Empanada Gallega

The September Baker’s Challenge is hosted by Patri from Asi Son Las Cosas. She has challenged her fellow bakers with a recipe for Empanada Gallega, which is a two crusted pie (usually savory), from Galicia, the northern region of Spain.

“My grandparents lived in a country house that my great-grandfather built a hundred years ago. It is in the northwest of Spain, right on top of Portugal, in the region called Galicia. Back in the 70s, the kitchen was the place of gathering, talking, reading… and there was always something cooking on the iron stove, be it a pot of caldo (a hearty soup), or a stew, or a cake in the oven. When I think back to those days, I can smell the sweetness of burnt wood or coal, the almost “chocolate” scent that rose up to your nostrils when you opened the door, the warmth of the air when coming in from a cool, windy and wet August morning…”

How wonderful is that memory????

As usual, I am typing this up the night the post date, but I actually started a round of these in the beginning of the month. Patri, provided a few recipe options for the dough and some savory fillings but  I immediately started thinking about how to turn this into a dessert. I still had a freezer-full of cherries that I picked last month, my raspberry bush out back is having a bumper crop this summer (what a nice surprise to come home to!) and I saw some lovely fresh figs at the farmers market. Mmmm…. Okay, this was going to be fun. With such beautiful fruit, the fillings could be simple and still shine. Time to turn the large savory pie into individual hand pies!

The dough for these were made using a recipe  “La Empanada Gallega”

3½ cups (500 gm) all-purpose (plain) or bread flour
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
½ cup less 1 tablespoon (100 ml) of liquid fat (oil, margarine, lard)
1 satchel (1 tablespoon) (15 gm) dry yeast
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt

Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well in the middle and add all the ingredients Mix with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients have been incorporated. Turn dough onto your counter and knead for 10  minutes or place in a standing mixing with the dough hook attachment and knead for 10 minutes.

Make a ball and allow to rise covered with a cloth for about half an hour before using.

Cherry and Frangipane Filling

Frangipane is just an almond cream filling. It is fantastic used as a base for tarts or for pastry filling.

1/2 cup chopped almonds ( or almond meal if you have it)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In your food processor, place the almonds, sugar, and flour. Process until finely ground. Then add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Balsamic Strawberries with Fresh Fig

2 cups fresh strawberries, roughly diced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 vanilla bean, optional
2 or 3 fresh figs

Place the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla and add, if using. Bring to a boil and reduce until half. This makes the vinegar sweet and syrupy. Cool and then toss with the strawberries. (This alone is amazing and even better spooned over vanilla ice cream)

Let macerate for 1 hour.

Raspberry and Sweetened Cream Cheese

3 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 Vanilla bean
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 Cups fresh raspberries (one pint will probably be just fine if you make just a few of each)

Whip together the cream cheese, vanilla,and sugar. Slowly add the cream until smooth.

Assembly:

Roll the dough out quite thin so they don’t end up tot thick. I used a round pastry shell for my cutter. It is 4 inch across. If you are using the frangipane of cream cheese filling, add 1 full tablespoon of filling in the middle of your dough. Spread slightly. Top with 2 to 3 tablespoons of fruit. For the strawberry fig filling just lay 3 slices of juicy fig across the middle and top with the luscious balsamic berries.

Bring the top half of the dough over the filling ans line up with the bottom edge. Using you fingers, bring the two edges together, pinching the dough together.You can use a fork to press a design around the edges if you like.

Brush with an egg, lightly beaten, before placing into a 350F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

All right. No, I mean that they were just all right. Don’t get me wrong, we ate them and enjoyed them.  The fillings were great ,I just think that I would prefer a tender, flaky crust for instead. But, I wasn’t giving up on this challenge. Onto a savory filling.

I hardly ever post savory recipes. I love to cook just as much as baking and am constantly thinking of menus in my head, but I am a “little bit of this, little bit of that” cook so please bear with me in quantities. I will say that this was delicious and we enjoyed it even more the next day. It started with a layer of carmelized onions followed by a thick layer of cheddar cheese polenta. I finished it off with sautéed carrots, zucchini (from the garden), and peppers. This was a very tasty dinner served with a side salad.

Grandmas recipe for dough

5-1/3 cups (1280 ml) (750 gm) bread flour
2 cups  (480 ml) of lukewarm water (about 85°F/30ºC), approximately
1 satchel (1 tablespoon) (15 gm) dry yeast or  (1 oz) (30 gm) fresh yeast
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (11 gm) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) oil (you can use oil from the pan where you have cooked the filling)
1 large egg, for egg wash

Sift the flour into a big bowl and add the yeast. Make a well in the middle. In a small bowl, mix the water and the salt.Now, using your fingers or a wooden spoon, start adding the water and mixing it with the flour-yeast mixture. Keep on working with your fingers or spoon until you have added enough water and all the flour has been incorporated and you have a messy ball of dough.On a clean counter top, knead the dough by  hand or use a standing mixer with the dough hook attachment  for approximately 10 minutes.Clean and oil the big bowl you used for mixing and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover it with a napkin or piece of linen and keep it in a warm, draught-free place for approximately 40 to 50 minutes.

