Okay. I officially just changed my blog’s title. How lame is
that? Before, the title was ‘MaMiko. Eat, Read, Love.’ because I wanted to
review the books I’ve read and the word ‘love’ just followed like an obedient
canine. Of course I never will admit putting that four letter word there just
because I am a loving person, indeed I am, but not in a million years I would
self-proclaim myself as one. And the book review thing is like an abandoned
project. One I seem to purposely set aside, mostly because I am busy with
reading and cooking. But the truth as we all know it is that some of us actually enjoy delaying things. As if somehow delaying things makes us feel
like we are the master of our own time. Are we?
The fact that I’ve rekindled my passion for bread has left
me breathlessly overjoyed. That is why I feel it is more suitable to have ‘MaMiko: Bread, Spice, And Everything Nice.’ as my blog’s title. Beside, most of the
recipes I posted were about bread and I can assure you there are MORE to come. I
can’t seem to recall a day went by without thinking of anything bread-related.
From day dreaming of having my own boulangerie to hassling my friends who still
opt for store bought bread when they have time to watch E! or any trashy
entertainment (read:gossip) programs on the telly. They could have dipped their hands in flour
and start kneading instead of lazying about watching who marries who, who got
dumped, or which country shall give up their kid to be adopted by Brangelina.
Are they.. still adding family members? Anyhow, even if my mission to convert
people to homemade bread seems to be rather daunting, as a devout evangelist I
shall not give up.
My passion for reading and learning seems to be in
accordance with my jolly journey in baking bread. It seems that my somewhat
overwhelming collection of fantasy and classic literature books, the permanent
denizens in my shabby racks, can give some space to some bread baking books.
Some that I love are books from Nick Malgieri and Peter Reinhart. Their books
are not just recipe books like Martha Stewart’s books, though I have to say I
adore her cookbooks so much for the luscious photography and saliva generating
dishes. Those authors are telling stories; they are mad scientists romancing
the bread and wickedly saying that there are secrets that are yet to be
revealed in breads. You have to be crazy to not be pulled in the world of
grains and levain after reading their books.
I found these lovely bread recipes, Pain Au Fromage and pain
Aux olives, when I was looking for some french cooking books. Mind you, I have
a degree in French Literature but since I rarely speak French ever since I
graduated, now my spoken French is as rusty as an unoiled old iron hinge in a 400
years old haunted mansion. I still have pride in my reading though; therefore
once in a while I like to challenge myself reading anything French. And what
could be better than reading recipes?
Pain means bread --now don't go throwing intended pun about making bread IS pain-- and fromage means cheese so Pain Au Fromage
means cheese bread. Olives are obviously olives. But in this context, Pain Au
Fromage is translated as cheese hearth bread. This cheese-enriched, crusty
bread from southern France was traditionally baked in a hearth on the dying
embers of a fire. Well of course living on a tropical country I don’t have a
hearth at home let alone dying ember. But there is no reason to not have this
delectable bread at home using an oven that looks like it has seen better days. It is as close image as a hearth with dying ember in it, only that it is expected that the oven would survive at least three hundred dozen hot baguettes more.
The original recipe calls for plain flour, but I am not me
if I take something just as it is. So here is my version of Pain Au Fromage and
pain Aux Olives.
Ingredients:
-2 ½ tsp instant yeast
-1 ¼ cups water
-2 cups strong bread flour
-1 cup whole wheat flour/kraftkorn flour
-1 tbs olive oil
-2 cups grated Gruyere cheese, plus extra for topping
-1 tbs of flax seeds
-1 tbs millet seeds
-1 tbs of chopped pumpkin seeds
-1 tbs of chopped sunflower seeds
-1 cup of green olives, roughly chopped and more for topping
Directions:
Step 1: Mix the yeast, salt, grains, and flour together.
Pour the water little by little while incorporating the flour together. Pour
the olive oil then stir to make a moist, firm dough
Step 2: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead
the dough until smooth and elastic. If you’re making Pain Au Fromage, knead in
the grated cheese. If you’re making Pain Aux Olives, knead in the chopped
olives.
Step 3: Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it with dish
towel and let it rise until doubled in size. The time of rising depends on how
‘heavy’ your dough is.
Step 4: Divide the dough into four equal pieces by flattening it into a round and cutting it into triangular quarters. Let them rest for
around 10 minutes
Step 5: Roll out each piece of dough into a flat, oval shape
about ¼ inch thick. If the dough resists rolling out, let it rest for a minute
or two then roll it again.
Step 6: Transfer the dough onto greased baking sheet. Make 5
slashes through each piece of dough. Open up the slash by gently pulling the
edges apart slightly.
Step 7: Cover with a dish towel and let it rest for about 45
minutes then before you bake them, sprinkle with cheese or olives. Bake them in
the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. The temperature is 200C and should be no
less.
The ones I made were Pain Au Fromage but I still topped them
with olives. Usually this bread is made with green olives but little Amiko
prefers black olives so I let her do her own topping. Had we some sundried
tomato as well, we definitely would have put them in too. Please do not be
discouraged looking at the list of grains and seeds that I use. In fact you can
use them, substitute them with the ones available chez vous, or omit them
completely. It is just a matter of personal preference. But I do admit adding
grains and seeds in the baked products do enhance the texture and render deeper
flavors for they release their oil when baked. As for cheese, you can try to
use some lovely goat cheese or Roquefort, crumbled not grated, as an
alternative to Gruyere. Or if you only have cheddar at home, by all means just
use it!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy some sun dried
tomatoes. Bisous!
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