Apricot Sweet Buns

These buns are soft and delicious, with a delicious filling made with dried apricots. I love dried apricots, they are my favourite dried fruits, great for snacking or used in baked goods. And also delicious made into jam.

There's milk and sour cream used for the dough, which makes for a nice soft tender crumb. I've used vanilla extract instead of almond extract for the dough. To make the filling, bring dried apricots and water to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes until the apricots are softened. Drain apricots, reserve some of the cooking liquid. Process the softened apricots in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid, sugar, butter and ground cinnamon, and process until mixture has the texture of jam. I have however added only 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid and 2 tablespoons of dark rum. Smells so lovely and tasted amazing. This filling would be a wonderful jam for bread and toast, it is quick to make, and can be made in small amounts. I'm making a batch of the filling soon just to enjoy with bread. Love it!

The dough is rolled out and spread  with the apricot filling, then fold in thirds in a rectangle, which is cut to 1 inch strips. Each strip is then twisted and tie in a knot, tucking ends under. Place on parchment lined baking sheets,  spaced well apart, then left to rise until puffed. Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown.

The buns are glazed with a brown sugar glaze of which I have omitted, preferring to brush the hot buns with melted butter instead.  These buns are soft and delicious with the apricot-rum filling. Especially good when eaten still slightly warm. 

This fabulous recipe is from The Bread Collection cookbook, page 65, and can also be found at Bake From Scratch website. There is a video where Brian Hart-Hoffman shows how he shape the strips of dough into knotted buns. 

This post is linked to Cookbook Countdown #48

Potato Thyme Bread

This bread is so easy to make, and with its's soft crust and crumb, makes a fantastic sandwich bread. The recipe is a bread machine recipe, from start to finish, complete with the baking in the machine itself. But as usual, I have removed the dough from the machine after the first rise, and then shape the dough, let it rise, and finished the baking in the oven.

I've shaped the dough into an oval and let it rise in an oval banetton.

I like the firm yet soft crumb, the perfect sandwich bread. A good tasty bread!

Potato Thyme Bread
(The No-Fuss Bread Machine Cookbook by Michelle Anderson)
makes one 1-pound loaf
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp milk, at 80 to 90F
4 teaspoons melted butter, cooled
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt (I use 1/2 tsp)
2/3 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup instant potato flakes
2 cups white bread flour
1-1/3 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast

1. Place the ingredients in your bread machine as recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Program the machine for Basic/White bread, select light or medium crust, and press Start.
3. When the loaf is done, remove the bucket from the machine.
4. Let the loaf cool for 5 minutes.
5. Gently shake the bucket to remove the loaf, and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

kitchen flavour's notes :

Place the ingredients in the bread machine, select basic dough. At the end of the first rise, remove the dough from the bread machine, turn it out onto a work surface, shape the dough into a 8-inch oval, place dough in oval banetton, cover with damp kitchen towel, let rise until almost double in size. Preheat oven to 200C. Turn dough out onto a baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180C, and continue to bake for another 25 minutes or until bread is golden brown and cooked through.

I'm sharing this post with Cookbook Countdown #46

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This is a lovely bread, with yellow raisins throughout the loaf, and swirls of cinnamon-sugar filling. The swirl is made using the Russian braid style, where the filled rolled dough is cut into two halves lengthwise, gently stretch into 14-inch lengths, and then braided  together with the cut sides up. Press the seams to close and pop them into the prepared greased loaf pan to rise, then bake.

It smells amazing while the bread is baking! 

I made the bread the night before, and sliced it for breakfast the next morning. Lovely bread, with soft crumb. Because of the exposed cinnamon-sugar filling on the top, the crust is slightly sticky, sweet and delicious. It is good on its own with a mug of hot black coffee.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
(Breads Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen)
makes 2 loaves
dough
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 32 pieces
3-3/4 cups (20-2/3 ounces) bread flour
3/4 cup (2-1/4 ounces) non-fat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) water, room temperature
1/3 cup (12 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups (7-1/2 ounces) golden raisins

filling
1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water and pinch of salt

