by James Beard
[12 servings]
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1½ cups warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3½ cups flour, preferably hard-wheat
3 to 4 tablespoons of a very spicy tomato or pizza sauce
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
In a mixing bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and ½ cup of the water, and allow the yeast to proof. Add the rest of the warm water to the yeast mixture along with the salt and the olive oil. Stir in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon or with your hands to make a stiff, sticky dough. Turn the dough out on a well-floured board and knead until velvety smooth and elastic but firm, about 10 minutes. Oil a large bowl, add the dough, and turn to thoroughly coat with the oil. Place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until about doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
Punch the dough down, turn out on a lightly floured board, and let rest for 4 or 5 minutes, or until you can roll it out easily. Roll into a rectangle about 7 inches wide and 15 inches long. Spread with the sauce—a homemade, well-spiced tomato sauce or a prepared pizza sauce that has some flavor and distinction (I would not recommend catsup or chili sauce), leaving an inch of border on all sides. Sprinkle with the basil, Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella, and starting from the wide end, roll in jelly-roll fashion. Pinch the edges well, form into a circle, and fit into a buttered 6- to 8-cup mold. (Be sure it is tightly rolled and well sealed, so the sauce does not ooze out during baking.)
Brush the roll well with the egg wash and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in bulk. (A thorough rising is very important here.) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°. Place the mold on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature of the oven to 350° and continue to bake another 35 to 45 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when you remove it from the mold and rap it, top and bottom, with your knuckles.
Let cool in the mold for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove to a rack. Serve warm, cut into wedges.
NOTE
For a higher glaze, brush the loaf with an egg wash about 10 minutes before it leaves the oven.
Lahma bi Ajeen
A flat loaf topped with a mixture of lamb, pine nuts, tomato, and garlic, this Arab counterpart of pizza is exceedingly delicious, intriguing looking, and a delightful change from other dishes of this type. It makes a nice snack for lunch, or it can be cut into small pieces and served with cocktails. What’s more, it is fun to make.
[8 servings]
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 package active dry yeast
Pinch of granulated sugar
Scant 1 cup warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
1 pound all-purpose flour (about 3¾ cups)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
FOR THE FILLING:
1 pound finely chopped onion
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1½ pounds finely ground shoulder of lamb
½ cup pine nuts
½ six-ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
To prepare the dough, dissolve the yeast, with the sugar, in about ½ cup of the lukewarm water and allow to proof for about 10 minutes. Put the flour and salt in a large, warm mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil and the yeast mixture. Work the dough vigorously, adding the remaining lukewarm water gradually to make a soft dough. Knead, in the bowl, for about 15 minutes, until the dough is pliable and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours, or until doubled in bulk. Lightly oil the top of the dough to prevent a crust from forming.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Sauté the onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until wilted but not browned. Remove from the heat and add garlic. Add to the ground meat along with the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Make a small sample patty, fry in ½ teaspoon olive oil, and taste. Correct the seasonings. Set aside while you roll out the dough.
Turn out the dough on a lightly floured board and knead a few times. Divide into walnut-sized balls and allow to rest for a few minutes, then roll each piece with a lightly floured rolling pin into a circle 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Spread the prepared filling generously over each piece. Transfer each piece after you have prepared it to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 450° to 500° for 8 to 10 minutes. The patties should be well done but still pale in color.
FRIED CAKES
Raised Doughnuts
Maple Bars
Cake Doughnuts
Dough Gobs
Buñuelos
Raised Doughnuts
These are old American standards and remain hearty, delicious tidbits for breakfast or for picnics or just between-meal snacking. The filled ones have long been great favorites of mine. They will keep very well if frozen when fresh; reconstitute them in an oven at 350° for 15 minutes or in a microwave oven for 1½ minutes.
[About 12 to 14 doughnuts]
½ package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup warm milk or ½ cup evaporated milk plus ½ cup warm water
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
3¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour (about 1 pound)
Lard, shortening, or cooking oil for deep frying
Confectioners’ sugar or additional granulated sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Place the yeast in a mixing bowl, add the warm water, and stir. Add the sugar and mix well. Let stand 10 or 15 minutes to proof. With the hands or 2 wooden spoons, stir in the egg, then the milk, melted butter, flour, and salt. Continue to stir until the dough is springy. Brush the top of the dough lightly with additional melted butter or margarine and cover with waxed paper or foil. Place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours. (Note, however, that this dough is easier to roll out if put in the refrigerator to rise overnight, or at least for 4 hours.)
