September 02, 2004
Taste of Tuscany
I know my way around a kitchen, but breads and doughs aren't really my forte. However, I'm feeling particularly ambitious for the weekend and want to try a Grape Cake recipe I came across in my Italian cookbook.
Because of my ignorance regarding this particular endeavor, I need a little help. Maybe someone reading this can help me out?
Part of the directions are as follows:
Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the yeast, dissolve in half of the water, and mix with a little flour. Sprinkle this starter with flour...
Okay, I can sift the flour. I can make a well and add the yeast. Now when I put in the water, do I mix in as much flour as the water can moisten? And then take some of the dry flour from the bowl and sprinkle it over the moistened mixture? I'm sure this is pretty stupid, but I like clear and concise directions.
(Full recipe in extended for those interested.)
Ingredients for the dough:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch salt
Other ingredients:
1 pound each, seedless red and green grapes
3/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the yeast, dissolve in half of the water, and mix with a little flour. Sprinkle this starter with flour, cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot, until the surface shows cracks.
In the meantime, remove the grapes from the stalks, mix them with the sugar and melted butter, and set aside.
Continue making the dough. Add the oil, salt, and remaining water to the starter. Using a mixing spoon, work in all the flour, and beat until the dough bubbles and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Knead into a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and roll out into 2 disks.
Put one disk on greased baking sheet and spoon half of the grapes onto the top. Leave 1 1/4 inch free around edge. Carefully lay the second sheet of dough over the grapes, matching edges to first disk. Press the edges firmly together to prevent the pocket from opening as it bakes. Scatter the remaining grapes over the top, and pierce the dough at intervals with a toothpick.
Cover the cake and let rest for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the grape cake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.
No no...mix the yeast and water (warm) in a different container and only afterwards pour the starter into the well.
Go girl!
Posted by: Kin at September 2, 2004 02:24 PMYou should watch "Molto Mario" on Food TV, you will see him do exactly this in a number of his shows.
Posted by: Paige at September 2, 2004 04:35 PMTalk to Steve. That boy is the world's most unhealthy cook, but he does know his stuff.
Posted by: Pete at September 2, 2004 04:41 PMyeah, what Kin said.
Posted by: Victor at September 2, 2004 06:47 PMNormally, you'd kick-start the yeast in barely-warm water, but this sounds different. I'll point Red Ted to this post, he does a lot of scratch baking.
Posted by: Ted at September 2, 2004 06:56 PMRocket Ted pointed me over here.
It looks like something got left out of the ingredients. I normally make a starter that is 1/1 flour to yeast. I also normally use 3 cups of flour to a cup of water.
I suggest doing the starter thing with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup flour. So dissolve 1 tsp yeast in 1/2 cup room-temperature water (if it is the active stuff in bulk) or 1/2 cup tepid water if it is the stuff you get in a little packet. Mix in a little flour, then sprinkle the rest of the 1/2 cup of flour over the bowl of slime.
The recipe makes it look like your starter will do its thing almost immediately. I expect it will take 3 hours to overnight for the starter to do its thing - so do this part well in advance. The more lead time, the more flavor your bread will have.
In fact, yeast is cheap enough in bulk(*) that I would be tempted to burn a tsp of yeast and 1/2 cup of flour just to watch it turn shapes and colors, then do it again for real when you go to make the bread.
When you do make the bread, follow the recipe's method but only use 2 1/4 cups of flour. If it is too wet to shape, then add another 1/2 cup of flour.
Bread is not an exact science - it has more to do with how the dough feels in your hands than with what someone wrote in a recipe. I find that a simple change in the relative humidity can add or remove 1/4 cup of flour from what I need for a 2 pound loaf.
Good luck! This looks like a wonderful grape pie.
(*) 1 lb Fleishman's active dry yeast is about $4.50 in the local discount club, $5.50 plus shipping from kingarthurflour.com . That is about the same price as what the supermarket charges you for 5 packets, and you can freeze the lb of yeast for about a year in a mason jar, taking it out as you need it.
Posted by: Ted K at September 2, 2004 09:12 PM
Jew