bread baking question

[Onlooker]

I'm baking lamb (takes about 4 hours) and making bread. Should cook the lamb and then bake the bread or do it the other way around?

Also, the bread recipe says bake for 30 minutes, but I'm making tiny loaves (5" x 3"). Do you think they will require a lot less than 30 minutes?

Thanks.

[Ptah]

1. I would do the bread the last half hour of the lamb time

:shrug:

Good Luck, and Merry Christmas, Onlooker.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. They will require less time, yes

I would make the bread first, then the lamb, and then throw the bread back into the oven wrapped in a moist towel and turn the oven down to 200 when you take the lamb out to rest and make your sauce - that way you can still have hot bread.

It won't work well to try to cook the bread and the lamb at the same time, unless you have an above-average-sized oven.

And what kind of lamb are you making that needs four hours?

[Onlooker]

3. it's from a french cookbook

It's actually called 7 hour lamb (leg of lamb), but the recipe says that with American lamb, you'll only need about 4-5 hours.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Interesting - are you cooking it at a low heat then?

Please post the recipe!

[Onlooker]

8. Here's the recipe

1 6-7 lb bone-in leg of young lamb (i'm using semi bonless leg that was on sale)
4-6 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt, pepper
1 tbl rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
2 onions
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
3 tbl tomato paste
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups red wine
3/4 cup red wine vinegar (i don't have any, so i'll use sherry vinegar)
4 bay leaves
2 tbl unsalted butter

over 425 degrees

insert garlic into small incisisions in lamb
rub lamp with oil, rosemary, and thyme
make a bed of onions, carrots, celery
put lamb on top of bed

place in oven, fat side down, for 20 min.
take out, stir vegetbles, flip lamb
place in oven for another 20 min.
reduce over temp to 325 and roast in a covered pan for 2.5 hours

dissolve tomato paste in the broth, wine, and vinegar and set aside

after lamb has roasted 2.5 hrs, remove cover and add bay leaves
baste the lamb with all the liquid
cook for another hour or two until it's falling apart

from Parisian home cooking by Michael Roberts (never used this book, but it looks very good)

You can use the juices to make a sauce, but I'm using another sauce (from another cookbook) that's less greasy and just as complicated to make, and I'm also serving a lentil ragout that's already made (and tastes delicious). Those recipes are from Techniques of Healthy Cooking by the Culinary Institute of America (an outstanding book).

I'm no chef, but when I cook "fancy," I always try new things, and I think French cooking is the best. It's a lot of work, but it always has nuance and is never too heavy.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. Bookmarked!

I'd make some white beans with escarole with that entree!

Sounds wonderful

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. I disagree with Rabrrr just to be ornery

Cook the lamb then bake the bread as the lamb needs to sit at least 20 minutes after cooking :evilgrin:

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. And that is a viable option that I had thought about

And the bread might even pick up some of the flavor of the lamb if it's baked after.

But for me, I'd rather get the bread out of the way and done before starting the other stuff, and let the aroma of the fresh bread live in the house for hours before supper.

But one could definitely bake it while the lamb is resting.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. I was just messin' with ya ;)

I just always cook the thing that takes the longest first as I don't want my schedule messed up when I tell people to be there at a certain time