Carmelized Onions (my way)

1 Large sweet onion, sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
Place the onion, salt and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium low heat.Cook, stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Turn the heat to low, add the sugar and continue to cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vinegar, stir again, and  cook for another final 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Cheddar Cheese Polenta

2 cups (16 oz)  water
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups (16 oz)  milk , divided (I use skim)
200 g sharp cheddar cheese, grated
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cumin

Place 2 cups water, 1 cup milk and the butter in a medium sauceopan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, stir together the  remaining cup of milk and the cornmeal. Gradually stir this into the boiling liquid, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly until the cornmeal is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the salt, cumin, black pepper and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted into the polenta. Set aside to cool.

Sautéed Summer Vegetables

This is what I had on hand. Please use the vegetables you like; this also goes for the seasoning

1 large zucchini, chopped, equalling about 2 cups
1 Cup chopped carrots
1 red pepper, chopped
1 purple or green pepper chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked Serrano chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili flakes
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the carrots, salt, cumin, chili powder and chipotle flakes; cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes, you still want the zucchini to be crisp since it will continue to cook in the oven. Set aside to cool.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Once risen, turn the dough back into a floured counter and cut it in half. Cover one half with the napkin to prevent drying.Spread the other half of the dough using a rolling-pin. You can use a piece of wax paper over the counter, it will make it easier to move the dough around. Depending on the shape of your oven pan or cookie sheet, you will make a rectangle or a round.Now, the thinness of the dough will depend on your choice of filling and how much bread you like in every bite.  For your first time (like me), make it about 3mm thin (about 1/10th of an inch) and then adjust from that in the next ones you make.

Lightly flour your pan or tray.

Cover the base and sides with the dough. Using the rolling pin or a knife, cut the extra dough.

Place the filling, making sure it is cold and that all the base is covered. Using a hot filling will make the bottom layer of the empanadas become soggy. Be careful to avoid adding too much oil from the filling, try to make it as “dry” as possible

Take the other half of the dough and spread it out to the same or less thinness of the base.  Take into account that this “top” dough needs to be smaller around than the bottom, as it only needs to cover the filling. roll out the second piece of dough and transfer to cover the top.Trim away excess dough.Using your fingers, join bottom and top dough, when you have gone all the way around, start pinching top and bottom together with your thumb and index finger and turning them half way in, that way you end up with a rope-like border. As a picture is worth a thousand words, please watch this video to see how it is done: http://youtu.be/CNpB7HkTdDk

When you are finished, make a 1 inch hole in the middle of the top layer. This will help hot air exit the empanada while it’s baking without breaking the cover.In a small bowl, beat an egg and add a tbsp of cold water. With the pastry brush, paint the top of the empanada with the egg wash.Place the empanada in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Check that the bottom part is done. Enjoy!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA

I’m taking a moment from my NY holiday to pay tribute to the grand dame of the kitchen, Julia Child. Before there were food blogs, the Food Network, or Martha Stewart, there was Julia. On this day in 1912 she entered this world and I don’t think it will ever be the same. Don’t get me wrong, blogs are a great source of sharing and Martha Stewart is a great show (well, used to be ,years ago). I have no interest in the Food Network  since  it’s more about glam appeal than actual cooking. How many times can Diners and Drive In’s be on in one day??  Since when did so called “reality” cooking shows replace actual cooking shows? I don’t get the appeal in this genre at all.  Since I am here at my mom’s I am getting to watch the PBS offshoot, Create. Gosh, I wish I got this channel back home! Caio Bella and Jacques Pepin have a nice home at this channel. PBS certainly was well ahead of its time when it began airing The French Chef back in 1963. She was the first woman to bring “fancy” cooking into the homes of “ordinary” Americans. The other day PBS was airing the quiche episode and it was such fun to watch. Without a doubt, Julia Child has become an American treasure.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has also placed Child’s beloved Cambridge, Mass., kitchen back on display for a limited time. I was lucky enough to see it when it first appeared (my sister was living in Virginia at the time) but would love the chance to go back and see it again.

So, in honor of this great lady, the Bread Baking Babes have invited all us buddies to bake right along with them this month and bake Pain Français (French Bread), which was published in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 in 1970. This was a landmark achievement in that it brought French bread into the purview of the home baker for the first time, and showed home bakers how to set up their ovens to approximate the ones used by professional bakers. Julia and her co-author Simone Beck consulted with the renowned baking expert, Professor Raymond Calvel, to develop the recipe and technique for home bakers. What is funny, well, actually scary and shocking, is that they advised lining the inside of your stove with asbestos tiles.  After the printing of the book she learned how dangerous asbestos actually is. Ah, we all live and learn, correct? This is a great book to have in your cookbook library and I recommend you buy one or borrow it from your local library for a great read. And while you’re at it, why not read My Life In France, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, or Dearie ?

I wanted to bake this bread before I came to New York since I knew that it would be hot and humid here. I had made it before, but of course did not take any pictures, since well, that would have been too easy. Instead, I baked it the day before I was flying and in my running around and doing 10 things at once, I burned the bread. Not actually burned it, but definitely baked it 5-7 minutes too long….

