pineapple sweet rolls

This was the very first recipe that caught my eye when I flipped through Joy Wilson's Homemade Decadence.

After weeks (weeks!) of craving pineapple anything, I finally got up early enough to make this and not have to wait until dinner time to eat it! 

Made the simple yeast dough with the addition of pineapple juice in the stand mixer that gave it its last gear :(  

Once the dough is mixed and kneaded, it has to double in size. So we relaxed next to the fireplace for an hour and half. Not really. I did other things... 

Then, the dough has to be rolled out 1/3 thin in a 10 in square. I had so much dough, that without even rolling it out, it stretched into a 10 inches square, but it was a good inch high! I rolled it out some but my counter was not big enough to handle this much dough, so I ended up with a 14 x 18 rectangle that was much thicker than needed. I trimmed off some of the dough to even out the edges. So I had enough dough to make 4 small plain buns on top of the 8 rolls and the scrap ends.

I had too much melted butter, and not quite enough filling. Once rolled, I trimmed off the edges and cut the log in 8 portions. They were massive. I fit all 8 of them in my 9x13 pan, but decided against that plan since they had to rest for another hour and were going to get bigger then, then even bigger as they baked. So I baked 6 rolls plus the ends in the 9 x 13, 2 of the bigger rolls I have ever seen in a 8 x 8 pan along with two buns and 2 buns in 2 ramekins.

That's a whole lot of dough I just cannot resist eating! 

So next time : 1.5x the filling. Split the dough in half to make two logs to be cut in 6 portions each, bake in 2 9x13 pans. Also, replace pecans with macademia nuts? Otherwise, super awesome breakfast rolls! 

These rolls were so good! Recipe available in Homemade Decadence!

cinnamon buns

This month the Daring Bakers kept our creativity rolling with cinnamon bun inspired treats. Shelley from C Mom Cook dared us to create our own dough and fill it with any filling we wanted to craft tasty rolled treats, cinnamon not required!
I had never made cinnamon buns before, so I stuck to the provided recipe and made the classic pastries filled with cinnamon sugar.

Although whenever we buy cinnamon rolls, we get the kind frosted with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting, I glazed these with a powdered sugar, milk and vanilla mixture, and we quickly ripped into them, effectively ruining our dinner.

Cinnamon Buns
(from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart)
Makes 8-12 large or 12-16 smaller buns

Ingredients
6½ tablespoons (100 ml) (3 oz) (90 gm) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
5½ tablespoons (85 ml) (2¾ oz) (80 gm) shortening, unsalted butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract OR vanilla extract OR 1 teaspoon (5 ml) grated lemon zest
3½ cups (840 ml) (16 oz) (450 gm) unbleached bread (or all-purpose/plain) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (¼ oz) (6 gm) instant yeast (active dry worked as well)
1 1/8 – 1 ¼ cups (270-300 ml) whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature
½ cup (120 ml) (3½ oz) (100 gm) cinnamon sugar (6½ tablespoons (100ml) (3 oz) (90 gm) granulated sugar plus 1½ tablespoons (20 ml) (1/3 oz) (10 gm) ground cinnamon)

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together sugar, salt and shortening. Add the egg and extract to the creamed sugar and shortening and mix together until smooth. Add the flour, yeast and milk to the mixer and mix on low speed until the dough begins to form a ball.

At this point, switch to the dough hook attachment and knead for 10 minutes. The dough will be silky and supple, but not overly sticky. You may need to add a touch of flour if your dough is too sticky.

Lightly oil a bowl, turn the kneaded dough out into it, turning to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Allow the dough to rest (ferment) until it has doubled in size, approximately 2 hours.

Once the dough has rested and risen, you are ready to shape the cinnamon buns. Prepare your a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.

Spray your work surface lightly with cooking spray and turn the dough out onto the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough, into a rectangle about 2/3 an inch (15 mm) thick, 14 inches (350 mm) wide and 12 inches (300 mm) long (for large buns) (or 18 inches (450 mm) wide by 9 inches (230 mm) long for smaller ones). You may need to sprinkle the dough and/or work surface with a bit of flour to keep the dough from sticking. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling over the surface of the dough.