1. For the dough : Toss butter with 1 tablespoon flour in bowl and set aside to soften. Whisk remaining flour, milk powder, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk water, sugar, and egg in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until sugar has dissovled. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add water mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes.
2. Add salt to dough and knead on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 8 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, a few pieces at a time, and knead until butter is fully incorporated, about 4 minutes. Continue to knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, slowly add raisins, and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute.
3. Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl or container. Using greased bowl scraper (or your fingertips), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. turn bowl 45 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let dough rise for 45 minutes. Repeat folding, then cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rise until nearly doubled in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Press down on dough to deflate. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and cover loosely with greased plastic. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining piece covered), press and roll into 11 by 6-inch rectangle, with short side parallel to counter edge. Stretch and fold dough lengthwise into thirds to form ball, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Cover balls loosely with greased plastic.
5. For the filling : Whisk all together in bowl until well combined. Coat 1 dough ball lightly with flour and place on lightly floured counter. With seam side down, flatten ball with rolling pin into 18 by 7-inch rectangle, with short side parallel to counter edge. Mist surface of dough with water. Sprinkle half of sugar mixture over dough, leaving 1/4-inch border on sides and 3/4-inch border on top and bottom, and press lightly to adhere. Mist filling with water until entire surface is speckled.
6. Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam and ends closed. Dust cylinder lightly on all sides with flour, cover loosely with greased plastic, and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough ball and filling.
7. Grease two 8-1/2 by 4-1/2 inch loaf pans. Using bench scraper, cut 1 cylinder in half lengthwise. Turn halves cut side up and gently stretch into 14-inch lengths. Arrange strips side by side, perpendicular to counter edge, and pinch far ends together. Take left strip of dough and lay over right strip of dough. Repeat, keeping cut sides up, until pieces of dough are tightly twisted. Pinch remaining ends together. Transfer loaf cut sides up to prepared pan. Press dough gently into corners of pans and push any exposed raisins into seams of braid. Repeat with second loaf. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaves reach 1 inch above lip of pans and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
8. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Gently brush loaves with egg mixture and bake until crust is well browned, about 25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, tent loaves with aluminium foil, and continue to bake until loaves register 200 to 205 degrees, 15 to 25 minutes. Let loaves cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours, before serving.

This post is linked with Cookbook Countdown #45

Lemon and Poppy Seed Bread

I do not use my bread machine often enough, preferring always to mix the bread dough in the stand mixer. But on those days when I do use the bread machine, it is only to mix the dough, the final shaping is done in a standard loaf pan, and the baking is done in the oven. I do not like the shape of my bread machine pan, it is sort of a large square, yet not quite a square, nor a rectangle, rather an odd shape to me. So the baking is always done in the oven instead.

As with almost all bread machine recipes, it is very straightforward and easy. I did add about 1/2 cup of bread flour as the dough was rather sticky.  I reduced the salt slightly to a scant 1/2 teaspoon as this is a small loaf. After the first rise, I remove the dough, pat it out to a rectangle and roll in up to the length of the loaf pan. Place the dough in the greased loaf pan, cover with greased cling wrap and leave to rise until amost doubled in size. Remove the cling wrap and bake in the preheated oven at 180F for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown, taking care to tent the top with foil if it is browning too quickly.

The bread is soft with nice lemony crumb and a light crunch from the poppy seed. Just like a lemon and poppy seed cake, but in bread form. Especially good when toasted and spread with salted butter and jam. Lovely bread indeed!

The recipes comes with measurements for a 1-pound, 1-1/2-pounds and 2 pounds loaf. I've made the 1-pound loaf as per the recipe below.

Lemon and Poppy Seed Bread
(The No-Fuss Bread Machine Cookbook by Michelle Anderson)
makes 1 pound/8 slices
1/2 cup water, at 80F to 90F
1 egg, at room temperature
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, at room temperature
2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt (scant 1/2 teaspoon)
2 cups white bread flour (I added an additional 1/2 cup bread flour, as the dough was sticky)
1-1/2 tbsps poppy seeds
1 teaspoon bread machine or instant yeast

1. Place the ingredients in your bread machine as recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Program the machine for Basic/White bread, select light or medium crust, and press Start.
3. When the loaf is done, remove the bucket from the machine.
4. Let the loaf cool for 5 minutes.
5. Gently shake the bucket to remove the loaf, and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

kitchen flavours notes :

Select the Basic Dough setting, and at the end of the cycle ; when the dough has risen once, remove the dough, pat it gently to a rectangle, then roll it up swiss roll style, pressing the seams to seal. Place the dough in a greased 8-1/2 by 4-1/2 inch loaf pan. Cover loosely with greased cling wrap, and leave to rise until almost double in size. Remove the cling wrap and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. 

