Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation (62 page)

When you are satisfied that the sugo is
done, use a spoon or ladle to skim off the fat that has risen to the surface and remove
the spice sachet, Parmesan rinds, bay leaves, and orange and lemon peels. Taste and
adjust the salt again.

TO SERVE

Serve with pasta cooked al dente and tossed
with a few tablespoons of butter. Top with lots of grated Parmesan cheese. This recipe
makes a lot, but for this much work, you deserve leftovers!

3. Air
 
 
Whole-Wheat Country Loaf

This recipe is adapted from Chad
Robertson’s country loaf, in
Tartine Bread
. Simply replacing white flour
with whole grain in his recipe will create a decent loaf of bread, but it won’t be
as airy or flavorful as it will be if you follow this revised version of the recipe.
This recipe calls for 75 percent of the flour to be whole grain; you can adjust the
percentage of whole-grain flour higher or lower as you prefer. In keeping with the
custom for bread recipes, quantities here are given by weight rather than volume; you
will need a digital scale, calibrated in grams, to follow this recipe. Note: Be sure to
build your starter at least a week before you plan to bake. Make two loaves.

Active Time: about 70 minutes

Total Time: between 5 and 10 days

MAKE THE STARTER

In a small glass or plastic container (a
clear container allows you to watch microbial activity), mix 50 grams each of the
whole-grain and all-purpose flours until combined. Add the water and stir until the
consistency of a smooth batter. Leave the mixture open to the air, stirring vigorously
for about 30 seconds at least once a day or whenever you think of it. If the mixture
dries out, add a bit of warm water to bring it back to the consistency of a batter. The
wild yeast and bacteria in the air, on the flour, and on your hands will eventually
start to eat the sugars in the flour and ferment.

As soon as you observe signs of microbial
activity (e.g., lumps on the top, bubbles within the batter, or the smell of beer or
yeast or ripe fruit)—which can take as long as a week—feed the starter daily: Discard
approximately 80 percent of it and replace with fresh flour
and water
in equal amounts (about 50 grams of whole-wheat flour, 50 grams of all-purpose flour,
and 100 grams warm water). Stir until smooth. Once it has become active again (i.e.,
bubbling), keep the starter covered at a warm room temperature. If you won’t be
baking for a while, you can refrigerate or freeze your starter. To do so, feed it, let
it sit for a couple of hours at room temperature, then add enough additional flour (the
50/50 mixture) to dry it out in a ball; freeze or refrigerate. A few days before you
want to use it again, wake up the starter by bringing it to room temperature; feed it
with the same amount of water and flour as above twice daily, discarding 80 percent of
it each time, until it’s lively again.

MAKE THE LEAVEN

The night before baking the bread, make a
leaven. In a glass bowl, combine the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours with the water.
Add 2 tablespoons of the starter and mix thoroughly. Cover with a towel and leave out
overnight in a draft-free spot.

MAKE THE BREAD

The night before baking the bread,
“soak” the whole-grain, all-purpose, and rye flours: In a large bowl,
combine the whole-grain, all-purpose, and rye flours with 850 grams of the water, mixing
with a spatula or by hand until there are no lumps or patches of dry flour remaining. (A
recommended extra step: In the case of the whole-grain flour and the rye flour, pass
them through a flour sifter to remove the larger bits of bran; reserve the larger bits
in a small bowl for use later.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave out overnight
in a draft-free spot. The reason for this step is to thoroughly moisten the whole-grain
flours before the fermentation begins; this softens the bran (making for a more
voluminous loaf)
and begins the breakdown of the starches into sugars
(deepening flavors and color).

In the morning, test your leaven by dropping
a tablespoon of it in warm water. If it floats, you’re all set. If not,
you’ll probably want to add some yeast to the leaven as an insurance policy—mix 3½
grams (1
⅛
teaspoons) of fast-acting yeast into 50 grams
of warm water. After a few minutes, add to the bowl of leaven. It will seem alarmingly
wet—the consistency of a thick batter. Don’t worry.

Add about half of the leaven to the bowl
with the wet dough; reserve the rest of the leaven as your starter going forward. (If
you use commercial yeast, put aside half the leaven before adding it.) Mix the dough
thoroughly and let rest for at least 20 and up to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a cup, mix the salt in the
remaining 50 grams of the warm tap water. After the dough mixture has rested, add the
salty water and work it in thoroughly by hand.

BULK FERMENTING THE DOUGH

This takes 4 to 5 hours, depending on the
ambient temperature and the vigor of your starter. Every 45 to 60 minutes, give the
dough a turn in the bowl—wet your dominant hand, work it down the side of the bowl, and
bring up the mass of dough from the bottom, stretching it upward and then folding it
over the top. Give the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat this action until you’ve
completed at least one revolution of the bowl. These stretches will strengthen the
gluten and fold air into the dough. Watch for the formation of air bubbles; smell and
taste along the way. The dough is ready to be divided and shaped when it feels billowy
and cohesive—it wants to stick to itself more than the bowl. It should smell mildly
yeasty and slightly sour. If it smells distinctly sour, end bulk fermentation and
proceed to the next step.

