Julia's Kitchen Wisdom

by Julia Child

  Cornmeal. A light dusting of coarse cornmeal on the sliding board keeps the dough from sticking.

  Steam. To prolong the rise and set the crust, you need steam the first few seconds of baking. In an electric oven, toss ½ cup water into the bottom, just before closing the door. In a gas oven, set a hot cast-iron frying pan on the lowest level as you preheat, and toss the water into that when the time comes.

  To Bake 2 Loaves of French Bread. Slide the oven rack onto the middle or lower-middle level, set the baking stone or tiles upon it, and preheat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle the sliding board lightly with cornmeal, and have your unmolding board and instant-read thermometer at hand.

  Remove the covering towel and place the unmolding board against the inside side of one loaf, lift the towel on the other side, and flip the loaf, its smooth side up, onto the board, then nudge the loaf onto one side of the sliding board. Repeat with the second loaf. Push the loaves so that the ends of each are at one end of the board.

  With a razor blade held almost flat, make 3 slightly angled slashes in the top of each loaf. Open the oven door. Poise the sliding board so that the ends of the loaves are about 1 inch from the back of the oven, then quickly snatch the board out from under the loaves, depositing them on the hot surface. Immediately pour ½ cup water onto oven floor or hot pan. Close the door. Bake 20 minutes; reduce temperature to 400°F and bake 10 minutes more, until done (see box below). Remove and cool on a rack.

  WHEN IS THE BREAD DONE? The loaves should feel light, they should make a pleasant thump when tapped, but they are not done until an instant-read thermometer, left in for several seconds, reads 200°F.

  VARIATIONS

  BAGUETTES. After the second rise, divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Shape, roll, and stretch each into a thin (2-inch diameter) rope; let rise until more than doubled. Bake as for fat loaves, but check for doneness 5 minutes after reducing heat to 400°F.

  ROUND COUNTRY LOAF (OR LOAVES). After the second rise, turn the dough out onto a floured surface; deflate as described in the master recipe. Use all the dough for 1 large loaf, or divide in half for 2 smaller loaves.

  Pat the dough into a disk. Lift one side and bring it almost over the other; rotate a quarter turn, and repeat 6 to 8 times, to make a thick cushion. Turn the dough over and rotate it between your palms, tucking the sides under as you go, to make a smooth, round loaf.

  Turn the dough over, smooth side underneath. Pinch the edges together, set on a floured towel, and cover with another towel. (Repeat with the remaining dough, if you are making 2.)

  Let rise until more than doubled. Prepare and preheat oven to 450°F as in the master recipe. Transfer the loaves smooth side up to the cornmeal-dusted sliding board. Slash the top with your razor in a decorative pattern, such as a crosshatch or a tree with branches. Slide into the oven, create steam, and bake as in the master recipe. Large loaves may need an additional 10 to 15 minutes at 375°F to finish baking.

  BAKING IN A LOAF PAN. Butter a 2-quart loaf pan. Pat the dough into a rectangle slightly smaller than the pan. Fold in half lengthwise twice, as for long loaves, to form an even rectangle. Place seam down in pan, press flat into corners. Let rise until dough has doubled in volume.

  Meanwhile, slide rack onto lower-third level, and preheat the oven to 450°F. Slash top of loaf lengthwise down the center with a razor, and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400°F. When done, turn out of pan and cool on a rack.

  HARD FRENCH ROLLS. After its second rise, divide dough into 12 pieces. Fold each in half. One at a time (or 2 when you are an expert), rotate the dough under the palm of one hand to form a ball. Pinch undersides to seal, and set smooth side down on a lightly floured towel. Cover with a second towel and let rise until more than doubled.

  Prepare and preheat the oven to 450°F, as in the master recipe. Arrange the rolls 3 or 4 at a time smooth side up at the end of your cornmeal-dusted sliding board. Slash each with a circular stroke around the side, or a cross on top. Slide onto baking stone and rapidly continue with the rest. Make steam as in the master recipe. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375°F and bake a few minutes more until done.

  MAKING AND KNEADING DOUGH BY HAND. If you prefer to make the dough entirely by hand, mix the ingredients in a bowl with a sturdy wooden spoon, then turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. For the first few minutes, pick it up with a scraper and slap it down roughly, and continue a number of times, until the dough begins to have body. Let rest 5 minutes. Then proceed to knead it with your hands as described in the box.