Starting with a long end, roll the dough, creating a spiral, into a log shape, making sure to end with the seam side down. Cut the dough into pieces approximately 1¾ inches (45 mm) thick (for large buns) (1¼ inch (30 mm) for smaller buns).

Place buns approximately ½ inch (15 mm) apart on the prepared pan. They shouldn't be touching at this time.

Allow the shaped buns to proof at room temperature for 75 – 90 minutes until they have nearly doubled in size. They will now be touching each other.

If you are not planning on baking the buns the same day as you are preparing them, you can place them into the refrigerator after they are shaped (before this rise) for up to 2 days. If you do so, you will need to allow them to return to room temperature prior to baking, which means removing them from the refrigerator about 3 or 4 hours before baking.

Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 degrees at the end of this proofing time.

Bake the buns for 20 – 30 minutes, until golden brown

Allow the buns to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then drizzle with glaze (recipe below). Remove the buns from the pan to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes before eating.

White fondant glaze

Sift 4 cups (500 gm) (17½ oz) of confectioners' (icing) sugar into a large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of lemon, orange or vanilla extract and between 6 tablespoons to ½ cup (90 to 120 ml) warm milk, whisking well until all of the sugar is dissolved. (Add the smaller amount of milk first, whisking briskly, then add slowly until you have the consistency you want for drizzling over the buns.)

I used lemon extract in the dough, and next time, I'll use vanilla instead. I also used shortening in the dough, mainly because I was too lazy to let the butter reach room temperature. I used 1/3 cup of white sugar, and 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp cinnamon for the filling. I also spread some butter on the dough before rolling it up.

It's a good thing it takes a good part of the day to make cinnamon roll, because fresh out of the oven, they are amazingly soft and delicious! I'm very happy the Daring Bakers pushed me to make this! Another item off my to bake list!

Thanks Shelley for an amazing challenge, and for compiling all of this month's variations on Pinterest! I loved seeing how every Daring Baker interpreted this challenge differently!

shaped breads

February's Daring Bakers challenge was so dangerous! Easy, simple ingredients, so yummy, and pretty on top of it!

Daring Baker Sawsan, of Chef in Disguise, challenged us to make beautiful, filled breads.

Sawsan provided us with two recipes, and two shaped breads to attempt. The first one I made was filled with cinnamon sugar. The other recipe made two "loaves" one of which i filled with nutella, the other, with berry preserves.

Cinnamon bread

Servings: 8

1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water

3/4 cup (180 ml) warm milk

1 large egg

1/4 cup (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) butter, softened

1/4 cup (60 ml) (50 gm) (1-3/4 oz) white sugar

1/2 teaspoon (3 gm) salt

3-1/4 cups (780 ml) (450 gm) (16 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, approximately

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon (1 gm) cardamom, optional

1/4 cup (60 ml) of milk

1 tablespoon (15 gm) (1/2 oz) sugar

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) (1/4 cup) (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) butter

4 tablespoons (60 ml) (25 gm) (1 oz) cinnamon

1/2 cup (120 ml) (100 gm) (3-1/2 oz) sugar

1 can (400 gm) (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

In a bowl whisk the egg with milk, water, sugar, butter and yeast. Set aside

In another bowl sift the flour with the salt and the optional cardamom. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead until you get a smooth dough.

Note: This recipe requires between 3-1/4 and 3-1/2 cups of flour depending on the weather, humidity and the flour brand. Start with 3-1/4 cups and if you feel that the dough is too soft, add the extra 1/4 cup.

Place the dough in a bowl you have brushed with some oil and cover it with a wet cloth and leave it in a warm place to double.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll each part into a circle at least 20 cm (8 inch) in diameter.

Brush the first layer with butter then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Place the second layer on the first layer repeat the brushing and sprinkling and then do the same with the third layer. Top with the fourth layer, this time only brush it with butter.

Using a knife make cuts that divide the dough circles into 8 triangles. Make cuts that go 2/3 of the way in the middle of each triangle. The cuts should not reach the base of the triangle nor the tip. Take the tip of each triangle and insert it into the cut you made and pull it from the underside.

Arrange the triangles on your baking sheet. Pinch the two angles at the base of the triangle together.

Brush the dough with milk.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes during which you would heat your oven to very hot 500°F/240°C/gas mark 9 (rack in the middle). (Go for the hottest your oven will do).

