Sausage Kale Bread Bake

When I cook I find myself imagining two realities ( neither the present). I start by making a supper. It is nutritious, fun and delicious and even as I cook on a whim I feel confident of my decisions and I explain what I am doing and why to my audience (I’m cutting the crust off of this fresh loaf of bread, and this is how I hold my hand so I can keep it still and guide the knife at the same time, and we are taking off the crust not because it isn’t good but because the crust will block the soft porous interior - soon to be in large dice -  from absorbing the seasoned egg mixture.)  But soon my vision slips into the second reality and I am teaching not on a television show but to my children, who I can’t imagine, but in my dream I know are there. 

So as I often express, apologies for the verbosity but I promise you will learn and be rewarded with a delicious, cheap and quick dinner that's a cinch to prepare, even when there isn't much in the fridge. The opportunities for substitutions are vast so use what you like, but keep it simple and use fresh, local whole foods.

To work efficiently you need to have everything ready, so turn on the oven to 350 ℉ and gather your ingredients:

• 1/2 bunch of kale, washed, boiled in seasoned water then blanched 
• 1 onion, any kind you want, cut in half then sliced thinly
• 1 sausage.  I used the Deli Sausage at Sanagan’s Meat Locker but the flavour options are endless and you could even add some bacon because why not. Vegetarians: I would crumble seasoned tofu into the egg mixture rather than a veggie sausage as they often are not healthy at all.
• 5 eggs, cracked into a bowl, whisked and then seasoned (if you season the egg first then whisking makes it rubbery).  I added some barbecue sauce to this wet mixture, as well as about a 1/4 cut of chicken stock but you could use anything with equal viscosity: tomato sauce, milk, beef stock, apple sauce thinned out with worcester, et cetera.
• 1 loaf of crusty bread, crust removed and the interior diced
• Sriracha, or any hot sauce you like

1. Heat up a medium sized frying pan, add a splash of oil, then push the sausage out of the casing and into the pan. Add the onions and sauté together, with a little maple syrup if you have some. Add the bread and continue onto the next step as it warms up and marinates. 
2. Line the bottom of a shallow baking dish with a thin layer of hot sauce. Using the back of a large spoon is best for spreading out the sauce. 
3. Squeeze the kale of excess moisture so the eggs don’t curdle and chop it into one inch strips, then pack into a single layer above the hot sauce in the baking dish. 
4. Taste the bread mixture and season accordingly. Pour it into the baking dish but do not pack it down (this is so that when we pour in the eggs, the mixture can dissipate into each layer, and down to the kale)
5. Pour in the eggs, then push down the bread with the back of that large spoon of yours. As the spoon sinks into the bread, you will notice some of the egg mixture sinks onto the spoon; drag the soon backwards slowly and tilt it so that you can glaze the surface.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 ℉ and don’t burn your tongue when you try to scarf it down scalding hot.  :)  This recipe makes about 4 servings if it is served with a side salad 

It costs only about ( eggs: 5, 4/12 = 30cents/egg x 5 = ) $1.50 + (kale $2/bunch) $1 + (bread) $3 + (sausage) $2 + (onion, hot sauce, maple syrup, chicken stock) $1 = $7.50 / 4 =  Less than $2 per person! 

Why so healthy? 

• it’s made from scratch, with love
• it uses whole foods - only the hot sauce is packaged
• the sausage is made locally, using locally sourced meat that is hormone and antibiotic free
• the bread can be whole wheat or unbleached, which ups it’s nutrition
• eggs are a great source of protein (6g/serving! ) 
• kale is super high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre 

Sesame Bread

Yes, I am still making bread without a recipe. In this batch I added 1/2 cup of sesame seeds and about 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds. I worked out food costs et cetera and figured out that it cost me less than $2.00 to make these 2 loaves! They stayed moist for 3 days. If you'd like to learn how to bake bread without a recipe, check out my post here

Ricetta Facile di Focaccia*

*Easy Focaccia Recipe

The night before:

1. Mix roughly 4 cups of strong flour ( that means protein is 13-14g/100g flour), roughly equal parts water and a few flecks of instant/quick yeast.
2. Use one hand to hold the bowl, and the other to whip everything together, hand relaxed so that fingers are slightly parted. Whip until it is a sticky batter with bubbles starting to form.
3. Cover and let sit overnight*

*This is to give the flour time to absorb as much water as it can. The addition of yeast also starts a fermenting process, which makes the bread longer lasting and gives it more flavour.