  PIZZA. For two 16-inch tomato pizzas. Set rack on the lower-middle level and preheat the oven and pizza stone to 450°F.

  Form the dough into 2 smooth balls and let rest, covered. After 10 minutes, lightly flour a pizza paddle; flatten and stretch the dough into a thin disk on the paddle by rolling it out and pressing into shape with your fingers, or stretch and twirl it, professional-style, while supporting it on both your fists and twisting them apart—you’ll have to see it done to do it!

  Brush the top of the dough generously with olive oil, dust with ½ cup of grated hard cheese, and spread over 2 cups of fresh tomato sauce. Drizzle on more olive oil, sprinkle on ½ cup or so of grated mozzarella cheese; a sprinkle of thyme, oregano, or Italian herbs; and a little salt and pepper. Drizzle on more oil and another ½-cup dusting of grated hard cheese.

  Slide onto hot baking stone and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until top is bubbling, edges have puffed, and bottom is crisped. Prepare second pizza while first is baking.

  Baking in the Bread Machine: White Sandwich Bread—Pain de Mie

  It’s not always easy to find good sandwich bread, and when I need just one loaf I enjoy using the bread machine. I don’t bake it in the machine, because I don’t like the look of the loaf, but it’s neat and easy for mixing and rising. Here’s my formula, made in any standard-size machine.

  For an 8-cup fairly straight-sided loaf pan

  Proof 2 teaspoons yeast, 1½ tablespoons tepid water, and a pinch of sugar in a cup. Meanwhile, melt ½ stick roughly sliced unsalted butter in ½ cup milk, then cool it off by adding 1 cup cold milk. Pour into the container of the machine along with 2 teaspoons salt, 1½ teaspoons sugar, 3½ cups plain unbleached all-purpose flour, and the proofed yeast. Start the machine and follow directions for “dough.” After its rise, remove the dough, flatten it, fold into 3, and return it to the machine for a second rise. Then the dough is ready to form and bake.

  Either bake as in “Baking in a Loaf Pan”, or, for a flat-topped, evenly rectangular loaf, fill the buttered pan by no more than a third, and let rise to slightly more than double. (Form any extra dough into rolls or baby loaves.) Cover top of pan with buttered foil, and set in the lower-middle level of the preheated 425°F oven. Set a baking sheet on top of the pan, weighting it down with a 5-pound something, like a brick or a metal object.

  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the dough has filled the pan and is browning well. Then uncover the pan and continue another 10 minutes or so, until the loaf comes easily out of the pan. The interior temperature should be 200°F.

  TWO DESSERTS BASED ON BREAD

  Apple Charlotte Serves 10

  4 pounds firm apples that hold their shape when cooking, such as Golden Delicious, peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces

  ⅔ cup clarified butter

  ½ cup either light- or dark-brown sugar

  Grated peel of 1 lemon

  Small pinch of powdered cinnamon

  ⅓ cup sieved apricot jam

  2 tsp pure vanilla extract

  3 Tbs dark Jamaican rum

  13 slices firm home-style sandwich bread (previous recipe), crusts off

  1 cup apricot glaze

  1½ cups custard sauce (crème anglaise)

  Sauté the apple pieces in 2 tablespoons of the butter for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle on brown sugar and lemon peel and continue for 5 minutes or more, until the apples start to brown and caramelize. Stir in the cinna
mon, apricot jam, vanilla, and rum, and sauté another 2 minutes or so, until apples have absorbed the liquid.

  Set racks in middle and lower-middle levels and preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange 4 slices of bread in a square on your work surface. Center a 6-cup straight-sided circular baking dish such as a charlotte on the square, and cut around the bottom to make a circle of bread in 4 pieces; reserve them. Cut a 2-inch circle from another slice, and reserve.

  Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a frying pan and brown the reserved bread pieces, including the circle, on both sides. Then brown the trimmings. Butter the bottom of the baking dish and line with a circle of wax paper. Arrange the circle of sautéed bread pieces over it (but reserve the small circle). Halve all the remaining bread slices lengthwise. One by one, dip each piece in the remaining butter and arrange upright and slightly overlapping around the inside of the mold. Spoon layers of sautéed apples alternating with sautéed bread trimmings (which act as fillers) into the dish, letting the filling hump ¾ inch over the rim.

