Lilac Blossom Almond Scones

I've been aware for some time now that there are quite a few different edible flowers out there; nasturtium, squash blossoms, chive blossoms, lavender, even marigolds and pansies to name just a few. Up until this point however, other than playing around with some lavender (lavender shortbread cookies!) I really haven't done much with these flowers. I decided to change that this spring when I saw the lilac bushes start bursting with their beautiful flowers, perfuming the air when I take walks. It is one of the best smells imaginable. 

It was a video I saw earlier this spring from Kitchen Vignettes that first peaked my interest in playing around with some lilacs. Then my sister showed me this recipe for lilac blossom scones from Holly and Flora and I knew I had to make them. I did a little urban foraging one morning, coming back home with a bag full of lilac blossoms. Into the scones they went, and I also made a quick lilac blossom simple syrup that I've been using to make vanilla and lilac tea lattes (yum!) all week. So although the lilacs blossoms will soon disappear for another year I will thankfully have the memory of these buttery and delicious scones to hold me through until next spring. 

The flavor of lilac blossoms is quite mild, so don't be afraid that these scones will taste like perfume or potpourri. They lend a quiet floral flavor and aroma to the scones without being overpowering. The almonds add a nice crunch and obvious nuttiness that pairs well with the blossoms. I think the addition of a little bit of white chocolate would be a wonderful third component, but I didn't have any on hand at the time so I wasn't able to try it out. Next time!

Some people might be a little intimidated by scones if they've never made them before, but they really are so easy to make. A few things I like to keep in mind: make sure your butter is very cold before starting, don't over-mix the dough once you add the liquid, and don't add too much liquid or your dough will be too soft and the scones may be a little tough. I usually don't add all the liquid right away, just to make sure I don't add too much. You can always add more as needed. You only want as much liquid as necessary to just hold everything together, and not any more. 

This is a fairly basic buttermilk scone recipe, with the addition of lilac blossoms and almonds. Wonderfully simple and delicious. I made my scones on the smaller side, halving the original recipe and cutting them half as big as what was originally called for, but if you want bigger, more coffee-shop sized scones, make 4 scones out of the recipe below (or double it and make 8 as in the original recipe). 

Lilac Blossom Almond Scones
Adapted from Holly and Flora
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) flour, all-purpose
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) toasted, chopped almonds
• 3/4-1 cup lilac flowers
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken well (I actually used a mixture of liquid whey and half-and-half because that's what I had and it work wonderfully)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the ingredients together. Cut the chilled butter into small cubes and toss into the dry mixture. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture, until pea-sized lumps of butter are present. 

Add the almonds, lilac blossoms, vanilla and buttermilk (a little at a time) and fold together in the bowl with your hands just until the all the flour is moistened and the dough holds together. Make sure to not over-work. Lightly flour the ball of dough and flatten it out on the counter, by hand, into a 1/2 -3/4 inch thick disk. Cut the dough into triangles and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly dust with turbinado sugar. (At this point I usually place my scones in the freezer for at least 30-60 minutes to firm up. This step is not absolutely necessary, but I find that scones bake up taller and more beautiful when they chill a little first. You can actually freeze the scones entirely, transfer them to a plastic bag and store them in the freezer. Then bake directly from the freezer when needed, adding a few more minutes to the baking time if needed. This is a great time saver on mornings when you want a fresh batch of scones, but don't want the hassle of making them that morning.) 

Bake 12 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until turning golden brown on the edges. Serve warm, plain, or with a little butter and your favorite jam. 

Yields: 4 large or 8 small scones

Nurse Cookies

I have a good friend who works in a local urgent care as a PA. A week or two ago she mentioned that it was going to be National Nurses Day coming up (it was actually last Friday, May6) and she wanted to bring a bunch of homemade goodies into the urgent care as a thank you to all the nurses she works with. She was hoping that Lara and I could help her out with some decorated sugar cookies, the type we usually make at Christmas. Of course we both jumped on board right away and last week the three of us got together to do some decorating. 

After browsing Pinterest, we settle on three design ideas, EKG hearts, bandages, and nurses caps. All three designs were very simple to make and turned out great! The perfect way to say Thank You to all those nurses out there who work incredible hard to give their patients the best care possible. So although this is a few days late; Happy Nurses Day!!

