|
Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
The old-fashioned wayLet me begin with an apology. From now on when there is important information to be given it will be put at the very beginning of the column, not at the end where it can be cut off when the column needs shortening. So let me give you some missing information from a recent column. It didn't make the cut when the necessary cutting was done. "The Posh Squash, A Community Garden Cookbook" mentioned in a June column, can be ordered by sending check or money order to Posh Squash, P.O. Box 625, Gualala, CA 95445. The book sells for $15 but there is a $4.50 charge for shipping and handling on each copy. The money goes to the Community Garden from whence the recipes were sprung. Meanwhile, back at the ranch. Many years ago the Basque sheepherders were baking bread in Dutch ovens, the castiron, covered deep skillets that has long been favored for pot roast. Because the cast iron holds the heat evenly Dutch ovens have long been used on chuck wagons, in settlers' kitchens and in our kitchens. The Basque Sheepherders used this all- purpose pan that cooks like an oven when they were alone up in the mountains. Historically the sheepherders watched over as many as 1,000 sheep with the help of a dog. Herders would be scattered all over the mountainside from spring until fall. Every five days a camp tender would arrive on horseback with provisions for the next five days' meals--ham and bacon, dried fruit, dried beans, flour, yeast (though they kept a bit of their bread dough to use in starting the next batch of bread) onions, garlic, sugar, cinnamon, saffron, paprika, rice and cans of tomato sauce. Plus a jug of red wine. The herders used a campfire or an underground fire pit for baking and the lid helped keep smoke and ashes from flavoring the bread while holding in the heat and helping to keep the heat circulating in the pan. Basque Sheepherder's BreadTry this in a covered grill or bake it in a regular oven. Or, build a campfire and keep it glowing. 2 tablespoons yeast (only 1 at high altitudes if you're camping) Put yeast, sugar and 2 cups of flour in a large bowl. Slowly add warm water, stirring to make a thin batter. Let mixture rest for 10 to 20 minutes, or until foamy bubbles rise to the surface. Stir in the salt. Gradually add about 6 more cups flour, a cup at a time, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon. Continue to add flour gradually, working dough with your hands until it holds together in a ball. Knead dough inside bowl, adding more flour as needed, until texture is smooth and elastic. Leave dough in the bowl and cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm spot. Let dough rise until doubled in bulk (1 to 2 hours). When dough has risen, punch down and let it rise a second time. Meanwhile, oil a 4-quart cast-iron Dutch oven. Cut a circle of aluminum foil to fit inside bottom of pot. Oil the foil. Preheat oven to 400 F. When dough has risen a second time, punch down, form into a ball and place in the Dutch oven. Oil inside of the pot's lid and place it on the pot. Let dough rise until it is about to touch the lid. With the lid in place, put bread into oven. Bake about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow. Remove from oven, invert onto a rack, and allow bread to cool before cutting. Makes 1 loaf big enough to make 14 to 16 servings. Indian Fry BreadThere are two varieties of this bread that obviously came to the Indians after flour entered their diet, probably when rations were first given out on the reservations. One variety is a simple baking powder biscuit dough which is made into thinner patties than you would bake in an oven and cooked in a cast iron skillet. (This is very similar to a Scotch bread and probably came to the frontier with the Scotch fur traders.) The other is a yeast dough. Because the Indians didn't have ovens they very cleverly figured out how to fry the bread it in a Dutch oven or a tin can over a campfire. Today deep-fat fryers or an electric frying pan make it easy. 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast Stir yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar into warm water and set aside until yeast is dissolved and mixture is very bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and evaporated milk to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Measure flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar into a bowl and stir well. Add yeast/milk mixture and stir to make a soft dough. Sprinkle a surface with flour. Turn dough out onto surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Coat a bowl with oil. Place dough in the bowl and turn to coat all surfaces. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it has more than doubled, about 1 hour. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pour oil into a pan to a depth of 3/4-inches. Heat to 375 F.* Roll out each piece of dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Just before frying, make a 3-inch long cut in the center of the dough with the tip of a small knife. (For the same reason as you have holes in the center of doughnuts.) Fry one piece at a time until nicely browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or warm. *NOTE: You can heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat. If you insert the tip of a wooden spoon into the oil and bubbles form around it, the oil is hot enough to fry the bread. Ice CreamI don't know if you want to try this with the ice left in your insulated carrier on a picnic, or not, but it might be fun to see if you could do what ingenious early settlers did to make ice cream. If you have a Boy Scout in the family make this his project as it may require the entire troop to keep the stirring action going. Half-and-half Stir together cream and sugar in a tin bucket, big enough to allow room for expansion. Crush mint leaves in some of the mixture and let steep to flavor the milk; strain and return to the bucket. Or, add crushed berries or finely chopped peaches to the cream. Place this bucket inside a wooden bucket or a larger pail. Layer ice and coarse salt between the tin bucket and the pail. With a clean stick keep stirring until the ice cream begins to thicken and turn into ice cream. Where there is a will there is a way!
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |