Archive | June, 2010

Tomato and Cheese Galette

29 Jun

Food, for me, is almost always about people.  My friend Emma came for dinner last night, and I love to cook for her.  She is vegetarian and also appreciates good food, and it is always a fun challenge to make something new and interesting for her.

Though it is the beginning of the farmer’s markets season here in Seattle and fresh produce abounds, I was stumped about what to cook for Emma.  I picked up the first tomatoes of the season from the market and knew I would give them a starring role in this production, but what to do with them?  Flipping through my cookbooks, I remembered that my favorite baking cookbook, The Baker’s Dozen, has a few savory recipes in there that I have been wanting to try.

I came across the tomato and cheese galette, with onions and fresh herbs and it sounded like the perfect early summer meal.  A galette is a free-form, rustic tart that is great filled with pretty much anything, and they are very popular in France.  The dough for this recipe is a basic tart dough (Pâte Brisée), which is very simple to make by hand (or in the food processor!).

The filling layers red onions, two cheeses, fresh herbs and tomatoes, all of which bake up into bubbling goodness in the oven.  Because the dough is richer than a pizza dough I recommend serving this alongside green salad with a tangy, acidic vinaigrette.  This dish is so crazy good, in fact, that after our first bite Emma and I were actually giggling with elation.

When food is this good, the whole world slows down.  I am just fortunate that I have such a lovely, dedicated friend to share it with, and I look forward to many more giggle-worthy meals in our future.  Salut mon amie!

Tomato and Cheese Galette
From The Baker’s Dozen

1/2 cup plus 2 tbs freshly grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino Romano)
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 large tomato, weighing at least 6 oz, or 2 smaller tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs chopped fresh herbs (tarragon, marjoram, thyme, basil, oregano in any combination. I used thyme, rosemary and marjoram)

Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven.  If you have one, place a baking stone on the rack and preheat to 400 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough (recipe below) to a very thin (no more than 1/16 inch) 14-inch circle.  Transfer the dough to a large pizza pan or baking sheet and freeze while preparing the filling.

Mix 1/2 cup of the cheeses together.  Slice the onion and tomato into very thin rounds.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese mixture over the pastry, leaving 1-1/2 -inch-wide border.  Scatter the onion over the cheese, 1 tbs of fresh herbs over the onions, then top with the tomato slices.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese mixture over the top, and drizzle with a teaspoon or two of the olive oil (I used a little truffle oil here).  Bring the uncovered border up over the filling, pleating it as needed.  Lightly brush the exposed border of pastry with olive oil and sprinkle with remaining 2 tbs of Parmesan.

Remove hot pizza stone from over.  Gently move to pizza stone or baking sheet and bake until pastry is golden on top and bottom (lift up the bottom of the tart with spatula to check), and the onions are tender, about 35-40 minutes.  If the tart begins to brown too much before the vegetables are tender, lay a square of aluminum foil loosely over it until it’s done.  Sprinkle with remaining herbs and serve warm.

Pâte Brisée
From The Baker’s Dozen

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
6 tbs unsalted butter (3/4 stick), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup cold water, or as needed

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl and cut in half the butter with pastry cutter, or simply add to your food processor, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Cut in the rest of the butter until it is in pea-sized bits.

Sprinkle the water in evenly, adding just enough so that the mixture is completely moistened and holds together when pressed between your fingers.  Gather up the dough and press itno a 1-2-inch-thick disk.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use (I like to refrigerate overnight, if possible).

Jungle Cookies

25 Jun

We are a cookie household.  That is to say, there are almost always homemade cookies snugly nestled into a box on the kitchen counter, lid askew (if husband was the last to fetch one).  There is no better accompaniment to coffee in the morning, and lazy afternoons call for tea and (or just) cookies of some kind.  My mom baked cookies all the time, as did my grandmother, so for me, a house just doesn’t smell like home unless cookies have recently been made.

Dough

Because I make cookies so often, I am always playing with recipes to create variations of what we have liked before, and  Jungle cookies came into being one afternoon when I was riffing on traditional oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies.  I love to add dried fruit and nuts to cookies, and this time of year when fresh cherries are just coming into season I can never resist making just one more recipe with them dried.  So I tossed in dried sour cherries, some over-sized Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips (trust me, size does matter), and chopped up the rest of the Brazil nuts in the cupboard.  Voila!  Jungle cookies.

