vacation cooking

I have gotten the hang of this vacation at home thing very quickly this time. I guess it has been a very long time since I have not spent an entire vacation packing, rushing to travel, relaxing for a short bit elsewhere, traveling back, unpacking, and getting right back to work. Last year at this time, I didn't have enough accruals saved to take vacation since I had started the new position on December 1st... so this year I am savoring the entire week off between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Sleeping in didn't come for a few days, but I have settled into staying up later and sleeping in a bit, and I am all too happy to give up my morning exercise and cat litter cleaning routine at 6 a.m. in exchange for sitting around in pajamas drinking coffee. (Thanks to Tom for taking over the litter cleaning routine for the week.)

I have enjoyed some cooking. Nothing too fancy. A new lentils and rice dish from an old Mediterranean cookbook my grandmother gave me in 1988 (given to her from what I gather in 1965 - the year I was born). I also made my first non-bread machine bread from a recipe shared by a friend from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Hertzberg and Francois). While it is definitely a lie to suggest this bread is easy, it was really not that hard. My first loaf is not the prettiest bread you will ever see, I will admit. It did taste/ feel much better than it looks The best part is I have enough dough left to make two or three more small loaves later this week. I need to perfect a few things (like getting the sticky dough off its rising board and onto the baking stone without completely un-shaping like it did last night.)

Anyway, if you are so inclined, here is the recipe:

3 c. lukewarm water
1.5 T granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1.5 T kosher or coarse salt
6.5 c. unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour

Combine yeast, salt, and water in a non-airtight container (I used a large pyrex bowl).
Mix in the flour until its all moistened using a spoon.
Cover the container (I covered it with plastic wrap instead of the glass lid).
Let dough rise at room temperature for a few hours - at least 2 (I did 3).

You can use the dough at this point but it is recommended to refrigerate it so it is easier to work with. I refrigerated this overnight.

On baking day, dust dough with flour, cut off a grapefruit sized chunk, shape by pulling the dough one side out/ turn underneath - for all four sides. This is quick - no kneading.  Let the dough ball rise on a cornmeal covered pizza peel if you have one. I didn't - so used a cutting board. Cut a 1/4 inch pattern into the top (tick-tac-toe)... I actually forgot to do this and did a hack job of it after it had been in the oven for a couple of minutes... explaining in part why my first loaf is not pretty. (The other explanation is I did not put enough corn meal on the board and it spread past the meal and stuck to the edges of the board making a mess when I went to put the loaf in the oven.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees for 40 minutes while the dough rises on the peel (I left the board on the stove top so the heat helped it rise/spread a little.) Then pop the dough on the preheated baking stone - with a small pan of 1 c. of water in the oven as well.

Bake for 30-35 minutes; cool completely; slice; enjoy. (Remainder of the dough can stay in the fridge for 2 weeks.)