Food Magic

Oh, man. WHERE did this week go?

Most of it was spent in the school kitchen.

I confess. 

I really like it.

Brenna and I are helping the football moms make dinners for the team. This week, we made

 meatball sandwiches with homemade Foccacia bread.

Oh, it was sheer heaven.

Except for when I cut my finger.

Now, I KNOW how to cook. I really, really enjoy cooking. But being in this kitchen cooking huge amounts of food has turned me into a klutz.

I have a 2 inch burn on the inside of my arm to prove it.....

O.K., enough of that.

Today I would like to share the recipe for 

LEAN DOUGH

so you can make wonderful bread like this:

Well, not this much, but it does freeze well....

In a large bowl, combine the following in this order:

3 cups warm water

1 Tbs. yeast

6-6 1/2 cups flour

1 Tbs. salt

Stir, cover and let sit for 2-24 hours.

Super easy, right?

It will make 2 loaves of bread in bread loaf pans,

4 small french loaves or 2 large french loaves.

Now, when you make your loaf, let's say 2 french bread loaves,

cut the dough in half and put one of the halves on a floured board and coat it in flour.

Take the dough and turn it into itself over and over and "cup" it  like you are going to make a ball. 

Kinda like when you play with Play-Do.

Then begin rolling into a loaf shape. Make a cut along the top of the loaf.

Let sit about 30 minutes to rise.

Bake bread loaves in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes.

If you are making french bread loaves, cook at 450 for 20 minutes.

For garlic bread, cut the cooked french bread loaf in half.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a microwave safe cup. Add 3 freshly pressed garlic cloves.

Then add 1/2 stick of softened butter to the melted butter and stir together.

Spread the butter on the french loaves and add some parmesan-reggiano cheese. Sprinkle parsley on top if you like.

Bake in hot oven at 450 until browned.

YUM.

xo

lynn