  Set in the middle rack of the oven, and then slide a pan underneath to catch any juices. Bake for about 30 minutes, pressing down on apples several times with a spatula, until bread strips lining the sides have browned nicely.

  Remove from oven and let rest at least 1 hour. Unmold onto a serving plate, paint top and sides with apricot glaze; center the small circle on top and glaze. Serve warm or cold, with the crème anglaise.

  Cinnamon Toast Flan—a Bread Pudding For a 6-cup baking dish 2 inches deep, serving 6 to 8

  4 Tbs softened unsalted butter

  6 or 7 slices white sandwich bread, crusts left on

  ¼ cup sugar mixed with 2 tsp ground cinnamon

  5 “large” eggs

  5 egg yolks

  ¾ cup sugar

  3¾ cups hot milk

  1½ Tbs vanilla extract

  Butter the bread slices on one side, using half the butter. Arrange them buttered side up on a broiling rack and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each. Watching carefully, broil a few seconds, until sugar bubbles up. Cut each slice into 4 triangles. Smear the remaining butter inside the baking dish, and fill with the toast triangles, sugar side up.

  Make a custard sauce (crème anglaise) with the eggs, yolks, sugar, milk, and vanilla, and pour half through a sieve over the toast. Let soak 5 minutes, then sieve on the remaining custard.

  Place the dish in a roasting pan and set in the lower-middle of a preheated 350°F oven. Pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, keeping the water bath at just below the simmer. It is done when a skewer plunged into the custard an inch from the side comes out clean.

  Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold, accompanied with a fruit sauce or cut-up fresh fruits. (It will keep 2 days in the refrigerator.)

  CRÊPES—PAPER-THIN FRENCH PANCAKES

  Crêpes are easy indeed to make and are a most useful resource for simple but dressy main courses and desserts. What is helpful, too, is that you can make a good number while you are at it and freeze the extras, ready almost at once for many a quick meal.

  MASTER RECIPE

  All-Purpose Crêpes For about twenty 5-inch or ten 8-inch crêpes

  1 cup instant-blending flour or all-purpose flour, scooped and leveled

  ⅔ cup cold milk

  ⅔ cup cold water

  3 “large” eggs

  ¼ tsp salt

  3 Tbs melted butter, plus more for brushing on pan

  Mix all the ingredients smoothly in a blender or food processor, or with a whisk. Refrigerate 10 minutes if you’ve used instant flour, ½ hour or more if all-purpose. A rest allows the flour particles to absorb the liquid, making for a tender crêpe. Heat a nonstick frying pan with bottom diameter 5 to 8 inches until drops of water dance on it; brush lightly with melted butter. Pour in 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter and tilt pan in all directions to cover bottom evenly. Cook about 1 minute, or until browned on the bottom; turn and cook briefly on the other side. Cool on a rack as you continue with the rest. When thoroughly cool, stack and refrigerate for 2 days, or freeze for several weeks.

  ROLLED CRÊPES: SAVORY AND DESSERT ROULADES

  Savory Spinach and Mushroom Crêpe Roulades

  For 8 crêpes, serving 4. Prepare 2 cups béchamel sauce; 1¼ cups chopped, cooked, well-seasoned spinach; 1 cup quartered sautéed mushrooms. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a buttered gratin dish and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons grated Swiss cheese. Mix spinach and mushrooms with ½ cup of sauce and divide into 8. Spoon 1 portion on the lower underside of each of 8 crêpes. Roll up the crêpes and arrange, seam down, in the dish. Spoon remaining sauce over them and sprinkle on another ½ cup of grated cheese. Bake in the upper third of a preheated 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, just until bubbling and lightly browned on top.

  Strawberry Dessert Crêpes

  For 8 crêpes, serving 4. Mix a pint or more fresh sliced strawberries with a teaspoon or two each of sugar and kirsch, orange liqueur, or cognac, and let stand for an hour. Drain, spoon berries generously over the lower underside of a crêpe, and roll up. Arrange 2 crêpes, seam down, on each serving plate. Drizzle over a spoonful of berry juices and top with lightly whipped cream—crème Chantilly.