If you can’t find Ghiradelli chips, I suggest buying a block of good chocolate and chopping it into good-sized chunks.  You can really use any kind of chocolate here– semi-sweet would be a delicious counter to the sour cherries and I debated  about which chocolate to use myself.  I don’t recommend using Nestle or most grocery-store brands, because you do want the rich chocolate to shine through here and to avoid the bitter, alkaline taste of most common brands (a result of the fact that most of those brands don’t even use real cacao in their products). If you can find cacao nibs, toss in a handful here.

Lastly, feel free to use any nut that you like in this recipe.  Walnuts would be great, as would cashews or almonds, even hazelnuts.  I like the richness of the Brazil nut as well as the great texture, but anything would be great.  It is kind of hard to go wrong when we are talking about butter, chocolate, fruit and nuts, right?

Jungle Cookies
La Femme Original

2 sticks butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup Ghiradelli large milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried sour cherries
1/2 cup – 3/4 cup chopped Brazil nuts

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream sugars with butter, then add egg and vanilla.  Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and spice. Mix well.  Add oatmeal.  Once blended, add chocolate chips, nuts and cherries and stir well to combine.  Drop by rounded tablespoon (I use an ice cream scoop) onto cookies sheets.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

“Peanut Butter” Cookies with Chocolate and Fleur de Sel

21 Jun

Ah, food allergies.  How I wish that I could have this salad, or this for lunch, but I can’t eat eggs, or dairy, or peanuts.  Well, I make an exception for butter.  Life is too short to not have butter.

Of course many of my favorite things to eat involve peanuts.  I love chocolate and peanut butter in just about any combination, and I love all Asian foods with peanuts and peanut sauces.  It was a sad day for me when I had to eliminate the little legume from my diet, but fortunately I have found its perfect replacement: sunflower butter.  It has that same roasted flavor that makes peanut butter so delish, and tastes so similar that I have fooled many people with my homemade Thai “peanut” sauce (that recipe to come in a future post), and my “peanut butter” cookies.I buy sunflower butter from Trader Joe’s, and I know many local health food stores carry it as well.  You can find it online from various purveyors who tout the nutritional benefits of the sunflower over the peanut.  But I am making cookies here, so there will be no health claims in this post!

This cookie idea comes from Whole Foods, who makes some great cookies in their bakery.  The combination of salty and sweet is one of my favorites, and I always bring back good fleur de sel from France to have on hand in my kitchen.  If you are looking for a local purveyor of fine salt, here in Seattle we have Secret Stash Salts, and SaltWorks, both of whom have  online sales capabilities and fantastic product.  Good baking starts with good ingredients, and you will be surprised at what a difference good salt can make!


Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate and Fleur de Sel
From Whole Foods

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 large egg (I used EnerG egg replacer)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I left these out)
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I recommend Callebaut)
Fleur de sel, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and add to peanut butter mixture, stirring to combine well. Stir in chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.

Drop generous spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press each mound of dough with a fork to flatten slightly.

Bake until bottom of cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle immediately with fleur de sel to taste. Let cookies cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

Chicken Curry with Squash and Potatoes

19 Jun

Today my dad is celebrating his retirement with a fete at this house, and true to my dad’s style he is doing all the work himself.  Sacre bleu!  The guest list hovers around 30, and a lesser man would call in the caterers.  But not my dad.  He has been busy menu planning, grocery shopping, wine-deciding and more, all in order to serve his friends an amazing spread reflective of the 50 years of work he has already contributed to the American economy.  My dad pretty much rocks.

Two foodies celebrating Christmas at The Herbfarm

When I called him this morning to make sure he didn’t need me to pick up any last minute items, he had already been up with the birds, gotten my mom bathed and dressed (oh yes, in addition to working his job every day my dad takes superlative care of my mom, who has Huntington’s Disease), had most of the dishes prepped and ready and was only slightly out of breath from the effort.  The man truly amazes me.

Dad's surprise 60th birthday at Canlis

So it is with great pleasure that all of us who love my dad will gather today to celebrate his years in the workforce, and we also know the value of the unpaid “work” he does every single day.  He has been my mother’s sole caregiver for over a decade and has never once complained about the hard work involved (and that kind of daily care is hard work, believe me).  He is always in good spirits, always a merry jokester quick with the quips, and always welcoming and generous with his friends and with strangers alike.  He makes friends easily and keeps them for life.  He forgives easily and always looks on the bright side.  There will be many folks today wishing him a nice, relaxing retirement filled with golf, sunshine, and plenty of Manhattans.

I am contributing this dish to the party, which is easy to make, tastes even better the second day, is filling and delicious.  If you’re like me and need more veg in your meal, feel free to add in whatever vegetables strike your fancy (would be great with zucchini, summer squash even young carrots would be great) .