This post is linked to Cookbook Countdown #44

Italian Sesame Loaf

A wonderful bread from master baker, Nick Malgieri. This Italian Sesame Loaf with a mixture of bread flour and whole wheat flour, is coated with sesame seeds, baked to a lovely golden brown. In the recipe, the bread is baked as a 10-inch round loaf, but I've used a 11-inch oval banetton, since I prefer an oval loaf for my sandwich.

The bread has fabulous oven spring! With flavoursome taste from the whole-wheat flour, soft crumb and a nice crust, it makes a wonderful sandwich with sliced ham, cheese and greens. Yums!

Italian Sesame Loaf
(Bread by Nick Malgieri)
1-2/3 cups (375gm) room-temperature tap water, about 75℉
1/2 teaspoon (about 1.5gm) fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
3 cups (400gm) bread flour, spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off
3/4 cup (100gm) whole wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons (9gms) fine sea salt (I use scant 1 tsp)
1/3 cup (60gm) white untoasted sesame seeds
cornmeal for the pan

one heavy cookie or pizza pan lined with sprayed or lightly oiled parchment, plus a spray bottle filled with warm water

1. Pour the water into a 3-quart or slightly larger mixing bowl and whisk in the yeast. Wait 30 seconds, then whisk again.
2. Combine the flours and salt and use a large rubber spatula to stir them into the liquid. Scrape the side of the bowl to make sure that no flour remains stuck there. Once the dough is a coherent mass, beat it for a few seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough ferment at room temperature for at least 8 hours. It will more than double in bulk.
3. A couple of hours before you are ready to form and bake the bread, use a plastic scraper to remove the dough from the bowl to a well-floured work surface. Flour your hands and gently flatten the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten and repeat. Flour a small area on the work surface and set the dough on it, cover with a towel or sprayed or oiled plastic wrap, and let rest for 1 hour.
4. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 450℉.
5. Use a scraper to invert the dough onto a floured work surface and pull the sides of the dough in toward the centre to give the loaf a round shape, pinching the pulled-in pieces in place at the top. Invert the dough into a floured banetton or a basket lined with a floured cloth. Cover with a flat-weave towel or a piece of oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and proof the loaf until it puffs visibly, about 1 hour- it will not double in bulk.
6. Invert the paper-lined pan onto the banetton and flip the banetton over onto the pan and remove it. Use an X-Acto knife or a single-edge razor blade to cut a slash across the diameter of the loaf. Spray with water and generously sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place in the oven.
7. Wait 5 minutes and spray again, then decrease the oven temperature to 425℉.
8. Bake the loaf until it is deep golden and the internal temperature reads 200℉ on an instant read thermometer, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool the loaf on a rack.

This post is linked with Cookbook Countdown #44

Pain à ľAncienne Rustic Bread (Ciabatta)

Ciabatta is an Italian white bread made with just few ingredients ; flour, salt, olive oil, water and yeast. It's shape is elongated, flat, rustic and broad, looks like a worn-out slipper, hence it is called Ciabatta which means slipper.  

This recipe that I've tried is from Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart. Ciabatta has a very wet dough, so it is preferable to mix the dough in a stand mixer. This high hydration dough (with more water than other regular bread dough), is required in order to achieve a light, airy and holey crumbs as the characteristics of a ciabatta bread. 

Oiling your hands and the work counter with some oil will really help to handle the sticky dough. There's a series of stretch and fold, with 10 minutes rest, which is repeated a few times. The dough is then keep covered in a bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 4 days. The next day, the dough is taken out and let rest for an hour, then shape as per the instructions given, and let rise for another hour before baking.

