Saturday, December 19, 2015

Dip 'n Bread

So it's been awhile since I posted anything and with the Holidays around the corner, I figured I could share one of my favourite dips... Spinach dip! Now, don't freak out about the spinach part, this is a super quick and easy dip, but first, let me share my bread recipe (the dip will be served in it).

Crusty White Bread

This recipe is from Ricardo 

Ingredients
875 ml (3 ½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
7.5 ml (1 ½ tsp) salt
2.5 ml (½ tsp) instant dry yeast
430 ml (1 ¾ cups) cold water
75 ml (1/3 cup) whole-wheat flour

Preparation
1. In a large pot, combine the unbleached all-purpose flour, salt and yeast. Add the water. With a fork, stir until the flour is completely moistened, but not necessarily smooth. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.  I put my pot in the oven (but keep the oven off).

2. In a large bowl, place the whole-wheat flour. Set aside. With your hands, directly in the pot, fold the risen dough onto itself, about 6 times, or until it is smooth. Transfer the dough into the bowl with the whole-wheat flour and turn to coat the entire surface of the dough. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes at room temperature or until it has doubled in volume.

Meanwhile, with the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 225 °C (450 °F). Place a 3-liter (12 cup) Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with its lid (not glass) in the oven, and heat for about 30 minutes.

3. Remove the pot’s lid. Drop the floured bread dough in the centre of the hot pot. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 30 minutes.

Let the bread cool on a wire rack or in the pot. Remove any excess flour.

Picture by Sandra's Fix

Spinach Dip

This is a really easy recipe, it’s actually the recipe from Knorr
Ingredients

  • 1 box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, cooked, cooled and squeezed dry
  • 1 container (16 oz.) sour cream*
  • 1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
  • 1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
  • 1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)
  • 3 green onions, chopped (optional)


Directions
Combine all ingredients and chill for about 2 hours. Hollow out the top of the bread and use it to make bite-sized pieces. Serve with the bread bites and your favourite dippers (vegetables, etc.) to your favourite people.

*TIP: To lighten up dip, substitute 1 container (16 oz.) non-fat plain Greek yogurt.
Enjoy!

Photo by Knor