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Focaccia
Hello,
Focaccia is a typical bread in Italy served on a lot of places like a kind of fast food. At the end is similar to the pizza but using a thicker dough and less ingredients above than on a pizza. With this recipe it is really easy to prepare a tasty focaccia because there is no need to knead the dough, just mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.
The quantity of ingredients on this recipe depend on the amount of flour:
- 10% of olive oil
- 70% of water
- 1% of baker’s yeast
- 2% of salt
Ingredients:
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Baker’s yeast
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Basil
- Oregano
- Rosemary
First step is to weight the flour on the mold you will use later to bake the focaccia. Just cover the mold taking the flour a maximum height of about 1 to 2 centimetres (like 1 finger).
Then prepare a mix of 10% of olive oil with basil, oregano, rosemary and one garlic clove. I used a mix of olive oil and olive oil from a tin of dried tomatoes giving a nicer taste to focaccia. Process it with a mixer.
Add the flour on a big bowl, then add 1% of baker’s yeast (you will use double if it’s fresh baker’s yeast and will add later dissolved in water), mix well, add 2% of salt and mix again. Add the mix of olive oil and spices, reserving a small amount. Finally add 70% of warm water. Now just mix well the ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula without the need of kneading which makes this recipe easier.
Cover with transparent film and let rest for 1 or 2 days.
After resting give it a litte mix just to remove the gas formed during the fermentation. Paint the mold with a bit of olive oil painting the base and also the walls. Add the dough on the mold, trying to distribute all over the mold, cover with a cloth and let rest for 3-4 hours.
Then paint over the focaccia with the reserved oil and spices mix, make holes over the focaccia with a finger and if you want throw some ingredients above like for example I did with kalamata olives, you can also use onion cut on to stripes or a winner combination like tomato and fresh basil. Finally bake on the oven at 390º F (200º C) for about 20 minutes, and you have your focaccia ready.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Bread with olives
Hello,
Finally I succumbed to the temptation of making bread and I bring one possible recipe to you. Bread world is very wide and you can cook near an infinity variety of breads. I just propose one choice easy to prepare and with the nice flavor of the olives.
Ingredients (for 2 breads):
- 1 kg flour
- Baker’s yeast (5 gr of dry, or 15-20 gr of fresh)
- 100 gr olives (I chose greek olives)
- 15-20 gr salt
- 550 gr warm water
With the quantities shown on this recipe you have enough to bake 2 pieces of bread.
Add 1 kg of flour in a bowl, 5 gr of dry baker’s yeast (about 15 if baker’s yeast is fresh) and about 100 gr of olives without the bone. Add 15-20 gr of salt and mix again. Finally add 550 gr of warm water.
Now mix well on the bowl and then knead the dough on a clean surface. With the proportion of water on this recipe you don’t need any particular kneading technic, just strecht the dough, fold it, stretch and so go on for some minutes until the texture of dough becomes smooth.
Cut the dough in 2, give them a final knead to make them round, add them on a bowl with a bit of flour, cover them with transparent film and let rest at least one day.
Next day, just knead a bit each of the dough balls and give tension to them folding the ends to the center and finally shape the dough. Once you shaped the dough let them rest for about 2 hours, it would be nice if they are placed over a linen cloth and also cover with a cloth. You can place some objects at their side to avoid the dough spread widely.
Before turning on the oven, put a tray with water on it, this will generate steam which is good for getting more breadcrust, set the oven to 430 ºF (220ºC). When oven reach the temperature make an incision on the bread near end to end, and bake for 20 minutes. If your incision is not big enough you will see how your bread breaks on other sides.
After 20 minutes, remove the tray with water, reduce the temperature to 390 F (200 ºC) and bake for 35 minutes more. Once baked wait until the bread gets ambient temperature before eating it.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Bandullo
Hello,
This recipe it’s a kind of sponge cake replacing flour with bread (with some days), the result is an hybrid between a cake and torrijas, very interesting:
Ingredients:
- Bread (some days old)
- Lemon zest
- 50 gr butter
- 3 eggs
- 70 gr sugar
- ½ litre of milk
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking powder (aprox 16 gr)
On a blender cup add the bread and half litre of milk. Add also baking powder, 50 gr of butter, 70 grams of sugar, 3 eggs, some lemon zest and a bit of ground cinnamon. Mix well.
Add a bit of vegetable oil in the mold and paint all the mold with a brush. Add the mix on the mold and bake in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 40-45 minutes.
Music played in the video (Airport Lounge) was composed by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), also he is the owner of song’s rights which are released under a CC-BY license.
Stuffed bread (with ham and cheese)
Hello,
This is a polyvalent recipe, you can use it for breakfast, at launch time, on a picnic … It takes its time to prepare mostly because you need the yeast to do its work, and it works at its own rythm, just be patient 🙂
Ingredients:
- ½ kg flour
- 250 ml milk
- 70 gr butter
- 70 gr sugar
- 1 egg
- Baker’s yeast (about 5 gr, dry)
- 250 gr ham
- 200 gr brie cheese
Heat 250 ml of milk and 70 gr of butter until butter is dissolved and let cool until a warm temperature. Then add ½ kg of flour in a bowl through a colander, add also 70 gr of sugar, baker’s yeast, a coffee spoon of salt and the milk with butter. Mix well first with a spatula or wooden spoon and then with your hands. Once well mixed you need to knead it on a table, keep kneading it for about 10 minutes. If it is still sticky just let rest for about 20 minutes and then will be non sticky.