The dough has puffed a little before it went into the oven. And during the first 15 minutes or so, the bread has puffed even more in the oven. Happy to see that! 

I did not have a baking stone, so I've used an overturned baking sheet instead. 

It bakes up lovely, with a rich brown crust and soft, spongy crumb, with those lovely holes that I was looking for!

The crumb is still soft on the next day, though the crust has become softer and chewy in a delicious way. I enjoyed slices of it with just a spread of salted butter, so good! Great with stew too!

The recipe for this ciabatta can be found here.

Note ; I've made half a recipe for one large ciabatta. I've reduced the salt to 3/4 teaspoon which works out great for us.

I'm linking this post with :

Cookbook Countdown #42

Saturday Morning Fruit And Nut Toast (Sourdough)

A fruity sourdough loaf, with dried cranberries, apricots and raisins. I have omitted the sunflower seeds as I prefer my fruit loaf with well, just dried fruits only. The dried fruits are soaked in some warm water just enough to cover, with some added vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. Drain well and dry with paper towels before using them in the recipe. 

It smells so fragrant with the cinnamon, while the bread is baking in the oven.

Soft, moist crumb, especially good when toasted, and spread with a generous amount of salted cold butter.  Love this bread! Another keeper recipe from Emilie Raffa.

Saturday Morning Fruit & Nut Toast recipe from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa, on page 66. The recipe can be also be found here .

I'm linking this post with :

Cookbook Countdown #42

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Sourdough Bread

This is a lovely bread, with flavours from soft fragrant roasted garlic and the scent from fresh rosemary. 

I've increased the chopped fresh rosemary to triple the amount, to 3 teaspoons, and reduce the salt to 1 teaspoon.

With soft close crumbs, we enjoyed this bread with a bowl of pork stew. Yummy!

This recipe is from Emilie Raffa's book, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple, and can also be found at this link. 

Join us at Cookbook Countdown #39

Potato Burger Buns

Potato Burger Buns, variation from the main recipe Potato Dinner Rolls from Bread Illustrated. Uses a cup of mashed Russet potatoes, with some of the potato water from boiling the potatoes. 

I top a few of the buns with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and the rest without.The buns baked to a deep golden brown, thanks to the egg wash.

The baked buns are soft but not fluffy soft as I thought they would be. 

Use the burger buns to make Egg Banjo, for our lunch.

Potato Dinner Rolls
(Bread Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen)
1 large russet potato (10 ounces) peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2-1/4 cups (12-1/3 ounces) bread flour
2 teaspoon or rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water and pinch of salt

1. Place potato in medium saucepan and cover with 1 inch cold water. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes is just tender (paring knife can be slipped in and out of potato with little resistance), 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer 5 tablespoons (2-1/2 ounces) potato cooking water to 4-cup liquid measuring cup and let cool completely ; drain potatoes. Return potatoes to now-empty saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, shaking saucepan occasionally, until any surface moisture has evaporated, about 30 seconds. Off heat, process potatoes through ricer or food mill or mash well with potato masher. Measure 1 cup very firmly packed potatoes (8 ounces) and transfer to separate bowl. Stir in butter until melted and let mixture cool completely before using. Discard remaining mashed potatoes or save for another use.
3. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk egg and sugar into potato cooking water until sugar has dissolved. Add mashed potato mixture to flour mixture and mix with your hands until combined (some large lumps are OK). Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add cooking water mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl but sticks to bottom, about 8 minutes.
4. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Press down on dough to deflate. Transfer dough to clean counter and stretch into even 12-inch log. Cut log into 12 equal piees (about 2 ounces each) and cover loosely with greased plastic.
6. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining pieces covered), form into rough ball by stretching dough around your thumbs and pinching edges together so that top is smooth. Place ball seam side down on clean counter, and, using your cupped hand, drag in small circles until dough feels taut and round.
7. Arrange dough balls seam side down on prepared sheet, spaced about 1-1/2 inches apart. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until nearly doubled in size and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Unrisen rolls can be refrigerated for at least 8 hours or up to 16 hours ; let rolls sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking).
8. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Gently brush rolls with egg mixture and bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer rolls to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For Potato Burger Buns :

Divide dough into 9 pieces (about 2-3/4 ounces each) and shape into smooth, taut rounds as directed in step 6. Let rounds rest for 15 minutes, then press into 3-1/2 inch disks of even thickness. Arrange disks on 2 parchment paper-line rimmed baking sheets and let rise as directed in step 7. Sprinkle rolls with 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, if desired, and bake on upper-middle and middle racks until rolls are deep golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, switching, and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Makes 9 burger buns.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #37

Peasant Bread

Happy New Year 2019!

