Focaccia cu usturoi si oregano (Garlic and Oregano Focaccia)

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        Chiar daca afara e foarte cald pofta e totusi gigantica, mai ales cand vad la altii pe blog :)) inspirata de reteta Ana Mariei de la Just Love Cookin', m-am apucat de dimineata sa pregatesc o focaccia minunata, care zic eu ca a iesit destul de bine pentru prima data :) a meritat cu varf si indesat sa suport cateva grade in plus in casa, doar ca sa simt pentru cateva minute mirosul incredibil ce venea din cuptor!!! OMG, deci e o reteta ce clar se potriveste cu sloganul blogului meu : Explore the flavour! God, daca ar exista device-uri pentru inregistratul mirosului, focaccia aceasta s-ar califica garantat pentru testare :))) va provoc sa riscati o ora dimineata pentru aceasta minunatie care va va deschide usa spre paradisul aromelor, da ati inteles bine, doar o ora cu totul, e super rapid procesul cu un rezultat ce mie mi-a depasit asteptarile! Sa vedem cum se face, eu am adaptat usor reteta dupa gustul meu :)
        Even though it's hot outside I'm  still craving for some things, even more when I see stuff on blogs :) inspired by Ana Maria's recipe from Just Love Cookin', in the morning I started making a wonderful Focaccia Bread, which I dare to say turned out pretty good for my first time :) the degrees in the house were well worth compared to the smell that came from the oven!!! OMG, this is a recipe that fits my blog's motto: Explore the flavor! God, if there were any devices for recording the smell, this Focaccia would certainly qualify for testing :))) I dare you all to take one hour in the morning and prepare this yummyness which will open the door to the  paradise of flavors, yes, you read correctly, just an hour, it's super fast with a result that really exceeded my expectations! Let's see how it's made, I slightly adapted the recipe according to my own taste :)

Ingrediente/Ingredients:

500 g faina/500 g all purpose flour
300 ml apa carbogazoasa/300 ml carbonated water
25 g drojdie proaspata/25 g fresh yeast
40 ml ulei de masline/40 ml olive oil
1 lingurita sare/1 teaspoon with salt
1 lingurita zahar sau miere/1 teaspoon with sugar or honey
3 catei usturoi/3 garlic cloves
oregano/oregano 

Cum se face/How it's made:   

Incalzim apa cat sa fie calduta si dizolvam drojdia si zaharul in ea, apoi adaugam si uleiul de masline si amestecam. Turnam lichidul in bolul cu faina amestecata cu sare si usturoi zdrobit.
We heat the water so it's lukewarm and we dissolve the yeast and sugar, and we add the olive oil, mixing them. We pour the liquid in the bowl with flour mixed with salt and crushed garlic.

Framantam aluatul pana se desprinde usor de pe degete aproximativ 10 minute. Chiar daca el va fi destul de moale, rezistati tentatiei de a adauga faina. Rasturnam aluatul intr-o tava mare unsa cu ulei.
We knead the dough until it comes out of our fingers around 10 minutes. Though the dough will be pretty soft, resist the tentation of adding more flour. We place the dough in a big oiled pan.

Intindem aluatul cu degetele dupa forma tavii, apasand usor fara a trage de el. Lasam sa creasca pentru 30 de minute pana isi dubleaza volumul.
We flatten the dough with our fingers following the shape of the pan, without pulling it. We let it rise for 30 minutes, until the dough doubles its volume.

Dupa 30 de minute, facem mici gauri in aluat cu degetele (dezumflam aluatul), apasand pana la fundul tavii. Ungem aluatul cu un mix de 3 linguri ulei de masline+3 linguri apa.(se adauga apa, pentru ca gaurile sa ramana albe dupa coacere). Presaram sare de mare deasupra si oregano, sau alte mirodenii dupa plac: rozmarin, cimbru, busuioc, etc.
After 30 minutes, using our fingers we make holes in the dough (flattening the dough), pressing till the bottom of the pan. We grease the dough with a mixture of 3 tablespoons with olive oil + 3 tablespoons with water.(we add water so the holes will remain white after baking). We sprinkle some sea salt on top and oregano or other spices, according to your own taste like rosemary, thyme, basil, etc...     

