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Notes

Cheese Grits vs Cheese Grits Casserole

If you are just wanting cheese grits (to be served immediately, with Shrimp and Grits or just want a more fluid grit) you don’t need to add the eggs and bake. You are done after adding the milk, butter, cheese and Worcestershire sauce (optional). Add enough milk/cream to get the consistency you are looking for.

Adding eggs and baking turns Cheese Grits into Cheese Grits Casserole. The eggs and baking create a “firmer” more cakelike texture to the grits as compared to just Cheese Grits. This is what I do for Christmas breakfast.

Cheese – Feel free to substitute any hard cheese or a combination of cheeses you like or have on hand for the cheddar. Gruyere is a popular substitute.

Ingredients

4 cups water (can use chicken or vegetable stock)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup quick-cooking grits not instant

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1/2 tsp red-pepper flake. Adjust as needed for strength of your spices
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 cups / 4-8oz / 110-225g shredded sharp cheddar cheese, depending on how cheesy you want it.
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk or 3-4 tbs cream, enough to turn them “white and creamy”
3-4 tbs butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)

2 eggs lightly beaten, if making Cheese Grits Casserole

½ cup grated parmesan cheese grated (optional)
Optional garnish – pinch of paprika

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add water and salt to a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the grits and mix well, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cayenne pepper / red-pepper flakes and garlic powder, simmer covered for five – seven minutes, or until done. Stir frequently to prevent lumps.

Remove from the heat and add the milk/cream, just enough to turn the grits “white and creamy”. Add butter, cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until everything is combined and the cheese and butter have melted. Add more milk/cream of you want a more fluid mixture.

If making Cheese Grits Casserole…

add a couple of spoonful’s of grits to the eggs in order to temper them. Add tempered eggs to the grits and continue stirring until they are thoroughly mixed in with the other ingredients.

Grease a two-quart baking dish and pour in the mixture. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the top and garnish with a pinch of paprika.

Bake uncovered for 45 – 60 minutes until browned on top. Let the casserole stand for five to ten minutes before serving.

Notes

Soaking your beans – For the best, creamiest, most flavorful beans, season your bean-soaking water with one tablespoon of kosher salt (about 15 grams) per liter, rinse the beans with fresh water before cooking, then add a pinch of salt to the cooking water as well. If you don’t have time to soak the beans, just be prepared for the cooking time to increase slightly. Soak for a least 8 hours, but it can be longer, just make sure that they are in a cool place, such as the refrigerator.

https://www.seriouseats.com/salt-beans-cooking-soaking-water-good-or-bad

Water vs Stock – if you have good quality/ tasting stock then feel free to use it but otherwise it turns out great if you just use water for cooking.

Cooking Beans – When cooking beans cover them with at least 3 cm of water. Bring the beans to a boil then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir them gently and occasionally, never letting them hit a strong boil; this can burst their skins and make them mushy or unevenly cooked. Add water as needed but towards the end of the cook, allow the water to reduce to end up with the right water/bean ratio you are looking for. If you want to thicken the broth, add a couple of tablespoons of rice about 30 minutes before you think they will be done, or you can smash some of the beans with the back of a spoon and stir the mush into the broth.

Ingredients

For Serving

Directions

Step 1 – Soak the Beans

Soak the black-eyed peas in salted, cold water overnight or for at least 8 hours, then drain when ready to cook.

Step 2 – Cook the Beans

The total cooking time can take between 1-2 hours and will vary dramatically depending on the age of the beans.

In a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic until just translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the Bay Leaf, Thyme, red-pepper flakes/chili and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the drained black-eyed peas, ham hock/bacon if using and water/stock, enough to cover everything by at least 3 cm. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring every 15-20 minutes and adding water as needed. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

If planning on thickening the broth, simmer until just short of tender leaving about 30 minutes of cooking time left. It doesn’t need to be exact.

Step 3 – Final Season and Thickening the Broth

About 30 minutes before you think the beans are done, taste and season with salt, pepper flakes or hot pepper sauce as desired. Stir in the rice if thickening the broth. Cover and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, until ready to serve. The longer it stands the better it becomes. If it gets to cool, reheat and let it simmer for a few minutes just prior to serving.

