No Knead Artisan Bread Recipe

Print

Prep time

3 hours

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

3 hours 25 mins

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

Skill Level: Medium

Cost To Make: $4-$5

Serving: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1  ½ cup warm water 100˚ F.
• ½ tbsp salt
• ¾ tbsp yeast
• 3¼ cups better for bread flour OR unbleached, all-purpose flour
• plus extra flour for dusting

What you will need:

• Parchment paper
• 2 Tbsp Cornmeal

Instructions

1. Add water and salt to a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let it sit 1-2 minutes, then stir.
2. Measure out exactly 3¼ cups of flour (fill the measuring cup and scrape off the top with the back of a knife) and add flour to the bowl.
3. Using a spatula, stir the mixture until it all comes together and is well blended.
4. Cover dough with plastic wrap or lid and let it rise at room temperature 2 hours (It rises about 2-3 times in volume).
5. Line a cutting board with parchment paper and generously dust with flour.
6. Scrape dough out of the bowl with spatula onto the floured surface.
7. With well-floured hands, fold the dough in half, then fold the dough in half again. Dust the dough generously with flour, lift it up and form a ball in your hands. Sprinkle the parchment paper with corn meal extending about 1″ past the border of the dough since it will expand. Place the dough over the cornmeal, seam side down.
8. Let it rise on the counter uncovered for 40 minutes. It will look like this when it’s ready to bake:
9. You will need two shelves in the oven. The middle rack will hold the bread and the bottom rack will hold the water pan. For the bread, use a rimless cookie sheet in the center of the oven. You can also use a regular cookie sheet and turn it upside down.  About 10 min before the dough has finished rising, preheat the oven and the cookie sheet to 450˚ F.
10. Once dough is ready to bake, dust the top with flour and cut three strips across the top with a serrated or very sharp knife.
11. Once the oven is preheated, put baking dish on bottom rack and pour 1 cup hot water to that baking dish.
12. Slide the dough with the parchment paper onto the hot cookie sheet and bake at 450˚ F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Remove from oven and let it cool down a little before cutting into it.

Shrimp Gumbo with Andouille Sausage

1 pound medium shrimp in the shell

• Salt and pepper

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

• 6 garlic cloves, minced

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 1/2 cups diced onion

• 1 cup diced red or green bell pepper

• 1/2 cup diced celery

• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

• 1 cup diced ripe tomato, fresh or canned

• 6 ounces smoked andouille sausage, in 1-inch-thick slices

• 6 cups shrimp broth or chicken broth

• 2 cups chopped okra

• 1 tablespoon filé powder

• 1/2 cup chopped scallions for garnish

PREPARATION
1. Peel and devein shrimp. Reserve shrimp shells for broth. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon garlic. Cover and refrigerate. Make the shrimp broth.

2.Make the gumbo base: In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and cook briskly, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and stir to combine. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring, until flour-vegetable mixture is well browned. Add tomato paste, paprika, cayenne and remaining garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring well, then add diced tomato and andouille sausage and cook for about 2 minutes. Season mixture generously with salt and pepper.

3. Stir in shrimp broth and reduce heat to medium. With a wooden spoon, scrape bottom of pot to dissolve any browned bits. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until gumbo base thickens somewhat. Taste and adjust salt. (You may prepare gumbo base up to this point several hours ahead; bring it back to a brisk simmer before continuing.)

4. Add okra and let cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn off heat. Stir in filé powder. Serve immediately, sprinkled with scallions, along with steamed rice or cornbread if desired.

YIELD
4 to 6 servings

Vodka Pie Dough

Making your own pie dough is, well, easy as pie. The ingredients couldn't be simpler: flour, salt, butter or shortening, and ice water plus vodka.

Using vodka for part of the liquid is a method we picked up years ago from the folks at Cook's Illustrated. It's our stand-by method in the Free Press Test Kitchen. It makes a dough that rolls out easily and perfectly. Why? Vodka, which is 40% ethanol and 60% water, allows you to add enough liquid to make the dough easier to roll out without tearing. Plus, but the gluten does not form in ethanol. (If you don't have vodka, increase the water a tablespoon at a time when mixing the ingredients.)

Follow these steps and techniques for that flaky crust folks crave:

• Start out with all cold ingredients: Cut the butter and, if using, the shortening into about quarter-inch cubes. Put them in a bowl and chill in the freezer. If you use all shortening, the crust will be the flakier. Using all butter adds flavor and strengthens the dough. It's still flaky, but not as much as using all shortening. Chill the flour.

• Have ice water ready. If using vodka, chill it in the freezer.

• Plan on using a food processor. It's easy and forgiving because you're not handling the mixture as much. Overworking the dough will toughen it.

• After adding fat (butter/shortening) to the food processor, wrap plastic wrap over the work bowl before putting the top on. This prevents the flour from flying all over. Remove plastic wrap once the mixture resembles pea-size pieces.

If mixing by hand, cut in the butter and shortening using a pastry blender or two knives in a crisscross motion.

• Slowly add liquids and just enough so the dough comes together and doesn't crumble. Press some of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger. If it holds together, it's ready. Don't process it too much.

