Pinto Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas with All-Purpose Red Chili Sauce
Zucchini and Mushroom Quesadillas
How to Tell if Your Starter is Ready to Bake With
Sourdough Feeding and Bread Baking Timeline
Eduardo Morell’s Bread—It’s Got Soul
Sourdough Cornmeal-Pumpkin Seed Bread
Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes with Caramelized Apples and Crème Fraîche
Guide to Pizzas Through the Seasons
Fresh Pasta with Cabbage, Bacon, Sage, and Brown Butter
Cornmeal, Parmesan, and Poppy Seed Crackers
Mix-and-Match Guide to Custom Granola
Mix-and-Match Guide to Porridge Add-ins
SOCIETIES FROM PRIMITIVE TIMES onward have turned whole grains into flours and fermented them to make bread, before bread machines and stand-up mixers were even invented. Whole grains cooked into nourishing porridges have been staples in diets worldwide. Grocery store breads and crackers and most breakfast cereals are heavily processed, over-packaged, and filled with chemicals and additives. Our food system has taken simple foods and made them complicated, less tasty, and certainly less healthful than they once were. If our ancestors could bake breads, tortillas, and other flatbreads, we certainly can in our well-equipped modern kitchens.
You don’t really need a lot of the specialized equipment sold in kitchen stores. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to start a sourdough sponge from scratch, maintain it, and use it for a variety of breads, pancakes, and pizza. Create a customized granola that you’ll look forward to eating for breakfast every day. Enhance your meals with freshly made tortillas. Make better crackers than you could ever buy—for pennies.
Easy recipes for using your tortillas in enchiladas, quesadillas, and chilaquiles; sandwich ideas for your home-baked bread; seasonal pizza toppings; and hot cereals with alternative whole grains round out the chapter.
The traditional from-scratch way to make tortillas is to buy field corn, soak it in slaked lime, wash it thoroughly, and then grind it by hand into fresh masa. In an effort to make this recipe accessible to everyone, I’ve called for masa harina. It will yield tortillas that are vastly superior to grocery store tortillas for relatively little work. Masa harina is a flour made from dried masa. You can sometimes buy fresh masa made the traditional way from Latin American grocery stores. If you find fresh masa, make sure you get it plain, not preparada, which is for tamales. Also, check if it was made from masa harina. If it was, don’t bother. You may as well make your own. The Maseca brand is widely available and produces consistently good tortillas. I wish I could find a good organic or local brand of masa harina. I’ve tried a few other types and keep coming back to Maseca for its dependability.
You will need a tortilla press and a heavy cast-iron skillet or comal. The metal tortilla presses are lightweight and affordable. Look in a Latin American grocery store or see our sources. Be sure to read the Tips for Tortilla Success before starting.
TIME REQUIRED: about 45 minutes active
YIELD: twelve 6-inch tortillas
1½ cups masa harina
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
In a medium bowl, mix together the masa harina and salt. Add 1 cup of warm water and begin mixing with your hands. The dough should be moist and smooth, like Play-Doh. It should stick together easily when pressed but not be too wet. Add more water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Form the dough into 12 equal balls, about 1 ounce each. Lay them on a plate and cover them with a damp towel.
Get your tortilla press ready. Heat a cast-iron skillet or comal over medium-high heat. Pick up one of the masa balls and press it between your palms to flatten it slightly. Place it in the tortilla press between the plastic. Press the tortilla firmly, but not as far as the press will go. You will need to experiment with the proper thickness. Overly thick tortillas are harder to work with and can overpower a dish. Overly thin tortillas are difficult to peel off the plastic. The tortilla should be about 6 inches in diameter.
Gently peel the tortilla off the plastic and lay it carefully in the hot pan with a sweeping motion of the hand. Cook it for 45 seconds to 1 minute, and then flip it over with a spatula. It should have small brown spots and look dry, but not cracked. Cook the second side for 30 to 45 seconds. Flip again and lightly tap the surface of the tortilla all over 4 or 5 times with your fingertips. This creates tiny pockets that make for lighter, more delicious tortillas. Cook for 15 seconds more. Turn again and tap the other side, cooking for another 15 seconds. The tortilla should smell like toasty corn and have a dull surface. Nestle each tortilla in a clean towel-lined basket to keep warm. You should be able to get a rhythm going in which you are forming one tortilla while cooking another. You may need to adjust the heat under the skillet, now and then, while you work. Use the tortillas immediately or let them cool, wrap well, and refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for 2 months.
I use the method I learned from the Oaxacan women I worked with at the Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, California. They knew tricks that you won’t find on a bag of masa harina.
Please note that when adding water, the amount will vary with the weather conditions. I usually find that the package instructions don’t call for enough water. I end up using more or less equal parts water and masa harina.
Place a small bowl of water nearby to dip your hands in as you form the tortillas. It helps keep the masa from sticking and is a good way to work more water into the dough if it is too dry.
Don’t use plastic wrap to line your tortilla press, it’s too thin and difficult to work with. Use a produce bag or resealable bag, cut into one large sheet. It can be wiped off and reused until it tears.
This is a good use for your homemade Corn Tortillas and All-Purpose Red Chili Sauce. This dish can easily be made vegan if you omit the cheese garnish. You can also vary the vegetables however you like, using whatever’s in season. Corn, summer or winter squash, and greens with cheese or potatoes are all good candidates. Of course, you can always go traditional with shredded chicken or leftover Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket.
TIME REQUIRED: 30 minutes active; 40 minutes passive (excluding sauce, tortillas, cheese, and bean preparation)
YIELD: 4 to 6 servings
1 pound deep-orange sweet potatoes (such as Garnet), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 recipe All-Purpose Red Chili
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
About 1 cup cooked pinto beans, drained (see bean cooking tips)
Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese or store-bought feta or queso fresco for garnish (optional)
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and cumin. Lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until browned and soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave the oven on.
Ladle 
cup of the chili sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish large enough to accommodate 12 enchiladas (a 9-by-13-inch dish works well).
In a small, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, warm about ½ teaspoon of the vegetable oil. Add the tortillas one at a time, turning once to warm and soften them so they are pliable enough to roll, adding more oil as needed. If you are using freshly made, still-warm tortillas, you can skip this step.
