Rustic Moroccan Loaves Food

KHOBZ (BASIC MOROCCAN WHITE BREAD) RECIPE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 435 F / 225 C.

RUSTIC MOROCCAN LOAVES

Steps:

• Combine the warm water, agave nectar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (not bread hook). Use a wooden spoon or whisk to mix well. Make sure the yeast is completely dissolved.
• Whisk together the flour mix, xanthan gum, and salt. Add to the yeast mixture in two batches, mixing on medium speed, until the dough is fully combined, about 1 minute.
• Dust a baking sheet liberally with flour mix, flour your hands, and divide the dough into two balls. Place the balls on the baking sheet and shape them into two 5-inch dome-shaped loaves.
• Brush the tops with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil using a pastry brush. Cover with a light dish towel or plastic wrap (but don't wrap it tightly, or you'll inhibit the rise) and let rise in a warm place (85°F) free from drafts. I like to place it in an unheated oven with a pan of hot water placed on the bottom of the oven. If it's a warm day, this won't be necessary. The top of the fridge is good, too. Let rise for 1 hour, or until you can push a finger in to one knuckle deep and the indent remains.
• In the last 20 minutes of your rise, preheat the oven to 350°F. (Remove the bread and pan of water if the loaves are rising in the oven and let them finish their rise somewhere else.)
• Uncover the loaves and use a sharp knife to cut a 1/2-inch deep cross in the top of each loaf. Brush the loaves with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the tops of the loaves with water. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes longer, or until the bread sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom. It will not brown, so don't use that as your judge. Let cool slightly on cooling racks. Break apart or slice with a serrated knife.

MOROCCAN MEATLOAF WITH LEMON HONEY GRAVY AND ZUCCHINI COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, add the meat, 1 small onion, grated on box grater or with handheld flat grater, directly over mixing bowl. Add 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, panko, about 2 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil, the egg, the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Mix to combine. Add the olives, spices, a handful of parsley and a handful of mint. Combine well. Form the mixture into 4 individual rolls and bake on a parchment lined sheet pan until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. The meat loaves may be made ahead and stored; reheat in pan gravy.
• Heat a medium shallow pot over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons butter and melt, then add the remaining garlic, and combine. Stir in the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups stock to the pan and bring the mixture to a bubble. Add 1 1/2 cups of couscous and remaining handful of chopped mint. Turn off the heat and cover pan. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons butter to a medium skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Whisk the flour into melted butter, then add the Worcestershire sauce and remaining 1 cup of chicken stock, the remaining lemon zest and juice, 1/4 cup honey, and salt and pepper, to taste. Slide the meat loaves into the sauce. (If the meat loaves are cold, tent with foil and gently reheat in low simmering sauce.) Once the meat loaves are warm, transfer them to a serving plate and raise the heat to high. As soon as the sauce becomes syrupy after 1 to 2 minutes, drizzle it over meat and serve with couscous alongside.

ROUND MOROCCAN LOAVES

Steps:

• Dissolve sugar in water; Sprinkle in yeast and let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
• Stir yeast mixture and pour into large bowl; beat in whole wheat flour, oil, aniseed, salt and sesame seeds. Beat in 2 cups (500 mL) of the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (125 mL) at a time. With wooden spoon, gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make stfff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
• Transfer dough to lightly greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with tea towel and let rise for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down dough and divide in half; form each half into ball. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes if dough is too elastic to roll.
• On floured surface, roll out each half into rounds about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Sprinkle 2 baking sheets with cornmeal and place one round on each. Cover with tea towel and let rise for 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Prick rounds with fork in 4 spots around edge. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325°F (160°C) and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottoms. Let cool on racks.

RUSTIC POTATO LOAVES

Steps:

• Scrub the potatoes and cube them into large pieces, peel on.
• Toss into a pot, cover with water, add 2 teaspoons salt, and boil until they are completely cooked through.
• Draw off 1/2 cup of the water from cooking the potatoes and set aside; drain the potatoes, and then spread them out flat to dry completely.
• It is a very important to let the potatoes dry and cool for at least 30 minutes prior to mashing. Leave the peel on.
• Once the 1/2 cup water has cooled to tepid, add the yeast and allow to bloom for 5 minutes.
• Put the dried, cooled potatoes in the KA with the paddle attachment and mash smooth; yes, the peel is still on. It looks weird, but let it go.
• When the potatoes are mashed completely, add the bloomed yeast/potato water, and the olive oil. Mix until combined.
• Change to dough hook. Add the flour and the remaining 2 tsp.kosher salt all at once and mix for about 3 minute on low speed, then increase to medium speed and mix for 11 minutes more.
• The dough will be firm at first and soft at the finish. It will look very dry to begin with, like pie dough, but do not add more liquid and do not add more flour, even if you are tempted. Just leave it and let it go. The flour will be absorbed.
• The end result will be very nearly the texture of brioche dough, very soft, almost a batter. You should stop the machine a few times and scrape the dough down off the sides and bottom of the bowl, then let it continue to mix.
• Scrape the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic and let rise for 35 minutes. The dough will rise slightly but will not double.
• While the bread is proofing, put your rack in the bottom of the oven and put your pizza stone in.Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Invert a baking sheet and place a piece of parchment on it- this will be the resting place for the bread's final rise. Sprinkle the parchment lightly with flour.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it in half. Shape each piece into a torpedo shape, with tapered ends. Place the loaves on the parchment and cover with a towel.
• Let rise at room temperature for about 35 minutes.
• At the end of 35 minutes, slide your loaves onto the pizza stone, and using a spray bottle, spray the oven walls with water and then shut the door quickly to trap the steam.
• Bake the loaves for 50 minutes, spraying the oven with water occasionally.
• When they are done, the breads will be very brown, will sound hollow when thumped, and the interior temperature will be about 200 degrees F.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
• NOTES: The first time I made this bread I thought the recipe just had to be wrong on every count. It is very different from any bread I've ever made. But please, follow the directions faithfully and you will be rewarded! These loaves are gorgeous- beautiful- very crusty and brown and smell soooooo good. When I first made them I couldn't wait until they cooled completely so I cut off an end piece and bit into it. It was fantastic! I was surprised that the potato peel didn't make any distinct difference to the texture. I thought it would.The resulting bread was very distinctly tasting of potato. It was soft, as potato breads are, but yeasty and a little dense(in a good way) and had a wonderful crusty exterior.It was fantastic! I think you are going to love these.
• NOTE 2: If you don't have a pizza stone, just bake them on a sheet pan.It won't be quite the same, but it will be close enough.