Lasam aluatul sa creasca inca 30 de minute. Dupa ce a crescut introducem tava in cuptorul preincalzit la 205 grade pentru 25 de minute, cand e frumos rumenita deasupra. O scoatem pe un gratar sa se raceasca.
We let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. After that we place the pan in the preheated oven at 410 degrees for 25 minutes, when it's golden brown on top.  We remove it from the pan and we place it on a rack to cool.

Taiem felii si servim, nu va zic cu ce, ca merge cu orice, chiar si goala! Bon appetit!
We slice and serve, I won't say with what, because it goes with anything, even plain as it is! Enjoy!

Mirosul era atat de frumos incat cu greu m-am rabdat sa o las sa se raceasca :)
The smell was that lovely that I barely waited for the slices to cool :)

Fellile erau frumos crescute si delicioase!
The slices were puffy and delicious!

Mai de aproape.../Closer...  

   

Paine alba simpla - reteta pas cu pas (Simple White Bread - Step by Step Recipe)

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Please scroll down for English version


         Din categoria "How it's made" cred ca trebuie sa faca parte si o reteta de paine alba simpla. La mine in familie nu se facea prea des paine de casa, asa ca dupa ce am venit in Canada am cautat pe internet retete de paine pana m-am lamurit care e procesul de preparare. Credeam ca e o povara sa faci paine, ca dureaza mult si e dificil, dar dupa ce am facut-o pe prima, nu am mai cumparat paine decat foarte rar si de aceea m-am gandit ca o reteta cu poze pas cu pas pentru paine, ar face sa fie mai putin "scarry" prepararea ei (ma refer desigur la cei care nu au masina de facut paine, pentru ei e mult mai simplu :). Sper sa va ajute pozele!

Ingrediente pt 1 paine:                                      

1.     500 g faina alba de buna calitate (eu aici  cumpar Robin Hood, e cea mai buna)
2.     25 g drojdie proaspata (sau uscata dupa caz, eu cumpar la pachet de la o brutarie)
3.     300 ml apa
4.     1/2 lingurita zahar
5.     3 linguri ulei 
6.     1/2 lingurita sare

   

Eu fac de obicei cate 2 paini odata, si de aceea pozele arata o cantitate mai mare de aluat si 2 tavi in loc de una.

Este bine ca drojdia sa fie la temperatura camerei.

Cum se face:

        Mai intai preparam maiaua:  intr-un bol mic punem drojdia zdrobita, zaharul si 300 ml apa calduta (nu fierbinte!) si o lingura de faina.
 Amestecam bine, punem un stergar deasupra peste bol si lasam vreo 15 minute pana cand maiaua isi dubleza volumul.   daca drojdia este proaspata si de buna calitate, maiaua va creste frumos, in cazul in care nu creste, nu va mai obositi sa continuati, pentru ca nu va creste painea).
       Intre timp, cantarim si cernem faina (cea pe care o folosesc eu e deja cernuta), o punem intr-un vas mai adanc, adaugam sarea si amestecam bine (am citit undeva ca nu e bine ca sarea sa intre in contact cu drojdia) si facem o groapa in mijloc.  Maiaua a crescut...

Adaugam maiaua in faina din bol.

Incepem sa framantam, adaugam uleiul si framantam pana cand aluatul se ia de pe peretii vasului. Eu nu framant decat pana se inglobeaza toata faina.
 Trebuie sa arate asa:

 Acoperim cu un stergar vasul si il punem intr-un loc caldut, ferit de curent.(unii sugereaza sa incalziti cuptorul si sa puneti inauntru aluatul, eu din experienta va spun ca aluatul se va intari de la caldura deasupra). Lasati aluatul sa creasca aproximativ 1,5 ore. Dupa ce a crescut frumos...

Pregatim 1 tava (eu folosesc de chec, imi place painea in forma de franzela, dar puteti sa folositi orice tava doriti, depinde de forma pe care vreti sa i-o dati). Scoatem aluatul din bol, si il framantam 1 secunda, si ii dam forma dorita. Il asezam in tava. Preincalzim cuptorul la 195 grade Celsius sau 390 grade F).

