I love the holidays, I really do. I also love the moment they are over. The way we can reclaim the space in our small living room where the tree stood. Being able to rid every surface of dog hair, instead of only being able to vacuum around the packages and decorations. Seeing empty breathing spaces where all the Christmas decorations brightened every tiny corner. Yes, it was wonderful, bright, fun, and exciting. And, yes, I’m delighted to have it over with. To end the excess and remember how much I like normal and everyday.
Last night I made chili and skillet cornbread. A few days earlier I made pasta e fagioli. Need I tell you how good it tastes to eat humble, filling food after a month of indulgence? No creamy dips, rich cheeses, heavy meats, or chocolate in sight. Simple, gratifying food for cold evenings. A reminder that we don’t need so much in order to celebrate being alive. Give me my family, gathered around our table, a candle lit against the darkness, the residual heat from the oven warming our kitchen, and I’m contented.
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge Potato Roasted Garlic Rosemary Bread makes me feel the same way. Adding roasted garlic, rosemary, and mashed potatoes to an otherwise unremarkable dough of flour, water, olive oil, yeast and salt yields a hearty, satisfying loaf. The crumb is tender, while managing to retain just enough “chewy” factor. And the flavor, well, it borders on indulgence while staying firmly on this side of excess. All of which means it is perfect for January, and for dipping into soups, or for eating with roasted winter vegetables.
The dough starts with a biga (pre-ferment) on the first day. The second day is the usual process of mixing, kneading, rising, shaping, rising again, and baking. (Just make sure you have some leftover mashed potatoes to throw in!) I made my dough into a loaf and nine rolls. I also added some coarse salt to the top, and I’d happily do it again, as the slight crunch of the salt was a perfect foil for the tender interior. The dough was easy to work with, and the crust browned up beautifully after being brushed with olive oil. As usual, I don’t post Peter Reinhart’s recipes from the Challenge, but you can find the recipe here.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay! Janice is writing a food blog! And taking great photographs of food, too! I love it!
Thanks for stopping by, Celeste!
Twitter: Phoo_D
January 6, 2010 at 11:00 am
Twitter: @Phoo_D
Great job! This looks delicious. I’m excited to be making this bread next in the challenge. I love the photo of the marble rye bread for your header. Beautiful!
This one is quite possibly my favorite thus far. Yours looks perfect and I love the addition of the coarse salt on top. I’ll remember to do that the next time I make this bread.
Love the crunch of salt on top. Will definitely be adding that to mine. Thanks for the idea. Did the roased garlic turn purple? I see purple flecks inside the bread.
The crumb of your bread is beautiful. This is one of my favorites too and I can eat it all day long just by itself.
BTW, I also made chili (with barley) today. It’s the perfect comfort food during the cold months.:)
Twitter: misterrios
January 8, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Twitter: @misterrios
This one was really good. Like “have another slice of me” good just at the beginning of December last year. I love the flecks of Rosemary in your crumb. Beautiful and nice idea with the salt too! Wish I had thought of it!
The purple flecks come from the mashed potatoes. I had made mashed potatoes from red potatoes with the skins on and I had leftovers, so I used them up in this bread!
Really looking forward to adding some salt. I have another bag of leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge.
Twitter: ap269
January 21, 2010 at 4:02 am
Twitter: @ap269
I loved reading your introductory thoughts. They were soooo philosophical and also touching. Your bread looks wonderful. Mine looked nice, too, but I didn’t really like the flavor.