 It was still delicious; light and airy with a nice flavor, just a tad too dark. Oh well…. I did attempt to make it again while here, except in pistolet form (a roll) , since I do not own a couche and my french bread pan pictured above is back in Calgary. It was much trickier to make this in 90F degree heat with high humidity and I kept placing my dough in the fridge to slow down the rising so I wouldn’t lose all the flavor. I also don’t have a baking stone here so they didn’t get the good golden crust I love so much, but still, very good indeed.  I just didn’t take any pictures…. (I am on vacation) . Overall, this is an excellent lesson in bread baking and Julia’s chapter on this is really useful.

I am going include Susan’s summary of the recipe since she is such an excellent teacher herself. Be prepared, this takes all day to make, but the results are worth. Bake on!

 

 

Julia Child’s French Bread — Recipe Summary

 

Yield:

• 3 baguettes or batards or boules
• Or 6 short loaves (ficelles)
• Or 12 rolls (petits pains)

 

Time:  about 7 – 8 hours, not including cooling time

 

• mix and knead: 15 minutes
• first rise: 3 hours
• second rise: 1.5 – 2 hours
• divide, rest, and shape: 15 minutes
• final rise: 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours
• prepare to bake: 10 minutes
• bake: 25 minutes
• cool: 2 – 3 hours

]

 

Ingredients:

• one cake (0.6 ounce or 17 grams) fresh yeast or one package active dry yeast  [Susan's note: Here are some equivalents: fresh yeast: 17 grams; active dry yeast: 0.25 ounce or 7 grams). You could also use 5.6 grams of instant yeast]
• 1/3 cup warm water (not over 100 degrees F)
• 3 1/2 cups (about one pound) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt 
• 1 1/4 cups tepid water (70 to 74 degrees F)

 

Steps:

1. Combine the yeast and warm water and let liquefy completely. 
2. Combine the yeast mixture with the flour, the salt, and the remaining water in a mixing bowl.
3. Turn the dough onto a kneading surface and let rest for 2 – 3 minutes while you wash and dry the bowl.
4. Knead the dough for 5 – 10 minutes. See the original recipe for details on Julia’s kneading technique [p. 59].
5. Let the dough rest for 3 – 4 minutes, then knead again for a minute. The surface should be smooth and the dough will be soft and somewhat sticky.
6. Return the dough to the mixing bowl and let it rise at room temperature (about 70F) until 3 1/2 times its original volume. This will probably take about 3 hours.
7. Deflate [fold] the dough and return it to the bowl [p. 60].
8. Let the dough rise at room temperature until not quite tripled in volume, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the rising surface: rub flour into canvas or linen towel placed on a baking sheet.
10. Divide the dough into 3, 6, or 12 pieces depending on the size loaves you wish to make. 
11. Fold each piece of dough in two, cover loosely, and let the pieces relax for 5 minutes [p.62].
12. Shape the loaves and place them on the prepared towel. See original recipe for detailed instructions [p. 62 or 68].
13. Cover the loaves loosely and let them rise at room temperature until almost triple in volume, about 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours.
14. Meanwhile, Preheat oven to 450F. Set up your “simulated baker’s oven” [p. 70] if you will use one.
15. Using an “unmolding board,” transfer the risen loaves onto a baking sheet [p.65] or peel [p. 72].
16. Slash the loaves.
17. Spray the loaves with water and get them into the oven (either on the baking sheet or slide them onto the stone [p. 72]).
18. Steam with the “steam contraption” [p. 71 and 72] or by spraying three times at 3-minute intervals.
19. Bake for a total of about 25 minutes.
20. Cool for 2 – 3 hours.

 

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Crackers

The July Bakers challenge is being hosted by Dana McFarlane , a non-blogger who loves to create in the kitchen. She has challenged us with the (almost) lost art of homemade crackers. I say lost art since you very rarely see homemade crackers served anymore. What a shame since you can personalize it at home yourself, though I will admit it is a lot easier to purchase premade crackers at the last-minute, and there are a lot of good ones on the market. But can they be as good as your own?

I wish I had concentrated on this challenge more since I have quite a few  cracker recipes that I enjoy making but summertime fun and entertaining has pretty much taken up all of my time. Not to mention the fact that I went down to Montana this past weekend to go cherry picking (and Glacier National Park). Oh, and I am leaving in 1 1/2 hours for the airport to go to New York for a month (and still not quite packed…) so this has to be quick.

The crackers I chose to bake are sesame crackers from Bernard Claytons New Complete Book Of Breads. These are super easy to whip up but  a pasta machine is very helpful to roll them out thin and even (though I am sure that when there is a will there is a way, so don’t let this stop you). We really enjoy these with some hummus and they keep really well so you can always have some on hand. We were provided with three other excellent recipes that I promise to get to and post at a later date. In the meantime go check out some other fabulous bakers here. Bake On!

