Anderson Meat sauce (Ragu) and Homemade bread!

David and I have been talking about having a "sauce" dinner for a while now so here is one of our trial runs for said dinner.  We paired this ragu with a loaf of hearty homemade bread and it was such a simple but delicious and fulfilling meal.  WOW.

Bread Ingredients

3 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water

1. Mix flour, salt and yeast together in a food processor
2. Add water while food processor is running.  You might need an extra 1/3 cup of water so make sure you have a little extra
3. When water is combined in flour and dough has formed into a ball (about 1 or 2 minutes) remove from the processor and put in an oil lined bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.  Let sit in a warm-ish area for 4-5 hours until dough rises.
4. When dough is risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Form dough into desired bread shape (a round boule is our preference but you could easily split this into two baguette styles).  Place dough on oiled cookie sheet.  Cut crosshairs on the top of the dough and sprinkle with sea salt.
5. Place in pre-heated oven and cook until kitchen thermometer reads 210 degrees fahrenheit.  This should take about 25 minutes but you want to watch and make sure your bread doesn't burn.  If it is starting to turn really dark brown you need to turn the heat down and put the bread on a lower rack.
6. Remove when inner temp reaches 210 and let rest a few minutes before cutting and serving.
7. Serve with butter sprinkled with sea salt.

Anderson Ragu Ingredients

1/4 pound diced pancetta
1 small onion finely chopped
1 carrot (peeled) and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 pound good quality ground beef
salt/pepper
2 cups tomato sauce

1. Heat saute pan on medium high heat.  When hot, add swirl of olive oil, onion, pancetta, carrot and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
2. Add ground beef and break up with spatula or wooden spoon.  Brown for about 2-3 minutes before proceeding to next step.
3. Reduce heat to medium low and add tomato sauce and sprinkles of salt and pepper (you can add more when the meat is cooked at the end).
4. Cover the pan and let the sauce cook on low for about 30 minutes (this can be perfectly timed while the bread is cooking).
5. Give a final seasoning (here would be a great time to add red pepper flakes for some spice!)
6. Spoon sauce into a bowl and top with parmesan cheese and sides of bread.