Use the ooni app or an online calculator to get the correct amounts of flour, water and yeast depending on how many dough balls you want and for how long for cold and room temp proofing.

Sample Schedule: Mix the dough at 19:00, knead for 5 minutes, rest for 20 minutes, knead again for 5 minutes, immediately put in the refrigerator for the bulk rise. 4-6 hours before you want to make pizza remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide and shape into dough balls and leave them at room temperature for the second rise.

Dough Balls: 12
Weight: 180g
Yeast: Instant
Water Hydration: 60%
Salt: 2.8%
Fermentation (Rise/Proof): Bulk: 24-42 hours refrigerated at 4°C, Second: 4-6 hours at room temperature

Ingredients

Flour, preferably 00: 1327g
Water (60%): 796g
Salt (2.8%): 37g
Yeast (.3%): 4g

Measure and Combine Ingredients

Add room temperature water and salt to the bowl and mix until dissolved.
Add yeast to the water and let it hydrate for one minute then mix it until it is dissolved
Slowing add flour and mix all ingredients until fully incorporated.

Knead and Rise

Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Let dough rest in bowl for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Mix on medium speed for up to 5 minutes until the skin of the dough is very smooth.
Immediately place in the refrigerator for the Bulk Rise

Shape and Second Rise

Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and divide into 180g chunks.
Gently stretch and roll into smooth even balls being careful not to tear the dough. The dough will be very stiff.
Place dough balls into proofing trays and lightly flour the tops. Let rise for 4-6 hours.

Note: Dough balls become more relaxed over time. Every time you work them they stiffen up. Some like the workability of balls that have rested for 24 hours, 12 hours or 6 hours. If you want a longer rest to improve workability then at some point after the first 24 hours of the bulk rise, shape the dough balls, put them in the proofing trays and return them to the refrigerator. Remove them 60-90 minutes before making pizza.

Make Pizza

.

Makes 750 grams (3 cups)

Ingredients
1 can (800g/28 ounce) whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
8g fine sea salt

Blender Method
Pour entire contents of the tomato can into the blender. Add the Salt. Pulse at lowest speed setting very very briefly, just until tomatoes are blended. Do not over blend.

Food Mill Method

Pour half the can of tomatoes into the food mill on top of a mixing bowl and crank until they are ground up. Empty the mash into the mixing bowl. Repeat with rest of the can. Throw nothing away. Add the salt and mix with a large spoon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marzano_tomato

Use the ooni app or an online calculator to get the correct amounts of flour, water and yeast depending on how many dough balls you want and for how long for cold and room temp proofing.

Sample Schedule: Mix the dough at 19:00, knead for 5 minutes, rest for 20 minutes, knead again for 5 minutes, first rise for 2 hours, at 21:30 divide and shape into dough balls and refrigerate, make pizza in the next two days. Remove the dough balls from the fridge 60-90 minutes before making pizza.

Dough Balls: 12
Weight: 180g
Yeast: Instant
Water Hydration: 60%
Salt: 2.8%
Fermentation (Rise/Proof): Bulk: 2 hours, Second: 24-48 hours refrigerated at 4°C, Out of Fridge 90 minutes before baking

Ingredients

Flour, preferably 00: 1325g
Water (60%): 795g
Salt (3%): 40g
Yeast (from ooni app): 2.2g

Measure and Combine Ingredients

Add 32°C – 35°C water and salt to the bowl and mix until dissolved.
Add yeast to the water and let it hydrate for one minute then mix it until it is dissolved
Slowing add flour and mix all ingredients until fully incorporated.

Knead and Bulk Rise

Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Let dough rest in bowl for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Mix on medium speed for up to 5 minutes until the skin of the dough is very smooth.
Hold the dough for 2 hours covered, at room temperature, for the Bulk Rise

Shape and Second Cold Rise in the Refridgerator

Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and divide into 180g chunks.
Gently stretch and roll into smooth even balls being careful not to tear the dough.
Place dough balls into proofing trays and lightly flour the tops.

