Fiddler's Favorite Recipes Episode 1: Bread

March 23, 2020, 1:33 PM · Last week when we got notice of life shutting down temporarily as we know it… the first thing I thought of (besides having a lot more practice time) was food and cooking.

We have many musician friends that love to cook ( and drink ) and I thought it would be fun to get a glimpse of them at home preparing their favorite food or drink recipe.

And so here it is Fiddler's Favorites, a collection of food and drink recipes from around the world…..

I LOVE to cook but I am a TERRIBLE baker, but one of my favorite foods is a good loaf of bread. For this first Episode of Fiddler’s Favorites my husband David graciously agreed to bake his easy loaf.

Enjoy….Stay healthy and at home !

* * *

Cellist David Cunliffe and violinist Desirée Ruhstrat share their favorite easy quick bread recipe:

BREAD
Ingredients:
3 Cups of Flour (bread flour ...king arthur brand is great)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups of water
Mix up Flour, salt & yeast in a mixing bowl.
Add 1 1/2 cups of hot water and mix to a shaggy dough. (1 minute)
Cover with Saran Wrap and let sit for 8 - 12 hours (you can do as little as 3 hours but it tastes better if you do longer).

Heat up oven to 450F with the Dutch oven inside for at least 30 - 45 minutes (careful that the knob on the lid is metal not plastic..trust me on this!)
Meanwhile scoop out dough onto a floured work surface and fold over the dough a number of times and then put in a proofing basket (or a bowl will do) and cover with tea towel.
When oven has heated up take out dutch oven, line with parchment paper and put the dough on parchment paper, cover with lid and bake in oven for 30 mins
After 30 minutes remove bread from dutch oven and bake bread directly on oven rack for a further 15/20 minutes until brown and crispy.
Let the bread cool on rack for at least 15 minutes before eating...that's the hardest part !

* A special shout out to Herah Kim for video editing and to Rebekah Kim, age 10, for her first lesson on Bach on Facetime :)

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Laurie Niles

March 24, 2020 at 03:22 AM · I made your bread today and it was delish. I meant to take a picture, but everyone tore into it before I could!

Paul Deck

March 24, 2020 at 11:57 AM · These two look like movie stars, don't they? What a couple! I totally feel your pain about baking. I'm the cook here. I love making anything with meat, vegetables, pasta, rice, etc. Mexican, Italian, middle-eastern, Chinese, and classic American stuff -- I make it all.

But I absolutely loathe baking. Somehow I feel I'm not controlling my own destiny when it comes to anything involving dough. Fortunately my wife is good at it so we have "division of labor" here at home.

PS Thanks for opening the comments, Laurie.

Diana Skinner

March 24, 2020 at 12:54 PM · This bread recipe actually looks like one I can handle! I plan to try it as well. Thank you! And if the "cello thing" doesn't work out for David, I hear Food Network is hiring! I look forward to the next episode of "Fiddler's Favorite Recipes!"

74.83.52.128

March 25, 2020 at 01:19 PM · Mark Bittman published a similar recipe in the NY Times several years ago and I have been making it ever since. You can modify the recipe by using both whole wheat and regular King Arthur bread flour, plus adding things like sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds and caraway seeds. I bake at 500 degrees for 30 minutes in a dutch oven, then take the top off and bake for another 10 minutes at 450 to give the crust a good texture.

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Fiddler's Favorite Recipes Episode 1: Bread

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