chile and cheddar sourdough english muffins

"Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man...?"

Yield: 12 muffins
200 calories per muffin
Active time: 60 minutes
Total time: Overnight proof required, about 27 hours

ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup lukewarm warm water

2 teaspoons yeast

1/2 cup sourdough starter, unfed

3½ cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons vegetable

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon red cayene pepper

1 can (120 g) green chiles

1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

semolina, for coating

preparation

1. Combine all of the ingredients, except the semolina, in your stand mixer bowl.

2. Knead, on a speed of 2, until a smooth, cohesive dough forms, about 5 minutes

3. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

4.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces.

5. Shape each piece into a round ball and place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet that’s been dusted with semolina.  Sprinkle each round with additional semolina.

6. Lightly flatten each round with the bottom of a glass, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise until light and puffy, about 2 hours.

7. With about 15 minutes left in the final roof, preheat your griddle to 350 degrees.

8. Gently transfer about 6 rounds to the electric griddle and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes on each side, until a deep golden brown. (The edges may feel a bit soft.)

9. Remove the muffins from the griddle and let cool on a rack.

10. Repeat with the remaining muffins.

Original recipe found here.

sourdough flatbread

Flatbread, the tofu of breads. Why the tofu of breads? Because it can easily be jazzed up with a variety of spices and goes well with almost anything.

Yield: 18 pieces of flatbread
150 calories per piece
Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 120 minutes

ingredients
the dough
1 cup fed sourdough starter
1/2 teaspoon yeast
2 cups high gluten flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup water

the topping
1/4 cup olive oil
everything topping or a spice blend of your liking
(I'm a nerd and have a standing mixture of mesquite spice blend and olive oil)

preparation
1. Prepare your sourdough starter.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the fed starter, yeast, and sugar. Stir to blend.

3. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the water, egg, and olive oil. Whisk with a fork to combine.

4. Add the flour and salt to the starter mixture, stirring to combine.

5. Pour in the water mixture, stirring well to incorporate. The mixture will be thick.

6. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour.

 

7. Stir the dough to deflate.

8. Preheat your griddle to high and set-up your rolling station by cutting two pieces of parchment paper and arranging your oil.

9. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out a portion of dough. Use a metal spoon to cut the portion of dough in half.  Place the portion on the parchment paper, which has been lightly oiled. Lightly oil the top of the dough portion, place the second piece of parchment paper on top, and roll.

10. Slowly pull back the top piece of parchment paper. Pick up the second piece of parchment paper, carry over to the griddle, gently set the flatbread onto the griddle, and slowly pull off the parchment paper.

11. Cook the flatbread for about 2 minutes, flipping over when bubbly. You can fit about 4 pieces of flatbread on the griddle, you just have to make sure to keep track of how fast and at what stage they're cooking.

12. Place on a paper towel lined plate after both sides are golden brown.

Other modifications:

• Don't have a sourdough starter in the wings? Check out my earlier flatbread post.

Original recipe found here. 

flatbread

When the warm weather moves in, I try to limit the use of my oven because baking something at 450 degrees for 40 minutes in a 500 square foot apartment when it is nearly 90 is oppressive. Flatbread is easy to make and can be jazzed up with spices.  I've combined a couple of methods to create a more chewy flatbread.

Yield: 16 pieces of flatbread
140 calories per flatbread
Active time: 50 minutes
Total time: 110 minutes

ingredients
the dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (olive of vegetable is fine too)

the topping
1/2 cup olive oil
assorted seasonings 
Because I'm a nerd, I have a standing mixture of olive oil and sweet mesquite seasoning. If you have the time, I recommend mixing your oil and seasonings a day or so in advance to develop the flavor infusion.

preparation
1. In your stand mixer bowl with the dough hook attached, combine the flours, coconut oil, baking soda, and salt. "Stir", blending the ingredients. 

2. Slowly pour in the water, kneading on “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

3. Increase your stand mixer speed to 2 or 3 and knead until a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 5 minutes. If your dough seems dry, add additional water, by the tablespoon. 

No stand mixer? No problem! Simply knead the dough by hand until a cohesive dough forms, about 15 minutes. 

4.Turn the dough out onto a counter top and knead by hands a few turns, forming a ball.

5. Place the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for about an hour. The step allows the dough to rest, because with baking powder as the only leavening agent, there won't be a noticeable rise.

6. Preheat your electric griddle or a skillet to a medium-high heat setting. (Or set your oven to 400 degrees.)

7. Turn the dough out and divide it evenly into 16 pieces.

8. Form the portion into a ball and flatten it into a disk with your rolling pin. Roll out as thinly as possible.

9. Lightly cover with about 1 teaspoon of oil and then roll it up tightly into a long cylinder. Set aside and roll out remaining portions. 

If you're into multitasking like me, you can roll three out, get them going on the griddle and then go back to rolling.

10. Cook flatbread, turning once when puffed and browned in spots, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate that's been lined with a paper towel to cool.  

Other modifications:

• Mix the seasoning with the water.
• Use vegetable oil spray instead of olive oil to coat the flatbread.

Original recipes found here and here.