コツ (Kotsu) : Trick, Skill, or Secret

     I was talking to one of my co-workers and I found out she is from Hiroshima. We got onto the topic of okonomiyaki and I told her I liked to make Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, but they never really turn out pretty.  Then she told me the secret (or kotsu, which means trick) of Hiroshima style okonomiyaki! The trick is cooking the layers separately, then stacking them. I am making okonomiyaki on Monday so I will have to try it out and then post pictures.

     I don't have work today so that means unpacking and organizing. Our friends the Quiners are coming over tonight for dinner. While we were apartment hunting they let us stay at their place. Shinsuke knows them from the Japanese ward back in Utah. Trevor is American and served his mission in Hokkaido, Japan and his wife Emi is Japanese and she served in the same area. She taught me how to make really good bread the other day.  The crust is hard and crunchy on the outside and the inside is very soft and chewy. Mine don't look as pretty as hers yet, but they still taste good. All the food Emi makes is really good and the presentation is always beautiful.

Here is the bread I made! The first time I made just plain bread. These three have dried figs and walnuts in them.

   Emi got the bread recipe from a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I will post the basic recipe below. 

3 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt

6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method

Cornmeal for dusting (I use flour)

Mix all of the ingredients together in the order listed in a big bowl, preferably one with a lid so you can use it for storing the dough. The dough should come together easily when mixed with a spoon and shouldn't be  dry. Kneading is unnecessary.

Cover the bowl with the lid (not air-tight) and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Move the dough to the fridge and allow to rise for another 3 hours. Now the dough is almost ready for baking! You can store the dough up to 2 weeks. The longer you store it the more sour it becomes. 

When you are ready to bake sprinkle the flour or cornmeal over the portion of the dough you are going to grab. Grab a fistful of dough and pull up. With a table knife cut out about a grapefruit size of dough. Now form the dough into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough to the bottom on all 4 sides. Place on a surface dusted with cornmeal or flour to let it rise.

Let the dough rise for 20 minutes. Then place a baking stone or regular cookie sheet on the middle rack of your oven. On the bottom rack place a baking pan that will be able to hold a cup of water (but don't add the water yet.) Now turn your oven onto 450 degrees and let the dough rise for another 20 minutes.

Now it's ready to bake! Dust the top of the dough with flour then with a serrated knife cut a 1/4 inch deep cross on the top or any other pattern. Slide the dough onto the baking stone. Then pour a cup of hot water into the pan on the bottom rack and close the oven to trap the steam. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. When you take the bread out of the oven it will crackle when exposed to the air. Allow the bread to cool on a cooling rack or plate. Enjoy!

Let me know if you have any questions. I've made 5 loaves from the dough so far and I think I can make about 3 more. Mixing the dough doesn't take a long time, but you have to let it rise for the five hours in the beginning. After that it's pretty easy to make in the morning or just before dinner time. You can add dates and walnuts for a sweeter bread or you can experiment and add anything you like! If you make a bigger loaf you can use the bread for sandwiches. I used it for Shinsuke's lunch today so we'll see how he likes it!