RED BELL PEPPER, WALNUT & GOUDA FRENCH FOUGASSE…a little banter!
Deeba @ PAB
“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven.”
Yiddish Proverb
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!! My 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.
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.
The other issue I wanted to highlight was a social initiative by some food bloggers. It’s exciting news for us over at BloggerAidas 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.
Have you thought of writing your own cookbook? The Cookbook Peoplecan 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! “
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.
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 brushingMethod: 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.
