little miss cocoa

I’d been wanting to try the New York Times no-knead bread recipe for years; four years, in fact, ever since the recipe appeared on the website in 2006. However, the only tough thing about the recipe is the time it takes (almost twenty hours), and the possibility that after twenty hours your bread might be a dismal failure (as happened to my sister).

Once I started making the bread, though, it’s so effortless that I now make it almost every week. Plus, you end up with a delicious ball of chewy, soft bread covered in a crackly, crunchy crust. And since I tweaked the recipe to give it some whole wheat healthiness, it’s good for you, too.

So here’s what you do:

Ingredients:
1/4 tsp regular yeast
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 and 5/8ths cups water

Do:
In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, salt, and flours until well incorporated. Then stir in the water. The dough will be shaggy and wet, but that’s good. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a draftless, warmish place (about 70 degrees) for 12-18 hours, or until you see bubbles against the plastic wrap. I find that the oven is actually a good place for bread to rise (as long as nobody turns the oven on!)

When the dough is ready, pull the dough onto a cutting board and fold it over on itself a couple times. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for another fifteen minutes. While it’s resting, line a bowl with cloth kitchen towels (not terry cloth) and sprinkle flour on the towels. When the dough is ready, put it on top of the towel, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough, and place another towel on top. Let it rise for another 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before the dough has finished its second rise, turn on the oven to about 420 degrees, and place a large covered casserole soup pot or dutch oven inside to heat up. The dish should be large, about 6-8 quarts, and preferably quite heavy, like ceramic, Pyrex, or cast iron. When you’re ready to bake your dough, pull out the pot, turn the dough over into the pot, and cover with the lid. (This steams the bread and effortlessly gives it that nice crackly crust that bakers work so hard at.)

Let the bread bake for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take off the lid and allow to bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until you get nervous that you’re overbaking your bread. Finally, pull out and try to wait a little while before slathering a slice with butter and eating it at the sink.

I have a new favorite food website: food52.com. Their recipes are user generated, but often New York Times Food Editor tested and approved, with contests to keep it challenging. I’ve been meaning to try a recipe with my new all time favorite gourd – the butternut squash – and even though I already have a favorite butternut bisque recipe, this one is a serious contender for number one. It was light, fresh, just a hint sweet, and stick-to-your-ribs warm.

I made a few changes to the recipe (just teeny tiny ones) but am recording them here for the next time I make it!

Roasted Butternut and Apple Bisque

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into one inch chunks
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored, diced (Honey Crisp turned out great)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4-5 cups vegetable broth

Directions:
1. Toss the squash chunks in enough olive oil to lightly coat the squash, then drizzle with maple syrup and toss again. Roast on a baking sheet at 400F for 40-60 minutes, or until the squash is just starting to caramelize.
2. Melt the butter over medium high heat in the pot you’ll be making the soup in, and cook until it is a deep golden color (about 10 min, but it took me a little longer). The deeper the color, the nuttier the flavor, but be careful not to burn it.
3. Add the onion, apples, cinnamon, ginger, thyme and salt, and cook until the onions and apples are softened. Add the squash and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add 4 cups of veggie broth and simmer, stirring, until uniformly soft (about 10-20 min).
5. Turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender. Alternately, you can puree in a blender or food processor, but it’s much less messy with an immersion blender (pretty much my favorite appliance ever) and you can keep it in the same pot.
6. (optional) Stir in 1/4 cup creme fraiche.
7. Enjoy!