SESAME CRACKERS

1 Cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup hot water (120-13o F)
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1/2 cup sesame seeds
egg white for brushing
Mix together 1 cup each whole wheat and white flours and add the yeast and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix together the hot water, butter, honey and sesame oil. Pour the liquid slowly over the flours and beat with the paddle attachment (or a  wooden spoon ) on low-speed for 3 minutes . Add the white flour, 1/4 cup at a time to forma soft dough.

Knead for 5 minutes (by hand or with the dough hook). Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 F

Divide the dough into 4 pieces, covering the dough you are not working with). In a pasta machine, or with a rolling-pin, roll the dough into a thin rectangle, as thin as you get it (I went to 5 on my roller). Worry more about the thinness than it’s length or width (insert jokes here). Place the length of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cut strips about 1-2 inches wide. Dock with a fork (that just means to pokes holes all over the dough with the tines of a fork). Brush with a little white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 6 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cracker. Watch them carefully!. Let cool completely then break off into pieces. They keep 2 -3 weeks in a covered container.

Okay, 40 minutes left to pack!!

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Quick Bread (thank goodness)

The Bread Baking Babes are taking it a  little easy this month and as a buddy I am thankful. It’s been a fun crazy month with the 100th Anniversary of the Calgary Stampede in town. As a city girl, I really eat this stuff up. This year Calgary was also the host for the world marching band championships. If I had any idea marching bands could be so awesome I would have been in one growing up.  Not only did I attend an afternoon of semi finals, a “drum off” on another day, but I watched the 4 hour finals held in the Calgary Saddledome with about 10,000 other people. I must admit that it was spine tingling. Seriously. We also have been having some really nice weather so there has been a lot of entertaining at my house. We love to have people over for dinner, so I have been cooking and baking up a storm. I’m just too lazy to blog about it. Oh well.

That’s why this months BBB recipe is great. While it has yeast in it, it is really like a tea bread, super fast and easy. It isn’t the prettiest of breads but your taste buds will love the homey flavor. The only change I made was to add 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds. This was great fresh out of the oven with a cup of coffee.

Sarah, from i like to cook chose this lovely little number ,”Easy Little Bread” from 101 Cookbooks. Please check out her site and also visit the other talented Babes. They are all inspiring.

This was a breeze to make (and eat). Bake On!

Easy Little Bread
from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the honey and set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast blooms and swells a bit – 5 – 10 minutes.
In the meantime, mix the flours, oats, and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir very well.
Brush a 8-cup loaf pan generously with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough into the tin, cover with a clean, slightly damp cloth, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the middle. When ready, bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. I finish things up by leaving the bread under the broiler for just a heartbeat – to give the top a bit deeper color. Remove from oven, and turn the bread out of the pan quickly. Let it cool on a rack so it doesn’t steam in the pan. Serve warm, slathered with butter.

Makes 1 loaf.

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Onion and Poppy Seed Braid

A beautiful dough to work with, a tasty filling, a simple braid= a beautiful loaf

After making challah bread last month with a six strand braid, a three strand braid seemed like child’s play. I say that because the six strand was easy once you got the hang of it (If I can do, you can do it). This particular bread had caught my eye last month after I picked up the book Baking Bread, Old and New Traditions by Beth Hensperger at the Calgary Heralds annual book sale. This is a great book sale with the proceeds going  to support Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary and the Calgary Herald literacy programs. I got this book for $2! It’s filled with many recipes that I am eager to try over the year.

I really wanted to try this one and we were having a BBQ so I thought it would be perfect to serve along with dinner:

thinly sliced marinated flank steak over a bed of arugula
lemon spiced chicken drumsticks
sofrito scented pork burgers
chorizo sausage over peppers and onions
watermelon and feta salad
sliced avocados and tomatoes

It was very well received indeed and I would make this again for sure. I will say that next time I will make this as 2 smaller loaves since this made 1 giant loaf. Great for a crowd but too overwhelming for a small family! This is excellent bread for sandwiches (especially egg salad) or as toast as well. Bake on!

Onion and Poppy Seed Braid 
one large or 2 small loaves

Dough:
1 Tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
3 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Cup hot milk (120F)
1/2 Cup hot water (120F)
1 egg
1/2 Cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temp, cut into small pieces

Filling:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 Cups chopped sweet onion, preferably Vidalia
3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
5 Tablespoons poppy seeds

1 egg white, mixed with 1 teaspoon water for glaze

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds for sprinkling

Place the yeast, sugar, salt, and 2 cups flour in your mixing bowl. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low-speed until a smooth batter is achieved. Add the egg and the butter and mix to incorporate. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough is achieved (since I live in a dry climate I always use the lesser amount but humid areas tend to use the full amount). Knead for 10 minutes. Place into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

It is well risen when you can poke a finger into the dough and the indentation stays

* remember, while a standing mixer is a great help, you can make any bread by hand (and get good arm muscles along the way). Do not let the lack of a mixer stand between you and good bread!

While the dough is rising prepare the filling:

Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute them until wilted and translucent. Do not let the onions brown as this will make the bread taste bitter. Take off the heat and stir in the cheese and poppy seeds. Set aside to cool.

