1 teaspoon sugar (4 grams) (use honey if you prefer)
1 ¼ cups warm water (300 grams)
1 ¼ teaspoons (8 grams) kosher salt
2 ½ to 3 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (400 grams) plus extra for dusting (see recipe notes)
Instructions:
Step One: Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in a large mixing bowl (you can also use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook)
Step Two: Let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is foamy
Step Three: Add flour to bowl. Mix with a sturdy spatula until the dough starts to come together, then add salt and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. For best results, mix until no dry bits of flour remain. Note: This is a relatively slack (wet) dough, so it may seem a bit shaggy and sticky at this point. Don’t worry – it will become more smooth and elastic as we go!
Step Four: Cover bowl with a clean tea towel and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size
Step Five: When dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board. Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN – you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread. (Note: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a little bit, wet your hand with a bit of cold water and gently separate the dough from the bowl to get it all out)
Step Six: Shape the dough into a round loaf: Pull each corner of the dough in towards the center (like you’re folding an envelope) and repeat until the dough feels tight and begins to resist your folds. Flip the dough over and pull it into a round loaf. Watch the video(s) above to see exactly how we do this
Step Seven: Flour a proofing basket or a medium bowl and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes or so while you preheat the oven. Note: I like to line my proofing basket or mixing bowl with a clean linen napkin to distribute the flour more evenly and help with cleanup
Step Eight: While bread is rising, place an empty dutch oven (with the lid on) in your oven and heat to 460 degrees Fahrenheit
Step Nine: When the oven is hot, you’re ready to go! Use oven mitts to pull the dutch oven out and remove the lid
Step Ten: Lay a piece of parchment paper down on your counter or cutting board (optional – it makes transferring the bread easier!)
Step Eleven: Tip your bread dough gently out of the proofing basket onto the parchment paper. Make sure the seam side is up this time – this is what will create those beautiful cracks on top of the bread
Step Twelve: VERY CAREFULLY (without burning yourself!) use the sides of the parchment to lift the bread up and place it into the hot Dutch oven
Step Thirteen: Put your oven mitts back on, place the dutch oven lid back on the pot, and slide the whole thing back into your hot oven
Step Fourteen: Cook bread for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your dutch oven. The bread should be taller, crusty, and very lightly browned. Continue cooking the bread, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful brown crust
Step Fifteen: When bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of your oven. Use a long spatula or the corners of your parchment paper to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. Slice, slather with butter, and enjoy!
Notes: Measure the flour by weight instead of cups. You can use instant yeast for this recipe, use 1 1/2 teaspoons instead. The best flour for this recipe is King Arthur All Purpose Flour. You can add garlic , nuts or spices to this recipe.
1 cup plain Greek yogurt, made with whole milk and at room temperature
1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 eggs
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
Fresh dill
Instructions
Step One:
In a small mixing bowl, combine the room-temp yogurt and garlic, a good pinch of kosher salt and whisk well. Divide the yogurt mixture between two serving bowls and set aside for now.
Step Two:
Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Stir in the vinegar.
Step Three:
Meanwhile, crack an egg into a small fine mesh sieve over a small bowl. Gently swirl the eggs in the sieve to drain the liquidy part of the egg whites (this gives you a neater-looking poached egg). Transfer the egg to a ramekin.
Step Four:
When the water is ready, using a wooden spoon, stir the water to create a vortex. Quickly add the egg to the middle of vortex and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. When ready, using a slotted spoon, transfer the egg to a plate that’s been lined with parchment paper.
Step Five:
Prepare and cook the second egg exactly as you did the first.
Step Six:
While the second egg is cooking, quickly make the olive oil sauce. In a small skillet, warm the olive oil and Aleppo pepper over medium heat.
Step Seven:
Immediately transfer the poached eggs to the prepared yogurt bowls (simply place each egg on top of the yogurt mixture) and drizzle with the heated oil.
Step Eight:
Serve immediately with your favorite rustic bread.
Notes: This rustic bread recipe pairs well with these eggs. Any kind of chili crisp oil would be a great topping, like this one.
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup yellow curry paste
10 baby golden yukon potatoes, cut into bite-sized potatoes
1 14-ounce can coconut cream
1/2 – 1 cup water
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 – 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Cilantro and rice for serving
Instructions:
Step one:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions are fragrant and softened. Add the chicken and curry paste; saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir to coat with the curry paste.
