Povitica

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I have been a horrible blogger this month. Not only have I not had time to post anything, I have barely had time to bake. I have been amazingly busy a work the past several weeks, USC football has taken over my Saturdays and I recently became a fan of an exercise class (bizarre and totally out of character). I have been obsessed with the Bar Method; It’s Pilates, yoga and ballet all mixed into an hour leaving my limbs feeling like jello. I really like it but it’s having adverse effects on my baking… My arms were so sore as I was kneading a dough this past week!

Since I felt so bad about not making anything for a while I decided to try something I’ve seen all over the food universe, Povitica. It has every element of baking I love all combined into a beautiful swirled package. Yeast, check. Eastern European, check. Some crazy technique I’ve never tried before, check. What is there not to love? I even forgot the part about chocolate! This really might be one of the better things I’ve ever made. It’s similar to a babka, but the dough is flakier. My oh so poetic father called it a giant rugelach. Regardless of what you compare it… It’s delicious! And I promise it is worth following each step of the directions very carefully.

This most important part of making this is the rolling of the dough. The recipe does not make a large quantity of dough, but it rolls out to be incredibly large! This is all due to rolling the dough out on a kitchen towel. I had my doubts about this… I was about to start flouring my counter to use as a work surface at first, but then I kept reading the directions. You want to roll the dough out so thin that you can see the pattern of the towel underneath. When you think the dough can’t get thinner, roll it out more. I’ve never rolled a yeast dough out that thin, so I wanted to try it. I got my towel out, floured it, placed the ball of dough down and went to work.

This was AMAZING. The dough was paper-thin by the time I finished. The recipe wasn’t anything out of the normal, so I knew it wasn’t the ingredients that let the dough get so thin. It’s the towel underneath! It seems like the towel helps the dough stay in place as it gets thinner. It really is remarkable to watch what is happening as you roll each time. I made a batch of croissant dough the next day using a towel as a work surface and it worked brilliantly there too.This bread went very quickly. I made a second loaf (that is what the pictures are of) on Saturday as it was pouring rain outside. It turned out well, but the rain affected the dough a bit and it was not as flakey as the first.Also I think the proofing time between the shaping and baking is very important. If your dough is to dense, it will not cook through all the way and be doughy in the center (like my pictured second loaf).

Povitica (recipe from passionateaboutbaking)

Ingredients

To activate the Yeast:
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp warm water
1½ tsp dry yeast
Dough:
½ Cup  2% milk
¾ Cup sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 vanilla bean,scraped
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
Topping:
1 egg white, beaten with fork
1½ tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp melted butter
Filling Ingredients:
1¾ cups (10 oz) walnuts, ground
¼ cup 2% milk
¼ Cup unsalted butter
1 egg yolk beaten with fork
½ vanilla bean, scraped
½ Cup sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
  • In a small bowl, stir sugar, flour, and the yeast into warm water
  • 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. Place the half vanilla bean in the milk.  Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
    • one it is cool enough to handle take the vanilla bean out and scrap the seeds on the inside out with a small sharp knife.
    • In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk,vanilla, sugar, and the salt until combined.
    • Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups of flour.
    • Blend thoroughly and slowly add extra 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.
    • Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size. I usually put mine in the oven so there is no draft.
To Make the Filling
    • In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar and cocoa. {I whizzed the walnuts, cocoa, and sugar in the food processor}
  • Heat the milk and butter to boiling, add the vanilla bean, and scrape into the hot liquids like for the dough.
  • Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
  • Add the egg yolk and mix thoroughly.
  • Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
  • If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk {This is important}
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
  • 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 in diameter
  • Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons 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. I mean seriously… in relation to my large rolling pin you can see how huge this rolls out to be! and it’s only 2 cups of flour!!
  • 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
  • Brush the top of the loaf with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar. 
  • Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.
  • Heat oven to moderate 400°F.
  • Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
  • Turn down the oven temperature to slow 325°C 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.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Remember, the bread is heavy about 2.5 and it needs to be able to hold its own weight, which is difficult when still warm and fresh out of the oven. 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.

Off to Yeastspotting it goes!