Bake for 5 minutes on very hot 460°F/240°C/gas mark 9, then lower the temperature to moderately hot 390°F/200°C/gas mark 6 and bake for 15-20 more minutes

Note: ovens do differ greatly, so the time may differ,what you want is to bake it until the under side is golden brown and the bread is baked all the way to the center. If the top of the bread is not golden brown by that time and you have a broiler (grill) in your oven. Turn on the broiler (grill) for a couple of minutes until the bread is golden brown on top. If on the other hand the top is getting too dark, consider lowering the oven temperature and covering the top of the bread with foil to stop it from over browning

Take it out of the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rick and drizzle with sweetened condensed milk while it is still warm.

Nutella twists

Servings: This dough recipe makes two loaves, 16 small pieces each

1 can (400 gm) (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

3 large eggs

1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

3 teaspoons (15 ml) (12 gm) yeast

7 cups (1 kg) (2.2 lbs) all-purpose (plain) flour, approximately

Pinch of salt

Instead of the eggwash use

2 tablespoons (30 ml) (25 gm) (1 oz) milk powder

3 tablespoons (45 ml) lukewarm water

1teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar

1/4 teaspoon (1 gm) instant coffee

For the filling

½ jar (200 gm) (7 oz) of nutella (or similar)

Mix the condensed milk, yeast, oil, water, and eggs in the bowl of your mixer. Add the flour one cup at a time and knead using the kneading attachment or by hand till you get a soft dough. The dough will be slightly sticky due to the sweetened condensed milk, don’t worry once the dough rests it will have a wonderful consistency.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rest till it doubles in size

Punch down the dough and divide it into 2 parts. Wrap one part in a plastic bag and work with the other. Divide the dough ball into 4 parts. Roll each part into a circle at least 20 cm (8 inch) in diameter. You can use a plate or any other round item as a template if you want your layers to be identical and uniform. 

Spread the Nutella (or similar filling) on the first layer. Place the second layer on top of the first and repeat. Top with the fourth layer, this time only brush it with butter.

Note: To help with the slippery Nutella, you can place the filled layers before cutting into the fridge for 20-30 minutes, this will help the Nutella to firm up. That will make the cuts and twists easier.

Using a knife make cuts that divide the dough circles into 8 triangles starting at the center but don’t go all the way to the outer edge. Then divide each triangle into two. That gives you a total of 16 triangles. Gently lift the triangles one at a time and twist them.

Repeat for the other dough ball.

Brush the dough with egg wash replacement. Allow to rest for 15 minutes during which you would heat your oven to very hot 500°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

Bake for 5 minutes on very hot 460°F/240°C/gas mark 9, then lower the temperature to moderately hot 390°F/200°C/gas mark 6 and bake for 15-20 more minutes.

Note: Ovens do differ greatly, so the time may differ,what you want is to bake it until the under side is golden brown and the bread is baked all the way to the center. If the top of the bread is not golden brown by that time and you have a broiler (grill) in your oven. Turn on the broiler (grill) for a couple of minutes until the bread is golden brown on top. If on the other hand the top is getting too dark, consider lowering the oven temperature and covering the top of the bread with foil to stop it from over browning.

This challenge was very dangerous for me. I could have made bread all month long! So delicious! Thanks Sawsan for the great challenge!

triple chocolate toffee panettone

I waited until the last minute to complete this month's Daring Bakers challenge. Had many projects on the go this month, and had to wait until after Christmas to be able to focus on this project.

The December 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by the talented Marcellina of Marcellina in Cucina. Marcellina challenged us to create our own custom Panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread!

I've never had panettone before, but have seen tall boxes of it in stores. I'm kinda leery about pastry that comes in a box and has a long shelf life. That, combined with pictures of panettone that I've seen made me imagine a tall crusty bread with a dry crumb. 

Although traditional panettone has dried fruits and candied citrus peel in the recipe, that flavor combination did not appeal to me. I chose to replace the traditional filling with three kinds of chocolate chips, toffee chips and coarse sugar.

I decided to make the entire recipe over the course of one day, starting at 8 am and pulled it out of the oven at 9 pm. Most of the work is waiting for the dough to rise.

