Light Caraway Rye Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a bread I keep on hand for those occasions when the family gets together or friends assemble to watch a game or movie. I make the bread myself because, while I can purchase some wonderful rye bread in this area, I can't buy it in a shape that allows me to make simple work of making sandwiches for a crowd. This light rye loaf gets its flavor from ground and whole caraway seeds and it is the perfect bread to use for cheese or deli-type sandwiches. I let my stand mixer do most of the work when making this bread and I've found that the soft dough is actually quite pleasant to knead and handle. The finished loaf is a bit darker than it appears in the accompanying photo, but it is still lighter than its commercial counterpart would be. While I'll go into this more in a later post, I slice these loaves horizontally when preparing sandwiches for a crowd. That allows me to create one long sandwich that can be cut in serving size portions, rather making several smaller versions. This is a nice all-purpose rye bread, and because it is so easy to make, I wanted to share it with any of you who might be planning to serve sandwiches on Super Bowl Sunday. Do try this. The bread is a good keeper and it also freezes well. It makes great sandwiches. Here is how it is made.

Pork Goulash

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love the cooking of Eastern Europe and this delicious Hungarian stew is an example of why the region's food has survived food fads and remained so popular. This moist pork stew is redolent with the flavors of onions and paprika and made more interesting with the addition of caraway seeds, which give it a unique culinary identity. Its thick, rich red gravy is wonderful with buttered noodles, and it brings warmth and color to fall and winter table. There is nothing light about this dish. It is a belt buster. Goulash is a simple stew that was originally a soup made with a combination of meats. Nowadays, it is generally thickened and made with beef, but I like this recipe because it uses pork, which I find is quicker cooking and less stringy than its beef counterpart. This version of the dish, developed for Family Circle magazine, is straightforward and you can have this on the table in less than 90 minutes. That's not bad for a stew. I know that those of you who try this recipe will enjoy it. You'll find a small amount of effort produces a dish with great flavor that will not disappoint. Dies ist gut. Here's how the goulash is made.


Pork Goulash...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Family Circle magazine

Ingredients:
3 pounds pork roast, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika, divided use
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided use
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided use
1 medium onion, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, cored and diced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Chopped fresh parsley
Cooked egg noodles (optional)

Directions:
1) Combine pork, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Heat 1-1/2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half of pork cubes to pot and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; repeat with remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons oil and the rest of pork.
2) Reduce heat to medium and add onion. Cook 3 minutes. Stir in sweet red pepper. Cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon each of flour and paprika. Cook 1 minute. Stir in vinegar; let simmer. Sprinkle with caraway seeds, then pour in tomatoes and broth, scraping up any brown bits from pan. Return pork to mixture. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Stir in tomato paste and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve over egg noodles, if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Pide - Turkish Pizza

Two Years Ago Today: Soupe au Pistou

Three Years Ago Today: Thai Fish Cakes with Cucumber Relish

Spotted Dog

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If my mail is any indication, many of you are curious as to how the English version of Irish soda bread came to be called Spotted Dog. Surprisingly, no one seems to know for sure. My research came up with a lot of guesses, some educated, others not. We know for certain that a staple of old English kitchens was a steamed pudding that, when made with raisins, was called a Spotted Dick. While many are offended by the name, linguists seem to agree that it really was derived from the word pudding. According to Dex at The Straight Dope, over the course of time, pudding became puddink, puddink became puddick and puddick , finally shortened, became dick. Fortunately, there was another version of the pudding whose name could offend no one. It was made with plums and suet and it was called a Spotted Dog. Why? From this point forward all the information you receive will be the product of my, as yet, undocumented imagination.













The pudding, and later the bread of the same name, bear spots like those found on a Dalmatian. Looking at these photos I have no trouble understanding why the bread, too, was called Spotted Dog. I personally think Dalmation Bread would have been a better, more expressive name, but then no one ever listens to me and, as a result, we still have these awkward language situations that must be dealt with. More's the pity :-). Today's recipe is for an embellished Irish soda bread. It contains raisins and caraway seeds, but it is less rich than many of the versions that are popular today. I like to view it as a historical footnote that falls somewhere between yesterday's wholemeal bread and the lovely cake-like loaf that Ina Garten makes here. Here's the recipe for those of you who are curious.

Spotted Dog...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 cup golden raisins
1-3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
1) Place rack in middle of oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Butter and Flour a large baking sheet. Set aside.
2) Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in sugar, caraway seeds and raisins. Add buttermilk and stir until dough is moistened, but still lumpy.
3) Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with floured hands until dough is less sticky but still soft, about 8 times. Divide dough into two pieces and form each piece into a ball. Pat each ball into a domed 6-inch round on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 4-inches apart. Cut a large 1/2-inch deep x in top of each loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade. Brush both loaves with melted butter.
4) Bake until golden brown and bottom of loaves sound hollow when tapped, about 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. Yield: 2 6-inch loaves.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Chocolate Soda Bread - Real Epicurean
Browned Butter Soda Bread - Vanilla Sugar
Authentic Irish Soda Bread - Confessions of a Kitchen Witch
Oat Soda Bread - 101 Cookbooks
Irish Soda Bread - The English Kitchen
Brown Bread - David Lebovitz
Soda Bread - Farmersgirl Kitchen
Irish Soda Bread Scones - Brown Eyed Baker
Irish Soda Bread Scones - Smitten Kitchen
Caraway Soda Bread - Simply Recipes
Oats and Honey Irish Soda Bread with Raisins - Baking Bites

This post is being linked to:
Smiling Sally - Blue Monday