Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

Déjà Food

Pronunciation: \ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈfüd\

Function: noun

Etymology: Yo Momma. (Actually, my step-momma… but I wanted to say that)

1. Leftovers. But with a French name, therefore, more sophisticated.

Among the catalog of wonderful things my step-mother, Valerie, introduced me to when she and my father married are many now-standards for me: SOB Smoothies (‘Strawberry’, ‘Orange’, and ‘Banana’ Smoothies. What were you thinking she meant?), Colcannon, The California Raisins Christmas Special, Dorothy Sayers mysteries and Déjà Food. Déjà Food is nothing but leftovers, but isn’t it amazing how a simple change in words make it sound less like drudgery and more like something exciting?

The only person I’ve ever met who gets thrilled at the word ‘leftovers’ is my third born son, Ty (also variously known as Tyger [for Tiger Woods- his hero], Tylo [for our cat Milo- his favorite creature on earth] and Ty-Tron [his robot alter-ego].) He would do nearly anything, including selling one of his brothers, to ensure that he has leftovers he can eat the next day. …And if there’s just enough of an entree to serve us one meal, he’ll deliberately under-eat his portion of the dinner, conscientously wrap his own precious leftovers in foil and deposit them in the fridge. The next morning, he’ll shake himself out of bed early, run downstairs in his jammies, grab his silver wrapped goodies and plunk himself down at the table. He unwraps it reverently and munches it in silence with big blue eyes then smiles and says, “Thanks Mom!” before running off to face the day.

I am less devoted to leftovers than Ty. Once the initial thrill of the evening’s dinner wears off, there are very few dishes that I want to eat two or three or four nights in a row. Because I am mighty frugal, I always find a way to get the extra food consumed. But it takes a déjà food approach to make me excited about leftovers…

The Spicy Chicken and Super-Sharp Cheddar Calzones were made entirely of leftovers and standard pantry items making this a frugal and fast meal. With a salad, this would make an ample dinner for two adults. On those nights when you’re really, REALLY hungry, it will feed one ravenously hungry adult. Or it will be a sufficient lunch for one eleven-year old Liam who we all know has two hollow legs.

Calzones are a wonderful way to make déjà food of your leftovers. You can do just about any combination you want. As long as you keep a batch of the Master Dough Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, you can whip up calzones at a moment’s notice. Do you have last minute dinner guests? A busy night of running from practices, rehearsals, games, meetings, etc…?(That was a bit of the old subconscious showing, eh? I meant running ‘to’ practices, rehearsals, games, meetings, etc...) Leftover meat, cheese, veggies and other odds-and-ends, bits-and-pieces in almost any flavor combination can come together to make an amazing dinner. You can combine leftover taco meat, shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, chopped onions and olives for a Mexican Calzone and serve it with sour cream and salsa. You can use a few pieces of pepperoni, some browned bulk pork sausage, shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese and serve it with marinara sauce for a Meat-Lover’s Pizza Calzone. How about leftover steamed spinach (squeezed dry, of course), browned lamb (or no lamb), feta cheese, thinly sliced onions and a pinch or two of oregano served with a Tsatsiki sauce? A Greek Calzone! It can do ANY flavor combination. You have to work this into your rotation. You’ll be so glad you did.

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of this recipe, click here!

Spicy Chicken and Super-Sharp Cheddar Calzones

Ingredients:

A grapefruit sized piece of bread dough from the Master Dough Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes.

1 cup cooked chicken, cut into small cubes (about equivalent to one grilled or otherwise cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast)

1/2 cup (or more) extra sharp cheddar cheese cut into small cubes

1/2 cooking onion, sliced thin

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

1 1/2 teaspoons each olive oil and semolina or cornmeal for pan

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet or pan. Sprinkle semolina or cornmeal evenly over the oil. Set aside.

In a bowl or on a cutting board, gently toss together the onions, chicken, cheese and crushed red pepper flakes.

Behold the best mixing tool in the whole wide world. Your hand!

Set aside.

Lightly flour your work surface, dough, and rolling pin.

Use rolling pin to roll the dough into an approximately 8 to 9 inch circle.

Transfer the chicken, cheese, and onion mixture onto half of the circle of dough, leaving about 3/4 of an inch of bare dough around the edge.

Carefully lift the empty part of the dough over the filling, tucking in any stray bits of filling that want to poke out.

Tuck those little onion bits back in there. No onion left behind.

Fold edges back in on themselves and pinch together tightly to hold dough shut.

After folding back in on itself, pinch that dough pretty firmly.

Gently transfer to the prepared pan. Use a very sharp knife to slash two small steam vents in the calzone.

Just two slices of one inch long each will vent this perfectly. If the steam can escape, it doesn't make the bread soggy.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (depending on how brown and crispy you like your calzones.) Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes prior to serving.

Can't you almost smell this?

If the calzone is really done, you should have a firm enough crust that the calzone doesn't bend when you transfer it to a plate or cutting board.

Serve alone or with bleu cheese dressing or marinara sauce.

Use a serrated knife to cut your calzone... A non-serrated knife will mangle the bread and filling.

When steamy hot from the oven there really is nothing better than this.

Yesterday was B.U.S.Y! Aside from the normal frenetic pace of life that goes hand in glove with having five sons ages 10 and under we had other pressing matters. I am milking goats for friends up the road while they visit family, planning for a wedding rehearsal dinner I’m catering in August, helping put up firewood for the winter, and picking up more household chores and yard work while my husband tries to put batten up every night after work. To top it all off I discovered yesterday morning that our garden had produced-seemingly overnight- mammoth pickling cucumbers. (My tried and tested pickle recipe will be in my next post.) Because fresher cucumbers equal crunchier pickles I knew I was going to be pickling last night after making dinner, but before milking goats. Phew!