One of my loaves rose more than the other and the shorter one kinda collapsed a bit in the middle after I took it out of the oven. I was worried about having under baked it, so I peeked in and couldn't resist pulling pieces of dough out for a taste. 

The texture of this bread is really something else. Flaky and fluffy at the same time. Straight out of the oven, it was amazing! Not dry at all! I had to stop myself from going back and plucking just another piece from the interior of the bread, or else I'd have had nothing left to photograph.

I really loved the flavor combination too! Not sure I'd make it again, after all, it calls for almost a pound of butter, and you need to dedicate an entire day to make it, but I really enjoyed this challenge.

The only issue I had was finding the right papers to bake this in. I ended up using a 6-inch  store-bought disposable pan that had a tube in the middle. I cut out the tube and added a cake board to the bottom of the pan. I also I had butter dripping to the bottom of my oven and smoking up the kitchen when I put my bread in. Of course, instead of staying on top of the dough, the butter just melted right off the side of the bread. I should have seen this coming, but no. Regardless, the mess worth it!

Here's the recipe that was provided for us with a few modifications regarding flavoring. For the original recipe, please click here.

Panettone

Makes 2 Panettoni

Sponge
1 satchel (2¼ teaspoons) (7 gm) active dry yeast
1/3 cup (80 ml) warm water
½ cup (70 gm) unbleached all purpose flour

Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and allow to stand until creamy, about 10 minutes or so. Mix in the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size for about 20 to 30 minutes.

First Dough
1 satchel (2¼ teaspoons) (7 gm) active dry yeast
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water
2 large eggs, at room temp
1¼ cup (175 gm) unbleached all-purpose (plain) flour
¼ cup (55 gm) (2 oz) sugar
½ cup (1 stick) (115 gm) unsalted butter, at room temp

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the yeast and water and allow to stand until creamy, about 10 minutes or so. With the paddle attached mix in the sponge, eggs, flour, and sugar. Add in the butter and mix for 3 minutes until the dough is smooth and even. Cover with plastic wrap and allow double in size, about 1 – 1 ¼ hours

Second dough
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2/3 cup (150 gm) (5-2/3 oz) sugar
3 tablespoons (45 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
1 cup (2 sticks) (225 gm) unsalted butter, at room temp
3 cups (420 gm) (15 oz) unbleached all-purpose (plain) flour; plus up to (2/3 cup) 100 gm for kneading

With the paddle mix in thoroughly the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt. Mix in the butter until smooth. Add the flour and slowly incorporate. At this stage the dough will seem a little too soft, like cookie dough. Replace the paddle with the dough hook and knead for about 2 minutes. Turn out the dough and knead it on a well-floured surface until it sort of holds its shape.
Don’t knead in too much flour but you may need as much as 2/3 cup (100 gm). Be careful the excess flour will affect the finished product.

First Rise
Oil a large bowl lightly, plop in your dough and cover with plastic wrap. Rise in a warm place for 2 – 4 hours, until tripled  in size.

Filling and final dough
1½ cups chocolate chips (combination of milk, white and semi-sweet)
½ cup toffee chips
1/2 cup coarse sugar

Combine all your filling ingredients and mix well
Press out one portion of dough into an oval shape
Sprinkle over one quarter of the filling and roll up the dough into a log
Press out again into an oval shape and sprinkle over another quarter of the filling
Roll into a log shape again.
Repeat with the second portion of dough
Shape each into a ball and slip into your prepared pans, panettone papers or homemade panettone papers.

Cut an X into the top of each panettone and allow to double in size.
Rising time will vary but ff it has been rising in a warm place it should be doubled in about 2 hours.

Baking

When you think your dough has only about 30 minutes left to rise preheat your oven to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 and adjust your oven racks.
Just before baking carefully (don’t deflate it!) cut the X into the dough again and place in a knob (a nut) of butter on top.

Place your panettoni in the oven and bake for 10 minutes
Reduce the heat to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 and bake for another 10 minutes
Reduce the heat again to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3 and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted into the panettone comes out clean.
Cooling your panettone is also important. If you have use papers (commercial or homemade) lie your panettoni on their side cushioned with rolled up towels. Turn gently as they cool. If you have used pans cool in the pans for 30 minutes then remove and cushion with towels as above.

pulla

May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.

