BREADS,  VEGETARIAN

RED BELL PEPPER, WALNUT & GOUDA FRENCH FOUGASSE…a little banter!

2009/10/15 / 30 Comments
“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven.”
Yiddish Proverb

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In our foodie web world, I find a couple of things that seem to unite people the most these days – desserts, bread and blogging. It’s virtual unification without borders. A connection made at different levels, be it blogs, twitter, social networking sites, virtual cookbook launches … one thing is common, and that is GOOD FOOD!! levobitz+scones3My post today touches a couple of these. One of them is bread, something that is inherent to cuisine across the world, often a basic part of the menu. The idiom, break bread, or eat together, adds to the charm of bread. World Bread Day 2009 is here again; the fourth edition of this great event hosted by Zorra @ Kochtopf.

world bread day 2009 - yes we bake.(last day of sumbission october 17)

The theme this year is open, just bake a bread with or without yeast, use sourdough, experiment with different flours, add some seeds… It’s up to you! I was there last year too, and this year am sending Zorra my all time favourite bread, one that is most loved in our house, the French Fougasse. Rustic and ever so adaptable, a bread that you can even go sweet with if you like. I often make one loaf at a time, and store the rest of the dough in the fridge up to 3 days.2

The other issue I wanted to highlight was a social initiative by some food bloggers. It’s exciting news for us over at BloggerAid as our cherished book reaches the final stages of printing. I submitted a recipe a while ago, and it’s going to be part of this delicious cookbook. BloggerAid…Changing the Face of Famine is an international network of food bloggers united behind the cause of ending global hunger. Members use their blogs as a platform for raising awareness about hunger in communities at home and abroad.

bloggeraidlogo copyHave you thought of writing your own cookbook? The Cookbook People can make that happen. In their words ” We’re committed to helping families keep their cherished recipes, so we designed our own family cookbook software. Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software prints your home-made family cookbooks. One copy…or as many copies as you want. Whenever YOU want. Because you make it yourself on your own computer! “cookbookpeoplelogo

The Cookbook People have not only donated a software package as a prize to BloggerAid, they went the extra mile. They set out a challenge to all members of BloggerAid – Changing the Face of Famine. They are willing to donate $20 to our charity for every member who creates a blog post about their site. Take a trip over to their site – have a look around. They will ship worldwide and are wonderful people to work with.
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French Fougasse with Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Walnut & Gouda
adapted from The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking
Ingredients:
450gms all purpose flour
280ml warm water
20gms fresh yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
1 bell pepper, roasted and chopped
100gms Gouda
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Olive oil for brushing1Method:
Take 4 tbsps of water from the 280ml, & dissolve the fresh yeast into it. Stir the salt & 2 tbsp olive oil into the remaining water.
Make a well with the flour, & pour the dissolved yeast & water mixture into it. Knead to a dough, kneading further on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes, till it gets smooth & elastic.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with cling wrap & leave in a warm place for about an hour until doubled.
Punch down & divide into 4 balls of dough (or 2 if you have a big oven)
Roll out to about an 8″ circle, grate 1/4 of the cheese over the base, and top with a 1/4 of the bell pepper & walnuts.
Season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Fold over the dough 2-3 times on itself to incorporate the stuffing. Shape each back into a ball.
Flatten each & fold the bottom third up, & top third down to make an oblong.
Roll into ovals with a flat base, cut slits diagonally, three on each side. Pull slightly to open the cuts.
Place on oiled baking sheets. Cover with cling wrap & leave to double for 35-40minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C, brush the loaves with olive oil, & bake for approximately 25-30 minutes till golden brown. Cool on racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

This post has been ‘Yeastspotted’

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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30 Comments

  • Dawn

    2009/10/15 at 9:46 pm Reply

    you know you really should change your blog to passionate about baking & perfect photos. you always produce such beautiful photos.

  • Megan Gordon

    2009/10/15 at 11:48 pm Reply

    Great post! I love the mini collage of brownies, tea pot, and books–I have yet to figure out how to do this myself. The bread looks amazing. I just made squash soup and it'd be great with that…

  • Divina Pe

    2009/10/16 at 1:43 am Reply

    This is one of my favorite breads. I used to make this in school but it's been a long time. Thanks Deeba.

  • Helene

    2009/10/16 at 2:32 am Reply

    I did not know that World Bread day was tomorrow. What a great fougasse you made. That must had been so delicious.

  • Madhuli

    2009/10/16 at 2:38 am Reply

    Absolutely delicious..are your pics!Congrats…I think you should think about writing your own cookbook!love all your recipes.Thanks for all of them!

  • Tangled Noodle

    2009/10/16 at 2:39 am Reply

    Just gorgeous and delicious as always, Deeba! Thank you so much for highlighting World Bread Day (I'm going to try baking something tomorrow!), BloggerAid cookbook and the Cookbook People, too!

    Great recipe, beautiful photos, wonderful info – such a complete post! 8-D

  • Mags

    2009/10/16 at 2:43 am Reply

    I love the Yiddish Proverb. Although it should have gone on to say that some of us are also half-baked…lol

    I'm so impressed with this bread Deeba! Definitely will put this on my list of breads to try. Thanks for sharing.

  • Mansi

    2009/10/16 at 6:42 pm Reply

    gosh, your breads look simply inviting, as always Deeba, and so are your stories:)

    Happy Diwali to you! and I'd also like to invite you to dish out something sweet for the Sweet celebrations event on my blog if you can!:)

  • Bellini Valli

    2009/10/16 at 2:11 pm Reply

    World Bread Day coincides with World Food Day both of which are about bringing awareness to hunger in our world. We will let The Cookpeople know of your post. Thank you so much for posting and the wonderful mention. Children are the future!!!

  • shaz

    2009/10/16 at 11:12 pm Reply

    What a beautiful bread – looks almost like a leaf. And thanks for the info on BloggerAid too.

    Happy Divali and have a great weekend.

  • bethany (Dirty Kitchen Secrets)

    2009/10/17 at 11:15 am Reply

    How beautiful! A piece of art. I would be really torn between eating it and wanting to keep it whole.

  • Lien

    2009/10/17 at 1:17 pm Reply

    What a wonderful bread, looks so delicious! I think it's funny that you use Gouda all the way over there! didn't know you could get it even in India.

  • Chef E

    2009/10/18 at 2:53 am Reply

    What a beautiful bread…reminds me of a leaf, and it is autumn! My favorite time of year, and a comfort food to boot…

  • The Purple Foodie

    2009/10/18 at 10:43 pm Reply

    Your fougasse looks great. I can't wait to get some fresh yeast to start baking more bread.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I'd love to hear from you.

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