These cookies were a team effort. I made the cookies the day before we were planning on decorating and Lara made the royal icing that night and frosted the cookies with the base layer so they would have time to dry. The next day we headed over to our friends house and completed the decorating. So while there were a few different steps involved, the whole process was pretty easy and didn't take very long at all!

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies
from Bake at 350
Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 2 sticks butter, cold 
• 1 egg 
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract 

Directions
Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling 

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and freeze for 5 minutes. Bake chilled cookies for 10-12 minutes at 350. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Royal Icing
from Sweetopia
Ingredients

• 6 oz (3/4 cup) warm water 
• 5 tablespoons meringue powder 
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 
• 1 kilogram (2.25 pounds) powdered sugar 

*** Note: if your meringue powder has no vanilla flavor in it, you may add a teaspoon of clear vanilla to this recipe

Directions
Pour the warm water and meringue powder into the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened, about 30 seconds.

Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.

Pour in all of the powdered sugar at once. Using the paddle attachment, mix slowly, on the LOWEST speed, for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.

Cover the bowl with a dampened towel to prevent crusting and drying.

Tint with food colorings and thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken

It may be Mother's Day today, but this year my family celebrated mom last week. Mom decided that she wanted to head to Indiana with a friend to spend time at Conner Prairie, a living history museum where people recreate what life was like in Indiana in the 19th century. My mom is a big Civil War reenacter,  and loves all of these kind of things so this is her favorite kind of weekend, and her top choice for where to spend her Mother's Day this year. Her friend's daughter works at Conner Prairie so they are going to dress up in the historically accurate clothes and have a blast. Hope you're having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend mom!

Even though mom was not going to be home on Mother's day this year I still wanted to make her a special meal, as a thank you for being such a great mom. So instead of celebrating today, we got together last weekend for a Mother's Day meal starring this Rosemary Lemon Chicken. It's a simple recipe, but so full of flavor that everyone loved it. I can't think of much else that goes so well with chicken as lemon and rosemary do. The whole thing can be prepped the night before so all you have to do the day you want to make it is stick it in the oven. If you're craving some delicious chicken, but want to make life easy for yourself, this is the recipe you want to make. 

I was inspired to make this recipe after coming back from Paris. One morning there I was walking down the street and passed a butcher who had a big rotisserie outside his shop with a dozen chickens slowly turning on spits. Below the chickens was a big pile of red potatoes, soaking in the juices of the chickens that were dripping down as they roasted. It looked and smelled amazing and I knew I wanted to recreate it at home. Since I don't have a rotisserie, a good roasted chicken was going to have to do instead. Roasting the chicken over a bed of red-skinned potatoes allowed the chicken juices to permeate and flavor the potatoes as everything cooked. While this prevents the potatoes from getting crispy and brown, it does make them flavorful and creamy. 

I love rosemary with my chicken and potatoes, so I threw a lot of chopped rosemary in this dish as well as some chopped fresh thyme because I had some in the fridge, but you can always use whichever herbs you like best, it doesn't have to be rosemary. Don't skip the lemon however. It permeates the chicken and potatoes, brightening everything with its tart acidity. The perfect pairing with the earthy rosemary. This one is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Impress your guests this weekend with this simply amazing roast chicken. 

Happy Mother's Day to the best mother around!!

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken
Adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine
Ingredients

• 2 whole chickens, cut into pieces, bone-in, skin-on
• 2-3 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (do not use bottled lemon juice, it must be freshly squeezed)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds of small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon sliced in ⅛-inch slices

Directions
The night before you plan on roasting the chicken, or early on the day of, mix the rosemary, thyme, garlic, 5 teaspoons salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil together in a small bowl. 

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Pour the oil-herb mixture onto the chicken and use your hands to mix the chicken and the oil mixture together, rubbing it into the chicken and under the skin, coating everything evenly. Cover bowl and place in the fridge at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. 

The next day, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease one or two sheet pans with oil. Combine potatoes, olive oil, the 1-2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium-size bowl. Toss to coat. Turn potatoes out onto prepared sheet pans in an even layer. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Remove pans from oven and add the chicken breasts to the pans, skin side up in between the potatoes. Tuck lemons around chicken and potatoes. Roast for about 30-45 minutes longer, or until the breasts reach 160˚F in the thickest part. (If breasts vary greatly in size, you may need to remove the smaller ones 5 minutes before the larger ones.) My chicken took about 38 minutes. 

Remove from oven and cover chicken loosely with foil. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-10

Classic Hummus

I've been wanting to do a post on hummus for a long time now, but whenever I would make it I never ended up taking any pictures. Well, recently I decided that enough was enough, it was time for hummus pics. So here you are, my favorite, go-to hummus recipe from my favorite cookbook author and chef, Yotam Ottolenghi. To be honest, this is the only hummus recipe I've ever made, but I love it so much that I've never felt the need to search for another. It turns out super creamy, lemony hummus, full of garlic and tahini.

Homemade hummus is so incredibly good, and really quite easy. You will never want to go back to the watery, flavorless store-bought hummus again once you've tried making it yourself (even though, if in a pinch, the store-bought version makes an appearance, don't worry, I understand, sometimes convenience trumps all!). But seriously, this stuff is so good. If you've never tried making hummus before you really should give it a shot. Pull out that food processor and grab a bag of dried chickpeas and get going!

This recipe comes from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi which I've talked about before, so I won't wax poetic about this wonderful book again. The original recipe makes a massive batch of hummus, way more than I ever need for myself, so I usually halve it. You'll see the halved recipe below, so go ahead and double it if you need a big batch, just be sure you're food processor is big enough. As written below, the recipe makes approximately 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups of hummus in the end, so still a nice amount of hummus. 

Making hummus is really a simple process. You do have to think ahead in order to have time to soak and cook the chickpeas, but once that is done, the food processor takes care of all the hard work. And while I know you can make hummus with canned chickpeas, I highly recommend dried. They taste so much better, are not really any more work, and are cheaper, win-win! 

Classic Hummus
Adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 grams) dried chickpeas
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 grams) tahini
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (do not use bottled lemon juice)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 1/2 tablespoons ice-cold water
• salt

Directions
The night before making the hummus, put the chickpeas in a medium-to-large saucepan and cover them with cold water at least twice their volume. Leave to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the chickpeas and return to the saucepan. Place the saucepan over high heat and add the baking soda. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook, scimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface. The chickpeas will need to cook between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on how fresh they are, sometimes even longer. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking up easily when pressed between your thumb and finger, almost but not quite mushy. 

Drain the chickpeas. You should have roughly 1 3/4 cup (300 grams) now. Place the chickpeas in a food processor and process until you get a stiff paste. Then, with the machine still running, add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Finally, slowly drizzle in the iced water and allow it to mix for about 5 minutes, until you get a very smooth and creamy paste. 

Transfer hummus (which will be quite warm at this point) to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If not using right away, refrigerate until needed. Make sure to take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

As I type this, the sun is streaming in the window, blinding me as I sit. I love spring. :) The birds are singing, the buds are just starting to burst out in light green leaves, and the flowering trees are gracing gardens and yards with fragrant and beautiful blooms. Morning runs are warming up, making it easier for me to haul myself out of bed and out the door into the not quite as frigid conditions. Thankfully I can stop worrying about sliding around on icy sidewalks for many months. 

While I'm on the topic of things I love, I also love banana bread; almost as exciting as spring! For these banana muffins I adapted my favorite Greek yogurt banana bread , turning them into muffins with the scrumptious addition of some nice dark chocolate chips.  They baked up tall and fluffy with a moist and tender crumb. Easy to whip up on a lovely spring morning to enjoy with a cup of steaming coffee on your sunny porch. Happy baking!

Like I said, I took one of my favorite banana bread recipes and turned them into muffins. I started by cutting the recipe in half because I just wanted a small batch, so the final recipe makes 6 nice muffins. I increased the oven temperature to 375 degrees and baked them for 18 minutes. For a little extra flavor and fun I added some cardamom along with the chocolate chips, but you could also try adding a little cinnamon for that extra spice. A light and delicious breakfast muffin, perfect for spring!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Adapted from Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 very ripe bananas (approximately 7.5 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) plain Greek yogurt
• 2-3 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour, or a mix of all purpose and whole wheat flours
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I did 35 grams, but you can do a bit more if you like your muffins bursting with chocolate!)