I have a new favourite bread cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs, for it's almost effortless easy method of making bread, with delicious tasty results! The author of this fabulous book is Alexandra Stafford, the person behind this blog, Alexandra's Kitchen. 

Alexandra got the recipe from her mother, and she name this bread, My Mother's Peasant Bread. It is the easiest, almost effortless bread I've made. There is no need for a stand mixer, as there is no kneading at all. All the ingredients are mixed in a bowl just until it all comes together, the dough will be wet and sticky. Cover and left to rise until doubled in size. Then using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides and pull it over to the centre, rotating the bowl as you go, repeat until it comes into a rough ball. Still using the two forks, divide the dough in half and place each half in two  very-well-greased (grease generously with softened butter) 1-quart sized Pyrex bowl. Leave to rise until the dough has risen slightly over the rim of the bowl. Bake in a preheated oven at 425F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375F, and continue to bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. 

My notes : I baked the breads at 425F for 20 minutes, then at the lower temperature of 375F for a further 25 to 30 minutes until the bread is golden brown all over.  And I did reduce the salt to 1-1/2 teaspoons.

I love how cute the loaves look, baked in the Pyrex bowls. 

With dense but very soft moist crumb, tasted really good! I've made this a few times already, and  some of the variations from the book. Looking forward to try the rest of the bread recipes. 

The recipe can be found at Alexandra's blog, with tips on how to make this fabulous Peasant Bread, and the video, here. Thank you, Alexandra for sharing this lovely bread!

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #37

Butter-Almond Cake (Butterkuchen)

Butterkuchen has a yeasted bread-like base (enriched with butter and eggs), with the topping of more butter, almond flakes and sprinklings of sugar. The cake bakes up to a puffy, chewy bread-like cake with crispy toasty sweet almonds topping. Very addictive!

Another keeper recipe from Classic German Baking!

Butter Almond Cake (Butterkuchen)
(Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss)
makes 1 (9x13-inch) cake
For the cake :
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups, scooped and leveled/250gm all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading (I use bread flour)
grated peel of 1/2 organic lemon
2 pinches of salt
9 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (130gm unsalted high-fat European-style butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature

For the topping :
10 tablespoons/140gm unsalted high-fat butter European-style butter, cold (I use 100gm)
1 cup/85gm blanched sliced almonds
1/2 cup/100gm granulated sugar (I use 1/3 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Line a 9 by 13-inch/23 by 33cm metal baking pan with parchment paper, letting the sides hang over the edge to function as a sling after baking.
2. To make the cake : Place the yeast, sugar, flour, grated lemon peel, salt, butter and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment. Beat together for several minutes, until the dough is shiny and starts flapping around the bowl and heaters in larger chunks. The dough will be quite soft but should no longer be sticky to the touch. Alternatively, you can make the dough by hand. Mix the yeast, sugar, flour, grated lemon peel, and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and crack in the eggs. Stir the eggs into the flour with one hand and start adding the soft butter, having cut it into chunks. Knead the dough together in the bowl until it comes together, then scrape it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky. Resist adding too much flour, you want the dough to remain soft and slightly floppy.
3. Scrape the dough together and form into a smooth ball using your hands. Place the dough in the middle of the prepared pan and cover the pan with a clean dishcloth. Set aside in a warm, draft-free spot for 1 to 2 hours. the dough will not necessarily double in size, but it should be quite puffy and soft to the touch.
4. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Using the tips of your fingers, push the dough down gently into the pan so that it lines the entire pan evenly, or remove the paper form the pan, lay it on your work surface, and roll out the dough until it fits the indentations of the pan on the paper, and then transfer the paper and dough back into the pan. The dough will be very thin. Using your fingers, dimple the surface of the dough all over.
5. To make the topping : Cube the cold butter into 1/4-inch pieces and drop the cubes evenly all over the cake. It will seem like a very large amount of butter. Scatter the almonds evenly all over the cake. Mix the sugar, salt , and cinnamon together and scatter evenly all over the cake.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Using the parchment paper as a sling, lift the cake out of the pan and place it on a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve warm. This cake is best eaten the day it is made.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #36

