Try Adobe Oven Bread, Ratatouille, and more
Recipes included in this article:
Second-Generation Adobe Oven Bread
Flat Bread Salt Pizzas
Adobe Oven Ratatouille
Adobe Oven Roasted Salsa
Project: Build Sunset’s classic adobe oven
Second-Generation Adobe Oven Bread
PREP AND COOK TIME: About 3 ¼ hours, including about 1 ½ hours for rising
MAKES: 1 loaf, about 2 ½ pounds
2 cups warm (about 110º) water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 package active dry yeast
About 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole-wheat flour
About ½ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1. In a large bowl, combine warm water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water; let stand until yeast softens, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir together 4 cups all-purpose flour, the whole-wheat flour, ¼ cup cornmeal, and salt. Add ½ the flour mixture to bowl. Beat with a spoon or mixer until dough is well moistened. Stir in remaining flour.
3. To knead with a dough hook, beat at medium speed until dough begins to pull from bowl sides and is not sticky when lightly touched, 10 to 15 minutes. If dough sticks, beat in more all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove dough hook.
To knead by hand, scrape dough onto a well-floured board. Knead until very elastic and no longer sticky, 10 to 15 minutes. Add flour as required to keep dough from sticking to the board. Wash and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl.
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 ¼ hours.
5. Briefly knead dough with dough hook or on a lightly floured board to expel air. Shape dough into a smooth ball or oval loaf. Set smooth side up on a baking sheet dusted with about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Dust loaf top lightly with more flour, drape with plastic wrap, and let stand until puffy, 30 to 40 minutes. Refrigerate loaf if it is ready before adobe oven is.
6. When adobe oven has cooled to about 350°, transfer loaf to a cornmeal-coated bread paddle. Make slashes about ½ inch deep across the loaftop in several places with a very sharp knife or razor, then brush with beaten egg; take care not to let egg run onto paddle.
7. Slip loaf from paddle onto clean oven floor. Close oven door. Check temperature in 5 minutes; if above 450°, remove door until oven drops to 350°, then close. After 10 minutes, spray loaf all over with water; close door. After another 10 minutes, spray loaf with more water; close door.
8. Continue baking until loaf is rich golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped, 40 to 60 minutes more. Pull loaf onto oven hearth to cool. Serve warm or cool.
Per ounce: 71 cal., 7.6% (5.4 cal.) from fat; 2.1 g protein; 0.6 g fat (0.1 g sat.); 14 g carbo (0.8 g fiber); 60 mg sodium; 5.3 mg chol.
Next: Flat Bread Salt Pizza, Adobe Oven Ratatouille, and Adobe Oven Roasted Salsa
PREP AND COOK TIME: About 20 minutes
MAKES: 4 servings
1. Cut a thawed 1-pound loaf of frozen bread dough into quarters. Shape each portion into a ball.
2. On a lightly floured board, pat each ball into an 8-inch-wide round and rub lightly with olive oil (about 4 teaspoons total). Sprinkle rounds with kosher or coarse salt (½ to ¾ teaspoon total).
3. If desired, cut 1 head roasted garlic in half, squeeze out pulp, and pat equally over bread rounds. Sprinkle lightly with dried thyme (about ½ teaspoon total).
4. Set rounds, 1 at a time, on a cornmeal-dusted bread paddle.
5. When adobe oven is at 550°, slip rounds directly onto clean oven floor. Leave door open and cook until bread is browned, about 5 minutes. Rotate with paddle if necessary to brown evenly. (You can bake pizzas at cooler oven temperatures, but they take longer to cook and don’t brown as well.)
Per pizza: 352 cal., 26% (90 cal.) from fat; 8.7 g protein; 10 g fat (1.9 g sat.); 55 g carbo (2.4 g fiber); 730 mg sodium; 5.7 mg chol.
Adobe Oven Ratatouille
PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 ¼ hours
NOTES: If roasting meat in the adobe oven, skim fat from juices and mix with the ratatouille.
MAKES: 4 cups; 6 to 8 servings
1. Roast 8 Roma tomatoes (1½ lb. total), 2 slender eggplant (¾ lb. total), 2 bell peppers (1 lb. total), 1 onion (6 oz.), and 1 head garlic (2½ oz.).
2. Peel, core, and chop tomatoes; put tomatoes and juice in a bowl. Stem eggplant. Pull skin, stems, and seeds from peppers. Peel onion. Chop eggplant, peppers, and onion and add to bowl. Cut garlic heads in half crosswise and squeeze pulp into bowl.
3. Heat ½ cup chicken broth and ¾ teaspoon dried thyme until boiling. Mix with vegetables and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Per ½ cup: 60 cal., 6% (3.6 cal.) from fat; 2.3 g protein; 0.4 g fat (0 g sat.); 14 g carbo (2.9 g fiber); 12 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.
Adobe Oven Roasted Salsa
PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 ½ hours
NOTES: To avoid discomfort, wear plastic gloves when handling chilies.
MAKES: 2 cups
1. Roast 8 fresh poblano chilies (about 1½ lb. total; also called pasillas), 4 fresh Anaheim chilies (about ½ lb. total; also called California or New Mexico), 2 red bell peppers (about ¾ lb. total), and 1 onion (6 oz.). Pull off and discard chili and bell pepper skins, stems, and seeds. Peel onion. Dice vegetables and scoop, with juices, into a bowl.
2. Season salsa with 3 tablespoons lime juice and salt to taste.
Per ¼ cup: 52 cal., 5.2% (2.7 cal.) from fat; 2.2 g protein; 0.3 g fat (0 g sat.); 12 g carbo (2.1 g fiber); 8.1 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.
Project: Sunset’s classic adobe oven