When the dough is ready transfer it to a lightly floured board and roll out to a 12 x 18 inch rectangle. Cut it into three, 4 inch strips. Place 1/3 of the filling in a thin strip down the middle of each strip, leaving a border around all the edges.

Fold over the edges and pinch them together, encasing the filling. Carefully transfer the long strips onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Pinch the top of the strands together and braid, pinching the ends together when you get to the end, tucking the ends in for a neat finish. Set aside to rise again for 30 minutes

Preheat your oven to 350F

Right before placing the bread into the oven, lightly brush the top with the egg white and sprinkle with the poppy seeds.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing.

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Oatmeal Twists

Well, I just got a message from dear Lisa over at Parsley, Sage , Desserts and Line Drives asking where I’ve been. Good question. Here, but not here. Still working on the kitchen since the smoke fire. After the new stove (Maytag Gemini double oven – best. oven. ever. At least in my price range…) was installed last month, I decided to repaint all of my 30-year-old kitchen cabinets. Which were painted over white before I even lived here. I always thought that they were just cheap plywood cabinets painted white, but after taking off all of the hardware and stripping the doors I found out they were cheap, wood grained chip board. Boy, how wrong was I (that’s sarcasm right there… )So I stripped, sanded and painted all 17 doors. I wish I could say they were smooth and beautiful. Not. Oh well, moving on. I painted the outside and inside of all of the actual cabinets. I say inside because when I moved in I had to by a hippie freak and paint the insides of all of my cabinets purple. Looks cool until you have to paint over it like 5 freaking times so it doesn’t show through the lovely lemon mousse colored you are going with now. Oh, and how about how every item stored in those cabinets has to be taken out and placed somewhere else. In  my tiny house. To spare you of the nasty details let’s just say that there was a small trail left open to walk through between the living room and the dining room with a small plate sized clearing on the table for my 6 yr old to eat. We ate standing up. A lot. After many days of this I get new hinges for my newly painted cabinets only find that after struggling put up doors (meaning that I butchered my newly painted cabinets with new holes) that the hinges would not work after all.

This is where small nervous breakdown occurs and I take it out on my poor unsuspecting husband and run out of the house crying.

Thank you to my friend Russell (a carpenter) for calming me down later in the day with encouraging words… He lets me know that all is not lost, but I do in fact need different hinges. Arghhhh!  I would also have to patch over the new “holes” I drilled about. BUT, I could and should put all of my stuff back in the cabinets since the paint was now dry. So I did just that, then took all of the unhung doors and hid them away in the basement for a few days. Break time. At least so I could still have my monthly supper dinner club.  And what a fine supper it was.

June menu:

pulled pork
coleslaw with boiled dressing (from the Southern Cookbook 1951)
succatash
collard greens and smoked pork hock
cornbread
rhubarb crumb pie
lemon shaker pie (from The Joy of Cooking)

   Seriously, this was fine eating

Well, that was a lovely break. Sitting around the table with a large group of friends |(well, 7 of us) with interesting conversation always makes me feel better.

Since now I was mentally stable again (sort of) I bought new different hinges and only after 3 days was able to proudly say that all of my cabinet doors are now up. Well, one is a little wonky but I will wait for Russell to come back over to help with that one. Luckily I had a Danish almond cake in the freezer to give him as thanks last time. IT should be all smooth sailing now. Oh, except that since my crappy cabinets were built pre 1979 all of the measurement specs for door handles have changed! Talk about a sharp stick in the eye. So right now I am enjoying my lemon mousse cabinets with white doors. Without handles. To be continued. I can say with confidence that the next time I get the silly notion to do something like this again I will take a 2nd mortgage out on my house before the thought gets too far…………

The bread chosen this month for us Bread Baking Buddies is oatmeal twists. Elle, from Feeding my Enthusiasms, was the host, and her inspiration came from this post by Farine ( I must add that I find all bread bakers inspiring). These are lovely little twists packed with oatmeal, dried fruits and nuts. At least that is what was in mine. I want to try these again with cheese and seeds as recommended by Elle. I don’t keep a sourdough starter (I will complete this mystical achievement one day)so I made an overnight poolish instead. I also added some rye flour to my poolish for a little extra something. Did it make a difference? I don’t know . I will try these again with all white flour. I will say that they were delicious and wonderful treat with a little butter and a cup of coffee. I split the dough in half and put dried blueberries and pecans in 8 of them and dried figs, walnuts and anise in the other 8. Bake on!

Oatmeal Twists
based on Morning Cuddles at Farine
makes 16 twists

700 g sourdough starter (or poolish/starter of 350 g all-purpose flour mixed with 350 g water and 2 teaspoons yeast. Sit 3 hrs, stir down, put in fridge overnight, or at least 8 hours – use where recipe calls for sourdough starter.) I used 75 g rye flour and 275 g white flour

320 g all-purpose flour
230 g whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
115 g rolled oats, coarsely ground in a food processor
15 g salt
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
100 g pecans, chopped (I used 1/2 cup each dried blueberries and pecans OR 1/2 cup each chopped dried figs and walnuts with 1 tsp anise seed)

Mix the flours together with the yeast, oats and salt. Stir the water, buttermilk and butter into the starter. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the starter mixture until a soft dough forms. Let sit 10 minutes. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead in additional flour if needed until dough is tacky but not sticky. Knead in the pecans. Shape into a ball and put dough ball into oiled rising bowl or container, turning dough to coat with the oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. This might take 2 hours or 6. (Also fine to cover and let sit overnight in the fridge, then let rise until doubled on the counter the next day.)