    

Chives and Cheddar Parker House Round Rolls

Harvested some Chinese Garlic Chives (Kuchai), to make this soft and fluffy rolls, Chives and Cheddar Parker House Rolls. The actual recipe is called Dill and Gruyere Parker House Round Rolls, from The Bread Collection by Brian Hart Hoffman. I did not have any dill but I do have Chinese Garlic Chives. Gruyere is not easily available so I have used Cheddar instead.

There's butter, milk and eggs in the dough. The dough is slightly sticky but it was manageable, just as the book says. After the first rise, the dough is divided into round balls. I've made half a recipe which makes 12 rolls. There's a small cube of plain butter as a filling for each roll. I have however added some chopped chives, garlic powder and a pinch of salt mixed into the softened butter, then refrigerate until set, cubed and used as the filling. Brush the risen rolls with some melted butter before they go into the oven.

Brush with some melted butter again as soon as the rolls are out of the oven. I have omitted the sprinkling of salt over the rolls. 

These rolls are so fluffy soft! Of course, the butter filling gets melted and this makes the rolls even more buttery. These would be great with some soup, but I love eating them plain with just a cup of hot tea! 

The full recipe can be found here.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #35 

Spicy Olive Bread

America's Test Kitchen cookbook, Bread Illustrated is one of my favourite baking book on breads. I have made some really nice breads from it and this Spicy Olive Bread is one of them.

There's lots of flavours going on in this bread ; there's red pepper flakes, minced garlic, black and green olives. The dough is mixed using the stand mixer. After the first rising, the dough is knocked back and shaped into a round, the second final rising is done in the Dutch oven.  

Once the dough has risen, the top is slashed with two 1/2 inch deep slashes to form a cross. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and continue to bake until the top is deep golden brown, about 25 minutes more.

Cool thoroughly before slicing.

I love the soft crumbs, with all the flavours ; a little spicy kick from the red pepper flakes, a little garlicky taste from the minced garlic, perfect combo with the salty olives. A good thing that I have reduced the salt by half, as I thought that it was perfect with just 1 teaspoon. Lovely bread!

Spicy Olive Bread
(Bread Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen)
3/4 cup pitted olives, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped coarse
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (16-1/2 ounces) bread flour
2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons salt (I use 1 tsp)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1-1/3 cups (10-2/3 ounces) water, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine olives and garlic in bowl. Whisk flour, yeast, salt, and pepper flakes together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk water, sugar and oil in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until sugar has dissolved. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add water mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
2. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 8 minutes. Reduce speed to low, slowly add olive mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, and mix until mostly incorporated, about 1 minute.
3. Transfer dough and any loose olives to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up). Press and stretch the dough into 10-inch round.
5. Working around circumference of dough, fold edges toward centre until ball forms.
6. Flip dough ball seam side down and, using your cupped hands, drag in small circles on counter until dough feels taut and round and all seams are secured on underside of loaf.
7. Lay 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper on counter and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray. Transfer loaf seam side down to centre of prepared parchment Using parchment as sling, gently lower dough into Dutch oven. Cover tightly with plastic and let 5rise until loaf increases in sizer by about half and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
8. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using sharp paring knife or single-edge razor blade, make two 5-inch long, 1/2-inch-deep slashes with swift, fluid motion along top of loaf to form cross.
9. Cover pot, place in oven, and bake loaf for 30 minutes. Remove lid, reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and continue to bake until deep golden brown and loaf registers 205 to 210 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes.
10. Using parchment sling, remove loaf from pot and transfer to wire rack; discard parchment. Let cool completely, about 3 hours, before serving.

