More on Uzbeki bread

 Last week's post about making Uzbeki bread was read with great interest by my friend Alan, the serious cook. Alan sat me down after services to ask me many questions about technique. Inspired by Alan's granular interest I made another batch of the baked- in -the- pot bread.

This time I was successful. 

I don't think that the exact ingredients matter a whole lot in this case. This type of bread baking is all about technique.

Uzbeki cooked in a pot bread

2 C water

1 tsp yeast

1 tsp brown sugar

Combine in a bowl and let sit until the yeast begins to bloom

then mix 2C of flour with a tsp of salt

Add flour and salt to the yeasty water and mix with a spatula. Keep adding flour as needed. Add a glug of oil. When the mixture gets too thick to mix comfortably with the spatula begin mixing and kneading with your hand. Yes, you can do all of your mixing in the bowl

When the dough has become smooth cover with a towel and set aside for an hour or so.

After the hour knead again and divide the dough into baseball sized balls and cover for a few minutes.

Meanwhile take a large pot, cover and heat over a medium flame. Have another pot lid that fits the same pot and heat on high heat on a burner. Start to form one of the balls into the loaf---a circle that has high sides and a depressed center. dampen the top of the loaf, and turn over. Pierce the center of the loaf so it won't rise.

Take the heated pot lid and place the formed loaf in the center of the underside of the lid. Hold the pot lid with one hand. Dampen your hand to shape the loaf a bit more. close the pot---with the bread hanging down from the pot lid. The pot is not a little oven. Cook the bread for about fifteen minutes. Remove from the lid with a spatula.

Re heat the pot lid and in a few minutes form another loaf. While the pot lid heats on a burne rcover the cooking pot with a different pot lid so it is nice and hot when you are ready to bake the next loaf.

The recipes I had watched on YouTube suggested egging the loaf. I didn't this time. The bread is slightly charred and delicious. My pan is discolored from the high heat but I can live with that.

We will have one loaf tonight along with our challah.

We are also eating vaguely Indian chicken. That is, the spices, are vaguely Indian. the chicken is just roasted in the oven.

It's gazpacho season.

I ate a different batch last night for dinner and for lunch today. At this point in the summer I drink my salad. We are also eating rice that I made with a few cardamom pods and half of a lemon. Dessert will be fresh figs.

Earlier in the week a friend gave us some freshly picked peppers which we ate in a frittata,

The peppers were too pretty to cut up so I didn't.

and some freshly dug potatoes which I boiled and served with a yogurt based sauce.

Eating such fresh produce is a treat. Both dishes were delicious.

We made a pit stop at a gas station on Route 4 in New Jersey. The gas station sold hundreds of different kinds of cigars.

I know nothing about cigars but it was interesting to see the variety.

And in the continuing series of things that I DIDN'T buy at the thrift store

I really liked this Catalina of California double-knit sweater. My guess is that it is a 1950's garment and is a California version of a Scandinavian sweater. 

This display of Madame Alexander dolls gave me the creeps.

If these dolls were in my bedroom I would have screaming nightmares.

Hoping that this Shabbat of comfort brings us all peace.