But really, the mandatory item was to make an enriched bread which is braided or shaped, so I took this opportunity to make Pulla for the first time. Pulla is a braided bread, enriched with eggs, butter and milk, and flavored with cardamom. My husband's mom's family is from Finland, and although I've had pulla a couple of times over the last decade, but my husband fondly remembers his papa making it and having in the afternoon with his grandparents. So I thought it was about time I learned to make it myself.

When I was about ready to make this, my in-laws were moving house, so I didn't think it was the best time for me to ask for a recipe. Back when I first joined the Daring Bakers, we had made a yeasted coffee cake that had a similar texture to pulla, and Audax, one of the most active members of the group had suggested a recipe for pulla, the one I used for this challenge, with slight modifications.

Pulla
recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

2 cups milk
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 eggs, beaten
9 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 egg yolks, beaten

Warm the milk in microwave. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the lukewarm milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, 4 eggs, and enough flour to make a batter (approximately 2 cups). Beat until the batter is smooth. Add about 3 cups of the flour and beat well; the dough should be smooth and elastic in appearance. Add the melted butter or margarine, and stir well. Beat again until the dough looks glossy. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is stiff. Let rest for 15 minutes. 

Knead the dough until smooth and satiny, about 8 minutes with the stand mixer. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, and turn the dough to grease the top. Cover with a clean dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down, and let rise again until almost doubled.
Turn out onto a floured surface, and divide into 2 parts. Divide each half into 4. Roll each piece into a 12 to 16 inch strip. Braid 4 strips into a loaf. Lift the braids onto greased baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes. Brush each loaf with egg wash. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.

Now going over the recipe, I realize that I didn't let the dough rise twice, but without ill effects, as we thought this bread was close to being perfect! I used Ruth's method to braid the dough with four strands, which was way easier than anticipated, especially when singing the process to myself: over, under, over, next, over, under, over next... 

I made two loaves, and learned the hard way why you need to taper the ends of the dough strips: my second loaf came out pretty misshapen, with the middle being nice straight and skinny, and the ends being thick and round. I stuck it in the freezer so we could enjoy it later!

Way too sweet to eat it alongside a meal, I love it toasted, with butter, honey or nutella! Thanks for the challenge Ruth!

To see what other Daring Bakers thought of this challenge, check out the www.thedaringkitchen.com

crackle buns

I don't know what I enjoyed more this month, the challenge, or the fact that I had an entire week off to play around with it. Love March break!

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

I started out by making simple soft white buns using the recipe provided in the challenge, with the crackle on top. They turned out beautiful! Soft and fluffy inside with a crunchy exterior.

Soft White Roll
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus additional olive or vegetable oil for greasing bowl during rising)
1½ teaspoons salt
Up to 4 cups all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).

Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together.

Add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. For me, this usually required an additional 1 1/4 cups of flour, tops.

Knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. 


Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions (if you’d like to make rolls) or 2 equal portions (if you’d like to make a loaf) (using a sharp knife or a dough scraper works well). Shape each into a ball or loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (try not to handle the dough too much at this point).

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.

Dutch Crunch Topping
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups rice flour

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.

Using your fingers or a spoon, coat the top of each roll with a thick layer of topping. You should err on the side of applying too much topping – a thin layer will not crack properly.

Once you’ve applied the topping, bake in a preheated moderately hot 380ºF for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating. 

Our Daring Baker hostesses explained that Dutch Crunch bread is also called crackle, tiger or giraffe bread in some parts of the world. To me, the buns looked more like turtle shells than tigers or giraffe, and I have particular thing for turtles... so I did not make one of a kind sandwiches with it, but I did make one of a kind buns...

A little creative shaping, a little food coloring, food marker... and you've got turtle buns!

povitica

I skipped the last Daring Baker's challenge, because it was croissants from scratch. There was no way I was making that without losing my mind. So I didn't make croissants. I felt guilty not making September's recipe, but on the other hand wasn't very sorry, because it was my first challenge after being back at work, and I was still adjusting to my new life. It's pretty hectic, and weekends are kinda sacred. Not much time for marathon baking sessions.