***ATK do not recommend mixing this dough by hand.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #33 

and

Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Rum and Raisin Braid

A soft, moist and rum-fragrant bread. Raisins are soaked with half cup of dark rum, then mixed with the rest of the ingredients to form a dough. Let rise until doubled in size, then punch down and divide the dough into three. Roll each piece into a long rope, then braid them together, let rise again until doubled in bulk. Brush the top with egg wash, bake for 35 minutes until golden. 

Some of the raisins got mashed up during the kneading process in the stand mixer. But I thought that is a bonus, as the crumbs are deliciously flavoured with the raisins. I have omitted the glaze drizzled over the cooled braid.

The braid is soft, moist, lightly sweetened from the mashed raisins, and fragrant from the rum. Lovely eaten as it is and makes a wonderful toast, spread with salted butter with a cup of hot coffee for breakfast.

Rum & Raisin Braid

(Simply Bread, by The Australian Women's Weekly)

3/4 cup (110gm) raisins

1/2 cup (125ml) dark rum

3/4 cup (180ml) warm milk

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons (7gm) dried yeast

40gm (1-1/2oz) butter, melted, cooled

3 cups (450gm) plain (all-purpose) flour (I use bread flour)

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

1 egg, beaten slightly

1/2 cup (80gm) icing (confectioners' sugar)

3 teaspoon milk, extra

1. Place raisins and rum in a small bowl, stand for 30 minutes.
2. Combine milk, brown sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy. Stir in butter.
3. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add yeast mixture, raisin mixture and two-thirds of the egg (reserve remaining egg in the fridge). mix to a sticky dough. Continue mixing dough with mixer for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
4. Transfer dough to an oiled large bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place for 1-1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
5. Grease an oven tray. Punch down dough with your fist; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into three portions. Roll each portion into a 35cm (14 in) long rope. Place dough lengths on oven tray, pressing the tops together to join; cross lengths over and under each other to form a plait. Press ends to join; tucking ends under. Cover with oiled plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size. 
6. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
7. Brush braid with reserved egg. Bake for 35 minutes (I baked for 42 minutes), or until golden and sounds hollow when tapped on base. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
8. Sift icing sugar into a small bowl; stir in extra milk. Drizzle glaze over braid.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #33 

Raisin-Spice Buns

These little raisin buns are a regional specialty from northern Germany. The spice used is ground cardamom. According to the author, historically the buns were doused with hot milk and served with spoons. 

Instead of dividing the dough to make small buns, the dough is rolled out and small rounds are stamped out using a cookie cutter, similar to making a cut-out scone.

The little rounds are then left to rise on baking trays. Brush with egg wash ; whisk egg yolk and milk together, then brush it thinly over the tops of the risen buns. This would give the lovely deep bronze colour on the buns when fully baked.

Freshly baked with deep bronzed top.

Soft, light interior and crisp top crust. Lovely buns, great with either coffee or tea. Makes a nice breakfast and tea-time snack.

Raisin-Spice Buns (Heisswecken)
(Classic German Baking, Luisa Weiss)
Dough :
4 cups, scooped and leveled/500gm all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1-1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon/80gm granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup/120ml whole milk
2 eggs, at room temperature
7 tablespoons/100gm unsalted high-fat, European-style butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup/75gm raisins or dried currants
1/3 cup/50gm chopped candied citron peel (I have omitted this)

Egg Wash :
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon while milk

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. To make the dough : Place the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and cardamom in a large bowl. Add the milk, eggs, and butter, cut into rough chunks. Knead together by hand for a minute or two in the bowl, and then dump out on a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Pat out the dough slightly. Place the raisins and citron peel on top; fold the dough around them and knead until everything has been well distributed. Form the dough into a ball and place in the large bowl. Cover with a clean dishcloth and set in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 hour.
3. After 1 hour, gently tug the risen dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 1/2 inch/12mm thick. Using a 2.5-inch/6cm round biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch/12mm between the buns. Knead together the scraps, roll out again, and stamp out the remaining buns.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Cover the buns with the dishcloth and let rise for 20 minutes.
5. To make the egg wash : Whisk together the egg yolk and milk and then brush it thinly over the tops of the risen buns.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. The buns will be deeply bronzed on top.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing the buns from the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature. The buns are best the day they are made, but will keep at room temperature for 1 day.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #32 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray
Theme for August 2018 : Cooking With Spice!

