Bread Rescue 101
The perfect wrap starts with a moist tortilla or chapatti. If you’ve been trying make rollups and burritos with brown rice tortillas, you’ve probably found them dry and brittle and frustrating to work with. They break easily. I have a solution that makes them soft and supple and easy to wrap and roll. The secret? Steaming.
That’s right. You can steam heat the tortillas just before serving or prior to wrapping them up for a pack lunch. It’s a trick I learned many years ago when I was studying and practicing macrobiotics. You can use it to revive almost any dry bread that you might otherwise have considered stale and ready to throw away or feed to the birds.
It works so well that I never throw out bread unless it has
mold growing on it, which rarely happens in my house. You can use this cool
technique to moisten and freshen loaf bread, dinner rolls, cornbread, muffins,
and just about any baked bread product (gluten free or otherwise). It works
particularly well for low-fat or fat-free breads that dry out quickly. Now you
can save money and bring back that fresh-made taste and texture anytime. If the
bread feels moist you might find you don’t need a spread or as much spread to
make it taste good.
How to Revive Dry Bread
1. Place an accordion-style
steamer insert in a 1 1/2- to 4-quart pot, or rest a bamboo steamer tray inside
a wok or directly on the rim of a pot with a matching diameter, or place a
metal steamer insert inside the pot that goes with it. Note: I use a stacking
Chinese steamer that comes with two trays that allow me to cook or heat
different foods on different levels at the same time. For example, I can
simultaneously steam vegetables on one layer and warm and revive dry bread on
another level.
2. Add 1 or 2 inches of
water to the bottom of the pot or wok. The water should not touch the bottom of
the steamer rack, tray, or insert.2.
Add 1 or 2 inches of water to the bottom of the pot or wok. The water
should not touch the bottom of the steamer rack, tray, or insert.
3. Place the bread or muffins on a dry
white or beige cotton or linen
(not paper) napkin. If you have several pieces of bread, fan them out across
the cloth.
If
using tortillas, lightly oil
the top and bottom of each tortilla with olive oil, coconut oil, palm
shortening, soft butter, or ghee. If
you have more than one tortilla,
slip a piece of parchment paper between each tortilla to prevent sticking.
Note: To heat bread for more than four people you
might need to use two napkins and two steamer trays stacked on top of each
other or heat the bread in two batches.
4. Fold
the cloth over the bread to cover it, and then place the bundle on the steamer tray or rack elevated above the water.
5. Cover
the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil over high heat. Cook on high or
reduce the heat to medium and steam for 2 to 4 minutes until moist but not
soggy.
6. Remove
the bundle with oven mittens, and serve. Refrigerate any leftover baked goods
to prevent the formation of mold.
Note: If you want to make a tortilla wrap, do it while the tortillas feel warm and soft.
Stay tuned. Next week I’ll show you some of the breakfast wraps I’ve been making and give you ideas for fillings you might have overlooked. If you haven’t subscribed to this blog, I encourage you to do so. That way you’ll receive updates whenever I add new recipes and tips.
SOURCE: Chef
Rachel, The Healthy Cooking Coach © Copyright 2008