Step two:
Add the coconut cream and 1/2 cup water to the pot – simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are fully cooked, adding more water depending on the consistency you want for the sauce.
Step three:
Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar to really take it up a notch. Seriously – so good. Serve over rice.
Notes: For a more vegetable-filled dish, add chunks of carrot with the potatoes. This recipe would go well with naan.
1 large garlic clove, smashed with the side of a knife
1/4 jalapeno, seeds removed
3-4 cilantro stems, save the leafs
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 large avocado, cut in half, then cut into cubes
1/4 lime, squeezed into mortar and pestle
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
Roma tomato, chopped
Feta cheese, crumbled
Purple onion, chopped
Instructions
Step one:
Combine olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic clove, jalapeno, cilantro stems and onion powder into the mortar and pestle. Smash everything together still until a paste has developed.
Step two:
Add the avocado and gently mix in with the paste in mortar and pestle with a fork to keep a chunky guacamole. Use the mortar to combine for a smoother guacamole.
12.6 ounces plain all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
1 ounce white sugar
1 ounce olive oil, plus extra for greasing
6.3 ounces of warm water
.68 ounces milk
Fried Chicken
4 large chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cornstarch
Oil for frying
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
thinly sliced cucumber
Sticky Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon gochujang
2 tablespoon ketchup
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Instructions
Step one:
To make the bao, mix the flour, baking powder, yeast and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, water and milk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the oil mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon and then use your hands to knead until the dough comes together. Empty out onto a work surface and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth, adding extra flour if the dough sticks to the palm of your hand. Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover and rest in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
Step two:
Once risen, transfer the dough to a work surface and knead for another 5 minutes. Place a small amount of oil in a small bowl. Flatten the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough a little. Dip you fingers into the oil and rub on both sides of the dough to stop it from sticking to your work surface. Then continue to roll out the dough until it is about 1cm (roughly ½”) thick. Give the top of the dough a final rub of oil. Then use an 8cm (around 3 ¼”) cookie cutter to cut out dough circles. Fold each circle over in half and transfer to a square of baking paper. Use the rolling pin to roll over the top to gently flatten each folded piece. Any extra dough can now be rolled out again and cut and folded in the same way. Cover the bao lightly with a tea towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
Step three:
Fill a wok one-third full with water and place over high heat. Place a bamboo steamer over the wok. When the water is boiling, steam the buns in batches in the steamer for 12 minutes or until fluffy and cooked through. Then turn off the heat (don’t lift the lid) and allow the buns to rest over the hot water for 5 minutes before transferring to a plate or tray. Note: Buns can be made up to a day in advance and steamed to re-heat before serving. They can also be frozen at this point and reheated from frozen in the steamer before serving.
Step four:
To make the fried chicken, season the chicken with the salt and pepper, then set aside.
Step five:
For the sticky sauce, place the ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until just thickened. Set aside until ready to serve.
Step six:
Dust each piece of chicken in the corn flour, tapping off any excess.
Step seven:
Fill a wok or saucepan to about 1/3 capacity with the vegetable oil and place over high heat. The oil is hot enough when a wooden spoon dipped into the oil forms little bubbles. Cook the chicken (do this in batches if your wok is small) for about 5 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on a wire baking rack.
Step eight:
Brush the warm chicken with the sticky sauce (reserve about a quarter of the sauce for serving). Sprinkle the chicken with sesame seeds.
Step nine:
To serve, open up each bao and spoon a little sauce into the center. Stuff with cucumber slices and pieces of fried chicken. Serve immediately.
Combine Chicken and Marinade ingredients and set aside for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours.
Step two:
Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a fry pan over medium heat (or heat the BBQ). Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off large bits of lemongrass (small bits should fall off during cooking).
Step three:
Place chicken in the pan and cook each side until dark golden brown and chicken is just cooked through – about 6 to 8 minutes in total.
Step four:
Remove from pan, shaking off any remaining bits of visible lemongrass and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Then slice into thin pieces.
Step five:
Combine the Nuoc Cham ingredients and mix well to dissolve the sugar. Adjust to your taste (spiciness, lime, sweetness) and set aside for at least 20 minutes.
Step six:
Soak the vermicelli noodles in hot water for 3 minutes (or according to packet instructions), then drain and rinse under cold water to stop the noodles from sticking together.
Step seven:
Place noodles in bowl. Top with vegetables and herbs, and sliced chicken pieces. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of Nuoc Cham Sauce (be generous, ~ 4 tbsp per serving) and serve with lime wedges.