Dinner was going to have to be fast and easy.

I recently procured a copy of “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Franςois. Before reading the book I had regarded it with more than just a touch of suspicion. I am a long time sourdough, poolish, and pâte fermenté baker and I didn’t think anything could come close to the time-honored methods.

The premise of the book is that you mix up master bread doughs and store them in your fridge, taking a portion from the dough mass each day to bake. I was interested, but still skeptical. I mixed up one of the basic boule dough from the book. Jeff Hertzberg, in the book, says:

“Amaze your friends with the “6-3-3-13″ rule: If you want to store enough for eight one-pound loaves, here’s a simple mnemonic for the recipe: 6,3,3, and 13. It’s 6 cups water, 3 tablespoons salt, 3 tablespoons yeast, and then add 13 cups of flour. Store in a 10-quart lidded container. That’s it. It will amaze your friends when you do this in their homes without a recipe- but tell them to buy this book anyway!”

The day after mixing this up, I made naan from it. It was outrageously delicious and tasted *gasp* authentic. Yesterday was the perfect time to put the “6, 3, 3, 13 dough” through some more paces.

*And I interrupt myself to say just how wonderful it was to have that dough in the fridge for just such a crazy day.

I busted out *cough, cough* 2 pounds of bacon. Don’t judge. I’m feeding a lot of people. After slicing it into lardons, I par cooked it 3/4 of the way to where I like bacon; just shy of charcoal- super crispy, please! Next came an indecent quantity of thinly sliced onions sauteed in bacon fat with a small amount of white wine and a large amount of cracked black pepper.

I cooked the onions in bacon fat and some bacon was left in it. I loved life at that moment.

Next on deck: Dracula-repelling piles of minced garlic, a hint of gorgonzola, a large amount of garlic and herbed chevre, some minced fresh rosemary and parsley and healthy drizzles olive oil, all strewn over some of the “6, 3, 3, 13 dough” that had been stretched to cover a half sheet pan.

It baked in the oven for 35 minutes. That gave me ample time to load my jars for the pickles I was making and snap this picture. Aren’t kids great?

How did it turn out? Ohmyohmyohmy. It was so good. The crust had just the right amount of crispiness on the bottom and chewiness in the center. It had a wonderful wheaty smell while baking and browned to a luscious shade on the few spots I left clear on my crazy topping binge. I mean, really, look at this!

So, I’m left with two things to review… The book and the recipe (see end of post for recipe.)

The Book

The book gets 2 thumbs up out of 2 for usefulness. The recipes in it are easy and the science is good. I expect to get a great deal of use out of this book. I’d recommend it for anyone who loves good, bakery style loaves. I have a feeling this would also be a great book for folks who are intimidated by baking. It is laid out clearly, it is encouraging, and it is simple.

I highly recommend purchasing or borrowing this book from the library because the technique is somewhat unusual. It’s not difficult at all. It’s just a departure from normal bread techniques and you need to consult the book to really get the desired result.

It also gets 14 thumbs up out of 14 for the recipes we’ve tried. The master dough is versatile, delicious and simple to put together and store. By my math that’s better than a hat trick.

The Recipe

No question. This got 14 thumbs up out of a possible 14. It was outstanding and will be repeated orphan frequently. (That is your free Gilbert and Sullivan joke for the day.) The aroma of this baking was enough to make me want to chew my own leg off. So exercise caution…

Bread: Fully Loaded!

(Again, in this recipe I’m halving what I make for us, so you’ll note that while I used 2 pounds of bacon I’m giving you a recipe that calls for 1 pound. I made two half sheet pans of this bread last night. If ya’ll can eat 2 pans worth of this, by all means, double my quantities given below!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs master bread dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
4 Tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons semolina flour or cornmeal, for sprinkling over pan
1 lb bacon, sliced into lardons
4 medium yellow cooking onions
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
4-5 ounces crumbled herbed garlic chevre (for recipe, click here)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 handful fresh parsley, minced

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the bottom of a rimmed half sheet pan or large rimmed cookie sheet. Sprinkle the semolina or cornmeal evenly over the oil and pan. Set aside.

In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, cook bacon lardons over medium heat until bacon is cooked to about 3/4 of the state you usually cook it. Line a bowl of plate with a double thickness of paper towels. Remove the pan from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to the paper towels. Carefully pour the bacon grease into a bowl to cool. (And use for home fries later. Yeah! Home fries in bacon fat rule!) Do not wipe out the pan under any circumstances. You’ll use the fat that remains to help cook your onions.

Add the onions to the bacony good pan and return the pan to the burner. Pour the white wine in the pan and use a spoon to scrape up the browned bits that are stuck to the pan: That’s the best part! Add the cracked pepper and a pinch of Kosher salt and lower the heat to medium low. The goal is to soften these onions, not to brown them. If you brown them they’ll blacken in the oven. Let them cook gently while you turn your attention to the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands and a rolling pin to work the dough out to approximately the size of your pan. Gently move the dough to the prepared pan. If the dough shrinks or changes shape in transit, stretch the dough into the corners and against the sides. Set aside and preheat oven to 425°F.

By the time your dough is done, your onions should be softened to the point where they’ll flop when you pick one up, but it’ll still have a little toothsomeness in the center when you bite into one. That’s the way you want them so kill the heat.

Scatter the following ingredients evenly over the dough in this order: bacon, gorgonzola, onions, chevre, and rosemary. Drizzle the whole thing with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pop the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until it reaches the degree of golden brown deliciousness you want.

Remove the bread from the oven, sprinkle with the minced parsley and let sit for 5 minutes prior to slicing. This was amazingly good with a glass of Pinot Grigio. Oh yes!

This is a slice of heavenly Bread: Fully Loaded! Look at the irregular holes in the crumb.

That is the mark of success.