Lemon Layer Cake

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This past weekend was my Grandma’s 86th birthday. It was a pretty casual lunch and she asked no one to bring presents. She really didn’t want a big celebration and made it clear, but I couldn’t resist baking her a cake… well actually two (but I’ll get to that later).

I haven’t made a proper layer cake in years. I used to make layer cakes with heaps of butter cream all the time when I first got serious about baking. But after a while the allure of cakes faded for me, and I looked to expand my repertoire. I thought long and hard about what to make for my grandma’s birthday. As I’ve mentioned before, she didn’t grow up on overly sweet frosted spongy cakes so I tried to be careful in selecting what I would make for her. I decided on white cake filled with lemon curd and iced with a lemon frosting for my return to the layer cake. I thought this would be the perfect not too overly sweet cake.

The best part is the cake came together pretty quickly. Start to finish with time for cooking, cooling, making butter cream, lemon curd and assembling, I was done in under 4 hours. I thought this was pretty impressive. After years of just going along with recipes I’ve finally proven to myself that 10 or 15 minutes of forethought and planning cuts much more time off of the back-end of the process.

Here are a few of my tips for layer cake success:

  • Making the filling and frosting before baking the cake is probably one of the best things someone making a layer cake can do.
  • Go to your grocery store bakery department, and ask really nicely for a cake box, and maybe possibly a cake board without seeming greedy. Batting eyelashes and being overly appreciative seem to go a long way at my store.
  • give yourself enough time for the cakes to cool – frosting does not stick to a warm cake.
According to Grandma, I really out-did myself by bringing her a plum cake as well. For some reason prune plum season has lasted much longer than usual and I had to make one last cake while I still can for the year. Grandma loved both. My dad’s sister and her family were so excited to see a plum cake! My grandma hasn’t made them in years, and for some reason my aunt never took to making her own. They were over the moon to see their old favorite make an appearance. I don’t mean to brag but my uncle said that my plum cake is better than any he remembers Grandma making. I’ll take that compliment!
Recipe  (all are Martha Stewart)
Swiss Meringue Butter cream
Ingredients
3 large egg whites
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 sticks butter (1 1/4 cups) room temperature and cut into tablespoon sized pieces
Directions
  • Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water.
  • With a whisk or hand-mixer, slowing beat the egg white mixture constantly as it heats up. You want the eggs to reach 160°F and the sugar to dissolve.
  • Remove the egg whites from the heat and add the vanilla. Using an electric mixer (I prefer a hand mixer, but a stand mixer works great too) beat the egg whites on high until they become light and fluffy like a meringue. 
  • With the mixer still on high, add the butter one tablespoon at a time making sure each piece is fully incorporated before adding the next.
  • either use immediately, or keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Cake
Ingredients
    • 3 cups cake flour, (not self-rising)
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
    • 2 1/4 cups sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1 cup milk
    • 8 large egg whites

Directions

    • Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.
    • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
    •  With mixer on low-speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
    • In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low-speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high-speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat.
    •  Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining whites.
    • Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; peel off parchment. Reinvert cakes, and let them cool completely, top sides up.

Lemon Curd
Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
12 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
Directions
  • Prepare an ice bath fitted with a medium bowl; set aside.
  •  Whisk together yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Remove pan from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into prepared medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.
  • Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent skin from forming; wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Assembly
  • Using a serrated knife, cut the tops of the cakes off to create a level surface. Flip the first cake upside down on your cake board or stand.
  • Place 1/4 of your butter cream in a plastic bag, and cut a corner off to create an easy and cheap piping bag.
  • Carefully line the outside of the cake with a layer of frosting. This is going to be the boundary that keeps the lemon curd in the center of the cake so it is very important that you do not skimp on the frosting here.
  • Next put about a cup of the lemon curd in the center of the cake. and stack the second cake on top.
  • Stir the extra lemon curd into the remaining butter cream to create a lemon frosting.
  • Next start with about 1/2 of the frosting on top of the cake and gently push it over the sides using an offset spatula. Add more ass needed.
  • I lice to run the spatula in an up and down motion as I go around the cake to create an old-fashioned look. Finish with the extra frosting on the top, making a dice design. You could also add a few lemon slices or candied lemon peel.

