Few people have influenced the way we eat bread in Israel as much as Erez Komarovsky, who was the man behind the Erez bakeries and restaurants. After 10 years with the Erez bakeries, Komarovsky moved to Matat, a village in the Upper Galilee, where he runs the Galilee Cooking School. For recipes and tips on baking bread, Komarovsky is a master. He has offered us a few of his trusted recipes for bread and cake, which he baked using the new Sugat flour collection.
The Sugat collection, created together with Komarovsky, consists of 10 flours for specific uses, such as softer flour for cakes, dark for dark breads, mixes for cookies, pizza flour, rye, etc. The packages are colorcoded for easy recognition. Prices range between NIS 8 and NIS 10.
YOGURT AND OLIVE BREAD Makes 2 loaves
✔ 1 kg. Sugat bread flour
✔ 30
gr. fresh yeast
✔ 21⁄2 cups yogurt
✔ 11⁄2- 13⁄4 cups lukewarm water (Komarovsky
uses bottled water)
✔ 1 cup pitted Thassos olives
✔ 1⁄2 Tbsp. Sugat fine sea
salt
Place flour in a bowl and crumble the yeast into the flour. Add yogurt and
water and knead a few minutes until soft dough is formed. Add olives and salt
and continue kneading 5 more minutes. The dough should be soft and quite
sticky.
Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly oiled bowl and cover
with a plastic lid (not wrap). Let rise about 90 minutes at room temperature.
During that time, every half hour punch the dough to get the air out and knead
for 30 seconds, then return to the bowl and cover.
Divide the dough in
two. Place each half on a heavily floured work surface and gently form an
elongated loaf shape from each part, while collecting flour with your fingertips
and incorporating it into the bottom of the loaf. There is no need to punch out
air from the dough at this point.
Line a baking sheet with paper and
sprinkle with flour. Place the loaves on the lined baking sheet. Cover and let
rise about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 230º, with a baking sheet
or a baking stone placed in the bottom third of the oven.
When ready to
bake, slide the loaves with the paper onto the heated baking sheet or stone in
the oven. Drop a few ice cubes in the bottom of the oven to add moisture. Bake
about 20 minutes, lower the heat to 210º and continue baking another 25 minutes.
To check for doneness, tap the bread. If the sound is hollow, it’s ready. Remove
and cool on a rack.
RUSSIAN-STYLE RYE BREAD
Makes 2 loaves
✔ 2 loaf
baking forms
✔ 700 gr. Sugat whole rye flour
✔ 300 gr. Sugat bread flour
✔ 40 gr. fresh yeast
✔ 1⁄2 cup natural silan with no
added sugar
✔ 3 cups water
✔ 4 Tbsp. fine olive oil
✔ 1⁄2 tsp. Sugat fine sea
salt
Topping:
✔ 1⁄2 bag bulgur and quinoa (10 Minutes mix by Sugat)
Soak the
bulgur and quinoa mix in water for 2 hours.
Mix the flours in a large
bowl and crumble the yeast into the mix. Add silan, water and oil. Knead 2-3
minutes. Add the salt and continue kneading a few more minutes, until
dough feels sticky.
Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly oiled bowl
and cover with a plastic lid (not wrap). Let rise for an hour at room
temperature.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll each part
into a ball and then into a sausage shape that will fit into the loaf form. Oil
the baking forms and place the loaves in them. Brush the loaves with water,
drain the bulgur and quinoa mix and spread over the loaves. Cover the loaves and
let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oven to
230º. When ready to bake, drop a few ice cubes in the bottom of the oven to add
moisture. Bake 20 minutes. Remove bread loaves from the baking forms, and
return to the oven for 25 minutes or until the crust is hard.
A SPECIAL
HALLA
Makes 2 loaves
✔ 1 kg. Sugat halla flour
✔ 1⁄2 cup demerara sugar
✔ 40 gr.
fresh yeast
✔ 2 eggs
✔ 1⁄2 cup natural sunflower oil
✔ 21⁄2 to 21⁄4 cups water
✔ 1 Tbsp. fine sea salt
Topping:
✔1 egg yolk
✔ 3 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
✔ 3 Tbsp.
sesame seeds
Mix flour and sugar in a large bowl. Crumble the yeast into
the flour. Add the eggs, oil and water and knead by hand until a dough forms.
Add salt and knead 5 more minutes until dough is smooth and not too
sticky.
Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly oiled bowl and cover.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
Divide the dough into
six equal balls. Place the balls on a floured work surface and let rise
for 10 minutes. Shape each ball into a sausage. Braid three parts to shape a
halla, and repeat with the last three.
Place the loaves on a lined and
floured baking sheet. Beat the egg yolk with a little water and brush the
loaves. Sprinkle the sunflower and sesame seeds on the breads. Cover and
let rise for another 60 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180º. When ready to
bake, drop a few ice cubes in the bottom of the oven to add moisture. Bake about
35 minutes or until the breads are browned. Cool on a rack.
Tip: Choose
the natural unheated sunflower oil, which has a nutty flavor. The oil is
available at health food stores.
QUICK APPLE CAKE
✔ 12 green apples
(Granny Smith)
✔ A little lemon juice
✔ 1 Tbsp. soft butter
For the streusel:
✔ 200 gr. Sugat cake flour
✔ 200 gr. demerara sugar
✔ Pinch ground cinnamon
✔ Pinch ground nutmeg
✔ 200 gr. cold butter, cubed
Heat oven to 180º. Peel and
core the apples, then grind them. Drizzle a little lemon juice on the apples to
prevent discoloration.
To make the streusel: Mix together flour, sugar,
cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the butter cubes and work them into the
flour with your fingertips to create small crumbs.
Butter a glass baking
dish. Place the apples in the dish in an even layer. Spread the streusel
over the apples evenly. Bake about 40 minutes or until the streusel is golden.
Serve warm with slightly sweetened whipped cream.
All the recipes and photos
are courtesy of Sugat and chef Erez Komarovsky.