Chicken Curry with Squash and Potatoes
Adapted from Food & Wine

2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure chile powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 onions, halved and thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
12 curry leaves
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, wing tips removed
Kosher salt
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
3/4 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
Steamed rice, for serving

(My notes: I used sweet potatoes in place of the squash, and I added one cup sliced crimini mushrooms and an entire sliced red bell pepper just because I like lots of veg in my meal.  I also used all chicken thighs in place of the whole chicken. I couldn’t find curry leaves so used fresh cilantro, mint and basil as a garnish for some herbal kick.)

In a small skillet, toast the coriander, chile powder and turmeric over moderate heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the water to form a paste.

In a very large, deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and curry leaves and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the spice paste, garam masala and black pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the oil separates from the paste, about 2 minutes.

Lightly season the chicken pieces with salt. Add the chicken, diced potato and squash to the skillet and stir to coat with the seasonings. Stir in the coconut milk and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over moderately low heat until the chicken is cooked through and the potato and squash are tender, about 25 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl. Season the curry sauce with salt, pour it over the chicken and serve.

Almond Roca Cookies

14 Jun

When Shauna Ahern (also known as Gluten Free Girl) asked food writers for memories of our first time cooking as children, I struggled to remember mine.  Everyone in my family cooks, ( and cooks well), and loves food, so my memories are a jumble of meals I have loved and people that I have loved sharing them with.

My childhood food memories revolve around two incredible women: my grandmother and my great-aunt Virginia.

I spent long summer at my grandparent’s home, where summer mornings began with donuts for breakfast (always powdered sugar, as my grandfather preferred), or fresh raspberries picked right from the yard and served in a bowl with nothing but sweet cream.  Hailing from a family of candy-makers, my grandmother spoiled me with rich chocolate fudge, fluffy clouds of divinity, and brown sugar-based penuche.  No matter the season, there was always a fresh-baked cake on the counter (lemon cake with cream cheese frosting, if I had my say), simply because it was grandma’s house.

When I was little, I would sit at the kitchen counter while Auntie Virginia stirred big pots of boiling potatoes or skinned apples for pies, and Iwould ask for the same story over and over: the one about the little girl who has a kind heart, and when she speaks diamonds and rubies fall from her mouth.  “And,” Auntie Virignia always warned, “Little girls who aren’t nice will have newts and toads fall from their mouths.” I wanted to be the kind little girl.

My grandma and my Auntie taught me how to be kind just by their own examples.  They were never cross, and never impatient.  They taught me what it meant to be an Adams; to be a good person with a generous heart; the joy of sharing your life with an amazing partner (like my grandfather and my great-uncle Ray); and how to make a killer macaroni and cheese.

One weekend, years after my grandmother had passed, Auntie Virginia sat me down and carefully wrote out all the Adams family recipes that she thought I should have, like no-fail pie crust, curly cheese straws, and my grandmother’s favorite 7-Up salad.   She gave me the wire cooling racks that belonged to my great-grandmother and which I still use to this day, and the marble rolling pin that belonged to my grandmother.  She always baked for my visits, just as my grandmother had done, and just as I do, now, for those that I love.

She knew my favorite cookie and made it for me every time she saw me.  And this, I recently recalled, was the first thing that I can remember making in childhood. I made them in Aberdeen, Washington, in the kitchen of one of the finest women I have ever known.  I miss her terribly, and hope that she knows that I never make macaroni and cheese without thinking of her.  Smiling.

Almond Roca Cookies
From Virginia Adams Jensen

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups cake flour
10 ounces milk chocolate chopped finely
1 cup finely chopped nuts (almonds, or anything else you like)
3/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add beaten egg yolk and vanilla, mixing well.  Blend in flour.  Spread mixture evenly on cookie sheet (10×15 with rim like a jelly roll sheet is nice).  The thinner you roll out the dough, the more toffee-flavored the base will be, so make sure it isn’t too thick. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.  While still warm, spread chocolate over cookies and smooth with spatula.  Sprinkle with chopped nuts and toasted coconut (if using).  Cut while warm.

Brazil Nut Pesto

9 Jun

A couple of years ago my husband and I decided to take a cooking class while in Paris.  I did some research, and came across the website for On Rue Tatin and Susan Hermann Loomis.  Her one-day classes, which begin with a market tour and end with lunch or dinner,  sounded exactly like the Parisian experience we were after.  We were not disappointed, and spending the day cooking with her was one of the best experiences we have had in France.