Fill each tortilla with 1 heaping tablespoon of beans and 1 heaping tablespoon of sweet potato cubes. Roll and transfer it to the casserole dish, arranging each enchilada, seam-side down, on top of the sauce in a single layer. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, covering them completely and distributing it evenly. You may have leftover sweet potatoes. Sprinkle them over the top of the enchiladas or reserve them for use in one of the grain salads in the Great Salad Toss-Up Guide. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake until warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes.
Garnish each serving with fresh cheese (if using) and cilantro leaves.
Every culture has devised ways to use leftover staple grain products, as in the Pain Perdu with Maple-Cinnamon Mascarpone. In Italy, there are innumerable bread salads and soups; in Asia, it’s fried rice; in Mexico, it’s chilaquiles, usually served for breakfast. If you should find yourself in the enviable position of having leftover Corn Tortillas, there is no better use for them than this. This recipe provides basic quantities and technique, but it is within the spirit of the dish to vary it by using up little bits of odds and ends you have in your refrigerator, like cooked beans, leftover Mustard and Bourbon–Glazed Pork Roast, or Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket. You can also drizzle a little Crème Fraîche on the Chilaquiles as a garnish. Of course, you can also make this with store-bought tortillas, but the quantities are slightly different, as commercial tortillas are generally larger. These are lovely with Hibiscus Tea or Horchata.
TIME REQUIRED: 10 minutes active (excluding tortillas, salsa, and cheese preparation)
YIELD: 4 to 6 servings
8 large eggs
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12 Corn Tortillas, or 8 store-bought corn tortillas
cup vegetable oil, plus
1 teaspoon
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups Simple Tomato Salsa or Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa
2 to 3 ounces Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese or store-bought feta or queso fresco for garnish
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until smooth and add about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Stack the tortillas three or four high, and cut them into six to eight wedges.
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, warm the cup of the oil. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften and brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the tortilla wedges. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are browned and crispy. Pour in the salsa. Be careful—it splatters. Stir to blend with the chips. Move the tortillas and salsa to one side of the pan, add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the empty side of the pan, and pour in the eggs. Scramble the eggs for a few minutes, until nearly cooked. Stir the eggs into the tortillas. Turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately, garnished with fresh cheese and cilantro.
I love flour tortillas. I grew up eating them as an after-school snack with grated orange cheese or margarine and cinnamon-sugar. Those memories are hard to shake. Just the same, I pretty much gave up on eating flour tortillas after reading the labels on the ones sold in grocery stores. For some reason, I thought they were difficult to make. Not true! These work beautifully and cook up delightfully with a tender flakiness. I like to add a little wheat flour for structure and nutrition. You’ll barely be able to resist tearing through them right out of the skillet. Resist you must, though, because they make wonderful Zucchini and Mushroom Quesadillas. You’ll want leftovers, too, for reheating and eating with a little Cultured Butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar. The dough is easy to work with so there is no need to use a tortilla press.
TIME REQUIRED: 45 minutes active; 30 minutes passive (excluding butter preparation)
YIELD: twelve 8-inch tortillas
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Cultured Butter or store-bought butter, softened
In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the oil and butter and mix with your hands, rubbing the fat into the flour with your fingertips. Pour in 1¼ cups warm water a little at a time and knead for 2 or 3 minutes in the bowl. The dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky. Let the dough rest for 15 or 20 minutes under a damp towel.
Form the dough into 12 equal balls, about 2 ounces each. Let rest for about 10 minutes (longer is okay if covered with a damp towel).
Heat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
On a lightly floured board or counter, flatten one dough ball slightly with your palm and, using a rolling pin, roll it out into a thin circle 8 inches in diameter. When the skillet is hot, but not smoking, gently peel the tortilla off the counter and carefully place it in the pan. Cook for 1 minute, and then flip it over with a spatula. It should have small brown spots. Cook for 1 minute on the other side. Nestle the cooked tortillas in a clean towel as you finish cooking the rest. Once you get a rhythm going, you should be able to roll out one while cooking another. The dough is easy to work with and shouldn’t give you trouble. You may need to adjust the heat under the pan if you notice the tortillas cooking either too quickly or too slowly. Use the tortillas immediately or let them cool, wrap well, and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for 2 months.
Ordinary vegetables become extraordinary when tucked into homemade flour tortillas. Vary these to your liking or according to the season. You can make them with beans, chicken, winter squash, or any other number of seasonal vegetables. Use store-bought cheese if you’re not feeling ambitious enough to make your own, but if you at least make the Simple Tomato Salsa or the Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa and the Flour Tortillas, you’re in for a real treat.
TIME REQUIRED: about 45 minutes active (excluding salsa, cheese, and tortilla preparation)
YIELD: 4 servings
3½ to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ yellow or white onion, sliced
About ¾ pound mushrooms of your choice, sliced
2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 Flour Tortillas or store-bought tortillas
About 1¼ cups Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese or store-bought grating cheese or queso fresco
About 1½ cups Simple Tomato Salsa or Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa, plus more for serving
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
In a medium, heavy skillet over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and cook until wilted and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, oregano, a pinch or two of salt, and a couple of grindings of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are brown and soft, about 10 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning for salt. The vegetables can be prepared from several hours to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.
Lay the tortillas out on a flat surface and distribute the filling among them, arranging it on one side of each tortilla so they can easily be folded over. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the vegetables, distributing it evenly among the tortillas. Spoon the salsa on top of the filling and cheese, distributing it evenly.
Heat a heavy, well-seasoned, cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add just a whisper of oil—about 1 teaspoon. Fold the quesadillas over and cook them, two at a time, until brown and slightly crisp, and the filling is warmed through, about 3 minutes per side. Keep the cooked quesadillas warm in a low (250-degree-F) oven while you finish cooking the remaining ones, adding more oil as needed. Serve immediately with more salsa on the side and a garnish of cilantro.
This is a method anyone can use anywhere to make his or her own sourdough starter from scratch. It’s true that sourdough bread from California will taste different from sourdough bread in North Carolina, because different areas have different types of wild yeasts and organisms, but every part of the world has them.