Lasam sa creasca inca vreo 30-45 minute, pana cand ajunge sa depaseasca putin tava (acoperim cu stergar tava). Mie imi place painea nu foarte inalta, asa ca nu o las sa creasca exagerat. Dupa 40 min..

Facem usor niste taieturi cu cutitul pentru model fara a apasa aluatul. Eu nu ung cu nimic deasupra painea, iasa foarte frumoasa asa. Dam la cuptorul incins la 390 gr F timp de 40 minute. Mirosul din casa devine ucigator :))

Dupa 40 minute, scoatem painea pe un gratar si lasam sa se raceasca.

Observati ca una e mai mica si una mai mare :))) niciodata nu reusesc sa modelez in mod egal fiecare paine :)  Dupa ce s-a racit, puteti taia felii, yummy!!!

 Si ca sa vedeti cat e de pufoasa...Voila!

  Nu sa-mi laud singura marfa, dar e perfecta!!! pufoasa si aromata, cu o crusta delicioasa! Sper sa va placa painea, caci e tare buna si merge cu orice!


 English version


     In the category "How to"  I believe a simple white bread recipe must be included. In my family bread wasn't made very often, so when I came to Canada I searched the Internet for bread recipes until I figure it out how to do it. I thought it was a burden to make bread, that it takes a lot of time and it's difficult, but after I did my first one, I havn't bought bread but on very rare occasions and so I thought a step by step recipe for bread with pictures would make it less "scary" preparing it (I refer of course to those who don't have a bread machine at home :). I hope the pictures will help!

 Ingredients: 

1.     500 g white flour of a good quality (I buy Robin Hood flour, it's the best)
2.     25 g fresh yeast (or dry if it's the case, I buy it from a bakery shop in a bigger package)
3.     300 ml warm water
4.     1/2 teaspoon sugar
5.     3 tablespoons oil (olive oil or sunflower oil)
6.     1/2 teaspoon salt

I usually make 2 breads at a time, and that's why the pictures show more dough quantity and 2 pans instead of one.

It's best if you use the yeast at room temperature.

 

How it's made:

   We First prepare the yeast mixture: in a small bowl crumble the yeast, add the sugar and 300 ml warm water (not hot) and 1 tablespoon of flour.
   Mix well, put a towel over the bowl and leave it for about 15 minutes until yeast doubles its volume. If the yeast is fresh and a good quality one, the yeast mixture will grow nicely( if it doesn't  increase, don't bother to continue).
   Meanwhile, weigh and sift flour (I use one that is already pre-sifted), put it in a deep and large enough  bowl, add salt and mix well (I read somewhere that salt is not good when it comes in contact with the yeast) and make a hole in the middle. The yeast increased its volume ...

   We add the yeast in the bowl where the flour is. We add the oil.

   We knead the bread until it all comes together. We can sprinkle some flour if it gets to sticky.

   It should look like this:

   We cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and we place the bowl in a warm place, faraway from cold air.(some people suggest that we should put the bowl in the preheated oven, but from my experience I can tell you that it will make the dough hard on the surface). Let the dough sit until it doubles it's volume, for 1,5 hours. When finished...

   We prepare a pan (I usually use a loaf pan, because I like the bread to have the shape of a loaf, but you can use any kind of pan that you like, depending on the shape you want it to have). We knead the dough for a second, and we give it the shape we want, we place it in the pan.

   We preheat the oven at 390 degrees.

   We let the dough rise again for 30-45 minutes, until it reaches the top of the pan (we cover it with the kitchen towel). I don't like the bread very tall, so I don't let it rise to much. After 40 minutes...

   Using a sharp knife, we make 3 or 4 cuts on the bread gently and without pressing the dough. I don't oil the bread at all, because it will come out nicely without anything. We place the pan in the oven for 40 minutes at 390 degrees.  The smell in the house is a killing one :))

  After 40 minutes, we take the bread from the oven, and we place the bread on a rack to cool down.

  You can see that one is bigger and one is smaller, because I can never make them equal from the start :)).  After it cooled down, we can slice it. Yummy!

   So you can see how beautiful it is...

   It has a beautiful flavor and it's very easy to make, I hope you try  it!