Bombay Sliders!

Tonight's dinner is Bombay Sliders (turkey burgers with Curry-Garlic Sauce). I used THIS RECIPE FROM EPICURIOUS - Delish!

However, I totally forgot to by Hawaiian rolls to use as the buns. Doh! Luckily I was rising some whole wheat sandwich bread this afternoon, so I turned it into whole wheat english muffins!

The recipe is from the always delightful Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (this is the whole wheat, english muffin variation on his Sandwich Bread recipe on pp. 228-230).

Ingredients:
1.75 cups all-purpose flour
1.75 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoon instant yeast
2-3 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoon softened butter, plus more for greasing the bowl
1 to 1.33 cups cool milk

1) Place the flour in the container of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the salt and yeast and process for 5 seconds. With the machine running, add the honey, softened butter, and most of the milk through the feed tube (you'll probably need a little less than 1.33 cups since you are using honey, a liquid sweetener). PRocess for 30 seconds, then remove the cover. The dough should be in a well-defined, barely sticky, easy-to-handle ball. If it is too dry, add milk 1 T at a time and process for 5-10 seconds after each addition. If it is too wet, which is unlikely, add a T or two of flour and process briefly. Knead for a minute or so by hand.

2) Grease a large bowl with butter or oil. Shape the dough into a rough ball, place it in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or damp towel. Let rise for at least 2 hours, until nearly doubled in bulk **CLH TIP: My house is kinda chilly, so I like to heat the oven up to 170 and then turn it off, then let the dough rise in the warm oven.** Deflate the ball and shape it once again into a ball; let rest on a lightly floured surface for about 15 minutes, covered.

3) Cut the dough into 12 roughly equal pieces. Using just enough flour to enable you to handle the dough, shape each into a 3- to 4- inch disc. Dust with flour and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until puffy.

4) Preheat a griddle or large skillet over low heat for about 10 minutes; do not oil it. Sprinkle it with cornmeal, then bake the muffins, a few at a time, on both sides, turning occasionally, until lightly browned; a total of about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack and split with a fork before toasting.

I'm not a master breadmaker yet, but these were OK. The sliders and sauce were YUMMY especially with Bubbie's Bread and Butter pickle chips. YUM.

Bread

Honestly, Mark Bittman's amazing cookbook, How to Cook Everything, is a must-own. I would say it's a must-buy, but I got it as a birthday present and that worked out awfully well for me. This post is about the bread recipes in his book, which are great, but they are also a small portion of the book. The whole thing is full of dope recipes.

During the first quarter of my life (i.e. until this year) (that's right you heard me), I was scared of making bread. In my teenage years, I believe I may have had some magical thinking about bread-making, e.g. that it required all kinds of special equipment, ingredients, and special chants. Everyone else I know who makes bread at home is really good at it and has lots of experience, so I always thought it was pointless to try. But that's no kind of attitude to have so I decided to turn my frown upside down. Thank Jebus for Mark Bittman - he taught me how to make bread.

Seriously, I recommend that you buy his cookbook and read the entire section on breadmaking before you start. It is demystifying and empowering. You don't need no stinking breadmaker. You could use a stand-mixer with a dough hook, or a good food processor (I do tend to use one or the other when I'm making bread but you don't NEED them). Mark Bittman (I call him M. Bitty) will show you the way.

Here is the RECIPE FOR THE EASIEST AND BEST FRENCH BREAD from the Great Taste Coaster blog. They also back me up on how you should own this book now.

CLH TIP: Steam is necessary for the delicious crustiness of the crust. If you don't have a spray bottle (like I didn't) don't just throw water from a mug onto the sides of a 400 degree oven (like I did). I'm sure you're smarter than me and wouldn't think of it, but one never knows. I have an advanced degree and still thought it was better to go ahead and steam my face off. Just go buy a spray bottle - you can do it while the dough is rising.

I've also made the whole wheat sandwich bread (pretty good) and the brioche (awesome) and I am going to do a few more brioche loaves before I try challah. Challah back young'n (sorry).