All the ingredients

Since that time, I have dreamed of spending time in her renovated 12th-century convent house in the tiny village of Louviers, in Normandy.  The pictures alone were like heaven on earth to me, and I recently decided I would treat myself to a cooking class there the next time I was in France.

A girlfriend and I began planning  a trip to Paris this coming October, and this seemed like the perfect time of year to visit Normandy as well.   There I will spend 3 days at On Rue Tatin, eating local Camembert, sipping Calvedos from ancient orchards,  foraging for wild mushrooms and cooking, cooking, cooking (and eating, bien sur!).  I am giddy with delight.

It was with eager anticipation, then, that I welcomed Susan’s  latest book “Nuts in the Kitchen” to my groaning bookshelf.  Recipes like waffles with walnut whipped cream and homemade Nutella certainly caught my eye, as did marinated fish with sesame and macadamias;  smoked bacon, scallion and pecan butter; and curried belgian endive with cashews.  So many creative uses for nuts!  I know I will enjoy spending time this summer trying out many of the recipes from this book, and when I see Susan in October it will be the icing on the proverbial hazelnut torte.

This recipe is from her book, and it is a fun take on traditional pesto.  I love the texture of the brazil nuts in this, and also the combination of parsley and basil which gives it a fresh, summery flavor perfect for this time of year.  The final product is a pesto that is  familiar but also intriguing.  It is great with any kind of pasta, under the skin of a chicken destined for roasting, as a dip for raw vegetables, or slathered on pizza hot from the oven.  Enjoy!

Brazil Nut Pesto
From Nuts in the Kitchen

1/2 cup Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped
2 cups gently packed flat-leaf parsley
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated

Place the nuts and the garlic in a food processor or in a mortar and pulse or crush until they are coarsely chopped.  Add the herbs and lemon zest and process or pound until all are blended into a relatively smooth still somewhat chunky mixture.  With the food processor running, or stirring with a pestle, slowly add the olive oil until it is combined with the herbs and nuts.  Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the cheese until thoroughly combined. Season with salt if necessary and reserve until ready to use.  Simple!

Warm Salad of Cherry Tomatoes and Onions

6 Jun

I know summer has officially arrived in Seattle because we bought our first Copper River salmon today at the Wild Salmon Seafood Market.  I love marking the seasons with special food, and this salmon is about as special as it gets for seafood lovers.

Copper River Sockeye

Rich and so flavorful, salmon from the Copper River have a healthy store of natural oils and body fat that helps them endure the 300 mile trek from the Copper River, in Alaska, to Prince William Sound.  They are only here for a short time, and while they are we rejoice.

I love to pair fresh salmon with fruit of some kind.  Tomatoes (my favorite fruit!) aren’t in season here yet, but I do love to welcome summer with this tomato salad that marries sweet Walla Walla onions (use Vidalia if you can’t find Walla Walla) with local honey, fresh herbs and a tangy vinaigarette.

Nothing is a better start to summer, especially when enjoyed pied-a-terre with a lovely rosé from Provence.

Warm Salad of Cherry Tomatoes and Onions
From Sandra Cabot

1 tbs cold-pressed olive oil
2 tbs plus 2 tsp honey
1 heaped tbs finely chopped fresh oregano
1 heaped tbs finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 heaped tbs finely chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
1 onion, sliced into rings
6 scallions/green onions
2 cups cherry tomatoes (red or yellow)
2 tbs plus 2 tsp vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Heat the oil over med heat.  Stir in honey and herbs, add onion rings and stir until onions are lightly browned.  Lower heat when onions are colored and add tomatoes.  Stir gently for about 2 minutes, keeping tomatoes whole.  Serve warm sprinkled with the vinaigrette and extra chopped basil.

Vinaigrette
2 tsp mustard (english, wholegrain or dijon)
2 tsp tarragon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbs honey
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients, except vinegar, in a bowl and mix well.  Then slowly add the vinegar to taste, according to your preference.

Herbs

2 Jun

Many years ago, I received the first Herbfarm Cookbook as a gift from my friend Keita.  We were in our early 20s,  novice cooks, and had dreams of dinner parties artfully executed, (friends swooning and complimenting, of course), swirling through our heads.  We cracked open the book and read it almost cover to cover.  This would be our bible, then, and we would teach ourselves these recipes that were sure to impress our friends, family and even ourselves.

Dough for Herbed Focaccia

Over the next year or so, we made most recipes from the book.  The first meal we attempted was chicken breasts in tarragon cream, and delicata squash with rosemary, sage and cider glaze.  As our guests’ stomachs rumbled and protested, we quickly realized we would need to get more efficient with our prep time and organization in order to pull off food like this.  But organize we did, and soon we were making bite-size gougeres with gruyere and thyme, halibut baked with leeks, apple and lovage, and chanterelle and corn chowder with basil.