Place immediately in the refrigerator. Refrigerate until ready to make pizza, either the next evening or up to the day after (usually 24-48 hours).

Make Pizza

Remove from the fridge 60-90 minutes before making pizza.

Use the ooni app or an online calculator to get the correct amounts of flour, water and yeast depending on how many dough balls you want and for how long for cold and room temp proofing.

Sample Schedule: Mix the dough at 09:00, knead for 5 minutes, rest for 15 minutes, knead again for 5 minutes, first rise for 2 hours, at 11:25 divide and shape into dough balls, make pizza at any time between 17:00 and 21:00.

For next day pizza, refrigerate the dough balls 4 hours after they are made up. Remove from the fridge one hour before making pizza.

Dough Balls: 12
Weight: 180g
Yeast: Instant
Water Hydration: 60%
Salt: 2.8%
Fermentation (Rise/Proof): Bulk: 20 minutes, Second: 10-12 hours depending on temperature

Ingredients

Flour, preferably 00: 1327g
Water (60%): 796g
Salt (2.8%) : 37g
Yeast (.1%-.2%): 1.3-2.65g – depending on room temperature (18°C: 2.6g, 21°C: 1.3g)

Measure and Combine Ingredients

Add 32°C – 35°C water and salt to the bowl and mix until dissolved.
Add yeast to the water and let it hydrate for one minute then mix it until it is dissolved
Slowing add flour and mix all ingredients until fully incorporated.

Knead and Rise

Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Let dough rest in bowl for 15 minutes at room temperature.
Mix on medium speed for up to 5 minutes until the skin of the dough is very smooth.

Kneading the dough is one of the most important steps, but often a step that’s overlooked. Many people do the mistake of not kneading their dough enough leading to problems down the road, when you’re going to start rising the dough.

When you knead the pizza dough, the gluten in the flour will develop, and create a network of small walls. These walls will trap the CO2 created by the fermentation process, where yeast is eating the sugars in the flour. It’s therefore important to develop gluten properly, to create strong enough walls to hold the CO2. This is done by kneading the dough. The more you knead the dough, the stronger the gluten walls are going get. And the stronger the walls are, the more the dough will keep is structure and shape.

If you don’t knead the dough enough, it’s not going to be able to hold on to the CO2. The reason is that the walls aren’t strong enough, and the CO2 will escape. You will then end up with a dense dough that’s not great to work with. You’ll also not get the light, fluffy consistency that we’re looking for in a pizza crust.

Bulk Rise

Hold the dough for 2 hours covered, at room temperature, for the Bulk Rise. The dough should almost double in size.

In this step, you let the dough rise in one, single mass. It’s during bulk fermentation most of the increase in volume will happen. The reason is that yeast works better in one single dough, rather than individual, smaller dough balls.

Shape and Second Rise (Final Proofing)

Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and divide into 180g chunks.
Gently stretch and roll into smooth even balls being careful not to tear the dough.
Place dough balls into proofing trays and lightly flour the tops. Let the dough balls rise for 10-12 hours depending on the temperature.

The ideal time for the final proof at room temperature is between 8-12 hours as this is the time it takes for the gluten to relax.

2 Easy tests to tell if your dough is proofed and ready

Dough Volume Increased
Most doughs usually double in volume when proofed, meaning that if your dough has not grown much in volume yet it probably needs to proof longer.

The Poke Test
Press the dough gently with our knuckle or finger to determine if it is properly proofed and ready. If the dough springs back right away, it needs more proofing. But if it springs back slowly and leaves a small indent, it’s ready!

Make Pizza

Dough balls should be fine for making pizza anytime during the next 3 or 4 hours after the second rise is complete.

1 Tablespoon oil, preferably canola or corn
½ cup minced onion
½ green or red bell pepper, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ¼ pounds ground beef
¾ pound ground pork
1 ½ cups dry bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
¼ cup stock, preferably beef
1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce to taste

Prepare your smoker, bringing the temperature to 200 to 220°F.

