Damned Good Food: No Knead Cheese and Garlic Flatbread Recipe

I've been really lax about sharing my cooking adventures as of late, so maybe this will make up for that.

I don't know that this bread is technically flat... it does use yeast, so there is a bit of a rise to it.  Maybe "Fluffy Flatbread" would be a better term.

I baked this to accompany a pot of homemade soup I made and OH MY GAWD was it delicious.

And what was even better, was that the leftover bread can be sliced and toasted for great day-old breadsticks. (Leftover bread? What's that??)

Now, I used the lesser of the garlic amounts and it was still pretty garlicky.  I love garlic, but someone in the house is less of a fan... and it was a bit too much for them.  If you're not a fan, you might want to use even less garlic.  I wouldn't go for 8 cloves unless you are a major garlic fiend...


No Knead Cheese and Garlic Flatbread

DOUGH

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling into the pan)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional

FILLING 

2 cups diced cheese — cheddar, Monterey Jack, flavored cheddar, or your favorite
4 to 8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped


Your favorite dried herbs, to sprinkle on top

Instructions

Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil along the bottom.

Combine all of the dough ingredients and beat at high speed w/an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

Add the cheese and garlic, beating gently just to blend.

Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan w/ a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become fluffy.

Before the hour is up, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Sprinkle the top with the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.

Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

To make crunchy bread sticks: 

Cut day-old bread into 1/2" slices. Lay the slices on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake them in a preheated 350°F to 400°F oven (depending on how crunchy you'd like them) till they're a light golden brown and crunchy, 15 to 25 minutes or so; keep your eye on them, as they brown quickly towards the end.

Yield: about 12 to 18 servings bread; or about fifty 6 1/2" bread sticks.

Damned Good Food - Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg

Coming up next month, the kiddo and I are taking a Masterclass by Gordon Ramsey and hopefully put a shine on our cooking skills.  As a big Hell's Kitchen fan, it sounded like fun and something my daughter and I could do together.

Due to my recent health issues, my doc gave me the FIRM suggestion to eliminate as much meat from my diet and go more plant based.  She has green lighted seafood, so I can keep that in my diet, as well. The whole family is standing behind me and we're all working on lowering our meat intake.

Now, of course, eggs are technically meat by her standards, but I can only give up so much at a time.  I don't know I'd be able to drop them completely, either.  A friend of the family has pet chickens (yes, she actually says they are very cuddle-able) and we buy fresh eggs from her -- so I know my eggs are cruelty and additional hormone added free.

So... on the avocado toast!

Avocados are a great source of omega-3 fatty acid, and my doc told me to add plenty of that into my diet... so when we found this recipe, we gave it a try and even the picky kiddo LOVED it.  I have to agree, it is soooo good.  We eat this at least once or twice a week.

All you need is some great 100% whole grain or whole wheat toast, a fried egg, and an avocado.  Add a splash or two of hot sauce and even better!

Find the recipe here