Swabian Parsley Cake

This is not a cake, but a flatbread with a savoury topping. The base is a yeasted bread and the topping is made up of parsley, egg, bacon, heavy cream, sour cream and season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.

The base is a chewy soft bread. I baked in a 9"square baking pan (the recipe uses a 10" pan), as I wanted a thicker bread base.

I like this! Perfect for tea time, especially good when eaten still warm, minutes after baking. Yum!

Swabian Parsley Cake (Peterlingskuchen)
(Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss)
makes 1 (10-inch) cake
Dough :
1-2/3 cups, scooped and leveled, minus 1 tablespoon/200gm all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading (I use bread flour)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
pinch of granulated sugar
1/2 cup / 120ml water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for the bowl

Topping :
2 tightly packed cups / 80gm flat-leaf parsley, stemmed (about 2 bunches)
2-1/2 ounces / 70gm Speck or slab bacon, finely diced
1/3 cup / 80ml heavy cream
1/3 cup / 80gm sour cream
1 egg
freshly grated nutmeg
salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. To make the dough : Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Put the yeast in the well and add the sugar. Slowly pour in the water, stirring gently with a fork. Keep stirring, adding the salt and oil. As soon as the dough is starting to come together, dump it out on a lightly floured work surface and knead vigorously until the dough is smooth and silky, 4 to 5 minutes. Resist adding too much more flour as you knead; you want the dough to remain as soft as possible. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean dishcloth. Place in a warm, draft-free spot and let rise for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Line a 10-inch cake pan with a piece of parchment paper, letting the sides hang over the edge to function as a sling after baking.
3. Place the dough in the prepared pan. Gently push the dough down and out to cover the bottom of the pan and make a very slight rim, taking care not to stretch the dough so much as simply spread it out with your fingertips, The dough should be even and slightly dimpled. Cover with the dishcloth and set aside for an additional 30 minutes.\
4. To make the topping : Coarsely chop the parsley and place in a mixing bowl. Add the speck, heavy cream, sour cream, egg and a few gratings of nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Whisk to combine well. Scrape the parsley mixture evenly onto the risen dough.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the top is starting to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes. Using the parchment paper as a sling, remove the cake from the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve hot or warm. The cake is best eaten the day it is made, but you can keep it for 1 day at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap. Warm leftovers in a 350F/180C oven before serving.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #31 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

White Bread

Sometimes all I crave for breakfast is just a simple white bread, spread with salty butter, a favourite jam and a mug of hot coffee. So that's what I made, from The Australian Women's Weekly gorgeous book, Simply Bread.

This is a very straight forward loaf to make. I have used the stand mixer to knead the dough, and reduced the yeast to only 2 teaspoons instead of 3, and also reduce on the salt slightly. The dough is a little sticky, so I've added about 1/4 cup more flour. I did not dust the final dough with flour before rising, preferring my white bread to be "clean" ! 

Bread is nice and soft. 

Good with a spread of salty butter. 

Basic White Bread
(Simply Bread, The Australian Women's Weekly)
3 teaspoons (10gm) dried yeast (2 teaspoons)
2/3 cup (160ml) warm water
2 teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar
2-1/2 cups (375gm) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon table salt (3/4 teaspoon)
30gm (1 oz) butter, melted
1/2 cup (125ml) warm milk

1. Combine yeast, the water and sugar in a small bowl until yeast dissolves. Cover; stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothing.
2. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl; stir in butter, milk and yeast mixture. Knead dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in an oiled large bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place for 40 minutes or until dough has doubled in size,
3. Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Oil a 10cm(4in) deep, 9cmx22cm (3-3/4in x 9in) bread tin.
4. Knead dough on a floured surface for 1 minute or until smooth. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a ball; place side-by-side in bread tin. Dust with a little extra flour, cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place for 20 minutes or until risen.
5. Bake bread for 30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Turn bread onto a wire rack to cool.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #28 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray