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Something fantastic from scratch

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Today I did what any rational 20 something college graduate with a decent job and foot up on the corporate ladder at a prestigious marketing agency would do… I resigned. I thought I would cry (because that’s what I do in uncomfortable situations), I thought I would screw up the speech I had been rehearsing in my head for the past several weeks, I thought I would chicken out.

I have been struggling to find happiness in a job I spend 10-12 hours a day at for the past two years, and for the first time in a very long time something made me smile… an acceptance letter from the Culinary Institute of America.

I’m still a little in shock that in about 3 weeks I will not have a steady source of income (or a use for my degree from a top 25 university) and that I actually had the guts to leap off the cliff (probably because I’m still falling and don’t know yet if the deep warm Mediterranean ocean is at the bottom of the cliff like I hope) but I did it.

I received the acceptance letter the week before I took the GMAT (needless to say,studying became a lot harder) and as I was in my kitchen doing math drills while treats were in the oven I had an epiphany… in culinary school my homework would be baking! I called my mom and we both just starting laughing because we knew right then and there that studying for the GMAT was irrelevant to my future (I still took the test and the score can get me into a great business school if I ever chose – options to appease my father).

I’m going to have so much more time to bake a blog! This is going to be amazing…. Now to make up for lost time I have a fantastic recipe. It is inspired by the morning buns at Tartine in San Francisco. Basically it’s croissant dough, with cinnamon sugar and a hint of orange. I hate orange, with a passion. If people ask… i’m allergic (yes, i’m one of those people). So I created a peach version. Enjoy! My mom did…she ate 3 in one day!

Recipe (my own):

Croissant dough (this is a simpler version that does not use levain and poolish like the straight croissant dough in a previous post):

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½  cup sugar
  • ½ cup warm water
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 Tablespoons butter melted
  • 1 package yeast
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla
  • 100 grams butter
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • All-purpose flour for rolling
Peachy Sugar coating:
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 – 1.5 oz package of freeze dried peaches (i used just peaches – you can also sub with a different fruit)
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

  • Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and mix
  • Add the flour, salt, sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Mix again with your hands until all flour is incorporated (or use a stand mixer with a dough hook and deprive your arms of the fine sculpting they will get from lots of kneading) Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
  • Transfer dough to a clear container and let the dough undergo its bulk rise/ fermentation in a warm 75- 80 ° F place for about 90 minutes
  • Every 30 minutes give the dough a turn: dampen your hands (so the dough doesn’t stick) with warm water and gently pull dough up from the bottom of the bowl and fold onto the top a few times – this takes the place of kneading the dough.
  • Transfer the dough to a large plastic bag, press to flatten in a rectangle and chill in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours (or freeze).
  • While dough is chilling prepare the butter. Cut the cold butter into cubes and pound the cubes with a rolling pin until they come together into a sheet about 8” x 12”. While doing this incorporate the ½ cup of flour. You want the butter mass to be similar in consistency to the dough, and to be slightly pliable without getting to warm. Once you have your rectangle place on parchment paper and keep cool until ready to use.

  • When you are ready to begin laminating take the dough out of the fridge and roll out into a rectangle about 12 “ x 20” on a very well floured surface.

  • Work quickly to place the butter block in the center of the dough. Fold the right and left portions of the dough over the butter as if folding a letter.

  • Immediately turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it again into a rectangle about 12” x 20”. Fold the dough over itself like a letter once more. (This is the first “turn”). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but not long enough for the butter to re-harden.

