Focaccia and Hummus

I love focaccia. I love it much better than pizza. And it so easy to make even with sourdough starters. Forget about using dry yeasts or any commercial yeasts. It is good plain or elaborately topped with any kind of toppings you fancy.

Focaccia topped with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and anchovies

One evening while watching the Travel Channel on TV, a pizza place in Nice, France was featured. The pizza at that place was topped with sautéed onion, black olives and anchovies. That reminded me of the foccaccia I made just 3 days before I saw this TV feature. The only difference, aside of the pizza dough and the foccaccia dough, was that the anchovies they used were much much bigger ( maybe 4 times bigger) than the canned salted anchovies I had used. Hmm, now I will have to find a store that sells 'huge' salted anchovies!

Focaccia with sautéed onions, black olives and salted anchovies

     

One day, as focaccia was baking in the oven, I started doing other chores in another room. 
I got so engrossed with what I was doing that I did not hear the timer ring that the foccaccia ended up like a hardened flat bread! But as frugal as I am, nothing that tastes good should be wasted, so I cut it up into sticks and thought of something to dip them into. Aha! Hummus! That beany stuff I tasted so much of while visiting Israel some years ago.

                          

                       Over-baked plain focaccia served with hummus

This is the recipe for the HUMMUS in the above photo:

• Ingredients A: Dried Parsley 1/4 tsp; Cumin Powder 1/2 tsp; Chili pepper powder 1/4 tsp; Salt 1/4 tsp
• Ingredients B: Chick peas or mixed beans 120 gms
• Ingredients C: White Sesame seeds, powdered, 1 Tbsp; Lemon juice 1 Tbsp; Grated garlic 1 tsp; Paprika(red), lightly grilled, 1/4 cup
• METHOD: Put ingredients A with ingredients B in a blender and mix well. Refrigerate till just before serving. Garnish with C as desired.

My first "chef"

JANUARY 2012

On my birthday, January 15th, 2012, I started to take care of new lives. Yes, the lives of yeasts! The more they grow, the more they'd keep me 'live' and happy.

Below is a photo of my first "chef" ( yeast 'starter')- bubbling and kicking. It's alive! It gave the impetus to my sourdough bread making adventure and to widening my circle of friends who love eating bread as well!

My first "chef" or sourdough starter made with rye flour and flat beer

DECEMBER 2014

Below are a few of the various breads I have baked in the past 20 months.

     

Sourdough Focaccia cut to serving size pieces

Rye Sourdough Bread with Black Sesame Seeds

 Sourdough Bread with Poppy Seeds

Sourdough Bread with Roasted Garlic

  

Sourdough Bread with Chocolate Chips & English Muffins

Bauernbrot (German Farmer-style rye bread)
has a dense crumb, full flavor and a chewy crust.

Basil-Parmesan Focaccia with Fresh Tomatoes

 

Sourdough Bread (30% All Wheat Flour) 

   

Sourdough Scones

"Totemo Oishii " Sourdough Bread & Muffins

While I was relaxing in the hot bath at the fitness club, a young friend whom I had given samples of my sourdough garlic bread and English muffins said, " Hey, those bread were REALLY GOOD! (Totemo oishikatta!). I am so amazed at how they could retain their freshness!". Then she continued saying her appreciation, again and again -a typical of Japanese custom- but hearing that was, for me, a...chiisa na shiawase.

Sourdough Bread with roasted garlic and caraway seeds

This is the sourdough bread with roasted garlic and caraway seeds that I baked on Jan 28th. And below are the English muffins I made on Jan 31st.

Sourdough English Muffins

Taking into consideration the size/amount that women my age usually consume, I made my muffins a little smaller than the usual "Thomas English muffins".


The photo below shows my original English muffin sandwich, which I had for lunch one day.

 English muffin, half a hard-boiled egg, sauteed spinach, slices of fresh onions and tomato, topped with salt and pepper and a bit of powdered gouda cheese)

Those that I had not given away I wrapped individually and placed them in the freezer. Next time my grandchildren come for a visit, they will surely have Lola's English muffins for breakfast or snack!!! Those muffins will be among their...chiisa na shiawase.

"This is good!"

Sourdough Croissant

Today, I spent most of my morning baking. Today's project was Sourdough Croissant. I prepared the sponge/dough yesterday, using the 'starter' ( home-raised yeast ) I had and did the kneading, folding, shaping and baking today.  Being a novice, the process was not easy...the batter was so sticky  it was difficult to shape the croissants the way they should be.  But patience usually pays, so even if I was not that satisfied with the outcome of my effort, an unexpected, simple, and straightforward comment from someone would almost always make my day.

Upon taking a bite of the first sourdough croissant that I made, hubby said, "Umm. Kore wa ikeru...", meaning, "Hmm, this is good!." That kind of comment rarely comes from him. And today it did! So I was a bit happy...chiisa na yorokobi wo kanjimashita!