When dough has doubled, turn out onto lightly flour board. Shape into a log and cut into two pieces. Return one piece of the dough to the rising bowl and cover.

Shape the second piece of dough on the board into a log and cut into 8 pieces, each about 100 g. Cut each piece in half and shape each piece into a snake and twist two pieces together a a time or two, then place twist on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining 7 (100 g) pieces. You will have eight twists. Take the remaining large (about 800 g) piece of dough and repeat the shaping into a log, cutting into 8 pieces, cutting those in half and shaping into twists. You will finish with 16 twists set out on parchment or silicon mat covered baking sheets. Cover twists and let rise until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F when twists are almost doubled.

Uncover, glaze with buttermilk with clean pastry brush. If desired sprinkle with finely chopped pecans, or preferred seeds or with sea salt.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. If browning too rapidly, turn down the oven temperature. Turn the pans back to front and bake another 10 – 15 minutes or until breads are 180 degrees inside. Cool on a rack then serve.

Elle’s Variations: When you knead in the pecans you can knead in dried fruit like dried cranberries or diced prunes, apricots or dates to make a breakfast twist. If you prefer savory you can knead in herbs and/or Parmesan cheese and/or seeds. This bread loves to have you make your own combinations, so other nuts can also be used in place of the pecans or with them. I made my second batch without any nuts, seeds, fruit or herbs and they were yummy, too.

So please take a moment and go to Elle’s page to see her fine baking skills and make sure to check out the other extremely talented Bread Baking Babes masterful creations. The links are all on Elle’s page. It’s well worth it.

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Challah Bread (three ways)

What a fun Bakers Challenge this month!

“Challah is a bread of celebration in Jewish tradition. At a time when white flour was considered a luxury, its use was reserved for either the wealthy or for festive events. In Judaism, the Sabbath is a weekly holiday, and therefore is a festive occasion. It was around the 15th century when Jews in parts of Austria and Germany adopted an oval braided loaf from their neighbors to make the Sabbath special. These fancy shaped loaves made with white flour were seen as a fitting way to honor the Shabbat (Sabbath), symbolized in Jewish culture as a queen, therefore deserving of the finest one can achieve. In honoring the Sabbath as a day of rest, two loaves are traditionally put on the table. This is generally seen as a representation of the double portion of manna provided to the Children of Israel on Fridays during their wandering in the desert after fleeing from Egypt. This double portion allowed them to maintain the commandment to not do “work” on the Sabbath.

Another symbolic comparison to the manna eaten by the Israelites is the fact that challah is traditionally covered with a cloth prior to being blessed and eaten. According to tradition, manna was encased in dew to preserve its freshness. Covering the challah with a decorative cloth serves as another reminder of the special quality of the day of rest. There are other explanations given regarding why the challah is covered. The one which I always liked was that we cover the loaves so they will not be “embarrassed” by having to wait while the wine is blessed first. (A traditional Sabbath dinner begins with a blessing over the wine first, followed by the blessing of the bread, after which the meal is enjoyed.)”

This beautiful description comes from Ruth of  The Crafts of Mommyhood, who is the host of the May Bakers Challenge. Growing up in New York I am well acquainted with the challah bread. While my  first two boyfriends were jewish, it was the second one who came from a very religious family. Every Friday night his mom would set the candles out for the Sabbath with the challah bread sitting on the table (needless to say she was not too happy about her son dating me- in fact that is an understatement.lol!). This bread has a long history, as well it should, since it is delicious, gorgeous to look at , and makes awesome french toast!

Since my disaster in the kitchen last month, I haven’t has a chance to do much , well, any baking,but since my new oven was delivered last week I have made many loaves of bread. I tried three different recipes for the challah and I highly recommend all of them. The first is Bernard Clayton’s from the New Complete Book Of Breads  (I adore this book). It makes two large loaves and is gently scented with saffron, which makes it so unique in flavor. The second time I used a recipe from Beard on Bread. This one was simple, straight forward and delicious. The third time around I tried a pumpkin challah from Martha Stewart. To these loaves I added raisins which had been soaked in butterscotch schnapps. Yumm…

The best part of this is the braiding. There are so many different ways to go with this that only you can decide. I went with the six strand braid, the 4 strand round braid, a braided ring and a turban. At the end of this post will be link to instruct you on different braiding techniques. Well let’s get to it, Bake On!!