  • Take the dough out and on a well floured surface turn the dough a second time; roll it out into a 12” x 20” and fold the dough over itself like a letter.
  • Refrigerate for an hour and repeat the turning process again. But this time after you fold up the dough (you should have about 8” x 12” block about 2” thick) wrap in plastic wrap or parchment and freeze for about 1 to 2 hours. If you plan on baking them in the morning keep the dough in the freezer until just before you go to bed and transfer to the fridge for the night.
  • Make the peach sugar by placing the freeze-dried peaches in the food processor and pulsing until a fine powder (it may help to add some of the sugar because of its abrasive nature).
  • mix ground peaches with the rest of the sugar and cinnamon.
  • Roll the croissant dough out to about a 18″ x 12″ rectangle on a very well floured surface.  Make sure you are constantly rotating the dough so it does not stick, or worse the butter breaks through the bottom or top layer and gets very sticky!
  • Once the dough is rolled out to size pour melted butter over the dough and sprinkle with enough of the sugar mixture to make a thick paste like coating. (you want about half of the sugar mix left to coat the final baked buns)
  • Roll the dough up into a log, like rolling cinnamon rolls and cut off the scraggly ends.
  • Cut the remaining dough into 12 equal pieces.(you may want to put the log in the refrigerator to stiffen up a little to make slicing easier).
  • Grease a regular-sized muffin tin.
  • Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and place in a the greased muffin pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp for an hour or in the fridge to bake-off early in the morning.
  • When ready to bake, preheat the over to 425°F and let the buns come to room temperature for 30 minutes if they have been in the fridge.
  • Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 375°F and bake until golden brown. You make want to rotate the pan to keep the cooking even. 
  • coat each bun with the remaining sugar (they should be buttery enough to stick, but enough a little extra butter only makes them better)

Another Beauty for Yeastspotting!

Pineapple Crumb Cake

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Oh pineapple. My favorite fruit, my favorite flavor, quiet possibly my favorite food. My mom said she ate ridiculous amounts of pineapple when she was pregnant with me, and she thinks I’m predisposed to love it. I probably go through a pineapple a week. I wish that was an exaggeration, but it’s not.  I grab a piece as I’m running out the door to work, when I’m bored and looking for something too much on, or chop it up to put in mashed sweet potatoes for dinner.

When I go visit my parents that are living in Hawaii, I always find new and interesting ways to incorporate pineapple into everything I’m making or eating. The Passover/ Easter holiday gave me a chance to go see my parents and BAKE! This pineapple crumb cake is a hybrid of all things my family loves, a sweet yeast dough, pineapple and irresistible crunchy sugary buttery crumb topping (with Macadamia nuts)!

This cake works for all the right reasons. The dough isn’t overly sweet like one from a cake batter with a high ratio of sugar to flour. The pineapple is sweet, but tart has the perfect brightness, and the topping… well its sugar and butter and represents everything that is right in the world.

As I was making this cake I realized that there’s a chance some people might be scared of this cake. I realized there is a reason why most pineapple upside cakes have perfect little canned pineapple rings… most people don’t know where to start when it comes to cutting a pineapple! My father is living proof. He swears by this “pineapple cutter” that he twists into the fruit and it mushes and mangles the thing to a pulp… literally. So here’s a quick tutorial on how to make the nice little slices that are perfect baking and even better for snacking on.

Step 1: Cut the ends off

Step 2: “Peel” the fruit with a sharp knife by cutting all of the skin off the fruit.

Step 3: Cut the pineapple into a half then quarters

Step 4: Remove the core. It’s my favorite part to snack on with baking and doesn’t break down during baking like the rest of the fruit.

Step 5: Slice it up!

Now lets talk cake! I make sweet yeast dough for cakes all the time and I use the same basic recipe that you can find here!

Recipe 

Cake dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

½  cup sugar

½ cup warm water

½ cup milk

3 Tablespoons butter melted

1 package yeast

1 teaspoons vanilla

1 pineapple sliced

Streusel

1 ½ cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup macadamia nuts (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:

To make cake:

  • Mix flour and sugar together on a large mixing bowl
  • Place warm water, warm milk and yeast in a small bowl and let proof 
  • Pour yeast mixture into the flour and add the extract and butter. Mix together. I prefer to use my hands (t’s the way I learned to make it), but you can do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook
  • Add more flour if needed to create a dough. You want it to spring back and not be too sticky
  • If mixing by hand knead a few times on a floured surface (this is my favorite part) when you poke the dough it will spring back at you if it is ready.
  • Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size
To make streusel:
  • Mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
  • Add the butter and mix together into it is crumbly
  • Add the macadamia nuts

To assemble:

  • Roll the dough out into a rectangle the size of your pan (about 9″ x 13″) or just press it into the pan.
  • Layer the pineapple on top of the dough. I like to take the slices right after chopping and keep them in their neat little row so I can simply spread them out.
  • Lastly sprinkle the streusel over the pineapple, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes while the oven heats to 375° F.