Directions
In a large bowl, mash bananas with a whisk. Add butter, yogurt and sugar and whisk until combined and somewhat smooth. If it's still a little chunky, don't worry. Add the vanilla and egg and stir until combined.

Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and flour and stir just until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips mix until just combined (don’t overmix).

Spoon batter evenly into 6 muffin cups that are either greased or lined with muffin liners. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack. 

Classic Brownies

It's been a couple weeks since I posted anything but I promise that I had good reason - I was in Europe for 10 days!! My sister and I went on a fantastic trip to the Netherlands and France and we had such a wonderful time. I will be sharing pics (LOTS of food pics!) soon, once I can go through all my photos, so stay tuned! 

Until then, enjoy this recipe for classic brownies. I'd have to say that brownies are one of my all time favorite desserts. They are easy, delicious, and always a crowd pleaser. I like my brownies rich and fudgy, those recipes that are full of butter, chocolate (not just cocoa powder) and eggs, with a tiny bit of flour to hold everything together. The only problem with these type of recipes is that I don't always have enough chocolate in the pantry to make them as they often call for 8+ ounces of chocolate (plus this can quickly get quite expensive).

I thought this recipe was a good compromise. It calls for some melted chocolate, but not half a pound of it, and only 6 tablespoons of butter which is really reasonable in a brownie. They are super easy to throw together and bake up beautifully, fudgy and dense, moist and chewy. Great chocolate flavor, a great go-to brownie recipe. 

When I was trying to find a brownie recipe to make I couldn't find anything just right. The recipe I used as a starting point for this recipe looked perfect, the only problem was it called for unsweetened chocolate which I did not have and didn't want to go buy at the time. I decided to try and adapt it so I could use bittersweet chocolate and just see how it worked. So I replaced the unsweetened chocolate with bittersweet chocolate, cut back a bit on the sugar, and added a little cocoa powder to boost up the chocolate flavor. In the end I thought they turned out great! I don't know how they compare to the original but it doesn't really matter, they are great as written below. If I ever find myself with some unsweetened chocolate maybe I'll try making the original recipe, but until then these brownies will do just fine!

Classic Brownies
Heavily adapted from Cook's Illustrated
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 3/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, at least 60% cocoa
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 8-inch square or similar sized baking dish by lining it with parchment paper and greasing the parchment with butter. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave in 15-30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, being sure you don't overheat the chocolate. When chocolate is smooth and melted add the sugar and stir until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each egg until completely combined. Add in vanilla.

Add 1/3 flour mixture, fold in with rubber spatula. Repeat until all flour is used and mix is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan- make sure to spread into corners of pan. Smooth the surface for even baking.

Bake brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out almost clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove brownies from pan by lifting out the parchment. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely before cutting. For cleanest slicing, once brownies are almost completely cool, place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes until chilled all the way through before cutting. 

Chicken Pesto Pizza

I was at the library last week, one of my favorite places in the world, and picked up a pretty looking pizza cookbook, Truly, Madly Pizza by Suzanne Lenzer. As you may or may not know, making pizza at home is one of my all-time favorite dinners. It is always delicious, and if the dough is already made it's actually a really quick and easy dinner. So it makes sense then that I love looking at pizza cookbooks, but usually I just flip through them for inspiration. Something about this particular book however intrigued me. Her dough sounded a little different, and used a different method than any of my previous recipes and my interest was peaked; I decided to take the book home and get a closer look. As soon as I got home I delved a little deeper into the book and very quickly was in the kitchen whipping up her pizza dough recipe. 

The verdict? I have made two pizzas now, not a large sample size I realize, but both of them turned out pretty amazing. I don't know if I can say for sure that this dough is extra good, or I just got lucky and turned out a couple of fabulous pizzas, but what I can say is that I plan on making another batch of dough ASAP so I can find out!! Until then, enjoy this simple, but always fantastic recipe for chicken pesto pizza. 

I only managed to snap one, that's right one single picture, of this awesome pizza, but it was too pretty, and the finished pizza too delicious, not to share. Hopefully I'll have some other pizzas to share very soon...!

