Soup and Bread

After trying Squash Pear Ginger Soup at my friend Christine's recently, I had to give it a try. It's not too sweet, thick and remarkably filling. Of course, if you know my husband, this dinner almost required a good loaf of homemade bread. This is my favorite bread to make. It's crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.

Squash Pear Ginger Soup

1 really big butternut squash (or several smaller winter squashes)

3 pears, quartered with seeds removed

salt

olive oil

2 inches of ginger, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

a pinch of cinnamon

a pinch of ground cardamom

a pinch of ground coriander

Cut the squash into 6 or 8 pieces and oil lightly, remove the seeds and put them in a small pot for the stock later. Roast the squash, the pears and about half of the ginger for an hour at 425. When it comes out, the squash and pears will be soft and caramelized. Deglaze the roasting pan with some water, and reserve those juices too. Remove the flesh of the squash from the skins and add the skins to the seeds for stock. Simmer the seeds, skins, remaining ginger and a pinch of salt in about 6 cups of water for about 30 minutes. You'll strain out the solids later.

In the pot you want to make the soup in, saute the onion in butter or oil with a pinch of salt until very soft, adding in the remaining spices to bring out their flavors. Add deglazing liquid, squash, pears, ginger. Strain stock into soup. Cook for about half an hour. I ran the pear quarters through a food mill, then pureed the whole soup with an immersion blender. Alternately you can let it cool some, then do it in batches in the blender.

Bread

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

scant 1 1/2 cups water

Combine flours in bowl of stand mixer with yeast and salt with beater attachment. Add water until dough comes together. It will be tacky, but not wet. Knead with dough hook for a few minutes, then by hand to form a ball. Return to bowl and cover for 3 hours. After 3 hours, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface, then reform into a ball. Place the towel in a colander and flour well, put the seam of the dough up (smooth side down) and cover with the corners of the towel. Let it rise for 3 more hours. Preheat the oven to 450 for at least 30 minutes with a stone on the bottom rack. Invert dough onto a floured peel or back of a cookie sheet. Slash the top of the dough several times with a sharp knife. Slide the dough onto the stone, and splash/spray the oven with water 3 or 4 times in the first 10 minutes. Bake 20 minutes at 450, then 25 minutes at 350. Let it cool on a wire rack before cutting into it.... if you can wait!

Hope you enjoy!