Bake the cake for about 45 minutes until the top is crunchy and brown and the cake is done. Slice and serve, it’s the perfect treat to go with some Kona Coffee!And check out other delicious yeast treats over at yeastspotting!

Coconut Cupcakes

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Hi blog! I’m back… I’ve missed you so much, and I am so glad I finally have time to share the most amazing coconut cupcakes with the world. I’m happy to report that my sister’s wedding was the past weekend and was a complete success! 5 weeks of planning, 40 bridesmaid dresses tried on, and one hilarious Rabbi later, my sister is now a Mrs. And I have time to bake again!

I love coconut! I know it’s not for everyone, but it’s for me. While I usually look down upon cupcakes, I find a towering coconut cake with mile high frosting and multiple layers a little daunting to eat. I feel really guilty cutting a slice… even a sliver is huge when the cake is stacked to the ceiling! So I busted out the cupcake pan.

These turned out awesome. The same day I made these, we had to taste cakes for my sister’s wedding and we all decided we liked the coconut cupcakes better than the professional options! 

Here she is chowing down. I know what you’re thinking… most brides to be are not eating tons of carbs and sugar, but sister is in her second trimester so she get to eat all she wants! The wedding was this past weekend and the night before I was so proud to call her my sister. Instead of fretting about fitting into her gown at her rehearsal dinner she polished off 2 plates of pate, french onion soup, a steak and 2 desserts including a family favorite… berry pie. It’s glorious. 

Moral of the story… both of us would prefer berry pie or coconut cupcakes over wedding cake.

Recipe

Coconut Cupcakes (my Own)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cups sugar, plus 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 extract almond extract

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 coconut milk

3/4 cup shredded coconut

4 egg whites

1/2 cup coconut shreds, toasted.

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350° F and line a muffin tin with paper liners. (I used a jumbo muffin size)
  • in a large bowl combine oil, 3/4 cup sugar, and extracts. Beat with a mixer until it the sugar and oil come together.
  • Add half of the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until the batter barely starts to come together.
  • Next add the coconut milk and incorporate
  • Finish with the last of the flour, set aside.
  • In a separate bowl (and with clean beaters) beat the egg whites on medium speed. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar slowing creating shinny white peaks. Do not over beat the egg whites!
  • carefully fold the egg whites into the the batter one starting with one third of the eggs, and eventually folding the rest in. Add the coconut as well. You will have a very light fluffy batter if you do this right. 
  • Using a large ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the lined muffin tins. fill each cup to be only about 2/3 – 3/4 of the way full.
  • Place the cupcakes in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Also it is a good idea to rotate the cupcakes about half way through to ensure even baking.
  • Remove cupcakes from oven. While cupcakes are cooling make frosting.

Seven Minute Frosting (Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoons light corn syrup

3 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  • In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine sugar, corn syrup, 1/4 cup water, and egg whites. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes.
  • Attach bowl to a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat mixture on high speed until glossy and voluminous, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Use immediately.
  • Place frosting in a piping bag and ice each cupcake, and follow with toasted coconut shavings.

Christmas Stollen

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It’s December. How did that happen? I’m really not sure. Have I really been out of a college and working for a year and a half? Have I seriously had the same pair of sunglasses (a holiday gift last year) for almost a whole a year? Wow… I’m getting old and responsible.

This time of year is always an interesting time in my family .Not because we hate each other or any of the typical reasons most families claim the holidays are crazy, but because  my family doesn’t really have holiday traditions. I grew up with my mom’s family celebrating Christmas and dad’s family celebrating Hanukkah. It took my mom 10 year of marriage and begging to finally get a “Hanukkah Bush” in the house.  I was seven. It was life changing. Not only did I end up totally confused being raised with both holidays, my dad happened to be born on December 25th.

If you have the pleasure of knowing my dad you know that the world revolves around him. Not because he is full of himself, it’s because he just kicks major butt.  This makes for an interesting dynamic when someone who is so used to everything being the way he wants having to celebrate his birthday on a commercially exploited holiday that he does not observe. He takes it in stride.  The big Christmas tree went up at the outdoor mall near us. My dad took a photo to send to me with the caption “It’s beginning to feel a lot like my birthday”.

I would love to say that we have amazing traditions, but we don’t. Some years we’re home, some years we are at my parents house in Hawaii. Some years theres a Hanukkah bush, some years theres no home cooked meal, and last year… well it was Palm Beach where my sister was living at the time. The last few years all 5 of us haven’t even been together. The one constant to this season for me is baking.

Since we lack holiday traditions, I try to make every singly traditional thing I see on the covers of magazines, websites, or Martha Stewart. I thought I’d start December off with a really wintery treat. Stollen. I’d never made one until now. I also forgot to look for all the ingredients before starting… turns out my family eats lots of dried fruit and I didn’t have what was called for on hand and improvised.Instead of those listed below in the recipe I used dried tart cherries, figs and currants.

I have to say… This was easy and very delicious. It made the whole house smell great. The yeasty dough baking woke my mom up. It’s that good. It better than waking up to the smell of bacon. I will make this again, and take some to the German Grandma and hopefully get her stamp of approval!

Recipe (From the LA Times)

1/2 cup seedless raisins

1/2 cup dried currants

1 cup diced mixed candied citrus peel ( 1/4 -inch dice)

1/2 cup candied cranberries

1/2 cup brandy (or water if you don’t cook with alcohol)

4 to 5 cups flour, divided

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 package (7 ounces) marzipan

Melted butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

  • combine the raisins, currants, candied peel and candied cranberries. Pour the brandy over the fruit and let stand 1 hour. Drain, reserving the brandy. Pat the fruit dry with paper towels
  •  In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over one-fourth cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees) and stir until dissolved. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let stand until the yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.
  • over medium heat, heat the milk, salt, butter and remaining sugar to warm (110 to 115 degrees).
  • In a large bowl mix flour with the milk mixture, vanilla extract and eggs to the yeast mixture and beat in a mixer or by hand with a fork or wooden spoon until combined Beat in the reserved brandy.
  •  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Flatten the dough out, then knead in the candied fruit, adding flour to the board as needed
  •  Shape the dough into a ball and put the dough into a buttered glass bowl. Turn the dough buttered side up and loosely cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
  •  Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts. Place one half aside. Roll the other half into a 12-by-8-inch oval. Brush with melted butter.
  • Cut the marzipan into quarters and roll each quarter into a 12-inch rope. Put two of the ropes alongside each other along the length of the dough, leaving a 1 1/2 – to 2-inch border between the two ropes in the center of the rolled-out dough. Fold the long side of the dough over to the center of the oval. Fold over the other long side so that it overlaps the center by about 1 inch, pressing down gently but firmly. Lightly taper the ends of the loaf. Put the finished loaf on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with the reserved dough.
  • Let the two loaves rise until each has doubled in size. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake about 30 to 40 minutes until dark golden brown. Dust loaves with powdered sugar.

Candy For The Win

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It’s sunday morning… I’ve been up since 5:30. Why??? I have a feeling it’s the adrenaline still pumping through my veins from USC’s win last night over Oregon. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would revolve 12 Saturdays (until we are off probation and back in bowl games) a year around football, I would laugh in your face. If someone were to then tell me I would be screaming at the top of my lungs cheering with my Dad who went to UCLA for the Trojans… well… I’d tell you that you’re off your rocker and should get your head checked out. But it’s true. Sanctions and all, I love USC football. My bruin father even loves USC football. We have victory dances. And my poor mom… she doesn’t understand how after 27 years of marriage my dad has a new could love of football.

At least my mom didn’t have to suffer too much through a football filled night. She had a whole batch of fresh made penuche fudge to keep her company. And marshmallows. And Gingersnaps.

You might be asking yourself what is penuche? The best was I can answer this is with another question… have you ever had a butterscotch square from See’s Candy? That center is basically penuche. A rich, brown sugary, smooth but somewhat crumbly soft candy. Growing up my mom would go to See’s and make us wait in a long line so she could get a custom box… one pound of butterscotch squares. So every once in a blue moon I make penuche for her. It’s very simple to make. Almost too easy. And the best part is i get to sue my favorite new toy… a laser thermometer! Basically its a little wand that has a laser reader on the bottom, you press a button the laser measures the surface temperature of the candy and you don’t have to clean it! Who knows how many thermometers I’ve broken… I’ve dropped them, cooked sugar onto them, put them in the dish washer… you name it… I’ve broken one doing it. Or just got so damn frustrated cleaning the thing I threw it out.

