September Projects

While it still feels like August, the mornings have been cooler, thankfully. It got me in the mood to do some baking and kitchen projects to usher in autumn. Or rather pining for it more like! But just give the island a few more months, I tell myself, and it will be full on sock and flannel weather!

I have been purchasing a large harvest box of beautiful local produce from a local upcountry farm to support them after their loss in the fires, and last week, I had an abundance of aromatic herbs. So many, in fact, for just myself, I had to preserve them somehow. I thought a lovely Tuscan salt herb blend would be perfect and gorgeous on upcoming cozy roasts and autumnal dishes. It makes a beautiful gift, too. You can easily add more salt or herbs to your liking or make up your own! Just ensure that it's completely dry before storing it away.

Tuscan Herb Salt Blend

3 cups kosher salt

1 large bunch rosemary, stems removed

1 large bunch of thyme, stems removed

1 large bunch of sage, stems removed

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 garlic clove

Put all the ingredients into a food processor for 30 seconds or so until the herbs are ground.

Turn out the salt onto parchment paper or a clean tea towel. Spread it out evenly and let it dry in the sun for the day or overnight in the open air in the kitchen.

Store in a mason jar or latched jar. Keeps for several months!

No-Knead Apple Walnut Bread

I adapted this recipe from Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread recipe and it worked like a charm. It’s the laziest loaf I’ve ever made and so moist, delicious with a seasonal fruit jam and a sharp cheddar. If you know me well enough by now, I adore toast. And this loaf is perfect for a brisk morning slathered with salted butter… tastes like September to me. Enjoy!

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

400 grams bread flour

30 grams whole wheat flour (honestly you can split the ratio however you like. 300 g bread flour and 130 g whole wheat is what I did - as long as you keep it 430 grams. 3/4 split is ideal so it’s not too dense and heavy)

345g water

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon wildflower honey

1/2 a large honeycrisp, braeburn, granny smith, or cortland apple peeled and diced

1/2 cup dried apple chips, roughly chop if needed

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

cornmeal as needed

The key to this bread is patience and a little planning. It takes about 15-18 hours overall, so I start it right before I go to bed around 8 or 9 PM and then finish it up and bake it in the morning. It seems like a long time, but it’s so easy it’s silly. This is the base recipe, so do refer to this if my version seems too complicated!

Do weigh your flour accurately; it makes a difference!

When you’re ready to bake or go to bed (!), add the yeast, honey, and water into a large mixing bowl. Stir it until the yeast dissolves. Add the flour and salt and mix it with a wooden spoon or your hands until it’s a shaggy mess, which it will be, and that’s fine! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise overnight for at least 12-15 hours until bubbles appear on the surface.

When you wake up or when it’s ready, lightly flour a work surface and pour out the dough onto the table. Lightly press it down, and then add the apples, dried apples, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon onto the dough. I literally just pile them on in the center.

Use a bench scraper and gently shape it by cupping your hands. You will need to gently work the ingredients into the dough, not necessarily kneading it but stretching and folding the dough continually onto itself until they are thoroughly incorporated and you form a rough ball. It won’t look supple, but try and shape it as tight as you can using a scant amount of flour if needed. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Lightly dust a tea towel with cornmeal or flour and place it into a small/medium bowl. Ideally, pick a smaller bowl so you have a more rounder loaf. The shape of the bowl will determine the loaf of the bread, so err on the smaller side for a nice hump.

Place the loaf into the flour-dusted tea towel, seam side up, and let it rise for another two hours. I go run at this time, so I set it in the fridge in case I won’t get back in time. The fridge will make it rise slower, so you don’t have to worry about it over-proving and spilling over if you’re busy with other things.

A half hour before the dough is ready to bake, place a cast iron (could be pyrex or ceramic) Dutch oven into the oven at 450 degrees F. When the oven is ready, remove the hot pot from the oven and place a piece of parchment paper on the inside. Carefully turn the loaf out onto the parchment paper seam down and place it into the pot. (There are various ways to do this, depending on your vessel of choice. I have a cloche-style Dutch oven for bread only, so I place the parchment paper onto the flat bottom and then place the dough bowl over, and then flip it over, and release the bread from the linen cloth in the bowl. This works so well for bread baking cause you have a flat surface to add the bread to rather than dipping your hand into a hot pot.)

Place the lid on and bake for 30 minutes. In the last 15 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on the last few minutes because it doesn’t take long to brown or become too dark.

Let it cool on a rack if you can wait before cutting into it!