In a heavy skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, pepper, salt and cumin and sauté until the vegetables are softened. Spoon the vegetable mixture into a large bowl.

Add the remaining meat loaf ingredients and mix well with your hands. Mound the meat into a smoke-proof sheet pan.

Transfer the loaf to your smoker and smoke the meat until the internal temperature reaches 170°F (approximately 1 ½ – 2 hours). When about 30 minutes of cooking time remain, apply a barbecue sauce of your choice to the top of the meat loaf.

After removing the loaf from the grill, allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serve warm or refrigerate for later use in sandwiches

Source: Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue by Cheryl

Total time: 18 – 24 hours

Inspired by The Clever Carrot

I like this recipe as all the work is in the first 2 hours, then it just goes by itself, other than shaping the dough after the bulk fermentation, until you are ready to bake.

When determining how much starter to use, consider a few things: If you live in a warm, humid environment, 50 g should suffice. If you plan on doing an overnight rise, 50 g also should suffice. If you want to speed things up or if you live in a cold environment, consider using 100 g starter.

If you use 100 g of starter, your dough may rise more quickly, so keep an eye on it. As always, rely on the visual cues (increasing in volume by 50%) when determining when the bulk fermentation is done.

A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has risen 50%. It’s also no problem for it to double in size just continue on with the recipe, it should be just fine.

Timeline for baking bread at 19:00 following evening

09:00 Mix dough

09:30 Stretch & Fold

10:00 Stretch & Fold

10:30 Stretch & Fold

11:00 Stretch & Fold

11:00 Bulk Fermentation for 8-10 hours @ 21°C or rises 50-75%

19:00 -21:00 Bulk Fermentation complete. Shape into a round.

1 – 24 hours – Proof (second rise) in refrigerator

19:00 Bake for 30-45 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the dough:

Whisk the starter and water together in a large bowl with a fork or spatula. Add the flour and salt. Mix to combine for 60 seconds, finishing by hand if necessary to form a rough dough. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold:

After 30 minutes, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and into the center. Repeat until you’ve performed this series of folds 4 to 5 times with the dough. Let dough rest for another 30 minutes and repeat the stretching and folding action. If you have the time: do this twice more for a total of 4 times in 2 hours.

Note: Even if you can only perform one series of stretches and folds, your dough will benefit. So don’t worry if you have to run off shortly after you mix the dough.

Bulk Fermentation (first rise):

Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise at room temperature, about 8 to 10 hours at 70°F (21°C) or even less if you live in a warm environment. The dough is ready when it has increased by 50%-75% in volume, has a few bubbles on the surface, and jiggles when you move the bowl from side to side.

Shape:

Coax the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape it into a round: fold the top down to the center, turn the dough, fold the top down to the center, turn the dough; repeat until you’ve come full circle. If you have a bench scraper, use it to push and pull the dough to create tension.

Rest:

Let the dough rest seam side up rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line an 8-inch (20-cm) bowl or proofing basket with a towel (flour sack towels are ideal) and dust with flour (preferably rice flour, which doesn’t burn the way all-purpose flour does). Using a bench scraper or your hands, shape it again as described in step 4. Place the round into your lined bowl, seam side up.

Proof (second rise):

Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour or for as long as 48 hours. I prefer to let this dough proof for at least 24 hours prior to baking.

Baking

Place a Dutch oven in your oven, and preheat your oven to 550°F (290°C).

Remove dough from refrigerator.

If not using parchment paper, just tip the dough from the bowl directly into the heated Dutch oven and score. I’ve never had any problems with this method.

If using parchment paper, cut a piece of parchment to fit the size of your baking pot. Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release. Using the tip of a small knife or a razor blade, score the dough however you wish — a simple “X” is nice. Use the parchment to carefully transfer the dough into the preheated baking pot.

Lower the oven to temperature to 450ºF (230ºC). Carefully cover the pot.

Bake the dough for 30 minutes, covered.

Lower the temperature to 400ºF (200ºC), remove the lid and continue to bake for 10 more minutes