Chicken Pesto Pizza
From Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• Perfect pizza dough (recipe below), or your own favorite pizza dough
• Leftover chicken, dark meat preferred, cut into bite sized chunks
• 2-3 tablespoons pesto (homemade if you have it) 
• 3-4 ounces fresh mozzarella
• Olive oil
• Salt

Directions
The morning you are planning to make pizza, take dough out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to slowly thaw. When you are ready to make dinner, place a pizza stone or a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 550 degrees, or as hot as it will go (unfortunately my oven only goes to 500 degrees) and let it preheat for at least 30-45 minutes, a hour is better if you have time.  

Twenty to thirty minutes before shaping the pizza, pull the dough out of the fridge and let come to room temperature while you prepare the toppings. 

When ready, working with the dough in your hands, gently begin to stretch the dough into a circular shape, pressing your fist into the center of the dough and pulling at the edges with your other hand. With both hands, stretch the dough, being careful not to tear it. Working in a circular motion, pull the thicker edges of the dough outward, letting gravity help you. Continue to stretch the dough until it's relatively even thickness (the edges will be thicker - that's okay) and you have the size you want. 

Dust pizza peel generously with cornmeal and carefully lay the shaped pizza crust onto the peel (alternately you can use parchment paper and slide the whole thing, parchment and all, right onto the stone or baking sheet). Top the pizza with the pesto, followed by fresh mozzarella and then the chicken. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt if desired and brush the crust with olive oil. Slide pizza off peel and onto your heated stone or baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden and and cheese is bubbling and just beginning to brown, 6-10 minutes. 

Slide pizza off stone and onto a cutting board or plate. Let rest a few minutes (if you can) before cutting. 

Perfect Pizza Dough
From Truly, Madly Pizza by Suzanne Lenzer
Ingredients

• 390 grams bread flour (about 2.75 cups)
• 1/4 ounce active dry yeast (about 2.5 teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (about 40 grams)
• 1 cup warm water
• 2-3 tablespoons cornmeal

Directions
Put the flour, yeast and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal S-balde and turn the machine on. With the machine running, pour the oil through the feed tube, then add the water in a slow, steady stream. By adding the water slowly, you can watch the dough come together and you'll get a sense of whether you should add more or whether it's too wet - it should look pliable and smooth after a minute or so of processing (the more water you can add and still be able to handle the dough without it sticking to you hands, the better it will be). Continue to process for 2 to 3 minutes (the dough should form a rough ball and ride around in the processor). The finished dough should be soft, slightly sticky and elastic. If too dry, add a bit more water; if too wet, a tablespoon or so more flour.

Lay a 12-inch-long piece of plastic wrap on a clean work surface. Work the dough into a rectangle on the plastic, about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Press your fingers into the top of the dough all over, making indentations as though it were a focaccia. Fold the left third of the dough over (as you would a letter) and repeat the indentations. Fold the right third over and make the indentations again. Cover the folded dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
Cut the dough in half, form each piece into a neat ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer. The morning before you want to make pizza, transfer the dough to the refrigerator to thaw.

Note: You can use the dough right away, but you'll find the texture of the crust will be a bit breadier and the flavor less complex (but still very tasty). 

Dutch Oven Sourdough

I have been making bread for years now, and am now consistently happy for the most part with the loaves I turn out. While I'm no pro, I can bake up some pretty tasty loaves and rolls whenever I feel like it. One thing had been eluding me however, an artisan-type loaf with a deeply golden, crackling crust, one that shatters into millions of shards when cutting in. I've tried so many different recipes in the past, but they invariably turn out pale, anemic looking loaves with a soft, uninspiring crust. Well, no more! I finally did it, out of my own home oven I pulled this gorgeous, crusty loaf. I may have heard angels singing...

This is a beautiful and simple recipe, there is mixing involved but no real kneading. It takes a bit of time to rise, seeing as there is not commercial yeast involved, as well as the fact that my apartment is sometimes  a bit chilly, but there is very little hands on time at all. 