I love this new laser thing… I get super excited over dorky things like this. I have looked for a reason to use it for months and finally it was cool enough of in SoCal to make some candy. If you’re a novice candy maker this is a great recipe to start with. All the ingredients are easy to find, the technique is very easy and it’s something that most people aren’t familiar with, so it’s fun to introduce it to people.

I use a Martha Stewart recipe, because it’s somewhat hard to find a recipe of this confection. And its a good recipe, I leave out the nuts though (since See’s doesn’t have nuts in their butterscotch squares)

Penuche 

Ingredients

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar

5 ounces (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Coat a 5-by-10-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.

Bring evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 236 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 25 minutes.

Transfer to a mixer bowl, and beat in confectioners’ sugar on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. 

Increase speed to medium, and beat until mixture is thickened and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla.

Spread mixture in pan, smoothing top. Refrigerate, uncovered, until firm, about 25 minutes.

Unmold fudge using plastic overhang, and discard plastic. Cut into pieces.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. It went pretty quickly, and I never got a picture after I cut the candy. Now that football season is over I will be a more diligent blogger. Or just make another batch… and maybe coat them in chocolate this time. Yum

Dutch Crunch Pulled Pork Sandwiches

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I know there’s no way I’m the only person that has ever wanted fresh home made crusty bread, without the day long process. I love my sourdough, I really do, But sometimes I want something NOW. Or sometimes I didn’t think yesterday that today I was going to want some delicious bread for something special I’m making for dinner. Because of all these reasons (and that it is just flat out delicious)  I’m so glad I came across this bread.

There’s a sandwich shop by my work that has dutch crunch bread and people rave about it. I’m not really a sandwich person, but my love of bread lead me to do some research. I found picture after picture of this gorgeous crusty bread and I was determined to make some rolls. When reading several recipes there were a few things I liked 1) the reasonable amount of dough the recipe made 2) that from start to finish it only takes 2 hours and 3) that it used a technique I’d never tried before - The crunch on this bread is actually produced by making a second dough, or “paste”, and placing it on top of the shaped rolls, letting it rise for about 15 minutes and baking. I’d seen similar techniques used in Latin American sweet breads and never tried it.

This bread is just flat out awesome. This is totally a recipe for yeastspotting. I made a batch the next day to go with soup! The inside is so fluffy, and the taste is yeasty, without being overwhelming. It was the perfect roll to go with the pulled pork I made. Below is the recipe for both the bread and the pork. It was a perfect meal, and eating it while watching USC destroy Notre Dame made it that much better…

Recipe From Baking Bites

Bread dough

1 package of instant yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2.5 – 3.5 cups all-purpose flour

Topping

1 tablespoon yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup rice flour

Directions

  • milk water and milk together in a small bowl or measuring cup, add sugar and yeast, let sit until foamy.
  • In a large bowl mix 2.5 cups of flour and the salt.
  • Add the foamy yeast mixture and oil to the flour. mix together. Add more flour if the dough is very sticky.
  • Turn the dough out out the counter and knead a few times until it smooth, then place in a lightly oiled bowl to proof covered with plastic wrap from an hour.
  • Heat the oven to 375° F
  • One the dough has doubled in size, turn out onto a floured surface and divide into 6 equal pieces.
  • Shape each sixth into balls – start by flattening out the dough and then folding the top half down over itself, followed by the two sides in towards each outehr and finish like rolling a burrito.
  • repeat with the remaining 5 pieces. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. lightly oil the roll and cover with plastic wrap so they do not form a skin. (the oil is only to prevent the plastic from sticking).
  • Mix all of the ingredients for the topping together and let rise. The mixture will become puffy quickly. remember this is rice flour, so it will not look like a normal dough ( I was convinced I had not done something right at first)
  • Once the mixture is puffy, uncover the rolls and start placing equal amounts of the topping on each roll. 
  • Let the dough with the topping rise for an additional 15 minutes
  • bake rolls in the 375° F oven for 25 – 30 minutes until the rolls are golden brown and crunchy.
Momofuku Pork Seen on Yummy Supper
Recipe
3-4 pounds pork shoulder
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt per pound of pork
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar per pound of pork
black pepper
Directions
  • Mix salt and sugar together with pepper, Rub on all areas of the pork.
  • wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge over night.
  • When you are ready to make the pork, take it out of the fridge, and heat the oven to 250°F.
  • Place pork in a roasting pan, and place in the oven to cook for 6 hours.
  • After 6 hours, Crank the oven up to as high as it goes and flip the pork on to all sides for about 3 minutes to get the whole exterior crispy (it’s the best part!)
  • take the pork from the oven, let it rest for a half hour or so. Then use forks to break apart the pork.
I used the pork for sandwiches and added barbaque sauce and a vinegar based coleslaw. YUM! 

