It was finally time to deal with the grapes sitting in my fridge. After you’ve had a fresh Concord grape, you realize it’s what all the artificially flavored grape stuff is trying to mimic. Delicious as the grapes are on their own, I’ve been baking a little more than usual and felt like keeping it up.
Schiacciata con l’uva is a little something they do in Tuscany with leftover wine grapes from the harvest. I ended up baking a version of this grape focaccia with (a very limited amount of) pine nuts and rosemary, which is exactly as delicious as it sounds. You could also try it with a bit of grappa.
We baked bread because of bad beer (ooh, alliteration) that we didn’t feel like drinking anymore. The recipe is from Real Simple, and as you might expect, it is real simple. My advice is to use a non-stick baking sheet if you have one so that you don’t have to oil a regular baking sheet, as the recipe instructs (thereby making things even more simple). Conveniently, I also had a loaf’s worth of fresh basil that was on the verge of wilting into a brown mess, but the bread would also be good with other herbs, scallions, or nothing green at all.
Since waiting for the dough to ferment (what’s called proofing) isn’t called for in this recipe, the air pockets are tiny and the bread is soft rather than chewy. This means it’s good as a last-minute kind of bread, but also sliced crosswise for sandwiches.
(adapted from Real Simple)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast (not instant yeast)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 bottle (12 fluid ounces) not-too-fancy ale, at room temperature
extra flour for the work surface
about 1 cup chopped or torn fresh basil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine flours, yeast, salt, pepper, and cheese in a large bowl.
Add beer and mix just until the dough comes together. If it’s way too sticky, add in a few tablespoons of flour at a time.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface (like a clean counter or a cutting board with a damp paper towel underneath it to keep it from slipping). Sprinkle basil on the dough and knead for a couple minutes.
Shape dough into a round-ish loaf and make a few 1/2-inch-deep slashes on top with a paring knife. Place dough on a non-stick baking sheet, or brush some oil on the bottom of the loaf if your baking sheet isn’t non-stick. Stick it in the oven for 40-45 minutes. The crust should be lightly browned and the loaf should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom of it. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Back in January (which feels like a crazy long time ago), John and I spent a week in San Francisco catching up with old friends and repeatedly overfeeding ourselves at places like Tartine, Bi-Rite, Humphry Slocombe, Chow, and the Mission (yes, the entire neighborhood). During one of our visits to Tartine, I had a slice of a moist, savory olive and ham bready loafy thing, enjoyed it, then returned to the East Coast. Months later, the New York Times told me it was a cake salé (“kek”… c’est drôle), a category of French quick breads that are ultra-portable and go well with summery wines. Um, yes please.
The accompanying New York Times recipe is pretty solid. I used leeks (the white and light green parts from 2 medium ones, chopped and gently browned in a little bit of butter and olive oil) instead of ham, but the combination of cheese and cured meat and onion-tasting things is enough of an excuse to make this again with all three add-ins. I don’t really understand how this stuff is supposed to be shared at picnics (or anywhere, for that matter) because I could easily eat an entire loaf on my own.
