So you baked the homemade bread. Your kitchen is smelling great. Now what to do with your rustic bread loaf. Well how about some tortas. Tortas are the Mexican variant of the Hero Sandwich. You can make them in all sorts of flavors and fillings.

Ham and Cheese Torta

Traditionally, a torta is not a torta without out some chicharon. Chicharon is fried pork rinds, which taste better than  how it sounds. The best quality chicharon can be found in Mexican butcher shops. The stuff they sell next to the potato chips is made from flour, and not real chicharon, so it should be considered a poor substitute. For the fillings you can use cooked chicken, ham, bacon, or basically any kind of cold meat.  You can also top with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and especially avocados. Go crazy with the cheese. This is my recipe for Ham and Cheese Tortas.

For Ham and Cheese Tortas.

1 Loaf of Homemade Bread (or store bought French Bread)
3 Pieces of chicharon
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
3 Pieces of ham
2 Slices of American cheese
2 Pieces of Lettuce

Using a serrated knife, slice the loaf of bread lengthwise to the size of torta that you want. Put the Bread sideways and slice to make two pieces. Spread the mayonnaise to the top part of the bread. Break the chicharon pieces and add to the bottom part of the bread. Layer the Ham over the chicharon. Top with the lettuce and cheese. Bring the top part of the bread to complete the sandwich.

A friend asked me the other day where to find good bread. Most stores where I live sell a tasteless, textureless, substance which they want to pass on as bread. Then it gets stale and hard the following day after you buy it. This would not do, so I decided to look for a good, and simple bread recipe.

Homemade Bread

I had noticed something was wrong with the bread you buy in stores a few years ago. One day I needed to buy yeast to make a pizza dough recipe. Since I could not find it in the supermarket, I figured the next logical place to find yeast would be at the bakers. After visiting several stores, no one had yeast to sell me. I asked about how do they make the bread without yeast, and they told me they had ready mixes, and a special powders to rise the bread. That explained why the store bought bread had something wrong.

There is nothing better than the smell of fresh bread aroma filling the kitchen. Here is a simple recipe, to make good homemade bread.  It requires very little preparation time, although a long resting period. The most important tip for this recipe is to use high protein flour, or bread flour. That gives the bread a better taste, and a better crumb. The recipe will work also work with regular flour.

For two loafs of bread

2 Cups Bread Flour
1/2 TableSpoon Yeast
1/2 TableSpoon of Salt
1 Cups of Water

Heat the water until it is barely warm. Add yeast to the warm water and wait for 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl. Mix the salt and the water. Add the yeast and the water to the bowl. Mix. The flour should be almost pulling off from the bowl. If the flour is too watery add a little more flour. Form the dough into a ball. Flour a large tray or your working table. Knead the dough by pushing it with hard with the palm of one hand, then folding over itself. Knead the dough about 10 times. it should be a smooth ball by now. Clean the mixing bowl. Put the dough in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for two hours. After two hours the dough will have doubled in size. Flour the working area again, and knead the dough five times. Cut the dough into two pieces. Form each half into a cylindric roll. Punch down the dough and form  into a roll again. The idea is to get the roll longer each time to about 1 foot long. Add cooking oil to a baking sheet. Place the two rolls separate from one another over the baking sheet. Cut 3 o 4 diagonal slices 1/2 inch into the bread. Let the rolls rise for 3 hours. The rolls will look like baguettes at this point. Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Leave the bread a few minutes to cool down.

There are no other more classical ingredients than those of cheese, bread, and wine.

Emmental Cheese, French Bread, White Wine

All ingredients date back to at least 6000 to 9000 years before christ. Separate them three and they can be a dish on their own right. Combine them and they become the most wonderful fondue. Credit for the creation of the dish is given to the Swiss. It was invented in the 18th century which is almost ten thousand years after we had the main ingredients. Who would have thought it would have taken so many years to combine the main ingredients together.

Swiss Fondue

The silky consistency of the cheese requires a special trick. The mixture of Kirch and Cornstarch must be added in the last stage of cooking in order to prevent separation of the cheese and wine. Failure to do this will result in a lumpy cheese mess. It is traditionally enjoyed by dipping bread in the cheese, but some will dip vegetables, meats, or even fruits. There is a certain etiquette to be followed which requires no double dipping, and no licking of the fondue fork with the tongue or lips.

Fondue on a Stick

I enjoyed this dish with my family today, and it was delicious to say the least. The preparation is very simple and quick. It a great way to give a fancy feast to three of the most common household ingredients on a Sunday afternoon.