DIVIDING THE DOUGH

When you’re ready to shape, sprinkle a
work surface with flour. Spill the dough out on the surface. Using a plastic dough
scraper, divide the mass into 2 more or less equal halves. Shape these into globes,
using your floured hands together with the scraper to rotate the dough against the work
surface until it forms a ball with some surface tension. Cover the 2 globes with a towel
and let them rest for 20 minutes.

SHAPING THE DOUGH

Using the scraper, flip one of the globes,
which will have flattened somewhat, onto its back. Grab the edge of dough farthest from
you with all your fingers, stretch it away from you, and then fold it back over the top.
Do the same to the edge of dough closest to you, and then to each of the sides. You
should have before you a rough rectangle of dough. Next, take each of the corners in
turn, stretching and folding over the top. Now, cup your hands around the package of
dough and roll it away from you until you have a short, taut cylinder, with the seams on
the bottom.

If you sifted the whole-grain flour, spread
the reserved bran on a plate or baking sheet and gently roll the dough in it to cover.
Sprinkle either rice flour or any remaining bran into the bottom of a large bowl and
then place the round of dough in the bowl, top side down. (Use a proofing basket instead
if you have one.) Do the same with the second loaf, giving it its own
bowl.

PROOFING

This is the second fermentation. Cover the
bowls with towels and let them rest in a warm spot for 2 to 3 hours, till the dough gets
puffy again. (Alternatively, put the shaped loaves in the refrigerator for several hours
or overnight; this will retard fermentation while
continuing to build
flavor. It’s not necessary to proof it again after refrigeration, but give it an
hour or so at room temperature before baking.)

BAKING

Place the top and bottom of a Dutch oven (or
a large ceramic casserole or combo cooker) on the center rack in the oven and preheat to
500°F.

With kitchen mitts, carefully remove the
bottom of the pot from the oven and set it on the stovetop. Turn the bowl (or basket)
over the pot to drop the proofed loaf into it. Don’t worry if it doesn’t
land squarely; it will straighten out. Now, take a single-edge razor blade (or a lame)
and score the top of the loaf, in any pattern you like. But be decisive! Now take the
top of the pot from the oven and place it over the pot to seal, then move the whole
thing into the oven. Lower the temperature to 450°F and set a timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the top of the pot.
The loaf will have doubled in volume and acquired a pale brown or tan color. Close the
oven and give it another 23 to 25 minutes to bake with the top off. The loaf should now
be a dark mahogany with a bit of blackening here and there, especially where it was
scored. Remove the pot from the oven and the bread from the pot, using an oven mitt and
a spatula. Tap it on the bottom, which should be very dark. A hollow percussive sound
means the bread is properly cooked. If the bottom is pale and the sound is not
percussive, return it to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Set it on a rack to cool for a few hours.
Whole-grain bread is usually at its best on day two and remains good for several days
after that, kept in a paper (not plastic) bag.

4. Earth
 
 
Sauerkraut

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 to 2 weeks, or
longer

This recipe is based on Sandor Katz’s
version of sauerkraut, or “kraut-chi,” though it is more like a template for
cabbage-based ferments than a formal recipe. For spices, you can add juniper berries,
caraway seeds, and coriander for a more Old World kraut, or add ginger, garlic, and hot
peppers for something more like kimchi. But do use some spice—they inhibit mold from
forming.

Thinly chop or shred the cabbage into roughly
¼-inch thick slices and place in a very large bowl or tub. Shredding the cabbage on a
mandoline gives the best result. If using other fruits and vegetables, slice them to
about the same thickness as the cabbage and add to the
bowl. For
odd-shaped vegetables like carrots, using a thick box grater is easiest. The rougher the
cut, the better as more surface area is exposed to the salt.

Add the salt (1½ to 2 teaspoons per pound of
cabbage mixture) to the cabbage mixture, mixing it into the shredded leaves with your
hands, squeezing the cabbage and pounding on the mixture as you go. (It’s best to
start by adding 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt per pound and then add another half or whole
teaspoon extra per pound if needed.) Within several minutes, the salt will begin drawing
water from the cabbage leaves. Continue to squeeze, bruise, or pound the cabbage to
speed up the process. You can also place a weight on the mixture to drive out liquid.
Wait until the vegetables are dripping wet, like a sopping sponge. Taste the cabbage. It
should taste salted but not salty. If it’s too salty, add more shredded cabbage or
briefly rinse with water to remove. If it’s not salty enough, or not wet enough,
add a little more salt. Add the spices, if using, and toss.