Punch down and turn out on a floured board. Roll out half the dough at a time to a thickness of about ½ inch. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter and place on a board or waxed paper-covered cookie sheet to rise until doubled in bulk.
Heat 2 or more inches of lard, shortening, or cooking oil to 370° in a large frying kettle or an electric skillet. Put the doughnuts in, a few at a time, top sides down. Fry until brown on one side, then turn to brown on the other side. When nicely browned, remove from the hot fat and drain on absorbent paper. (Check to maintain the temperature of the fat at 370° for every batch. If too low, the doughnuts will absorb fat and be soggy.) Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar, if desired, while still warm. (The easiest way to attain an even sugaring of the doughnuts is to put the sugar in a large plastic or paper bag and gently shake a few at a time in the bag.)
VARIATIONS
• Filled Doughnuts: Filled doughnuts, jelly doughnuts, or “cannon balls” were long famous throughout Central Europe before they became part of American cookery.
Prepare the basic recipe for raised doughnuts. After the dough has been allowed to rise once, punch it down and roll out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Cut into rounds 3 or 4 inches in diameter—no holes in these—and place ½ teaspoon jam, jelly, or pastry cream on the centers of half of the rounds. Brush the edges with 1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons wat
er. Place the other half of the rounds over the filled ones and press the edges together gently. Transfer to a board or cookie sheet and allow to rise until almost doubled in bulk. Fry as for the doughnuts in the master recipe, in deep fat heated to 370°.
• For a richer dough use 3 egg yolks instead of the whole egg. A plain white bread dough can also be used.
Maple Bars
Maple bars are one of my great weaknesses, and I must confess that even now when I go to a bakery and see those luscious rectangles of fried dough with a maple glaze on them I am tempted to indulge and usually do. They are a delightful American invention.
[About 12 bars]
To prepare, use the recipe for Raised Doughnuts. After the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out in a square or rectangle about ½ inch thick. Cut it in pieces about 2 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches long and set them on a board to rise until amost doubled in bulk. Then drop them, a very few at a time, into deep fat at 370° and let them brown very nicely on both sides. Remove them from the fat and let them drain on absorbent paper. Spread one side with a maple glaze made with ¼ cup of maple syrup mixed with 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; or you can mix 2 or 3 tablespoons hot water with 1 cup sugar and ⅓ teaspoon maple flavoring.
Cake Doughnuts
These fried cakes, which originated in New England, have been overwhelmingly popular in the American diet. Those of you who hark back to World War I will remember that the Salvation Army established itself in history with girls who carried doughnuts through to the trenches. People gave money for doughnut machines so they could be turned out by the thousands for the troops. Nowadays cake doughnuts are covered with chocolate and all kinds of icings, which are sometimes revolting. Simply sprinkled with granulated or confectioners’ sugar they can be a toothsome morsel, and the holes are even more so. In fact, fried doughnut holes are one of my favorite dishes. Cake doughnuts are trouble to make because the dough must be kept chilled and one must work with several batches. So they do take a little time—but they are worth it.
[About 18 doughnuts and holes]
1 cup granulated sugar
½ stick (¼ cup) butter
2 eggs
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground mace
¾ cup milk
Corn oil or vegetable shortening for deep frying
Confectioners’ sugar, additional granulated sugar, or cinnamon sugar
Cream the sugar and butter together in a bowl very, very well, and then beat in the eggs, one at a time. (I like to work with my hands on this.) Then combine the dry ingredients and gradually add to the creamed mixture, alternately adding the milk. When the dough has reached a nice consistency, cover the bowl and chill it in the refrigerator for two hours. Remove from the refrigerator and take out one-quarter of the dough. Start heating the fat to 370°; an electric skillet is very good for frying doughnuts because you can regulate the heat easily. Roll the dough out to a thickness of ¼ inch on a floured board. (If you want thicker doughnuts roll to ½ inch.) Cut with a doughnut cutter, or with a round cutter and a smaller cutter to take out the center. When the fat has reached 370° fry two or three doughnuts at a time, or as many as will fit comfortably into the pan. As soon as one rises to the surface turn it with a wooden spatula or a pair of tongs. When nicely browned on both sides remove from the fat and drain on absorbent paper. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, granulated sugar, or cinnamon sugar. (Then fry the holes. They puff up and are delicious.) Take another quarter of the dough from the refrigerator, and continue until you have used up all the dough; or you can fry only part of the dough, if you like, and refrigerate the remainder to fry at a later time.
