Feels a little like Sunday...

From the City...

For me, there is nothing better than the weekend and even more, there is nothing better than Sundays. Last weekend L was in Toronto staying with Simon, Ruby and I. In true Toronto fashion, we went out for dinner at our favorite spot in China town, took in a $5 Sunday morning yoga class and after had an unbelievably delicious brunch.

So here's the breakdown of what we had:

L brought these unbelievably cute, blue poulet eggs and a hunk of really good ham. I made a loaf of whole wheat bread, a la sullivan street bakery recipe (recipe to follow) , a hunk of really good ontario cheese from the local cheese store and these adorable sprouts that L grows herself and sells at the Green Barns Saturday morning market at St.Clair and Christie.

Here's the very famous Sullivan Street Bakery Bread Recipe that is so good, so easy but requires just a little time and planning.

Formula:

3 cups (400g) flour

1½ cups (300g or 12 oz) water

¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast

1¼ teaspoons (8g) salt

olive oil (for coating)

extra flour

Equipment:

Two medium mixing bowls

6-8 qt. pot (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic)

Wooden spoon or spatula (optional)

Plastic wrap

Cotton dish towels (not terrycloth), 2 or 3

Process:

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatuala for 30 sec. to 1 min. Lightly coat the inside of second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hrs. at room temperature (approx. 65-72'F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 min. in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or commeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hrs. at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450-500'F. Place the pot in the oven at leat ½ hr. Prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot steam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 min. Then, remove the lid and back 15-30min. uncovered.

Have a good weekend everyone!