• Shape the dough into a half -inch-thick disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it at least 2 hours. The dough should be cool but not so cold that it is hard to roll out. You can also freeze it for 2 months.

• For a two-crust pie, roll out the bottom crust first and keep the other portion of dough in the refrigerator. When you roll it out, you should see uneven spots of fat (the butter/shortening).

• Roll dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Roll from the center out in a clock-like fashion. Or roll between pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap to make transferring it to the pie pan easier.

• Once the bottom crust is rolled out, place it in the pan and give the dough a second chill while you roll out the top crust.

Jewish Apple Cake

16 servings

MAKE AHEAD: The cake can be made a day or two in advance. It freezes well.

3 cups unsifted flour, plus more for dusting the pan

5 medium apples of your choice, preferably those that are good for baking

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use nonstick cooking oil spray to grease tall tube pan, then dust lightly with flour.

Core the apples, then cut each one into 8 equal wedges. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the cinnamon and 5 tablespoons of the sugar, tossing to coat evenly.

Beat the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer, on low speed, until well blended. Gradually add the remaining sugar, then the oil, orange juice and vanilla extract.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt on a piece of waxed or parchment paper. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture to form a smooth batter.

Pour one-third of the batter into the pan. Create a second layer using one-third of the apples. Repeat to create a total of 6 layers, ending with apples on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or as needed; the top should be golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs.

Let the cake sit for at least 20 minutes before unmolding.

Pickled Shriimp

2¾ cups water
1½ cups white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 jalapeños, sliced crosswise into ½-inch rings
8 baby carrots, each sliced into quarters crosswise
2 lemons, sliced into thin rings
1¾ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 pound 16-20 count peeled and veined shrimp

DIRECTIONS

1. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside. In a large pot, combine the water, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, onion, garlic, jalapeños, carrots, lemons, sugar, celery seeds, mustard seeds and salt. Bring to a boil, and then pour three-quarters of the brine into a large bowl and set into the ice water bath to cool. Once thoroughly cooled, refrigerate.

2. Place the shrimp in a large bowl and pour the remaining hot brine over the shrimp. Set aside until the shrimp start to turn pink, about 30 seconds. Strain the shrimp (discard the brine) and add the shrimp to the bowl of the chilled brine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3. Drain the shrimp and vegetables and serve them in small bowls or mason jars.

Royal Seafood Bake

NORTHERN ATLANTIC

ROYAL SEAFOOD BAKE

INGREDIENTS 3 cups cooked Royal Blend ½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined 6 ounces fresh or canned crab meat 1 (4 oz) jar chopped pimiento, drained 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained 1 can mushroom soup 2 tablespoons butter 1 onion, chopped ½ cup celery 1 green pepper, chopped 1 cup slivered almonds Sauté onions, celery and pepper in butter, add to cooked Royal Blend with shrimp, crab, pimiento and mushrooms. Place in greased casserole and season with salt and pepper. Stir in mushroom soup. Cover and bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees F. During the last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle almonds on top and leave uncovered the remaining time. Serves six.

Biscuits

YIELD

4 servings (2 biscuits per person)

INGREDIENTS

Biscuits
Cold unsalted butter, 1½ sticks (cut into ½-inch cubes)
All-purpose flour, 3 cups plus extra for rolling
Baking powder, 1 tablespoon
Baking soda, ¾ teaspoon
Salt, 1 teaspoon
Granulated sugar, 1½ teaspoons
Buttermilk, 1½ cups
Melted unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons
Thick-cut ham steaks, 2 (about ¾ pound)
Extra-virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 450°. On a small plate set the

• Unsalted butter cubes

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Set the fine-mesh sieve (or use a flour sifter) over a large metal bowl and add the

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Granulated sugar

Freeze for 15 minutes. Remove both the butter and flour mixture from the freezer and use your fingers to pinch the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly, until most of the butter is worked in and there is a variety of small and large pieces of butter within the flour mixture. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add

• 1¼ cups buttermilk

Use the wooden spoon to stir the mixture together until it becomes hard to stir, then switch to using your hands to gently toss and turn the mixture until only a few dry spots remain, drizzling in the remaining ¼ cup of buttermilk a little at a time as needed.
2. Sprinkle a cutting board with some

• All-purpose flour

Turn the dough out onto the floured board and press it into a rough rectangle shape. Lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 12-inch by 14-inch rectangle that’s about ½-inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Turn the dough so the long edge is parallel to the long side of the cutting board. Roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle and repeat the folding. Roll again, this time rolling the dough only slightly into a 10-inch by 12-inch rectangle about 1-inch thick. Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can (you can gently push the dough back together and flatten it by hand, then cut out more biscuits. Discard the remaining dough. Place the biscuits on a nonstick baking sheet (or a parchment paper-lined baking sheet) and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the biscuits from the refrigerator and use the pastry brush to coat the tops with the

• Melted unsalted butter

Place the biscuits in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 425°. Bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through baking. Remove from the oven and use the metal spatula to transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.