Bruschetta & Baguette - Buon Appetito !

Do not go by the jazzy words. I just wanted to make the post sound sophisticated with Italian and French. I recently saw the movie - Julie and Julia. Though Beef Bourguignon (BB) was the highlighted dish in the movie, I got fascinated with french cooking. But I guess BB is a tough dish to conquer altogether. I don't think I am ready to try it out yet. But hopefully one day I would give it a try.

Anyways, I came across Bruschetta during a sampling event. I don't know whether it was the taste or the name itself, that piqued my interest. Somehow the complexity of the name reminded me of the Bourguignon from Julie and Julia. I mistook Bruschetta to be French but the mighty Google tells me - It's Italian. So Italian it is :).

Let me share a tip with you. Once you have decided to try out a dish, keep it to yourselves. I did the mistake of sharing my intention of trying it for a weekend breakfast, with my husband. Ever since, the question - "When are you making Bruschetta" kept repeating on every Saturday and Sunday mornings , until I finally gave it a try.



I came across this low calorie Bruschetta by Hungry Girl in the Food Network Channel. Even though its Italian, the french connection (Baguette - french bread) and the ease of making it, made me eager to try it. But then I thought - what is the big deal in making Bruschetta , if I bought the Baguette. Turns  out making Baguette is not a big deal either. So here is the recipe for both - Bruschetta and Baguette.

Ingredients

For Baguette - French bread

1. 1 tbsp of yeast
2. 1 1/4 cups of warm water
3. 3 cups of all purpose flour
4. 1 tsp of salt
5. 1/4 cup of sugar

For Bruschetta

1. 2 tbsp of melted butter
2. 1 French Baguette
3. 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
4. 3 large eggs beaten
5. 1 tomato, diced
6. 1/4 cup chopped basil
7. Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Making of Baguette

• In a bowl mix the yeast, 3-4 tbsp of warm water and 2 tbsp of sugar. Let it rise.
• In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, sugar, risen yeast and warm water and mix it well. 
• It would form a sticky dough. Take out the dough on to the floured kitchen top and knead it well, adding flour whenever necessary. Continue kneading untill the stickiness reduces and you get a smooth ball of dough. 
• Place the dough in a  greased bowl and cover it. Leave it for about 3-4 hrs untill it doubles.
• Take out the dough on to the floured kitchen top. Roll out the dough to form a huge roti/tortilla shape. 
• From one end of the rolled out dough, start rolling in towards the other end to form a log. Pinch the ends so that they don't open up while baking.
• Grease a baking sheet and place the dough on top of it. Make 4-5 cuts on top of the dough and brush it with egg wash. leave it to prove for another hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the dough in it . Bake it for about 20-25 minutes.

Making of Bruschetta

• Preheat the oven to 450 F.
• Slice the Baguette and brush them with melted butter on one side.
• Place them on a baking sheet.
• Bake it in the oven untill crisp for about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile in a skillet, drop a tsp of oil. When hot, pour in the beaten eggs and scramble it.
• Once the eggs are half cooked, drop in the tomatoes and basil. 
• Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to scramble untill it gets cooked completely. 
• Evenly distribute scrambled eggs on top of the baked bread slices. 
• Serve it hot.

Tips

1. Usually the baguettes don't have sugar going into it. I just added it to let go of the bland taste of the normal baguette. You could avoid adding sugar.
2. Do not over cook the eggs. They taste good when they are left a little moist.

Bruschetta is a really quick breakfast to serve, on a lazy and cold winter morning, provided you have the Baguette ready with you. Enjoy your Bruschetta hot, on a cool weekend morning for breakfast. Buon Appetito or like Julia says - Bon Appetite !!!

Recipe coutesy : Hungry Girl from Food Network