A new start? mustard bread

Ok, so it's time to take a deep breath, and move on, without losing our memories, and whatever feelings came out of the weekend past. Annalena did spend some time in hiding, taking it all in, spending very little kitchen time, and when she was in there, making her basic pasta recipes. Now, she's back, with a request, maybe even a plea.

Ragazzi, promise to try to bake your own bread. At least once in a while. Annalena promises you that, once you get the hang of it, you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner, and you will make SUCH GOOD BREAD. She is serious, you will almost never fail, once you get some good recipes and techniques down.

I turn to the recipes from one of my favorite and, in my view, underappreciated food writers, Martha Rose Schulman. Unlike writes like Madhur Jaffrey, whom we associate with Indian cooking, or Marcella Hazan, with Italian, and so on, Ms. Schulman writes extensively, on many things. I knew her works first, when the Guyman and I were vegetarians. Then she moved on to other things, including Provencal cooking, and her bread book. It is entitled, simply "Great Breads" and almost without exception, they ARE great breads. For any of you who are terrified of "sourdough," once you make hers, you will have a whole field demystified. And once you make those breads and see how they work, you will start making your own. I make a sourdough bread nearly every week, and it is almost never the same as any that preceded it, and they are always good.

We are starting today, however, with a so-called "straight" bread, which is a yeast bread, rather than a sourdough. Yes, sourdough uses yeast, but the process of making a sourdough, with a risen starter, is different from these so-called straight breads. These are the ones you are used to from basic bread making. If you were fortunate enough to grow up in a home where Mom or Aunt or Grandma made bread, this is the type that she probably made.

I stress repetition and making breads, over and over again because eventually you learn what you can and cannot leave out. This bread, for example, is minimalist as compared to the original recipe, which is unquestionably delicious. The original has cheese and onions in it, and is almsot a meal in itself. But I needed a bread for our grilled cheese sandwiches tonight (we're having that roasted tomato soup), and I really did not want to double dose the cheese.

I mean it: this is easy. Follow through here, and you'll see what I mean.

You start by mixing a tablespoon of yeast (or, one packet of the stuff you buy in the foil packets at the store), with 1/2 a cup of water (use tap cold water), and 1/2 cup of dairy. Ms Schulman calls for milk, I use yogurt. You could use buttermilk, you could use 2% milk, and so forth. And I do not warm it as she suggests, because I find it is not necessary, at least not in a warm, NY apartment. Now add a tablespoon of olive oil, and a large egg. She also adds a tablespoon of honey, which I leave out.

Now, the mustard: measure out 1/2 cup of dijon or whatever you have. I like the organic "Annie's" mustard, but I have made this with hot dog mustard, and it's good. If you're timid, lower the amount of mustard to as little as 1/4, but trust me, the half cup is not that strong. Mix all of that together, either with a spoon, or the paddle of your mixer.

Now add a cup of whole wheat flour, 2 cups of white flour, and a hefty teaspoon of salt. If you make bread by hand, you need to stir this together, and then dump it on a board, with a half to 3/4 cup of flour by your side. If you use the mixer, use the dough hook, and have the same flour along side of you.

This is a very wet dough, but how much additional flour you will need depends on a multitude of factors. Add the excess flour by kneading it in, or by adding it to the mixer, until you begin to get something that doesn't look quite like mud. It will never shape up to a really solid loaf. Don't worry.

If you are kneading by hand, remember the business letter technique: put it in front of you, fold a third over from the top. Then do the same from the bottom. Turn 90 degrees, and repeat. Keep going until it's nice and smooth. Again, keep that flour at your side, but please don't be tempted to make this too firm.

Grease an 8x4 inch pan (remember from lesson 1: NOT a 9x5. That's a quick bread pan). Dump the dough - which is again going to be very close to a batter into the pan, cover it, and let it rise for a good 2 hours. It's not going to rise much and you will be convinced you did something wrong. If you followed Annalena's guidance, however, you did not.

Close to the end of the two hours, heat the oven to 350, and then slip the pan into the oven and bake away for forty five minutes. This is one that is going to give you a wonderful smell in your kitchen - like those panini stores, but without the sort of rancid fat you sometimes smell.

When it's done, you may need to run a soft knife around the edges - a butter knife, and then dump it out on a surface. Let it cool on a rack.

You can add the oil, the cheese, and maybe sesame seeds, or poppy seeds to the top, if you like. You can also rub an egg wash over the top to make it shiny. Lots of possibilities here. But start with something basic, and make a grilled cheese sandwich.

Now, doesn't that sound good, just about now?