TIME REQUIRED: 10 minutes per day over about 1 week
Start with equal parts flour and water. I like to start with 4 ounces whole-wheat flour and 4 ounces warm water. After your starter gets going, you can use half unbleached white bread flour and half whole-wheat, all-white, or other types of flours. Starting with whole wheat is good because it ferments more efficiently than white flour.
In a medium glass bowl (which I prefer) or hard, food-grade plastic container, stir together the flour and water and cover with a tea towel, fastened with a rubber band to keep out fruit flies. Leave it out at room temperature. The starter needs to breathe, so don’t cover it with a tight lid unless you are keeping it dormant in the refrigerator.
After 24 hours, check it for bubbles and a fermented aroma. It will probably take 2 to 3 days to begin to ferment.
Each day, discard half the starter (and compost it) and stir in 4 ounces warm water and 4 ounces flour. It’s easier to mix if you add the water first. Cover and let sit.
Leave it at room temperature and feed the starter once a day for approximately 1 week before baking with it.
Keep your starter covered in the refrigerator between baking sessions. See the instructions on feeding in preparation for a bake.
It should be bubbly and have a good beery, floury aroma. If nothing happens after a week, you may need to help it along. Many people use raisins (unsulfured) because of the active wild yeasts on their surfaces. Just throw a few raisins into your starter and discard them after the starter gets going. I have never needed to do this, though.
If the starter is bad, there will be no mistaking it. It will smell absolutely revolting. If this happens, it just means some bad bacteria got into it. Discard it and start over. This is a rare occurrence.
Once the starter is colonized by good bacteria, you won’t need to worry about bad stuff taking over because the bad bacteria don’t stand a chance in an active, healthy starter.
Once you have a good healthy starter, the only way to kill or harm it is to stop feeding it and leave it out.
If you need to leave town for longer than 2 or 3 weeks, feed your starter with a larger percentage of flour to water to make it very dry. It should be crumbly. Keep it refrigerated for up to 1 month, or freeze it if you must be away longer. When you return, it will take a few daily regular feedings with a higher proportion of water to bring it back up, so plan a couple of extra feedings before baking.
Try to use your starter every 2 weeks or more often. If you go longer though, don’t worry. Sometimes you’ll just need an extra feeding before baking. You’ll get to know your starter and its particular behavior over time. I have left mine unattended with no special treatment in the refrigerator for as long as a month and a half and after a couple of extra feedings to increase its activity it was fine.
Baking bread requires a little advance thought and planning, so read the note on feeding your starter in preparation for baking before you begin this recipe.
This recipe and the Sourdough Cornmeal–Pumpkin Seed Bread were both developed in consultation with artisan baker Eduardo Morell. Many of Eduardo’s loaves have this loaf’s identical ratio of wheat to white flour, providing a nice balance of tenderness and flavor. This loaf can be baked in one of two ways: in a one-pound loaf pan or free-form in a closed ceramic bread baker, sometimes called a cloche. Instructions for both follow.
Measurements are given in weights and cups. I highly recommend buying a kitchen scale to ensure bread success.
After a few baking sessions, you will learn to adjust to your kitchen’s atmosphere and your preference. Be aware that moister dough is more difficult to shape but will produce a loaf with a more desirable, open crumb. Add more flour and your dough will be easier to shape, but will yield a denser bread. Beginners can start with a slightly greater percentage of flour to water and work up to moister dough as they become more adept at shaping.
TIME REQUIRED: about 40 minutes active; 7 hours passive (excluding starter preparation)
YIELD: one 1-pound loaf
11 ounces (about 1 cups) slightly warmer than lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)
5 ounces (about cup) recently fed and activated Sourdough Starter
8 ounces (about 1¾ cups) wheat flour
7 ounces (about 1 cups) unbleached bread flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
Vegetable oil or rice flour for pan
Pour the water into a large bowl and add the starter. Mix with your hands to dissolve the starter in the water.
Have a small bowl of plain water handy for dipping your hands into. It keeps the dough from sticking.
In another bowl, mix together the flours and salt. Add to the water-starter mixture. Mix in the flour with one hand, using a folding motion from the outside of the bowl inward, turning the bowl with your other hand as you go. Scrape down the sides with a flexible bowl scraper, wetting both it and your hands as needed. This will take 3 to 5 minutes. Cover with a towel and let the dough sit in the bowl for 5 minutes.
Using the same outward to inward motion with your hands, knead the dough in the bowl for an additional 5 minutes, dipping your hands in water as necessary. Cover the dough and let sit for 5 minutes.
Repeat, kneading for 5 minutes.
You may use a mixer, but go slowly as it is easy to overwork the dough. Eduardo describes it like overworking a muscle. Too much or too vigorous mixing can break the gluten strands and prevent the bread from rising properly.
Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit in a warm place for 3 hours. This is called the bulk rise. About halfway through the bulk rise, do a quick fold, using the outside to inside movement (about four turns). If it’s a cold day, turn your oven on for a minute and then turn it off and put the dough inside to finish the bulk rise.
If it’s a hot day, the whole process will just go much faster and your bulk rise can take as little as 2½ hours.
Dump the bulk dough onto a well-floured board or counter. Sprinkle a little flour on top. When you need to move the dough, use your flexible scraper to do so.
You’ll want to use the least amount of flour possible when shaping because unhydrated flour in the middle of the dough can cause large holes.
Using both hands, grasp the sides of the dough and stretch and pull it gently into a slight rectangle. Grasp the short ends of the rectangle and fold each side in toward the middle. Give the dough a quarter turn, stretch it again, and fold into the middle. Using your scraper, turn the dough mass over so the folded ends are underneath. Spin the dough with one hand and tuck the dough underneath with the other, stretching the top gently into a round. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
If baking in a loaf pan, brush the pan with oil. If using a ceramic bread baker, you will be making a free-form loaf. For free-form loaves, line a glass dish or bowl with a tea or thin kitchen towel and dust with rice flour. You may use regular flour, but rice flour prevents sticking much better.