The next day:
4. Add about 1 cup of flour, 7g of yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp fine sea salt and 1tbsp olive oil
5. Left hand holds bowl. Right hand mixes the ingredients together. Imagine the motion of an electric mixer ( smaller circles with your hand while your arm directs it clockwise in a bigger circle).
6. Pour VERY wet and sticky dough onto an (olive) oiled surface.
7. Fold the dough*  then place it in an oiled bowl and cover with a cloth.
8. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, turn* and let rise one more hour.

*For more information about folding and turning the dough,  click here

9. Prepare a baking sheet by evenly sprinkling cornmeal over the entire surface.
10. Oil your hands and work quickly  ( the dough will be very wet) to stretch the dough to the shape of the tray.
11. On the tray, stretch the dough out to the edges and then let rest 30 minutes.
12. After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 220 C/  428 F.
13. Drizzle olive oil ontop and rub in gently with your hands.
14. If you like, sprinkle thyme, coarse salt, or anything else you fancy ( sun dried tomatoes, olives, chopped rosemary, etc)

15. When the oven has reached the temperture, bake the focaccia.
16. Check on it after about 20 minutes. Tap the top and listen for a hollow sound.
17. When it sounds hollow, place on a cooling rack and try to resist feasting until it has cooled down*


*The focaccia is still technically cooking and if, by tearing into it, you let the steam escape, you are compromising its moistness...and you wouldn't want to do that.

Hemp and Whole Wheat Bread with Sunflower Seeds and Currants

Mix together:
400g wholemeal flour
100g white bread flour
30g hemp flour
7g yeast
400ml warm water

Wait 10 minutes

Add, roughly:
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup currants
1tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp cane sugar

Mix to combine and wait 10 minutes

Form into a ball and put into an oiled bowl, covered with a tea towel, for 45 minutes in a warm spot

Set your oven to 220 C/ 428 F

Turn the dough like in the pictures below

Fold the dough over and seal the seam underneath

Let rise 15 minutes on a tray with cornmeal

 After about 20 minutes, score the bread

 Once oven has reached 220 C/ 428 F, put the bread in the oven, on the centre rack.

After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 200 C/ 392 F and bake for 30 more minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when the underside is tapped

Let cool completely before slicing

Hemp and Whole Wheat Bread with Apricot and Thyme

Mix to a wet and sticky dough:
450g wholemeal flour
30g hemp flour
7g yeast
400ml warm water
1 tbsp olive oil

Wait 10 minutes

Add:
1 tbsp chopped apricots, lightly coated in flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp cane sugar

Mix and slowly knead in:
about 50g of flour or until you are able to form a ball

Let rise in an oiled bowl for 1 hour in a warm spot*

*Unlike my Italian style bread, this bread does not need a long, cool rise because wholemeal flour contains little gluten. For more information, see Understanding Bread is the First Step Towards Bread Without a Recipe

Turn the bread and let rise 1 more hour in a bread tin

Set your oven to 200 C / 392 F

Bake about 45 minutes and let cool.

Understanding Dough is the First Step Towards Bread Without a Recipe

*These instructions, if roughly followed, will leave you with two delicious loaves of bread. Once you understand the formula, you will be able to make any flavour of bread without a recipe.

Start with about 500 grams of bread flour. I know it is about 500 grams because my flour comes in 1kg bags and I use roughly half a bag. 500 grams looks like the volume of half a soccer ball in your bowl.

Pour over warm water until it is half way up the flour. Add 7 grams yeast. ( I know it is 7 grams because the yeast I use comes in 7g packages. 7 grams of yeast looks like a bit more than a tablespoon).

Wash your hands and take off any jewelery. Stir with your right hand, holding the bowl with your left. If you are a lefty, do it the opposite way. It should be sticky and wet, solid enough that if makes a sticky ball.  If it looks like pancake batter then it is too wet. No problem: Add more flour - about a fistful at a time.