Let the dough rest in a bowl cover with a cloth and let rest for at least one hour.
After that time the dough will double in volume now you have to smash it with your hands and then with the help of a rolling pin. Just stretch the dough without hesitating too much about the shape.
Once strechted cover with 2 or 3 layers of ham. Over the ham place some sticks of brie cheese.
Fold the dough and try to cover the ends. Let rest for about 1 hour. Finally paint the bread with a whisked egg and cook in the oven at 350º F (180º C ) for 20 minutes.
Music included in the video (Airport Lounge) is composed and their rights belong to Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), the music is distributed with a CC-by license.
Torrijas
- Bread
- Milk
- Red Winde
- Egg
- Sugar
- Ground cinnamon
Baked vegetables with romesco
Hello!
Romesco is a sauce typical from Catalonia (a region where Barcelona is located), normally is used with vegetables giving those vegetables a superb flavour.
Ingredients (for the romesco sauce):
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 ñoras (dried peppers)
- 12 toasted almonds
- 6 hazelnuts
- White vinegar
- Toasted bread
- 4-5 garlic cloves
For the vegetables use those ones of your favorite choice, I used 2 red onions, one zucchini and one egg plant, but you can also use asparagus, artichokes, mushrooms … Just cut them in pieces of medium size, put in an oven tray, add salt and olive oil and mix. On the oven we will also put 2 tomatoes with 2 incisions in cross shape (so they will be easier to peel later) and 4-5 garlic cloves. Cook on the oven at 350ºF (180º C) for one hour, but retire the tomatoes and garlic cloves after 15 minutes. In a mortar add 12 toasted almonds, 6 hazelnuts and some toasted bread (50-75 gr), grind well for some time. The ñoras (dried peppers) must be on water from the day before, remove the seed, cut in half and separe the pulp from the skin. Peel the tomatoes once out of oven.
Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the mortar, the garlic cloves, the pulp of peppers and the peeled tomates. Grind them for some time. Add olive oil (like half glass) while moving. In order to grind it better, pass it through a Chinese strainer, put the rests on the Chinese strainer back in the mortar and it will be easier to grind. Finally put the liquid back on the mortar and mix well. You can also mix it together in a blender, it will be faster and easier, but sometimes it is also nice to do manual work :). And now you have a nice vegetables with a gorgeous sauce 🙂
Chicken with Norway lobsters
Hi,
This recipe is similar to one my mother used to cook long time ago, so I made it again just following the remember of taste and improvising a bit. The best part of this recipe perhaps is the mix of garlic, hazelnuts and toasted bread, a mix you can use in some other recipe which will bring a great taste.
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- Chicken
- 8 norway lobsters
- 2 sweet onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 100 gr (aprox) of hazelnuts
- Toasted bread
- 1 glass of brandy
Put a bit of olive oil in a casserole and when its hot add chicken pieces and salt. Cover the casserole with a lid, set the fire low so the chicken gets well cooked. Turn the chicken from time to time so it gets uniformly cooked, if you like add also some thyme and rosemary. Cook it for about ½ hour.
While the chicken is cooking chop 2 onions.
Add the onions when chicken has been already ½ hour, distribute well, maintain the fire low and cover with the lid. Move from time to time and maintain cooking about 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile on a mortar add 3 garlic cloves, some hazelnuts and toasted bread, grind all with the pestle.
When the water drop by the onions is starting to reduce add the mix done with the mortar, distribute uniformly and add the norway lobsters. Cover with the lid ant let cook for 10 minutes. After that, first be sure to switch off the hood, add a glass of brandy and burn it. When the fire is extinguished the recipe is ready. You need to turn off the hood because maintain it on will cause the fire to be even dangerous.
Garlic soup
I remember the days I was working in Madrid and in the menu was included the castillian soup, a really nice soup, so I did this recipe to remember those good meals. But this is garlic soup, not castillian soup; at the end castillian soup is a garlic soup with ham cut in really small pieces 🙂
Ingredients (3-4 people):
- 8 garlic cloves
- Bread bought some days ago
- 2 eggs
- 2 beef bouillon
- 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika
Start peeling 8 garlic cloves, to peel them easy cut the base, crash it with the knive blade and then you will be able to remove the peel easily. Cut the garlic cloves in thin slices. Cut the bread in slices.
On a big pot add a bit of olive oil and the sliced garlic cloves; move them for 2 minutes and then add 2 bread slices, movint it all for 2 minutes. Add 1 litre of water, 2 beef bouillons and a tablespoon of sweet paprika. Beef bouillons normally have anough salt, anyway taste it and add more if you think necessary.
Move frequently for 20 minutes and then add 2 eggs. Continue moving so the eggs get a nice texture. Shutdown the fire and add remaining bread slices. If you add ham cut in really small pieces this garlic soup will become a castillian soup. Before serve let rest for 10 minutes at least.
Recipes from Spain 