I have seen plenty of recipes in the past that call for baking bread in a Dutch oven and how well this can mimic a commercial steam-injection oven, but for whatever reason I never got around to trying it before. When I came across this recipe on The Clever Carrot however, and saw her beautiful finished loaves I decided that it was finally time to try it for myself. I can now say that it worked! I was able to pull out of my very own oven, a blistered, deeply golden brown boule of sourdough bread. As it cooled on the counter I was even able to hear the crust "cracking" as it cooled, music to my ears and such a happy sound. 

I know the instructions below are quite long, but it truly is not a difficult recipe. It looks more intense than it actually is, in reality it's actually quite a simple recipe. Check out The Clever Carrot for if you'd like some great photos to go along with the instructions below. Happy Baking!

Dutch Oven Sourdough
From The Clever Carrot
Ingredients

• 5.35 oz / 150g active, fed starter
• 8.80 oz / 250g water, preferably filtered
• .90 oz / 25g olive oil
• 17.65 oz / 500g bread flour (not all purpose)
• .35 oz / 10g fine sea salt
• fine ground cornmeal, for dusting

Directions
To make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the starter, water, olive oil and bread flour. Squish everything together with your hands until all of the flour is absorbed. It will be a fairly firm dough. Cover and rest (autolyse) for 30 minutes.

Add the salt + ½ tsp. of water (to help it dissolve). Lift and fold the dough over itself several times, and squish with your hands to incorporate. The dough will tear slightly as you fold, and the salt will not fully dissolve. Don't worry- this is normal. Work the dough as best you can until it comes back together into a rough ball. At this point, you shouldn't feel any grains of salt beneath your hands.

Bulk fermentation: Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot to rise. Your dough is ready when it no longer looks dense, and has increased in volume about 1½- 2x its original size. This can take anywhere from 3-12 hours depending on the temperature of your ingredients, the potency of your starter and surrounding environment. (Check out The Clever Carrot for her Winter Weekend Baking schedule if interested in a more detailed schedule). 

Stretch & folds: During bulk fermentation, you have the option to perform a series of 'stretch & folds' to strengthen the dough. Simply gather a portion of the dough, stretch it upwards and then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl ¼ turn and repeat this process until you have come full circle. Do every 30 minutes for 2 hours. Although this step is not mandatory, it will increase the total volume of your bread.

Cutting & shaping: To cut and shape the dough, divide your work surface in half; lightly flour one side (for cutting) and leave the other half clean (for shaping).

Remove the dough from the bowl, and place onto the floured section so that it does not stick. You do not need to 'punch down' the dough; it will gently deflate as you fold and shape it.
Cut the dough in half to make 2 loaves, or leave it whole for a single loaf.

To shape, use a bench scraper to move your dough to the non-floured section (if there is any flour present, it will be difficult to shape- brush away any excess). Gather the dough, one side at a time, and fold it into the center. Flip the dough over and place it seam side down. Using your hands, gently cup the sides of the dough and rotate it, using quarter turns in a circular motion. You can also pull it towards you to even out the shape. Repeat this process until you are happy with its appearance. *See note below.

Second rise: Coat the bottom of your Dutch oven with cornmeal. Place the dough inside for a second shorter rise, about 1 hour. It is ready when the dough is slightly puffy, try not to over-rise the dough at this point or it will lose some of its strength, and will not get the boost it needs to produce a nice, round loaf. 

Preparing the oven: About half an hour before you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 F.

Slashing the dough: Right before your bread goes into the oven, make a shallow slash about 2 inches long in the center of the dough. Use a bread lame, a sharp pairing or serrated knife.

Place your bread into the oven (lid on) and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking with the lid on for 10 more minutes. Remove the lid, and continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 40 minutes or until deep, golden brown, rotating the pot halfway through. Keep in mind that all ovens are different; you might have to make minimal adjustments to these temperatures.

During the last 10 minutes of baking, crack open the oven door. This allows the moisture to escape, leaving your bread with a crisp crust. You can also take the internal temperature of your bread to double check that it is done. For sourdough, it should read about 205 F.

Cooling: Remove the bread from the oven, and cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. Don't cut too soon or else the inside will have a gummy texture!

NOTES
*When shaping, the idea is for the dough to catch enough surface tension on a non-floured area in order to create a tight ball. If there is flour present, it will slide around...and drive you nuts.