To shape a loaf for the loaf pan, after the preshaped loaf has rested undisturbed for 5 minutes, turn it over and pull and stretch it gently into a rectangle. Fold each of the narrower sides in toward one another and then grasp the top with both hands and make two folds down and inward, on either side, like an envelope, forming a triangle whose tip is on the top edge of the rectangle.
Grasp this top point of the loaf and pull it toward you to form a horizontal cylinder-shaped loaf. Work your way slowly along the length of the dough, tucking and stretching gently with your hands to make a seam on the underside of the loaf. Push lightly on the loaf to smooth out any air bubbles.
Roll the loaf slightly forward so the seam is just visible on the underside of the loaf. Using the heel of your hand along the length of the seam, push the dough gently but firmly against the work surface using the weight of your hand to seal it, but not smash the loaf. With the scraper in one hand, and the dough in the other, gently lift the dough and turn it seam-side down into the prepared loaf pan. Cover with a towel and let it sit for 3 hours for its second rise. If you want to bake the next day, you can leave the loaf out for 30 minutes to 1 hour for its second rise and then transfer it to the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours to retard the fermentation. In this case, remove it from the refrigerator 1 hour before baking.
For a free-form loaf, turn the preshaped loaf over after it has rested for 5 minutes so that the folds are now on top. Stretch the dough out a little and then tuck the dough inward toward the top into a round, much like the preshaped loaf. Turn it over and put it in the towel-lined dish to sit for 3 hours for its second rise.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
With a sharp serrated knife or razor blade dipped in vegetable oil make two or three slashes in the top of the loaf to allow it to expand evenly in the oven.
If baking in a loaf pan, you will need to introduce steam into the process in order to create a desirable crisp, brown crust. The best method is to preheat a cast-iron skillet or oven-safe saucepan in the bottom of the oven or on a rack below where you will be baking the bread. Put the bread in the oven and, working quickly, pour about 1 cup of cool tap water into the preheated skillet or saucepan and close the oven door.
If baking free-form in a closed ceramic bread baker, the bread will create its own steam and you do not need to add water. However, you must preheat the bread baker as you preheat the oven. Remove the preheated baker from the oven carefully, open the lid, and quickly transfer the bread from its flour-lined towel into the bread baker, seam-side down. Close the baker’s lid and return it to the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes. If using a ceramic baker, remove the dome lid at this point. Lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake the bread until it is dark brown all over, another 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the loaf pan or bread baker, place it directly on the rack, and continue to bake until the bread feels light when lifted and sounds hollow when you knock gently on the bottom of the loaf, an additional 5 minutes. Removing the bread to the rack will give it a crisp crust all over. Remove the bread to a cooling rack and let it cool completely before cutting and serving. It will keep for 2 days stored in a paper bag at room temperature. For longer storage, slice the bread and keep it in a resealable bag in the freezer, removing the desired number of pieces, as needed.
√ TROUBLESHOOTING TIP: If the bread comes out sour and dense, the second rising was too long. If the bread rises too quickly in the oven and explodes, the second rising was too short.
Home-baked sourdough bread requires a lead time of 34 to 36 hours. Most of this is inactive time, but it does require advance planning. Decide when you want the bread to be ready and count back from there.
Let’s say you want freshly baked bread for Saturday dinner. You’ll need 1 hour baking and cooling time, 3 hours of second rise (or up to 24 hours), 15 minutes of shaping time, 3 hours of bulk rise, and 30 minutes of mixing and kneading (total = 7¾ hours). You also need to feed your starter at least once, preferably twice, after removing it from the refrigerator and before baking.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
For bread on Saturday night around 7 P.M.:
Friday morning: Remove the starter from the refrigerator.
Friday, 6 P.M.: Feed the starter when you get home from your day, following the instructions.
Feed again before bed (or around 11 P.M.). You can bake bread after only one feeding, but you’ll have better texture and flavor if you feed it twice. For instance, you could remove the starter from the fridge on Friday evening and feed it before bed and then proceed the next morning.
Saturday, between 10 and 11 A.M.: Start mixing the dough.
Follow instructions for Half-Wheat Sourdough Bread or Sourdough-Cornmeal Pumpkin Seed Bread.
√ NOTES: A kitchen scale is invaluable for baking bread, leading to much greater precision.
Flexible plastic bowl scraper or hand spatulas will make you feel like a pro. They help you scrape wet dough out of the bowl and maneuver it expertly once it’s on the board.
“Artisan” is a term used by supermarkets to add gourmet cachet to loaves of mostly white bread full of additives and often additions of “gourmet” flavors like Cheddar cheese and jalapeño. Real artisan bread is made by hand using a wild sourdough starter and plenty of time to help it develop complex flavor, an open crumb, crisp crust, and chewy texture. Real artisan bread includes flour, salt, water, and sourdough starter. You can add fresh herbs, seeds, or nuts, if you like, but you don’t need anything else.
Eduardo Morell runs one of the smallest commercial artisan bakeries in the San Francisco Bay Area. Working out of a wood-burning oven in the kitchen of an old army barracks at Headlands Center for the Arts near Sausalito, California, Eduardo bakes a variety of real sourdough breads under the name Morell’s Bread. He makes ciabatta, multigrain, spelt, sesame, rye, and rosemary breads, along with bagels and scones—all from a sourdough starter with the highest-quality locally milled flours. This is real bread, made slowly and carefully the way it has been for centuries. It’s crusty, flavorful, and full of nutrition and heart—a far cry from that puffy white loaf you’ll find in the bakery aisle of your local grocery store.
With the help of his assistant, Megan Launer, Eduardo bakes about 400 loaves a week, staying up into the wee hours, and then heading into Berkeley to sell at both the Thursday and the Saturday farmers’ markets. He bakes his bread himself, transports it himself, and sells it himself, qualifying as a true micro producer. I am so lucky to know him and thankful that he shared his skills with me for this book. The two sourdough breads you find in this book were baked using his methods with a starter made from scratch, all scaled down and adapted for the home cook.
The Headlands Center for the Arts is a magical place. Situated on a windswept hillside in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the buildings that were once army housing and a mess hall now host artists from all over the world in a variety of disciplines. The remodel of the kitchen was commissioned by designer Ann Hamilton in 1989. She created a true community-gathering place to facilitate the exchange of ideas and welcome both the artists and the public to the space. Part of her vision included a hearth, so she enlisted renowned builder Alan Scott to build the wood-burning oven that serves as the heart of the kitchen.