Dough Gobs or Fried Dough
Dough gobs are an old American food that dates back to the time when every household produced bread regularly. A housewife put her bread to rise overnight and in the morning took a piece of the risen dough, punched it down, rolled it out, cut it into odd shapes, and dropped the pieces into hot fat to cook until golden brown on all sides. These “gobs” were served with syrup, honey, or preserves and sometimes with bacon and eggs and proved to be a crisp, delicious breakfast dish. On Nantucket there used to be, and may still be for all I know, a summer hotel where on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays one could go and have dough gobs for breakfast. They were simply marvelous.
To prepare dough gobs use any of the white bread recipes or the Raised Doughnuts. Roll out some of the risen dough, cut it into any shapes you want, or just take chunks, pat them down, and drop them into fat heated to 360° to 365°. Cook them until brown and crisp, and serve them with plenty of maple syrup and good bacon or ham.
Buñuelos
Similar forms of this deep-fried pastry are found in Europe and in Latin America. In France they are known as galettes à l’huile, and in Italy, where they are shaped into bow knots, they are called farfallette dolci. Paper-thin and crisp, they are absolutely marvelous when sprinkled well with cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar. Sometimes they are made into a dessert by adding a cream or a syrup to them. This version comes from Mexico.
[About 36 pastries]
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup melted butter
Oil for deep frying
Confectioners’ sugar
Cinnamon (optional)
Sift all the dry ingredients together. Beat the eggs thoroughly and then beat the milk into the eggs. Gradually combine the egg-milk mixture and the dry ingredients, and finally add the melted butter. Turn out on a floured board and knead until quite smooth and elastic. (I then like to divide the dough into about 36 tiny balls and roll them out individually, but you can roll out the dough and cut it into 4- to 6-inch rounds or squares.) Fry the pieces in deep fat heated to about 370°. When done they will curl somewhat and become golden brown and crispy. Drain well on absorbent paper, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon or just with confectioners’ sugar. Serve as a cookie.
GRIDDLE BREADS
Girdle Scones
Potato Scones
Crumpets
Yeast Griddle Cakes or Pancakes
Yeast Buckwheat Cakes
Girdle Scones
Among the breads baked on a griddle (the Scots insist on saying “girdle”), scones seem to run high in popularity. They are rather sour-flavored because of the buttermilk content, and their delicate texture makes them excellent when hot, split, buttered well, and spread with raspberry jam. Cold, they are best cut in half, toasted, and served swimming in butter. Exceptionally easy to make, they are apt to be a novelty to some people.
[8 to 12 scones]
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Buttermilk or sour cream
Sift the flour, cream of tartar, salt, sugar, and baking soda together. Take a cupful of the mixture and combine it with enough buttermilk or sour cream to make a soft dough. Pat it with the hand on a floured board and form into a circle ½ inch thick. Cut in wedges and bake on a floured griddle over a medium heat until lightly browned, then turn to brown on the other side. Serve hot or cold.
Potato Scones
Potato scones are paper-thin, rather odd in flavor, and extremely interesting. They are usually served cold with sweet butter, but there is no reason why they can’t be offered warm, wrapped in a napkin. They have a kinship to some forms of the Scandinavian lefse.
[18 scones]
1 cup warm mashed potatoes
⅓ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
Mix the mashed potatoes, butter, salt, and flour
until thoroughly blended. Divide the dough into thirds and roll out each third into a circle about ¼ inch thick. Cut each circle into sixths and bake on a hot floured griddle, or in a hot floured skillet, for about 5 minutes, turning once to cook on both sides.
Crumpets
Crumpets bear a close similarity to English muffins and to English muffin bread. Rather soggy and holey, they must be toasted and treated to quantities of butter and good homemade jam. They were formerly standard tea food in England, but have for some reason lost their popularity. I still love them, maybe because of the buttery heaviness.
Crumpets are baked in rings on a hot griddle. You can use small flan rings available in kitchen equipment shops, or failing that, you can use empty 7-ounce cans, such as those in which salmon and tuna come packed, with both the top and bottom smoothly removed.
[8 to 10 crumpets]
½ cup milk
½ cup boiling water
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
1¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
Combine the milk and boiling water and cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast and sugar and allow to proof. Blend the salt and the sifted flour, combine with the yeast mixture, and beat thoroughly for several minutes with a wooden spoon or with your hand. Let the batter rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk and rather bubbly. Add the dissolved soda and beat into the batter. Allow to rise again until doubled in bulk.