Pumpkin Harvest Cinnamon Rolls

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I’m a southern California girl. We don’t get these things called seasons. We have hot (like today is supposed to be 98°) and cool (it was about 55° and it rained last week) with an average of pretty fortunate. Growing up, there was not an abundance of leaves changing. We only saw snow on vacations or in the distant mountains. And there was never a shift in what we ate because of the seasons. I can only remember eating anything pumpkin on Thanksgiving.

I don’t know what is responsible for my late awakening to autumnal flavors. Maybe I just grew up in a place that didn’t feel the effects of the seasons? Or is it just that there has been saturation in the market of seasonal flavors in recent years? I think Starbucks and the pumpkin spice and gingerbread lattes really made this autumnal flavor thing trendy, and I wasn’t missing out on these things throughout my childhood. Regardless of if this is true, I want to believe it so I don’t start thinking I was deprived of anything growing up.

I hear it’s fall. The only proof I have of this is that the sun is starting to set too early for my liking. There’s pumpkin patches on street corners and fresh apples in the store too. So I thought I’d try my hand at something pumpkin. I keep seeing pumpkin cinnamon rolls online. I felt because of my love for yeasted things, this should be what I attempt. But the recipes seemed a little… too alike.

I started browsing my kitchen for inspiration… and there it was, in the spice cabinet. Here is my take on the pumpkin cinnamon roll… taken to a new level with my friends the apple, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. I have to say, for not growing up cooking with pumpkin these are pretty damn good. My parents both went crazy for them this morning. And my dog is still holding a grudge that no one gave her any.

This makes a pretty big batch (I used two 9 x 13 Pyrex dishes). I took a whole tray into work. They were quickly devoured. Must share on Yeastspotting!

Recipe

Pumpkin Yeast dough

1/2 cup warm water

2 1/4 ounce packages instant yeast

1/2 cup milk

4 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 cups bread flour

2 cups whole wheat white flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 cup pumpkin puree

Filling

2 tablespoons butter (soft at room temperature)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 large apple, grated. (I used honey crisp)

Frosting

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons cream

2 cups (or more if needed) powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

  • In a small bowl combine water and yeast, let proof
  • In a large bowl combine flours, sugar, spices and salt.
  • Add the melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients as well as the yeast mixture. Mix the dough a bit.
  • Add the pumpkin puree and continue mixing. 
  • Dump dough out of the bowl onto a counter or cutting board and knead until the dough is smooth and bounces back when poked. 
  • Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. let proof rise until doubled in size. 
  • Make the filling by mixing the sugar, cinnamon and ginger together.
  • grate the apple and squeeze out all extra moisture.
  • After the dough has risen dump out onto a working surface (I use a marble counter top, and since the dough has enough butter in it, it doesn’t stick without flour). Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 18 inches by 12 inches.
  • spread the soft butter on every inch of the dough
  • follow by sprinkling the sugar mixture over the butter and then the apple. 
  • roll the dough into a log and cut into about 12 rolls.
  • Place the rolls in a greased baking dish and let proof either in the fridge over night or at least an hour before baking. 
  • When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350° and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating during the baking.
  • Make the frosting - Start with the soft butter and the cream. Whip together. add the extracts and powdered sugar. Beat on a low-speed until everything is incorporated. You may need to add more cream to thin out the frosting. You want it to be stiff, but spreadable.
  • Take the rolls out of the oven when they are still somewhat soft and a nice golden brown. Cover with frosting and enjoy!