Everyone who walks into the kitchen at Headlands immediately feels its power. It draws you in and makes you want to stay forever. That’s how it happened for Eduardo. He came in 1998 and went from intern to chef to kitchen manager to baker. Along the way, he learned traditional baking skills from a French baker who was baking there before him. He developed his own techniques over the years and now, in addition to selling his breads at the farmers’ markets, he supplies the kitchen with bread for artist dinners and public programs.
You might never want to buy another sandwich again. By combining the two basic breads in this chapter, the condiments and spreads, homemade cheese, butter, and pickles, and, occasionally, a few store-bought ingredients, you can create sandwich combinations for every mood, including moods you never anticipated. Here are some combinations that I like. You’ll come up with more on your own.
• Ajvar, Easy Yogurt Cheese, and Pickled Kohlrabi and Turnips with Cardamom
• Fig-Rosemary Jam and Mustard and Bourbon–Glazed Pork Roast
• Grainy Prepared Mustard, Mustard and Bourbon–Glazed Pork Roast, and Garlicky Cucumber Pickle Relish
• Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket with Spicy Barbecue Sauce
• Roasted Peanut Butter and Simple Wild Sauerkraut—try it! I’m serious!
• Meyer Lemon and Parsley Aioli and store-bought canned wild salmon
SOURDOUGH CORNMEAL-PUMPKIN SEED BREAD
• Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese and Persimmon Spice Butter
• Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese and Bread and Butter Pickles
• Raw Almond Butter and Plum-Verbena Jam
• Mustard and Bourbon–Glazed Pork Roast and Persimmon-Spice Butter)
• BLT with Meyer Lemon and Parsley Aioli
• Egg salad made with Meyer Lemon Aioli and Garlicky Cucumber Pickle Relish
• Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket and Ajvar
• Grilled Cheese and Wild Salvadoran Curtido
I love the crunch of cornmeal and the nutty flavor of pumpkin seeds combined. Both work well in this sourdough loaf. This is lovely sandwich bread and is even better toasted. Enjoy it for breakfast with homemade Cultured Butter and local honey or Plum-Verbena Jam. The replacement of some of the wheat flour with cornmeal makes a relatively moist dough. For this reason, I recommend baking this bread in a one-pound loaf pan to contain it rather than freeform.
TIME REQUIRED: about 40 minutes active; 7 hours passive (excluding Sourdough Starter preparation)
YIELD: one 1-pound loaf
11 ounces (about 1 cups) slightly warmer than lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)
5 ounces (about cup) recently fed and activated Sourdough Starter
8 ounces (about 1¾ cups) unbleached bread flour
5 ounces (about ¾ cup) yellow cornmeal
2 ounces (a scant ½ cup) wheat flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
cup (2 ounces) pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
Follow the instructions for mixing, forming, and baking the Half-Wheat Sourdough Bread, mixing the cornmeal in with both flours and adding the pumpkin seeds when you add the dry ingredients to the water and starter.
These are wonderful, special-occasion pancakes that somehow manage to taste both decadent and healthful at the same time. Serve them drizzled with maple syrup or Plum-Verbena Jam and homemade Crème Fraîche.
TIME REQUIREMENT: 45 minutes active (excluding crème fraîche, butter, jam, and sourdough starter preparation)
YIELD: about 24 three-inch pancakes; 4 to 6 servings
2 tablespoons Cultured Butter or store-bought butter
2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 apple, chopped into ¼-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
1 cups room-temperature Sourdough Starter, fed the night before or at least 4 hours ahead (see the feeding instructions)
1¼ cups milk
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Salt
Vegetable oil for the pan
Crème Fraîche for serving
Plum-Verbena Jam or maple syrup for serving
In a small, heavy skillet over medium heat, warm the butter, add the brown sugar and cinnamon, and stir to melt. Add the apple and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, brown, and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla. Add the flours, granulated sugar, a pinch of salt, and the cooled apples, leaving some aside for garnish, if desired, and mix with a wooden spoon to blend.
In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites until medium-firm peaks form. Fold them gently into the batter, distributing the egg whites evenly, without overmixing.
Heat a large, well-seasoned, cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and, using a paper towel, rub a little oil on its surface to coat it lightly. Test the heat level by drizzling a few drops of batter into the skillet. They should sizzle and begin to brown on the edges immediately. When the skillet is ready, ladle in 2 to 3 ounces of batter for each pancake. You should be able to cook three or four pancakes at a time. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form along the edges and the edges dry, about 2 minutes. Flip them over and cook the other sides until brown. Keep the finished pancakes warm in a low (250-degree-F) oven while you complete the cooking process. Serve the pancakes with crème fraîche and Plum-Verbena Jam. Garnish with the reserved caramelized apple pieces.
Though I’m big on making do in the kitchen and avoiding single-use tools and equipment, pizza is the one food item for which I recommend investing in the proper specialized tools—in this case, both a wooden peel and a baking stone. Neither one is terribly expensive, and both are necessary to making crisp, thin-crusted pizza. It’s also important to remember that making great pizza is a craft, just like making great bread. The variables in your kitchen—oven calibration, climate, moisture in the air, type of flour, water, and how you work the dough—will all contribute to the outcome. So if your pizza isn’t perfect the first time out, try and try again. Your “mistakes” will still be delicious.
TIME REQUIRED: 20 to 50 minutes active (depending on toppings); 3 to 5 hours passive (excluding sourdough starter preparation)
YIELD: 2 approximately 15-inch pizzas
1 cup room-temperature Sourdough Starter, fed that morning or at least 4 hours ahead (see the feeding instructions)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Cornmeal for dusting
Desired toppings (see Guide to Pizzas Through the Seasons)
Mix together ¾ cup warm water and the starter and stir to dissolve the starter. Add the flour, oil, and salt, and mix with a rubber spatula. Add more water as needed until the dough is pliable. Continue to mix. Dip your hands in water and knead the dough in the bowl for 5 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky, but if you keep dipping your hands in water, it will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Cover the bowl, put it in a warm place, and let it rise for 3 to 5 hours.
Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 550 degrees F.
Punch down and divide the dough into two balls. Flour a work surface generously and lay the balls down, flattening them slightly with your hands. Dust the tops with more flour. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Stretch or roll each ball out to about 15 inches and place one on a cornmeal-dusted pizza peel. Stretch until the dough covers the peel. If making a pizza without sauce, brush lightly with olive oil before topping. Top as desired. To slide the pizza onto the stone in the oven, make sure it slides easily on the peel first, then hold the peel right over the stone and jerk it back sharply with a slight upward motion of your wrist. The pizza should slide onto the stone effortlessly. If it sticks, help it along with a spatula and use a little more cornmeal next time. Bake until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Repeat with the other pizza round, or freeze the pizza dough, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks. Thaw thoroughly before using.
Once you perfect your Sourdough Pizza Crust, you’ll want to make it all the time. It’s economical, easy, and fun, and everyone loves it. I like to create pizzas with the seasons from what’s available in my pantry and at the farmers’ market. Here are some of my favorite seasonal combos:
WINTER
• Thinly sliced boiled potatoes, sautéed chard, salami or prosciutto (optional), fontina cheese
• Sliced and roasted butternut squash, sage leaves, mushrooms, fontina cheese, mozzarella or Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese.
• Sausage, Simple Wild Sauerkraut, and aged cheese such as Pecorino Romano or gouda
SPRING
• Asparagus, spring onions, and fresh pecorino or Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese
• Prosciutto or thinly sliced smoked wild salmon or trout, cooked on the pizza, and then topped with Crème Fraîche and fresh arugula lightly dressed in olive oil after it comes out of the oven
• Roasted baby artichokes, fresh herbs, and goat cheese
SUMMER
• Corn, fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese or mozzarella
• Freshly made tomato sauce, basil, and mozzarella
• Arugula, cilantro or mint pesto, sautéed summer squash, and Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese or feta
FALL
• Roasted red peppers, eggplant, olives, and Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese or feta
• Tomato sauce, sausage, and thinly sliced fennel (added after cooking); with or without cheese
• Shredded Mustard and Bourbon–Glazed Pork Roast, cooked on the pizza and then topped with Garlicky Cucumber Pickle Relish after it comes out of the oven; no cheese
This pasta combines the healthful, nutty characteristics of whole-wheat pasta with the crowd-pleasing traits of regular egg pasta. It’s light enough to pair with delicate vegetable preparations like Fresh Pasta with Asparagus, Homemade Cheese, and Lemon or anything with fish. For the Fresh Pasta with Cabbage, Bacon, Sage, and Brown Butter, I like to substitute buckwheat flour for the wheat flour. You may want to experiment with the ratio of wheat to white flour, depending on your sauce. You can roll and cut the pasta on a stainless-steel pasta maker or you can roll and cut the noodles by hand.
TIME REQUIRED: 35 to 50 minutes active, depending on how you roll and cut it; 20 minutes passive
YIELD: about 1 pound; 4 to 5 servings
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup whole-wheat or buckwheat flour
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon kosher salt
In a small bowl, mix together the flours, eggs, salt, and ¼ cup water with a fork until it forms a ball. If it doesn’t come together easily, dip your hands in water so the dough doesn’t stick and knead the dough with your hands just until mixed. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel to prevent drying and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
IF USING A PASTA MACHINE:
Dust a clean, flat surface with flour and then separate the pasta into six equal pieces. Flatten each portion of pasta between the palms of your hands until it is about ½ inch thick and narrow enough to fit into the pasta roller. Dust each pasta piece generously with flour. With your pasta maker set at #1 thickness, start rolling the pasta disks out, progressing through #2 and #3 and ending with #4. Use the fettuccini cutter on the pasta machine to make flat noodles. Separate the noodles and lay them out on a floured surface. If they seem sticky, dust them lightly with flour and finish rolling and cutting the remaining pasta.
TO ROLL AND CUT BY HAND:
Dust a clean, flat surface with flour and then separate the pasta into six equal pieces. Flatten each portion of pasta between the palms of your hands until it is about ½ inch thick. Using plenty of flour on both sides of the pieces of pasta, and a rolling pin, roll one of the pieces of pasta out as thinly as possible into a sheet 7 to 8 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. Starting on the short end of the sheet, roll the pasta up jelly-roll style. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into strips inch wide, and unfurl the resulting noodles. Lay the noodles out on a well-floured surface, not touching, and repeat the process of rolling and cutting the remaining pieces of dough.
To cook, plunge the noodles into boiling, salted water until tender but chewy, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and use immediately.
Rich and deeply comforting, this is a dish to make on a cold winter or crisp fall evening. It’s wonderful with either the wheat or buckwheat version of Fresh Pasta. I like to make it with the buckwheat noodles because it reminds me of a classic Italian dish called pizzoccheri, which involves cabbage, potatoes, lots of cheese, even more butter, and sage. Once the pasta is made, this dish comes together very quickly.
TIME REQUIRED: 40 minutes active (excluding pasta and butter preparation)
YIELD: 4 servings
6 pieces thick-cut bacon (about 6 ounces)
½ large head cabbage (about 1 pound)
1 recipe Fresh Pasta, or about 10 ounces packaged, dry pasta
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Cultured Butter or store-bought butter
20 whole sage leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper Parmesan cheese for garnish
Cut the bacon crosswise into ½-inch slices.
Core the cabbage, pull off the outer leaves, and slice it into ribbons ¼ to ½ inch thick.
In a medium, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, brown the bacon in its own fat until all the fat is rendered and the bacon begins to crisp, stirring occasionally, 12 to 14 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but about 2 teaspoons of the fat and refrigerate it for another use (it’s great for cooking beans).
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Have the pasta ready.
While waiting for the pasta water to boil, turn the heat under the skillet to medium-high, add the cabbage and onion, and cook, stirring often, until the cabbage and onion wilt and begin to brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the bacon and toss to mix. Turn off the heat.