Leave this to sit for 10 minutes. You are giving the flour time to absorb water. Without this introduction, you would need to add more flour and your bread wouldn't be as moist. You do want moist bread, don't you? So wait.

After 10 minutes, add about a teaspoon of something sweet ( those little yeasts need some sugar to keep them going, just like humans). I use brown sugar, white sugar or a bit of honey.
Also add about 1 heaping tablespoon of salt. You can eye-ball this one. It may seem like a lot of salt, but remember that you are making 2 loaves with this mixture and so each slice will need to have enough salt to bring out the natural flavours of the bread.
This is also your chance to add any flavours you want*

*If you are adding fresh herbs, add one handful of freshly chopped.  Add half that amount if you are using dried. If you want to add raisins, or dried fruit, soak it first so that it doesn't steal the flour's water. Add about 2 large handfuls. If you want to add bran, then at this time you will also need to add a glug of olive oil. This coats the bran flakes and again, prevents them from stealing the flour's water. Seeds are great additions. Add about 1 big handful.

Stir with your hands again. You will notice that the dough feels a bit stronger now. That is the gluten developing. Stir just until combined then plop the dough onto a very lightly flour-dusted surface.

Don't wash your hands yet. To clean the bowl, put some flour on your hands and use the pieces of dough on your hands, plus the flour as an abrasive to get all the sticky bits of dough off the sides of the bowl. Add those bits to the dough. Wait another 10-15 minutes.

Now you 'turn' the dough: Stretch the dough* into a long line, then fold it onto itself like a book. Rotate 90 degrees and do this again. Do this folding and rotating about 4 times, and you will feel the dough getting strong.  

*Add as little flour as possible. The dough should be a bit sticky, but you should be able to handle it and stretch it without making a total mess.

Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl. I use a bit of  oil, but butter is fine too. Cover it with a cloth and leave it is a warm place for one hour.   

After one hour, do that same 'turning' thing VERY gently, two times. You don't need to stretch it so long and I usually just do this stage keeping the dough in the bowl. Be gentle and DO NOT punch down all those luscious bubbles the little yeasties are working so hard to create! Wait another hour, and then 'turn' the dough again and then wait one hour after that. 

Stop moaning. This slow rise will allow all the flavours of the flour to develop and you will end up with a much tastier bread!


Finally, gently place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough in half. Move one of the halves aside and place the other in front of you. Wet your hands and shake off excess water. Use your finger tips to GENTLY push down the dough into a square.

For a rectangular loaf:  Fold in the top corners and then fold over like an envelope. Flip it 180 degrees and do the same to the other 2 corners. Fold it over and use your right hand - karate chop style - to close any seams.

For a round loaf: Fold the corners into the centre, flip the dough over and tuck in the dough so that you form a ball. Hold the dough in your left hand, exposing the underside and use your right hand - karate chop style - to close any seams. Do the same with the other dough.

Place the dough in a greased and floured baking tin or on a greased and floured baking sheet. Let proof* 30 minutes and turn your oven to max in the meantime.

* This last rise is called the proof. All that rising before is called rising.

                                         In this picture is one rectangular loaf and one free-form rectangular loaf. 

 
Score your loaves with an x-acto knife, a CLEAN, never used razor (not one that you used to shave you sicko!!) or a serrated knife. ONLY slice 2 millimeters deep! Put your loaves in the centre of the oven and turn the heat down to 392 F/ 200 C.  Top and bottom heat and NOT on convection!

After 10 minutes, turn the heat to 375 F/ 190 C and cook another 30 minutes. You loaves are going to be a deep brown -- not burnt! -- and not 'golden'. If they are brown after about 20-25 minutes, take one out and check by tapping the top and the bottom. Listen: It should sound VERY hollow -- as in, your ear isn't touching the bread when you think you hear it sound hollow. You can hear the hollowness from an arms reach. If it is hollow-sounding, it is ready.

Take the loaves out and put them on a wire rack. And now the worst part: WAIT MINIMUM 30 MINUTES before slicing into that bread. It is going to be crackling and smelling fine, but resist. If you cut the bread when it is still warm you stop its final little cooking time.

30 minutes later: ok NOW you can eat it! Enjoy!