So this month, I had every intention of participating. The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

I was a tiny bit disappointed with the challenge being bread, again, but I though playing around with the filling would be fun. I had fully intended to fill one of the loaves with leftover hazelnut praline, but I didn't have enough, so decided on a cinnamon, brown sugar and cocoa filling for one, and s'mores filling for the other.

Povitica
Makes two loaves

To activate the Yeast:
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 ½ gm) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
¼ Cup (60 ml) Warm Water
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/7 gm/¼ oz/1 sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:
1 Cup (240 ml) Whole Milk
6 Tablespoons (90 ml/85 gm/3 oz) Sugar
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/9 gm/1/3 oz) Table Salt
2 Large Eggs
¼ Cup (60 ml/60 gm/½ stick/2 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups (960 ml/560 gm/19¾ oz/1¼ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Filling:
Brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa
Marshmallow fluff, cocoa, graham crumbs

Topping:
beaten egg white
Melted Butter

To Activate the Yeast:
In a small bowl, stir sugar, flour, and the yeast into the warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, the sugar, and the salt until combined.
Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 1 cup (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz) of flour.
 Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.
Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they will each weight about 1.25 pounds/565 grams)
Place dough in 2 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:
Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.
Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)
Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter.
Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.
Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.
As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
Spoon filling evenly over dough until covered.
Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.
Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.
Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan.
Brush the top of each loaf with a couple of beaten egg whites.
Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.

To Bake the Dough

Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.
Check the bread at 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.

Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Allowing it to cool in the pan helps the loaf to hold its shape.
It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

Although not surprised, I was kinda disappointed with the final result of my bread. It was a bit too dry for my taste, but I might try toasting and buttering it for breakfast. To be fair, I think I messed up the amount of flour I was supposed to add to the dough. I found it behaved weirdly. Took forever to double in size, and by the time it had, I had to stuck it in the fridge because I didn't have time to finish the recipe then. It stayed in the fridge overnight and the next day. I brought it back to room temperature before rolling out, not as thinly as I was supposed to because I'm not a very patient baker. I forgot to butter the dough at that point, and made up the filling as I went.

I didn't get very much rise while the bread was baking, but it was done in an hour, like the recipe said. I left it to cool in the pan over night and the next day, without covering it, so maybe that had something to do with the dryness too?

In any case, although not my favorite thing to bake, I have to admit that it was pretty cool cutting into the loaf and seeing the pretty swirls!

Can't wait to see what next month's challenge will be, and see if I'm able to find time to enjoy making it!

soft pretzels

The first picture of food I ever took was of a pretzel. It was my first time making them and I was impressed with the outcome. I was going to send the pic to a friend of mine, to brag about my accomplishment, but never did. Felt kinda silly writing, "hey, look what I just made". A little while after that, I decided to start up this blog. Figured I wouldn't have to push my foodstuff onto people, they could come here and see it if they wanted to. Still kinda feel silly writing "hey, look what I just made"!

But these pretzels are worth writing about! We had them fresh from the oven, with leftover pizza sauce for dinner. They were amazing! The inside is so soft and yummy! And the crust is just salty enough. I sprinkled fleur de sel on top of four of them, and topped the other four with a mixture of sugar, chocolate and cinnamon in one of those grinders things. The sweeter ones were delicious with peanut butter the next day. Not as soft as the fresh ones, but still delicious nonetheless.

Soft Pretzels

recipe adapted from Alton Brown via FoodNetwork

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda (I used a heaping 1/3 cup)
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water (I used heavy cream)
Pretzel salt (I used fleur de sel)

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and mix until combined with a spatula. Using the dough hook, turn on the mixer at medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the heavy cream and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

The first time I made these, I measured the baking soda, but failed to measure to water. The results? Pretzels that tasted very strongly of baking soda. So I was careful this time around, and measured the water, and used much less soda than what the recipe called for. They tasted awesome.

For some reason I ran out of eggs (because of pancakes that call for half a dozen that my husband had made that morning). So I used heavy cream to brush on the pretzels before baking, and they turned out fine. The fleur de sel was also perfect for these, but the cinnamon sugar grinder thing didn't sweetened them as much as I would have liked.

I wish I had gotten a picture of the inside of one... next time!

french toast

I decided that breakfast, for the first day of summer vacation, was to be special. We usually rush through it, having bagels, or tartines, oatmeal or cold cereal, fruit and juice. But this morning, since our plans were rained out, I decided to make French Toast.

