Zucchini Bread

From the Kitchen of Smitten Kitchen @ smittenkitchen.com

Yield: 2 loaves or about 24 muffins

Ingredients:

3 Eggs

1 Cup Olive or Vegetable Oil

1 ¾ Cup Sugar

2 Cups grated Zucchini

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

3 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2.     Grease and flour two 8x4 inch pans or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

3.     In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, and then add zucchini and vanilla.

4.     Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

5.     Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.

6.     Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake more quickly, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf)

1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 kosher salt
3 cups warm water
6 1/2 cups flour

Mix it but don't knead it.  Put it in a big bowl and let it rise on the counter for 2 hours.  Then put it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks! You can use it immediately, but it is easier to handle if it is refrigerated first.  It is a very sticky dough.  

When you are ready to make a loaf, generously sprinkle a cookie sheet that doesn't have an edge (I use my airbake cookie pans) with cornmeal. Then sprinkle some flour on top of the bowl of dough and lop off a quarter of the dough.  Fold dough over itself, tucking edges under and smoothing top.  You can shape it into a circle or elongate it a bit..     

Place it on the cornmeal covered pan.  Set your timer for 20 minutes and let it rise. After 20 minutes, place a pan (best if it doesn't have an edge) or baking stone into the oven, with a broiler pan placed on the lower rack.  Preheat the oven to 450 and set the timer for 20 minutes.  When the timer goes off,
slide the loaf from the cornmeal covered pan to the heated pan in the oven. Then pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan under it.  Bake for 30 minutes until the bread is golden brown.The outside of the bread will be perfectly crispy and the inside perfectly soft.

naan bread aka indian bread

2 c Flour
1t sugar
1t salt
pinch baking soda
2 T Oil
2 1/2 T Plain Yogurt

3/4 c warm water
1t yeast

olive oil


Dissolve yeast in warm water, while that is dissolving Mix dry ingredients, add oil and yogurt until all of it is incorporated. {let rise for 3-4 hours until doubled in size} use oil on your hand to keep from sticking. Separate dough into 6 equal parts and roll out using a little flour and rolling pin - into an oval shape about 1/4 thick (dont go too thin)

It is custom to make these in a special clay oven called a Tandoor but a super hot oven will work. If you have a "pampered chef stone" use that. Preheat  your oven with the stone inside to 450 degree's. Place your dough on the stone and bake (mine took about 5-6 minutes) until brown spots start to appear. brush with olive oil or butter and serve!

Manjula's version on you-tube