a slightly sour smell, it’s ready; this should take about 1 week.(Reserve remaining flour mix for leaven.)

Make the leaven: The night before baking, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the mature starter. Mix the remaining starter with 200 grams of warm water and stir with your hand to disperse. Add 200 grams of the white-wheat flour mix and combine well. Cover with a towel and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours or until aerated and puffed in appearance. To test for readiness, drop a tablespoon of leaven into a bowl of room-temperature water; if it floats it’s ready to use. If it doesn’t, allow more time to ferment.

Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine 200 grams of leaven with 700 grams of warm water and stir to disperse. (Reserve remaining leaven for future loaves; see note below.)

Add 900 grams of white-bread flour and 100 grams of whole-wheat flour to bowl and use your hands to mix until no traces of dry flour remain. The dough will be sticky and ragged. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes at room temperature.

Add 20 grams fine sea salt and 50 grams warm water. Use hands to integrate salt and water into dough thoroughly. The dough will begin to pull apart, but continue mixing; it will come back together.

Cover dough with a towel and transfer to a warm environment, 75 to 80 degrees ideally (like near a window in a sunny room, or inside a turned-off oven). Let dough rise for 30 minutes. Fold dough by dipping hand in water, taking hold of the underside of the dough at one quadrant and stretching it up over the rest of the dough. Repeat this action 3 more times, rotating bowl a quarter turn for each fold. Do this every half-hour for 2 1/2 hours more (3 hours total). The dough should be billowy and increase in volume 20 to 30 percent. If not, continue to let rise and fold for up to an hour more.

Transfer dough to a work surface and dust top with flour. Use a dough scraper to cut dough into 2 equal pieces and flip them over so floured sides are face down. Fold the cut side of each piece up onto itself so the flour on the surface remains entirely on the outside of the loaf; this will become the crust. Work dough into taut rounds. Place the dough rounds on a work surface, cover with a towel, and let rest 30 minutes.

Mix 100 grams whole-wheat flour and 100 grams rice flours. Line two 10- to 12-inch bread-proofing baskets or mixing bowls with towels. Use some of the flour mixture to generously flour towels (reserve remaining mixture).

Dust rounds with whole-wheat flour. Use a dough scraper to flip them over onto a work surface so floured sides are facing down. Take one round, and starting at the side closest to you, pull the bottom 2 corners of the dough down toward you, then fold them up into the middle third of the dough. Repeat this action on the right and left sides, pulling the edges out and folding them in over the center. Finally, lift the top corners up and fold down over previous folds. (Imagine folding a piece of paper in on itself from all 4 sides.) Roll dough over so the folded side becomes the bottom of the loaf. Shape into a smooth, taut ball. Repeat with other round.

Transfer rounds, seam-side up, to prepared baskets. Cover with a towel and return dough to the 75- to 80-degree environment for 3 to 4 hours. (Or let dough rise for 10 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Bring back to room temperature before baking.)

About 30 minutes before baking, place a Dutch oven or lidded cast-iron pot in the oven and heat it to 500 degrees. Dust tops of dough, still in their baskets, with whole-wheat/rice-flour mixture. Very carefully remove heated pot from oven and gently turn 1 loaf into pan seam-side down. Use a lame (a baker’s blade) or razor blade to score the top of the bread a few times to allow for expansion, cover and transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 450 degrees and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully remove lid (steam may release) and cook for 20 more minutes or until crust is a rich, golden brown color.

Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. The bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees, clean out pot and repeat this process with the second loaf.

Tip

The remaining leaven is your new starter. Continue to feed it if you plan to bake again soon or hold in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future use. When you want to bake again, begin feeding the starter a few days or a week beforehand until it once again behaves predictably.

Pressure Cooker Gigante Beans

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

2 -3 onions diced
4 garlic cloves smashed and sliced
Olive oil
1 Tbsp of salt
Pepper to taste
Oregano, a generous pinch
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) or sweet smoked paprika
1/2 dry white wine / or whey
1 Cup of dry giant lima beans / gigante beans
2 cups of water
approx 14 oz of tomatoes
2 bay leaves

Instructions

Using saute function on instant pot, add olive oil to coat bottom and saute onions, cook 5 - 8 minutes until translucent, then add garlic, oregano and pepper flakes and cook ~ 2 minutes, then add white wine or whey and cook until almost dry.

Add beans, water and bay leaves, salt and cook on high pressure for 50 minutes.  Manual release the pressure.  Check to make sure beans are done, if not cook for another 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and break up and cook over saute for ~ 20 minutes.  Adjust seasoning.  Add fish sauce and vinegar if needed.

