Other People's Food 101: The Bread that Changed Everything

Remember how in my first few posts, I pretty much said I hate baking.


I still do. I just hate it a lot less, and it's fully because of this book:

Figure 17.B-2 If I had a summer reading list for you guys, this would be on it... that gives me an idea for a post!

I've been churning out loaf upon loaf of crusty, flavorful bread with a soft, tender crumb that would impress even the octogenarian Italian bakers back home. I'm happy to provide you guys with the formula and technique for this little food revolution, courtesy of the man who wrote the book:

Sullivan St. Bakery Bread Recipe - This is a little bit modified than the original technique in My Bread, but it's the same principle. Plus, I'm not breaking any copyright laws by posting this link.

A couple caveats: 1) although it may look cumbersome and drawn out (particuarly the 18 hour rising time), this recipe is stunningly easy. You mostly ignore the bowl of dough on the counter and go about your normal life while it does it's own thing, then chuck it in the oven for less than an hour. 2) I use a plain, seasoned cast iron pot like is shown on the cover of My Bread, primarily because I can't afford the Le Crueset he recommends. Plain cast iron, well cared for, works fine.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Vol 1: Bread

Wait!

Don't throw out that week old (maybe two-week old...) half loaf of artisan whole grain organic spelt flour rosemary peasant bread you bought at Whole Foods for $12.65. Just because it's hard enough to be used as an ad hoc construction tool doesn't mean it's not still good.... for something. And by no means should you feed it to geese, pigeons, sparrows or any other variety of hollow-boned pest.

Okay, so what should you do with it? The answer is simple: croutons. You know those crunchy bits of bread you put on salads, right? Well, send the people from Pepperidge Farm packing. Why spend an extra few bucks on a bag of those oily cardbord cubes when you've already spent it on bread you're about to chuck? The only thing standing between old bread and croutons is your oven. Bread also lasts almost indefinitely in crouton form.

The best part of croutons-from-scratch is that you can choose what ever flavors you want. You're not limited to "extra garlic" or "zesty italian." And this choice of flavor is in addition to what ever stale bread you decide to use as a base. Living (mostly) alone, I usually can't go through a loaf of bread before it gets stale, so I do this alot. I've tried a wide variety of herbs, spices, herb-and-spice mixtures*, and a variety of oils against a backdrop of any kind of bread you can imagine. It's next to impossible to screw this up. So, let's get started. Too use a more food-snob-approved term:

House-made Croutons

• What ever old, stale bread you have lying around. Just make sure it's not moldy. Mold may improve some cheeses, but it tends to ruin your croutons (and gross out your friends/family). Good, crusty breads you buy in unsliced loaves work best, but you can do this with odds and ends of the sliced stuff, too. Cut it into cubes of what ever size you want. Mine tend to be on the bigger size.
• Enough olive oil to just coat the bread.
• Salt, black pepper, and what ever other flavorings you want to use. I've had alot of success with dried Herbs de Provence. I've also recently used truffle oil, and that batch came out amazing. Garlic, chili pepper.... really what ever you want is fine.

Figure 35.q - Everything old is new again" - Peter Allen

Preheat your oven to the universal temperature - Bake 350. Toss the bread cubes with enough oil oil to lightly coat them and with any seasonings you want to use. Spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. You can put down a layer of foil first, if you're lazy like I am, but I understand it sort of spoils the whole "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" theme. Bake the little bastards until you can smell what ever flavorings you've used emanating from your oven. A half-hour is generally safe for big cubes, 20 minutes for smaller ones. Take them out, let them cool. They will harden into perfect, crunchy little bites. Store them in an airtight container in a cabinet or shelf and use whenever you have a salad. Or soup. Or any other use you could think of for a crouton.

Figure 36.z - Airtight.

Until next week, loyal readers.

*If you happen to be near the place featured in the link - try their Cajun seasoning. It's one of the best I've tried.