Challah (Version 1)

2 Packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
5 Cups bread or AP flour, approximately
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup hot water (120-130F)
1 pinch saffron (I soaked my saffron in the hot water for a few minutes and added it in at the same time)
3 eggs
1 egg white
1 egg yolk (from egg above, beaten, mixed with 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cold water)
1 teaspoon poppy or sesame seeds

In your mixer bowl (or large bowl if doing by hand) combine the yeast, 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and butter. Slowly add the hot water and beat on medium speed, using the flat beater, for 2 minutes. Add the saffron (disregard this if you added the saffron to the hot water), eggs, and egg white. Beat on high-speed for 3 minutes (the batter will be thick). Change to the dough hook and add the remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the dough is no longer shaggy or sticky. If it is too moist, add some more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl.
Knead for 10 minutes..
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide it in half. These will make your two loaves.
Now comes the fun part! To braid, divide each half into 3 pieces (this is for a simple 3 strand braid).
* Please try out the many variations on braiding when you feel a little brave- they are quite easy once you get the hand of it.*
Once braided,place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and  brush lightly with the egg yolk mixture .Sprinkle with the seeds. Do not cover the bread for the second rise. they will double in bulk, about 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 400F about 20 minutes before baking.
Bake until shiny brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Challah (Version 2)

3 Packages active dry yeast (I thought this was excessive so I used 4 1/2 teaspoons like above)
1 1/3 cups warm water (about 110F)note: I used some whey I had leftover from making cheese
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt (I use kosher)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
5 to 5 1/2 cups AP flour
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon cold water (for brushing)
poppy or sesame seeds

Proof the yeast in the warm water in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar, salt, butter, eggs and 5 cups of the flour, one cup at a time.Switching to the dough hook, gradually add more flour if needed, until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Knead for 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic.
Place the dough into a large greased bowl and cover tightly with wrap until doubled in bulk, about 1-2 hours. Punch the dough down and divide in half. Proceed to form into braids ,place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise again, covered, for 1 hour. Lightly brush with the reserved egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds.
Bake in a preheated 400F oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on racks.

Challah (Version 3)

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, (1 1/2 packages)
1 cup warm water (100 degrees to 110 degrees)
3/4 cup egg yolks, (9 to 12 large eggs), plus 1 large egg yolk for glaze
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for bowl
1/4 cup honey
2 cups homemade Pumpkin Puree, or one 15-ounce can
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Proof the yeast in 1 cup  warm water. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup warm water. In a medium bowl, combine salt, canola oil, honey, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Replace paddle attachment with dough-hook attachment, and add the pumpkin mixture to the mixer bowl; combine. Add the yeast mixture, stirring until combined. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until all the flour is incorporated into dough. Knead the dough  for 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough, and then form it into two 8-inch loaves. Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix remaining egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the loaves with the egg glaze, and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Video of basic three strand braid: http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/tinkrsh/challah%20braiding/?act…
Videos of four strand braids: http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/tinkrsh/challah%20braiding/?act…
http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/tinkrsh/challah%20braiding/?act…
Videos of six strand braids: http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/tinkrsh/challah%20braiding/?act…
http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/tinkrsh/challah%20braiding/?act…
Video of four strand braided round: http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/tinkrsh/challah%20braiding/?act…

p.s.- I’m submitting this to Susan over at Wild Yeast for the weekly yeastspotting roundup

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Shepherd’s Bread

Has it really been a month since my last  post?!? It feels like yesterday while at the same time it feels like a year ago. I have been so busy trying to get things back in order since the smoke fire last month that I just haven’t had the energy to write or bake anything. Not that I could bake,even if I wanted to,  mind you…After the insurance adjuster assessed the damage, they sent in a house recovery team (these are the same people who go to clean up crime scenes and the such) to scrub my house from top to bottom (one good thing out of this) for three days straight.  Then they scraped and painted my kitchen ceiling so we couldn’t even use the kitchen for over a week. Then my oven was moved so many times that when I did turn it on to bake it automatically went to 500F with nothing in-between.  Out of all of this turmoil, my new *double* oven arrived mid last week. We decided since we had to get a new oven that we would upgrade to a Maytag Gemini double oven. My mom has had this oven for the past 7 or so years and I have always loved it. Thank you, dear husband.

I have been baking a lot of bread over the past 5 days to test this new baby out. Three different kinds of Challah (that will be posted on Sunday) as well as this  lovely little  number.  Brought to us by the Bread Baking Babes, us wee buddies were invited to try this simple bread that is baked a very cool way- in a  clay baker! . It is also known as a la cloche baker, but a enamel or cast iron dutch oven can also be used. I just happen to have a clay baker that has been sitting very lonely and neglected in the back of my closet. Thank you to this months host, Karen from Bake my Day!, for giving me  a wonderful reason to use it! The recipe is from Bread for all seasons by Beth Hensperger.

Okay, so here are my comments…. the recipe is for one huge loaf or two “normal” sized loaves. Since my husband had been away for the past 2 weeks and it is only me and my little girl I decided to half the recipe. I have already given away 6 loaves of bread in the past few days and didn’t think my friends could take anymore. Even so, I ended up with one pretty impressive loaf. It smelled wonderful baking in the oven (but then again, doesn’t all bread?) and was really very simple to put together. For the starter I used half white flour half rye flour per Karen’s suggestion. I found that the baking time was about 1 hour, 10 minutes total, but considering the size of the loaf that doesn’t surprise me. I can’t imagine what a full recipe would make! So get your bread on and head on over here for the amazing recipe!