In a deep pan or skillet large enough to contain all the noodles, warm the butter over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the sage leaves and fry, stirring occasionally, until they become fragrant and the butter browns and develops a nutty aroma, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cabbage, bacon, and onion mixture and toss. Set aside, off the heat, while you boil the noodles.
Plunge the noodles into the boiling water until tender but chewy, 2 to 3 minutes; drain. Do not rinse. If using dried pasta, follow the package instructions.
Add the drained pasta to the pan with the cabbage mixture. Toss to coat. Taste and correct the seasoning for salt and pepper. Serve immediately on warmed plates, shaving thin shards of Parmesan cheese over each portion with a vegetable peeler.
When you first start making crackers, you might notice that your crackers taste great, but there will be something different that you can’t put your finger on. It’s the lack of sugar. Read the labels on even some of the “healthier” brands of store-bought crackers, and you’ll find that most of them contain sugar—or worse, high-fructose corn syrup. It’s sad how our tastes have become accustomed to industrialized food “products.” I happen to think crackers don’t need sugar, and when you taste these and the Cornmeal, Parmesan, and Poppy Seed Crackers, I think you’ll agree. Plus, they’re both fun and easy to make for pennies!
TIME REQUIRED: about 15 minutes active; 45 minutes passive
YIELD: 12 ounces
2 cups whole-wheat flour, plus more as needed
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salt for topping (use flaky fleur de sel or other fancy salt if you have some; otherwise, kosher is fine)
Put the 2 cups flour, ¾ cup cool water, the oil, kosher salt, and baking powder in a food processor and process until the mixture forms a ball, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the processor, cover with a towel to prevent drying, and let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you have a pizza stone, preheat that as well. If not, a baking sheet will work fine, but there’s no need to preheat it.
Divide the dough into two equal portions. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough very thinly and evenly, flipping it over and continuing to roll while adding more flour as needed if the dough sticks. Stop rolling just short of 
inch thick. Sprinkle the dough lightly with the sesame seeds and flaky salt and continue to roll just to embed the salt and seeds into the dough. Cut into strips about 2 inches wide and poke the strips evenly in several places with the tines of a fork. Using both hands, pick up either end of each strip carefully and lay it down on the pizza stone. Bake until the crackers begin to brown and become crisp, keeping in mind that they will continue to crisp up as they cool. If they don’t crisp up properly after they cool slightly, you can put them back in the oven for a few minutes. Total baking time takes about 10 minutes on a stone and 15 minutes on a baking sheet. You will need to bake in two or three batches.
Let the crackers cool completely and break them into irregular shards of the desired size and shape. Store in an airtight container. They will stay crisp for at least 2 weeks at room temperature.
You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own crackers and you’ll feel great knowing that you can pronounce all of the ingredients. Crunchy cornmeal combined with the umami savoriness of Parmesan makes these true crowd-pleasers. They’re neutral enough to pair well with cheese, but flavorful enough to stand alone. The dough is sturdy and easy to work with. Feel free to experiment by adding spices, herbs, or different types of cheese.
TIME REQUIRED: about 15 minutes active; 45 minutes passive excluding butter preparation)
YIELD: about 14 ounces
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 cup cornmeal
½ cup lightly packed finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons Cultured Butter or store-bought butter, softened
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Salt for topping (use flaky fleur de sel or other fancy salt if you have some; otherwise, kosher is fine)
Put the 1 cup flour, cornmeal, ¾ cup cool water, the cheese, butter, and kosher salt in a food processor and process until the mixture forms a ball, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the processor, cover with a towel to prevent drying, and let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you have a pizza stone, preheat that as well. If not, a baking sheet will work fine, but there’s no need to preheat it.
Divide the dough into two equal portions. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough very thinly and evenly, flipping it over and continuing to roll while adding more flour as needed if the dough sticks. Stop rolling just short of inch thick. Sprinkle the dough lightly with the poppy seeds and flaky salt and continue to roll just to embed the salt and seeds into the dough. Cut into strips about 2 inches wide and poke the strips evenly in several places with the tines of a fork. Using both hands, pick up either end of each strip carefully and lay it down on the pizza stone. Bake until the crackers begin to brown and become crisp, keeping in mind that the crackers will continue to crisp up as they cool. If they don’t crisp up properly after they cool slightly, you can put them back in the oven for a few minutes. Total baking time takes about 12 minutes on a stone and 15 to 18 minutes on a baking sheet. You will need to bake in two or three batches.
Let the crackers cool completely and break them into irregular shards of the desired size and shape. Store in an airtight container. They will stay crisp for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
There are many advantages to making your own granola. You’ll use less packaging, you’ll save money, and you can completely customize it to your taste and health needs. You’ll never go back to store-bought. The basic ingredients in granola include grain flakes, dried fruit, nuts and seeds, sweetener, and fat, such as butter or vegetable oil. You can embellish with vanilla, coconut, and spices like cinnamon. What follows is a formula to help you create the granola of your dreams, to enjoy every morning. See the mix-and-match suggestions.
TIME REQUIRED: 10 minutes active; 25 minutes passive
YIELD: 2 quarts
to ½ cup butter or vegetable oil (as desired)
to ½ cup sweetener (you will need the lesser amount if using agave syrup or honey)
Vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, or cardamom
4 cups flaked grains, such as oat, kamut, rye
Coconut, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, flax seeds, chia seeds (optional)
2 cups (about 8 ounces) lightly chopped nuts (any proportion)
1 cup chopped dried fruit
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter (or, if using oil, warm it) and add the sweetener along with the vanilla, cinnamon, or other spices you’re using. If using honey for the sweetener, see the variation.
In a large bowl, combine the flaked grains, coconut or wheat germ, seeds, and nuts. Toss to mix. Pour the warmed butter or oil and sweetener over and toss with a large spoon or spatula until evenly and lightly coated.
Transfer the mixture to a large baking sheet and spread out evenly in a thin layer. You may need to use two baking sheets. Bake until evenly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Stop halfway through and stir the ingredients so that they brown evenly. Remove from the oven, add the dried fruit, and toss to combine. Let the granola cool completely on the baking sheet and store at room temperature in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for up to 3 weeks, stored properly. I store mine in mason jars on the counter. It looks nice and keeps the granola fresh and handy.