I adored this cookbook for many reasons.  The recipes were so perfectly detailed that even new cooks like us could follow them precisely and the dishes would turn out.  We instituted a cardinal rule which was this: We must follow the directions explicitly, even if we were sure this couldn’t/wouldn’t turn out right (and sure enough, Jerry’s instructions were always right).

We also started growing many of our own herbs, and to this day my garden swells with rosemary, lavender, verbena, sage, thyme, basil, mint, chervil, marjoram, tarragon and more.  I think it is difficult to be a great cook if you don’t grow fresh herbs of your own, and it is certainly more expensive to buy them from the store.  Plus the bees adore fresh herbs, and who doesn’t want more bees in their garden?

Focaccia dough with fresh herbs

This book also introduced me to many things I had never seen nor heard of before, such as the ricer that makes mashed potatoes perfectly creamy every time (guests never fail to ask me what my secret is.  Sometimes I tell, sometimes I don’t!).  I had never encountered lemon verbena (now my fave herb), nor sorrel, lovage, chervil or many of the other herbs used in this book.  I learned combinations of herbs and of herbs and food that are divinely inspired (roasted corn with fresh marjoram comes to mind), and the truth is that now I never cook anything without fresh herbs: simple scrambled eggs get a sprinkling of tarragon or chives, cherry pie benefits from fresh lavender, and all fresh pasta needs is lemon, thyme and a flurry of Pecorino Romano.  Herbs elevate food, it is as simple and as lovely as that.

I can’t imagine being the cook I am today or loving food the way I do if I hadn’t started with the Herbfarm Cookbook.  It gave me the confidence to know that I could make delicious, inspiring food and to not be afraid of recipes that seem challenging.  In fact, the first bread I ever baked was from this book.  The directions were so clear and simple that it seemed I couldn’t fail, and I didn’t.  This bread bakes up big and beautiful, and is a real show-stopper if brought straight to the table to serve guests there.  It makes great sandwich bread the next day, and is wonderful when turned into croutons for homemade soup.  If you have never made bread before, this is the place to start.

Herbed focaccia fresh out of the oven

Herbed Focaccia
From The Herbfarm Cookbook

2 cups lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast (2.5 tsp)
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbs chopped fresh sage
1 tbs chopped fresh thyme, winter savory or oregano
1.5 tsp salt
4.5 cups unbleached bread flour (spoon and level; 20 ounces), plus additional flour as needed
3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Dough and first rise. Pour the water into bowl (of electric mixer if using).  Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let sit for several minutes to dissolve.  Stir the herbs together in a small bowl.  Add half the herb mixture to the yeasted water. Cover the remaining herbs and refrigerate.  Stir the salt and flour into the yeast mixture to form a soft dough.  Knead for 8 minutes with the dough hook or paddle at medium speed, or knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface until it is elastic and satiny, 8-10 minutes.  The dough should be very soft and will stick to the bottom of the electric mixer bowl as it is kneaded, but if it is too sticky to pull away from the sides of the bowl after 5 minutes of kneading, add another 1/4 cup of flour.  If you are kneading by hand, add only as much flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.  Put the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and then a clean towel, and let it rise until doubled in bilk, 1.5-2 hours.

Second rise. In another large mixing bowl, stir the olive oil and reserved herbs together and spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the bowl.  Punch down the dough and scoop it into the second bowl on top of the herb mixture.  Let the dough rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Forming a loaf. Place a baking stone on the center rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 400. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet.  This will serve as the peel that you will use to transfer the bread to the baking stone.  Without punching down the dough, turn the dough out onto the paper, letting it fall out with the herbs on top.  Use your fingertips to poke the dough while at the same time gently pulling it into an oval about 12 inches long.  The dough will deflate somewhat, but keep as much rise in it as you can.  Use a paper towel to blot any oil that runs down the sides.  Let the dough rise again for 10-15 minutes to restore its puffiness.

Baking. With a pair of scissors, trim the excess parchment paper extending beyond the edges of the dough so that the paper doesn’t burn in the oven.  Set the edge of your peel on the edge of the oven rack in front of the baking stone.  Carefully grab one edge of parchment and slide it with the loaf onto the stone.  Bake the bread until golden brown on top and well browned on the bottom, about 25 minutes.  It will puff a little more in the oven.  Remove the loaf from the oven with a large spatula and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.  Slice it into rectangles with a serrated bread knife and serve warm.

Breaking bread

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