Top with crumbled feta and a squeeze of lemon.

Notes - original recipe called for 2.5 Cups of beans and 5 Cups of water

Eggplant and Israeli Couscous

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 Japanese eggplants, cubed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup tomato
- 2 cups water/stock
- kale/beans optional

Directions
1. Toast couscous in dutch oven on medium heat until golden brown, remove from pan
2. Heat olive oil, when shimmering, add onion and cook til brown. Add eggplant, cook until starts to brown. Add garlic fry until fragrant
3. Add spices, tomato paste, tomato and liquid with couscous to pot. Cover pot and put heat on low. Cook until couscous is cooked, 20-30 minutes, check once in a while and add liquid to pot if it gets too dry. Add kale and beans at this point if using
4. Serve with yogurt, olive oil and parsley

Chicken Thighs in Lemon Caper Sauce

Ingredients
- 9 chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 small shallot diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups stock
- 1 cup white wine  (or whey/stock)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp capers

Directions
1. Salt and pepper chicken thighs. Brown skin side down with olive oil in dutch oven, may need to work in batches. Transfer to pan and cook at 350F for 15 minutes in oven.
2. Pour off oil in pan. Cook shallots and garlic in butter. When fragrant, add flour and stir, cooking for 1 minute. Add in liquid whisk frequently. Cook until sauce thickens. Add lemon zest and capers.
3. Nestle thighs in sauce to warm and serve.

Lisbon Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For Cake:
- 115g unsalted butter
- 30g unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 100g sugar (probably could cut down)
- 3 large eggs chilled

For Ganache:
- 1 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

For Topping:
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions
1. Heat oven to 325F, line 9 inch pan with parchment paper and butter
2. Sift cocoa, corn starch, baking powder and salt into bowl
3. Melt butter and chocolate in bain maire, stirring until glossy. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously for 1 minute after last egg added. Stir in dry ingredients and pour into pan.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool for 5 minutes before unmolding. Take off parchment paper and cool cake completely. Wash and dry pan
5. Pour 1 1/4 cup cream into saucepan and scald cream on medium heat (to 180F). Stir in chocolate until melted. Transfer to bowl and refrigerate, taking out to whisk every 10 minutes for 50-60 minutes.
6. Place cake back in bottom of pan.
7. Whisk remaining cream until medium peaks. Fold into ganache with spatula, then spread over cake in pan. Refigerate for at least 2 hours.
8. Before serving, sprinkle cocoa over cake using a strainer.

Instant Pot Lentil Gremolata Soup

Ingredients
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 pound brown lentils, washed
- 1 lemon
- 1 bunch parsley finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 L chicken stock
- pinenuts/walnuts

Directions
1. Sautee carrots, celery and onions in olive oil until browning
2. In meantime, make gremolata - zest of 1 lemon, microplaned garlic, parsley, 1/4 cup olive oil
3. Add 1/2 gremolata to the pot and sautee for 1 minute
4. Add bay leaves, lentils, stock to pot. Set high pressure for 10 minutes, then natural release
5. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice. Blend soup to desired consistency, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Garnish with gremolata and nuts to serve.

Corn Souffle / pudding

**** start this early, as the batter needs to cool before you put the eggs in

Ingredients:

3 larges ears of corn shucked
1 Cup heavy cream
1/2 Cup whole milk
1 1/2 Tbsp seasalt
3 Tbsp butter unsalted room temp
2 Tbsp flour
4 large eggs whites and yolks separated

Directions:

Position rack in centre of oven, preheat to 400C,
Cut corn kernals off, use back of knife to get any extra bits
Put kernals, cream and milk into pot, and bring to boil over med heat
Simmer for 3 mins
Add salt
Transfer 1/2 of mixture into blender and puree until very smooth, then pour rest into blender
Clean the pot, then add butter, melt over med heat, add flour, stirring constantly until smooth, ladle in the corn, allowing to simmer between each ladle of corny goodness
Let mixture cool completely, Butter the souffle dish, make sure you have enough hot water to surround souffle dish

then mix in egg yolks into mixture

Beat egg whites into stiff peaks, then fold into mixture, and pour into souffle dish.  Place souffle dish into a roasting pan and fill up to 3/4 up the side with hot water

Bake for 30 mins, then add tinfoil to prevent the top from browning too much.

Bake for another 15 - 25 mins, until it is golden brown and is just set, but jiggly in the centre.  Let it cool in the waterbath until you can remove the dish with your hands.  Serve while still warm.