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Granville Island Beer Bread

I’m late, I’m Late, I am so very late… Well, I actually was on time but I have been unable to post until now due to a serious accident in my house. Meaning I almost set my house on fire. As in I left a pot on the stove (boiling) and completely forgot about it. And left the house. For 2 hours. This is where the word “loser” get written across my forehead.  When we did get back I got out of the car hearing this loud alarm and thought “What is that noise”? How about every smoke and carbon monoxide detector going off in my house. I still didn’t realize what was going on until I opened the door and smoke came billowing out and I yelled “Fire”!! It was only then that I realize the stupid mistake I had made. Thank goodness for the fire department. I am also so thankful that it was  smoke fire, no actual flames. My entire house was filled with smoke and it was pouring out every window. Well, I guess those chickpeas are going in the garbage. Anyway, my entire house now smells like a firepit. After doing what feels like (and probably is correct) 100 loads of laundry, we finally called the insurance company and are letting them take over. Every piece of clothing in the house must be washed as well as all of the furniture, replace the stove, etc… It’s not good.

Anyway, back to bread.  The Bread Baking Babes asked us buddies to join them in making bread with beer. This month the host was  Natashya at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. The recipe was generously supplied by Chuck at Cookingbread.com . It is named after  the beautiful island right off of Vancouver in British Columbia. To keep it Canadian I used Big Rock traditional ale, Bavarian smokies that are house made and smoked at a german butcher in the neighborhood, extra sharp Canadian cheddar cheese, and fresh chives, right out of my Canadian garden..

All I can say is “Holy Smoke” (a sick reference the above story. Hey, when you don’t laugh, you cry). This was one beautiful bread. We had it with a side salad for dinner since it’s really a meal in itself.  Please head over here for the recipe. You’ll be glad you did.

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Pizza Civitavecchia (Italian Easter Sweet bread)

After participating in last months Bread Baking Day, which was hosted by Lisa, I decided to do it again this month.  The challenge?… bread made with eggs. Hosting this month is  Astrid, of Paulchens Foodblog?!  (she was also the host of the BBB this month). Spring is a natural for egg breads with many choices of  ethnic  Easter breads and  challah to pick from. I almost went with Paula Peck’s Polish Babka from the The Art of Fine baking, which calls for 16 egg yolks, but had to change direction after realizing I only had 13 eggs and didn’t feel like going out to the store. Instead, an Italian Easter bread, originating in town of  Civitavecchia, which is a small port town not far from Rome. The recipe is from The Italian Baker by Carol Field, a wonderful book that would make a great addition to anyones library. I loved how it had port, ricotta, and aniseed in the recipe. As usual, I was not prepared and didn’t have a few of the key elements. Like port. Or Ricotta. I really need to get my act together. Moving on… I do have Calvados (which is a favorite of mine) and I have cottage cheese. Hmmmm, will this work?  So I took 1/2 cup golden raisins and soaked them in the calvados about 1 hour before starting this and figured I might as well change it a little more since I was at it. The outcome was a fragrant loaf with a dark, slightly crisp crust with a soft, fluffy interior. Tomorrow’s breakfast= sweet bread french toast!

The original recipe makes 2 tall domed loaves but since that is too much for this small household I have halved the recipe. If you have a digital scale this is the perfect time to use. It is much easier to weigh everything than figuring out what half of 3/4 cup flour is!

PIZZA CIVITAVECCHIA

Sponge:

2 teaspoons (5 g) active dry yeast
1/4 Cup (60g)  warm water
3/8 Cup (50g)  bread flour (yes, this is half of 3/4 cup)
Mix the yeast and water together; let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a thick paste. cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.

Dough:

1 1/2 Cups (210 g) unbleached AP flour
1/8 Cup (25 g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
5 large egg yolks
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (37 g) ricotta, pressed through a fine-meshed sieve (or cottage cheese)
1/4 cup port or rum (or calvados)
1/2 cup golden raisins (soaked in the liquor stated above)
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon crushed aniseed
grated zest of one lemon
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick (4 oz/115 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg white, beaten, for glazing

Place the flour, salt, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, and the sponge  in the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat for 7 minutes, half on medium, half at high. Add the ricotta, liquor, aniseed, raisins, lemon zest and cinnamon and beat into the dough. Cut the butter into 8 pieces and place on top of the dough. Cover the dough, leaving the butter on top, with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (about 2 hours).

Beat in the butter with the dough hook until smooth,about 5 minutes.

The “dough”  at this point is more like sticky cake batter and that is what it should be like. Pour it into a well buttered 2 quart souffle dish. Cover with plastic wrap again and let rise until it reaches the top of the mold, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 400 F 30 minutes before baking.

Brush the top with the egg white. I also sprinkled it with swedish sugar. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 F. Bake for an additional sixty minutes until golden brown.

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