  LAYERED CRÊPES: SAVORY AND DESSERT GTEAUX

  Savory Tower of Crêpes with Lobster, Broccoli, and Mushrooms

  For 10 to 12 crêpes, serving 5 to 6. Stir ½ cup of grated Swiss cheese into 2 cups warm béchamel sauce, making it now a Mornay sauce. Prepare 2 cups of creamed lobster, using ½ cup of the sauce instead of heavy cream. Mix ½ cup of sauce into 2 cups of broccoli florets, and another ½ cup of sauce with 2 cups of quartered sautéed mushrooms.

  Center a large crêpe in a baking dish and spoon on half of one filling; cover with another crêpe and half of second filling; top with a crêpe and half of the third filling. Repeat, ending with a plain crêpe, and spooning the remaining sauce over all.

  Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 400°F oven, or until bubbling and lightly browned.

  Dessert Gâteau of Crêpes à la Normande

  For 12 crêpes, serving 5 to 6. Spread 4 to 5 cups peeled and sliced Golden Delicious apples in a large baking pan; sprinkle over them ⅓ cup sugar and 4 tablespoons melted butter. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes, or until apples are tender. Center a small crêpe in a buttered baking dish, cover with a layer of apple slices, and sprinkle over it a tablespoon of macaroon crumbs, drops of melted butter, and drops of cognac. Lay a crêpe on top, then another apple-macaroon layer; repeat until you have 10 or 11 layers. Top with a final crêpe. Sprinkle melted butter and sugar over the top, and bake in a 375°F oven until bubbling hot.

  OTHER FILLINGS.

  For Savory Crêpes. Use any of the fillings and sauces suggested for omelets.

  For Dessert Crêpes. One of the simplest, and always popular as a family treat, is to spread the undersides with soft butter, sprinkle on sugar, roll them up, sprinkle sugar on top, and bake at 375°F until hot through. Serve as is, or flame them with cognac or orange liqueur. Or roll them up with apricot, strawberry, or raspberry jam; or orange marmalade; or the marvelous orange butter used for the following crêpes Suzette.

  Crêpes Suzette For 12 crêpes, serving 6

  2 fresh, firm, bright-skinned oranges

  ½ cup plus 1 Tbs sugar

  2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter

  3 Tbs orange liqueur for the butter, plus ¼ cup for flaming

  About ½ cup strained orange juice

  12 crêpes (5-inch crêpes)

  ¼ to ⅓ cup cognac

  Peel the zest (orange part of peel only) from the oranges and pulverize in a food processor with the ½ cup sugar. Add the butter; when creamed, dribble in the 3 Tbs orange liqueur and the orange juice. In a large chafing dish or skillet, boil the orange butter for 4 or 5 minutes, until syrupy. One at a time, rapidly bathe crêpes in the butter; fold in half, best side out, and in half again, to form a wedge shape.

  Arran
ge attractively in the chafing dish and sprinkle on the 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pour the remaining orange liqueur and the cognac into a ladle, then pour over the crêpes. When bubbling, tilt pan into the flame or light with a match and spoon the flaming liquid over the crêpes. Serve on very hot plates.

  VARIATION

  CRÊPES WITH ORANGE-ALMOND BUTTER. Beat ½ cup finely ground almonds or macaroon crumbs and ¼ teaspoon almond extract into the preceding orange butter. Spread on 18 small crêpes, fold them into wedges, and arrange, overlapping, on a baking dish. Sprinkle over them 3 tablespoons sugar and heat in a 375°F oven for 15 minutes, or until tops of crêpes begin to caramelize. Pour ⅓ cup each orange liqueur and cognac into a small saucepan, heat, and ignite with a match. Spoon flaming liquid over crêpes, and serve.

  TARTS

  Except for making the pie-crust dough, tarts are among the easiest of our culinary treasures to produce, and the food processor makes that production even easier. Of course you can buy ready-made pie shells, but it is a shame not to have the know-how yourself.

  KEEP IT CHILLED! Dough with a high fat content like this one softens quickly at room temperature and becomes difficult if not impossible to work with. Whenever this happens to you, stop where you are and refrigerate it for 20 minutes. To make things easier for me, I bought a marble slab that now lives in the refrigerator; I take out that chilled slab and use it as a work surface any time I’m doing a dough.

  MASTER RECIPE