We had French Toast often when I was a kid, and I've been making them for years, but I never knew just how good they could be if you follow a recipe! Before Alton Brown's recipe came along, I whisked a couple of eggs, added a splash of milk, vanilla and cinnamon before using whatever kind of "sandwich bread" we had on hand and cooking it in a pan with cooking spray. It made decent breakfast.

But this recipe produces really insane French Toast, not to be confused with a healthy breakfast. Well, if you're having French Toast, I can assume you're not going for healthy, since you're most likely going to pour maple syrup all over it. It's a treat!

French Toast
recipe adapted from Alton Brown

1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old challah bread (egg bread)
4 tablespoons butter

In medium bowl (large enough for a slice of bread to fit in), whisk together the milk, eggs, syrup, and salt.
Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan.
Dip bread into mixture, coating it with the egg on each side.
Place 2-4 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.  Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

Alton uses half and half. Yeah, that's decadent all right, but I used whole milk, since I had some on hand. He also uses honey, but I don't really get that, so I just use maple syrup instead. And no vanilla or cinnamon. Surprisingly, I don't even miss them! The egg bread is very important here. It's really worth buying a loaf, just to make this. Alton lets it soak in the egg mixture for 30 seconds on each side, but I hate, HATE, soggy French Toast, so I just dip it and fry it. Frying is the key word. You need the butter. It really brings the French Toast to a whole other level.

Local strawberries are nice and ripe, and I can't resist adding them to anything and everything. They were great with these french toast. A beautiful way to start summer vacation!

buns

Up until recently, I didn't even know I could make bread. Yeast used to scare me. My mom never succeeded at making bread, so in my mind, that meant that I couldn't either. Then my dad jumped on the no-knead bread bandwagon with much success. His bread is beautiful. Then came pizza. Homemade pizza is nothing like the take out stuff. Thousand times better. So I though if he could, maybe I could too. Turns out I can make no-knead bread, but not as good as he can. Then came the Daring Bakers and my first challenge, the yeasted coffee cake. Yeah, that was good. A few days ago, I made a fougasse. Yep, success again.

And tonight, I made buns. Homemade buns are ridiculous. I had no clue how good they could be. And so easy! Start them mid afternoon, and you'll have them baked and sampled in plenty of time for dinner.

They are something else. After having split one open and sampling it, I went out on the deck where my husband was doing yard work. I offered him a sample, he took one look at my face and said, "they're that good"? I guess I looked pretty proud of myself. He took one bite and closed his eyes. Yeah. That good.

That means that buying buns at the grocery store will result in a mediocre experience from now on. What am I going to do when I have to go back to work? No more starting dinner at 2 o'clock. Guess we'll have to save those meals for weekends!

So yeah, this weekend. Make buns! They are insane!

Soft Buns
recipe source: taste and tell

makes 12 buns

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 – 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, (one for the dough, one for the egg wash)
1 tablespoon water
sesame seeds, optional

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter. Heat until very warm, but not boiling.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar and salt. Mix together. Mix in 1 of the eggs. Add in the warmed milk mixture. Continue to add in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together. It should pull away from the sides of the mixer, but should still be tacky. If using a mixer, change to the dough hook and knead for 5-8 minutes. If making by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Cover the dough and let rise for 30-40 minutes.

Shape into 12 balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the remaining egg and the tablespoon of water. Brush gently on top of the buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

I warmed my milk, (I used whole milk), water and butter in the microwave for 2 minutes, and when I took it out, I was sure it was too hot, and would totally kill the yeast, but stirring it once or twice, I decided it was going to be ok. (And it was)

I used 4 1/2 cups of flour total, and I think it was perfect for me. I let the stand mixer work its magic for 8 minutes, and turned out the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl to let rise for a good 45 minutes. The dough handles beautifully.

Now I can't count, so I divided my dough into 8 pieces before I realized I was supposed to have 12. So I made 6 huge buns, and divided the two that were left into 4 pieces, to make 10 buns total. Next time I'll be sure to make 12, as the small ones were a bit too small, and the big ones, well, they were too big.

