No Knead Cast Iron Sourdough Bread...French Toast

This is a little bit about a french toast recipe, but more about what to do with all of that leftover no-knead cast iron bread you'll probably be making after the weather slowly moves from hot cruel summer to cool cozy fall.   Yes?  Yes. 

Hopefully you've had a chance to make some of the basic no frills no-knead bread..there's nothing like pulling a loaf of freshly made artisan type bread out of the oven, and it's even better if it only took a few minutes to throw together.  If you have made it though, you know that this is usually "same day only" bread.  No preservatives means this bread is awesome the day it's baked and quickly (too quickly) loses it's charm as time progresses.  You can make some pretty great croutons and bread crumbs with a day old loaf, but my favorite use is french toast.  Of course. 

First the bread of course, and since I can't post the same recipe repeatedly, I tried a sourdough version this time.  

My starter is about 3 months only and only gets better over time.  I poked some holes through a plastic cap, and store my starter in the fridge. Every couple of weeks I dump the starter into a clean quart sized mason jar because the dried crusty starter towards the top of the jar starts to bug me.  Keep feeding this and the starter will become your friend for use in bread, muffins and ... yum ... pancakes! 

This is a perfect weekend recipe in my mind because if you make the dough Friday night before bed, you can have fresh bread on Saturday (I used to give in and buy that $7 artisan loaf every week at the farmer's market) and then have leftover bread for french toast for Sunday brunch.  

French toast...does it need a recipe? I use 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla  whisked together (I don't soak the bread for long but if you do, you'll need much more egg/milk mixture), dip the sliced bread, and add to med-high griddle.  Cook until golden and flip--about 3-4 minutes per side.  Top with maple syrup or freshly made blueberry syrup. 

And it goes without saying that this is best served with a nice latte.  Have you tried a Nespresso sample at your local Williams Sonoma or Crate and Barrel?  One latte and I was absolutely sold and this machine came home with me two years ago.  I love him.  Madly, deeply and truly.  

The associate at C&B talked me into the Citiz version with the attached milk frothing unit.  I'd originally wanted the decoupled version so I could store the milk frother in the cupboard but she showed me how the frother shelf could also be used to store espresso cups and the pods in a cute little apothecary jar... oooohhhhh..... so cute....

When it comes to my java though, cute is not going to cut it.  This machine makes a pretty good espresso (said the girl who drank 10-12 a day in Italy). It's not as good as the $2000 espresso maker Williams Sonoma tried to sell me (yeah, nice try) and it's better than a stove top moka pot.  The pods make it as quick and mess free to make a latte as it is to make a cup of Keurig coffee and the pods are similarly priced if you use one pod.  I like my lattes strong so use 2-3 pods depending upon cup size-- 1 pod makes one espresso shot.  The biggest bummer is the exclusivity of the Nespresso pod system...unless you are near a Nespresso store, you have to buy them from Nespresso online.  You definitely have to watch your stash and plan ahead because if you run out, well you are waiting for delivery.  They are little painful on the wallet when you are ordering 200 at a time but I just consider it an investment in my sanity.  Much cheaper than therapy.

Seriously good stuff comes out of this machine.  I like the espresso as much as the lattes--look at the crema on this beauty!  If you love your java and don't mind a little investment for it, this thing is awesome.  Can you tell I love it?

No Knead Cast Iron Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Starter

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons of active-dry yeast
2 cups warm water

1. Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast together in a clean and sterile container (use only glass, glazed ceramic or crockery to hold your starter. No metal or plastic) that can hold two quarts. Gradually stir in the water and mix until it forms a thick paste (don't worry about any lumps, as they will disappear).
2. Cover the container with a dish cloth and let it sit in a warm counter. The dish cloth will let wild yeasts pass through into the batter. The mixture should bubble as it ferments (this will foam up quite a bit). 
3. Let it sit at room temperature for 2 to 5 days, stirring it once a day with a wooden spoon. The starter is ready when it develops a pleasant sour smell and looks bubbly.
4. Once your starter starts bubbling, then start feeding it daily with flour and water according to the directions below. Then stir it, cover loosely and allow a little breathing (can use plastic wrap with a hole punched in) and store it on your counter top or in the refrigerator.  Never store in an airtight container. 
5. If stored on the counter, you'll need to feed it every 1-2 days which is great if you use it often.  If stored in the fridge you'll want to either use some once every 2 weeks, or dump some out and feed. 

To Feed:

Remove approximately 3/4 to 1 cup of starter (use this starter in a baked item or throw it away). Replace it with same amount (3/4 to 1 cup) of warm water plus(3/4 to 1 cup) flour.  Stir with wooden spoon and store

No Knead Sourdough Bread

Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter at room temp
3 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons sea salt

1 cup water

1/2 tsp yeast (not always needed with sourdough starter, but I still like to add a bit)

Instructions

1. Pour sourdough starter into a bowl with flour, salt, yeast and water. Mix with wooden spoon until combined. 
2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-16 hours or overnight.
3. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 25 minutes. 
4. While the oven and pan is preheating, dump dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest until pan is ready.
5. Remove hot pan from the oven and carefully drop dough into ungreased pan. 
6. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. 
7. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Let cool before slicing