Challah

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Besides a Bat Mitzvah for my cousin, I have been to Temple once. It was with my Grandma, and I went because I had to attend a religious service for a world religions class in college. I sat there for two hours as the words went in one ear and out the other. I felt ashamed that I really did not know anything substantial about the religion that has been such an identifying factor of my dad’s family, and a catalyst for many things, including leaving Nazi Germany and somehow ending up in America.

I don’t know the prayers or the majority of traditions. but I know the food. And I love the food. Growing up I spent a good portion of my childhood in New York City. We had an apartment a few blocks from the mecca known as Carnagie deli. We would arrive in the city late at night after the long flight from LA and immediately order matzoh ball soup, latkes and Reubens. There is nothing I miss more about New York than Carnagie’s soup… and being able to order it and have it delivered at all hours of the night.

While I may not practice the religion, matzoh ball soup and rye bread are in my DNA. I look forward to the high holidays as an excuse to have any and all of the above. And most of all… I look forward to the baking. This past week was Rosh Hashanah, Every website was overflowing with recipes for honey and apples and brisket. All very tempting, but all I wanted was some Challah. I wanted a sweet eggy bread to cover with jam for breakfast. I wanted something to munch on at dinner, and I wanted to make french toast with the left overs.

I’ve tried my fair share of challah recipes. It was the first yeasted bread I ever made on my own. I was probably 12 or 13 and I remember how proud I was that I could braid it. It seemed like it took all day and I remember thinking how proud my dad and his mother would be. Needless to say, this bread is near and dear to my heart. This past week I didn’t turn to the legendary new york times recipe, or a hand-written recipe my mom received from a friend. I went with a recipe from Saveur that was conveniently in my email inbox.

It was challah. Nothing more, nothing less. My brother used it for a sandwich that he said was pretty good. But for some reason I found it resistible. Maybe I would have liked it more if it had raisins in it, or poppy seeds on top. Or maybe it’s like what happens when you over play one of your favorite songs and decide you don’t want to listen to it anymore.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy it… and for a few hours I felt connected to my heritage. And it was very pretty. Off to yeastspotting it goes.

Recipe Saveur

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk,  heated to 115°
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 tbsp. unsalted butter,  melted, plus more for greasing
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg yolk

Directions

  • Stir together milk, 1 tsp. sugar, and yeast in a large bowl; let sit until foamy, 10 minutes.
  •  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together butter and eggs. Add to yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add flour, remaining sugar, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 6–8 minutes.
  •  Transfer to a lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Uncover, punch dough down, and re-cover; let sit until slightly puffed, 30 minutes.
  •  Uncover dough, divide into 3 equal portions, and roll each into a 16″-long rope.
  •  Align dough ropes side by side, perpendicular to you, and pinch together ends farthest from you to form one end of loaf. 
  • Braid ropes and pinch ends together to seal. Transfer braided loaf to a parchment paper—lined baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let proof for 1 hour.
  • Heat oven to 375°. Stir together egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water in a small bowl and brush all over surface of loaf.
  • Bake until loaf is dark golden brown, 30–35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Happy Birthday to Me

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I turned 24 last week. I got out of bed that morning, looked for any wrinkles, and went off to work like any other Monday. I kept to myself and avoided any unsolicited birthday attention – except letting my best friend buy me frozen yogurt. All day I was less than enthusiastic and kept telling myself, “this is part of getting older; birthdays aren’t as special as they used to be.” And then I was proven wrong.

I arrived home from work to find Williams Sonoma boxes from the 2 most important (and brilliant) guys in my life waiting on the kitchen counter for me.  As I unwrapped my new Vitamix and cookbooks my faith in birthdays was restored.  I was reminded of how loved I am (and that I must really be getting old if a blender is my favorite birthday present). And then I realized there’s a group of people out there who really believe in my baking and cooking. And if they do, I should too!

So, today I’m starting a blog. I’m very excited! I feel like I have a new purpose, and even better – a new challenge!

And about those brilliant guys, my dad and brother, who know any kitchen appliance or cookbook they give me will ultimately be to their benefit (and that I would feel indebted forever for a mixer that could be a down payment on a car); I have to thank them for being such honest taste testers. And I will show my gratitude in the only way I know how – making them something really special.

Stay tuned…