VARIATION: If using honey, there’s no need to heat the oil first, but you still need to melt the butter (if using). Just whisk the fat together with the vanilla or cinnamon and pour it over the flakes, nuts, and extras, and toss and bake as directed. When you remove the granola from the oven, add the dried fruit, and drizzle the honey over it while still warm, toss to coat, and cool and store as directed.
Note that honey will produce a sticky granola that clumps together. It’s not unpleasant, just more difficult to portion as you can’t pour it, and it’s difficult to scoop.
Here’s where we play. Mix and match the items below to come up with your own dream granola. You’ll want to change it up depending on the season and your spirit of adventure.
SWEETENER OPTIONS (USE ONE)
• Brown sugar
• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Agave syrup
FAT OPTIONS (USE ONE)
• Butter
• Coconut oil
• Vegetable oil
• Olive oil
FLAKY OPTIONS (USE ONE OR MORE)
• Oat flakes
• Kamut flakes
• Triticale flakes
• Spelt flakes
• Rye flakes
NUT AND SEED OPTIONS (USE ONE OR MORE)
• Chopped or sliced almonds
• Chopped pecans
• Chopped walnuts
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Sunflower seeds
DRIED FRUIT (UNSULFURED AND CHOPPED EVENLY IS BEST) OPTIONS (USE ONE OR MORE)
• Apples
• Pears
• Peaches
• Plums
• Cranberries
• Currants
• Raisins
• Cherries
My talented friend Rachel Cole is so devoted to porridge that she’s actually written a multipage porridge manifesto. I was intrigued when I heard about it. Then I tasted one version of her porridge and was smitten. Make that ruined. Never again will I be as enamored with my rolled oats, dried fruit, and brown sugar combo. There is a big, beautiful world of grains out there that can be combined in both mathematically and gastronomically significant permutations.
There are a few life-changing aspects to joining Rachel’s secret porridge society: Homemade porridge is healthful, incredibly tasty, very easy, super-cheap, and fun!
I wasn’t allowed to read the manifesto, but she generously shared with me her basic philosophy of porridge. From that I was able to gather enough information to start to experiment and to pass on some valuable knowledge to you.
First thing: You absolutely need a Crock-Pot or slow cooker. That’s what makes the process effortless, good, and fun.
All you do is put your chosen combination of grains in the Crock-Pot with some water before you go to bed, and you’ll wake up to something wonderful. No time involved. So instead of trotting off to work with your little packet of bland, instant oatmeal to microwave, you can truly nourish yourself with delicious whole grains, which you can just as easily microwave. Your day cannot fail to go well with a belly full of hot porridge. One batch makes a lot, but you can portion it into perfect grab-on-the-go meals to reheat all week.
Start with the grains: Use any whole grains you want, including steel-cut oats; oat groats; kamut; brown, black, red, or white rice; wheat berries; farro; quinoa; amaranth; even hominy. Use what’s local to your area and what you like. Combine them in different proportions to get exciting textural variations.
I like to start with one base grain, like rice or steel-cut oats, then add a smaller proportion of one very chewy grain, like wheat berries, kamut, or hominy. Then I add an even smaller proportion of something fluffy and small, like quinoa or amaranth. Proportions are variable and fairly foolproof. If you like a thick porridge, use approximately 1 cup grains to 3 cups water. For a thinner porridge, use approximately 1 cup grains to 4 cups water. I recommend starting with more water until you see how different grains perform in your particular Crock-Pot. Look at the recipes to get an idea for proportions. Start by cooking on low. It should be sufficient for most grains.
If you want to get really adventurous (and more nutritious), add a few tablespoons of legumes like adzuki beans, lentils, or mung beans; or use some raw diced winter squash or sweet potatoes. You can also add flax seeds or chia seeds at this point.
Sometimes I make savory porridges and sometimes sweet. Sweet porridges benefit from cinnamon or other sweet spices added during the cooking and they’ll smell so delicious they’ll help you get out of bed!
“When your alarm clock goes off and you’re not excited
to get out of bed, your breakfast isn’t delicious enough.”
—Rachel Cole
I hope that some day Rachel publishes her porridge manifesto. But until then, we’ll have to make do with our own creativity. After you figure out your grain combo, think about what to add afterward: sweeteners (if desired), liquids or dairy additions, crunchy additions, and stir-ins. Mix and match from the lists and have fun creating your own.
SWEET
TIME REQUIRED: 5 minutes active; 7 to 9 hours passive
YIELD: 4 to 6 servings
4½ cups water
cup brown rice
cup Bhutanese red rice
cup wheat berries
¼ cup quinoa
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Brown sugar for serving
Milk for serving
Strawberries, sliced, for serving
Combine the water, brown and red rice, wheat berries, quinoa, and cinnamon in a Crock-Pot and cook overnight (or for 7 to 9 hours) on low. Serve with brown sugar, milk, and strawberries.
SAVORY
TIME REQUIRED: 5 minutes active; 7 to 9 hours passive
YIELD: 4 to 6 servings
6 cups water
1 cup steel-cut oats
½ cup hominy, soaked for at least 8 hours and then chopped coarsely
¼ cup amaranth
Poached egg for serving
Cheddar cheese for serving
Simple Tomato Salsa for serving
Combine the water, oats, hominy, and amaranth in a Crock-Pot and cook overnight (or for 7 to 9 hours) on low. Serve with a poached egg, Cheddar cheese, and Salsa.
Your homemade porridge is endlessly customizable. For a traditional sweetened breakfast porridge, choose desired add-ons from each category below and enjoy. A savory porridge might include fresh cheese, yogurt, sausage, eggs, or anything else you can think of.
SWEETENERS
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Plum-Verbena Jam or other homemade or store-bought jam
• Brown sugar
• Agave syrup
LIQUIDS AND DAIRY ADDITIONS
• Yogurt
• Soy milk
• Cow or goat milk
• Coconut milk
• Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese
CRUNCHY ADDITIONS
• Toasted nuts or seeds
STIR-INS
• Roasted Peanut Butter or Raw Almond Butter
• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit
• Coconut flakes