I baked them in two batches, on parchment paper. I'd say that sesame seeds are a must, look wise. These buns come out so soft, they are wonderful. You really, really, must try them. We made chicken burgers out of them, but they would be awesome hamburgers.

This recipe is another keeper!

fougasse

I launched a new blog last week, to showcase more savory recipes. I'm very original, so I called it Bourbonnatrix COOKS... yeah. I know... But now I have a dilemma. Today, I made this fougasse to serve with a roasted garlic, onion and bacon relish. The fougasse definitely falls in the baking category, as for the relish... well it's savory, so doesn't really have any business being on this blog. So anyways, if you want to check out the fougasse, (and you should, it's a great pizza dough recipe), check out the new blog and let me know what you think. http://bourbonnatrixcooks.blogspot.com

the daring bakers make meringue filled yeasted coffee cakes

Ever since I discovered the wonderful world of food blogs, I've wanted to participate in the different challenges. So one of the first thing I did whenever I set this blog up, was to sign up for the Daring Bakers, and March is my first challenge! So excited!

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Such a good challenge, because just as I found out what we would be baking, I was looking up King Cake recipes to make for Mardi Gras. Now I realize that this is not a recipe for a King Cake, but I decided to make my first coffee cake pretty much as directed by Ria and Jamie, but to decorate it King Cake style. There's always next year to bake up a traditional King Cake!

The dough is a bit like a brioche, or cinnamon bun dough. I didn't flavor the dough in any way. I made the meringue and topped it with cinnamon sugar, and chocolate chips. Rolled it up, shaped it, let it rise (not enough), slashed it, forgot to egg wash it, and baked it.

Then came the fun part. I made quick glaze of powdered sugar and milk, brushed it on, and went crazy with the traditional colored sugar typical of a King Cake. I love the way it looks! I also like the crunch of the sugar on top too. Really good!

For the second one, I used a lemon filling, based on the sticky lemon rolls (kinda like a cinnamon bun, but with lemon instead of cinnamon) that I've been bookmarking like crazy, but never made. I mean, meringue and lemon, just go together, right?

Even though they were a bit dry, both loaves were gone way faster than they should of been. And frankly, I didn't even want to share them. They were that good.

But then, reading the comments of other Daring Bakers, I thought I'd try the recipe again, and see if I could get a better end product. And I did!

Really, the only difference was using less flour, letting the dough rise twice before rolling it out, rolling it out without flour and letting the loaves double their size after being shaped. All stuff I should have done the first time around.

On my second try, I made a cinnamon brown sugar filling for half the dough. For the other one, I flavored the meringue with instant espresso, and sprinkled crushed Coffee Crisp bars on top of it. My husband really liked the cinnamon bun one, and my parents loved the coffee flavored one. All four are winners in my book.

Filled meringue coffee cake
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dried yeast
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sugar

For the chocolate cinnamon filling:

2 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

For the lemon filling:

1 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. (I did this in the microwave)

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed. (I did all this in the kitchen aid mixer)

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use. (I put mine in a plastic container with the lid on, but not snapped shut.)

Prepare your fillings: In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling. Measure out the chocolate so you can sprinkle it after the cinnamon sugar.

In another bowl, work the lemon zest in with the sugar with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles wet, soft sand. Stir in the lemon juice.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:

In a clean mixing bowl beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle one of the fillings evenly over the meringue.

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. (I didn't do this.) Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring. (I did this after the second rise.)

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and filling.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. (I forgot to do this for the first one.) Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Although the only time I had ever used yeast was to make no knead bread, this recipe was pretty straight forward. Came together very nicely in the kitchen aid. I didn't even have trouble rolling it out, and that's accounting for my hate of the rolling pin. I think I rolled it much thinner than the other bakers, judging by the pictures I saw. Meringue whipped up nicely too, no problems there.

With the chocolate one, I think I didn't let the yeast do its thing on the second rise. There wasn't much action there.

With the lemon one, the filling was way more prone to catastrophe, it being so liquidy. And I didn't pinch the seams closed. It oozed out everywhere. So there wasn't much lemon flavor left in the cake, as it was all over the cookie sheet. So glad I chose the rimmed on to bake this one on! The cake was still really yummy though.

Totally worth the time it took to make them. A great challenge! Can't wait for the next one!