Classic Sourdoughs (25 page)

This bread is sort of like a Greek version of French bread. Placing a pan filled with boiling water in the oven produces steam, which gives the bread a thick, chewy crust. Or try a mister: spritz the interior of the oven with water once every five minutes for fifteen minutes while the bread bakes
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MAKES TWO 2-POUND (900 G) LOAVES

Pour the culture into a mixing bowl. Add the salt, sugar, butter, and water and mix. Add the flour to the culture a cup (140 g) at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand. Turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny. Divide the dough into 2 equal balls and form into elongated loaves. Place the loaves on a baking sheet sprinkled with the cornmeal and proof at 85°F (29°C) in a proofing box for 1 to 2 hours, or until about doubled in bulk.

Make several diagonal slashes through the tops of the loaves with a razor blade. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Immediately before baking, pour boiling water into a baking pan set on the lowest rack to create steam. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, removing the water after the first 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

Khubz
is a whole wheat flatbread with a nice puff. Serve it with honey or hilbeh (see below), a fenugreek condiment widely used by the Arabs on flatbreads. Fenugreek is a somewhat bitter seed with an odor resembling celery. Search for it in ethnic food shops
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MAKES TEN 4-INCH (10 CM) FLATBREADS

DOUGH PROOF
Pour the culture into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and water and mix briefly. Add the flour a cup (140 g) at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix with a spoon. Turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is satiny smooth.

Proof the dough overnight (8 to 12 hours) at room temperature, about 70°F (21°C), in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. After the proof, use a spatula to gently ease the dough out onto a floured board.

LOAF PROOF AND BAKING
Form the dough into 10 balls, each about 1½ inches (4 cm) in diameter. Proof at 85°F (29°C) in a proofing box for 4 hours, or until doubled in bulk. With a rolling pin, flatten the balls into 4-inch (10 cm) rounds, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes on the floured board.

Oil a heavy pan or griddle and heat until just short of smoking hot. Cook the rounds for 1 minute on each side. Serve warm with hilbeh.

Soak the fenugreek seed in ½ cup (120 ml) cold water for 12 to 18 hours, until there is a jellylike coating on the seeds. Drain. Place all the ingredients in a blender with enough cold water to make sufficient volume to blend. Store in the refrigerator.

This is a lightly leavened flatbread typical of most Arab breads. Its flavor comes from the eight- to twelve-hour proof. Unlike many Arab breads, this one does not puff to form a pocket. Serve warm with hilbeh (
this page
)
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MAKES TEN 6-INCH (15 CM) FLATBREADS

Pour the culture into a mixing bowl. Add the water and salt and mix. Combine the flours, mix well, and add them a little at a time to the culture until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand. Turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Proof for 8 to 12 hours at room temperature, about 70°F (21°C), in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk. Then gently ease the dough from the container to a floured board.

Divide the dough into 10 equal balls. Flatten each ball with a rolling pin and form rounds ½ inch (1.5 cm) thick and 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. Prick the surface with a fork or make holes with your fingers. Lightly brush oil on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven and the baking sheet to 550°F (290°C). Brush the tops of the rounds lightly with oil. Use a lightly floured hand board or metal spatula to transfer 2 rounds onto the heated baking sheet. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the tops are lightly brown. If the rounds tend to form a pocket, press lightly with a fork. Repeat with the remaining rounds until all are baked. Serve warm.

Khubz saj
(“thin bread”) is the bread of the village Arab and Bedouin. It is still prepared in the campsites with a fire of camel dung under a domed iron oven, the
saj.
By the ancient method, the thin rounds are draped over a special pillow with a hand grip on the back. When the oven is very hot, the flat round is slapped on the iron surface and removed within a minute or two
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MAKES TWENTY-FIVE TO THIRTY 10-INCH (25 CM) FLATBREADS

Pour the culture into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and water and mix. Add the flour a cup (140 g) at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand. Turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Preheat the oven and a baking sheet to 450°F (230°C). Divide the dough into balls about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Roll the balls into round, quite thin flats about 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter. As each flat is formed, transfer it with a hand board or spatula to the preheated baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes.

When you pour this batter on the griddle, have the surface piping hot. When a host of bubbles appears, it is time to turn over the cakes and brown the other side
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MAKES 12 TO 15 PANCAKES

Pour the culture into a mixing bowl. Add the egg, oil, sugar, and salt and mix. Add flour to attain your desired consistency; mix until lump-free.

Proof for 1 hour at 85°F (29°C) in a proofing box. (Or, if you don’t have time for this proof, dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and, just before cooking, gently blend with the batter.)

Heat a griddle until hot and, with a pitcher or ladle, pour 2- to 3-inch (5 to 7 cm) rounds onto the griddle. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, turn, and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve hot.

There isn’t a combination of rye and sourdough that isn’t good. When you’re searching for something special for Sunday morning breakfast, these pancakes are what you want
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MAKES ABOUT 12 PANCAKES