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.

Caramel Brownies

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The last few weeks have been very stressful. Things are moving a mile a minute and I’m juggling more things than ever and it’s somewhat overwhelming at times. Maybe it’s just the time of year, or maybe it’s this whole being an adult thing. Either way… life is really getting in the way of baking. When Friday night rolled around, I was excited to bake. While everyone else my age was getting ready to head out to the bars I threw on sweat pants preheated my oven and turned on the embarrassing teen dramas I secretly DVR.

I was going to make brownies. Not just any brownies, but caramel filled brownies for my boyfriend’s sister. She was recovering from surgery, and let’s me honest, how can brownies not make someone feel better? Just making them makes me feel better. I think it’s the smell of chocolate melting, or licking the bowl, or the smell of them baking, or all of the above that I love so much about making brownies.

While I’m usually quite modest, I have to say… my brownies are beyond awesome. I haven’t made them in a few months and I was surprised when I was eating them that I forgot how good they are! I found a recipe a few years back that was very successful for me and played around it with it many times to come up with a recipe of my own. I basically upped the amount of chocolate in the recipe, added a tiny bit of instant espresso and played around with different types of chocolate until I found what I think tastes best. I like to use a combination of milk and semisweet chocolate instead of only semi sweet or unsweetened. I think it makes a better tasting, more universally liked treat. I also like to add different things to the center, not mixed in.

I tried something different this time and put some Ghirardelli caramel filled squares in the center. These were amazing. The caramel oozes out of the brownies as you eat them, even when they are no longer warm. And when they are warm they are extra gooey. I’m thinking of trying this with the raspberry filled squares next or peppermint patties. And it will not be a few months before I make another batch.

Recipe

3/4 cup butter

1 1/3 cup (8oz) chocolate (half milk, half semi sweet)

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso

3 eggs, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup flour

9 Ghirardelli caramel filled squares

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 8 x 8 inch pan and line with parchment paper. The parchment paper will let you lift the brownies up out of the pan so you can easily cut them
  • Melt the butter and chocolate together in a glass bowl over boiling water
  • Stir in the espresso
  • as the chocolate mixture cools, In a separate large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar.You want the eggs to get light and fluffy and increase in volume a bit. 
  • add the vanilla.
  • Make sure the chocolate is about body temperature (yes by sticking your finger in it – and licking clean) and add to the eggs. mix well
  • Next add the flour and salt. Mix until everything is barely incorporated. Do not over mix your brownies. 
  • pour half of the batter into the pan
  • next place the 9 caramel filled squares on top
  • cover with the remaining batter and place in oven to bake for about 45 minutes. 
  • let the brownies cool for about 30 minutes before lifting them out of the pan and cutting them.

 

Cinnamon Raisin Honey Buns

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I made these cinnamon rolls to win someone over.  I know it’s not ethical, but sometimes, bribery is necessary. I’m not asking for huge favors or anything illegal, just for people to be nice. So I bribe people with pastries. It usually works…

These perfectly golden swirls of deliciousness were made to boost team moral at work. We’ve been overworked, stressed and spending way too much time with each other, so I bribed. I could have brought in a box of donuts or bagels, but let’s be honest… knowing that someone has taken the time to make something for you makes it that much more special. And knowing that they weren’t from some cardboard canister makes them even better. I have to say… the bribe was successful. And I was able to use my colleagues as guinea pigs without them knowing.

I knew I wanted to make cinnamon rolls but I wanted to make a little bit more sophisticated rolls than the frosting smeared cinnabun type. I wanted to make refined cinnamon rolls, the type you would find in a Parisian pastry shop, so based off of recent trials I decided to make my standard sweet yeast dough, a light cinnamon sugar filling and a honey glaze. I am hooked on the honey glaze after the pain aux raisin second attempt success.

These were delicious. They were exactly what I were hoping they would be. I’m going to declare this a yet another victory… for my baking, and for team moral. And another for yeastspotting.

Recipe

Yeast dough

3 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 packet instant yeast

1/2 cup milk (100°F)

1/2 cup water (100°F)

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

zest of 1 lemon

1/3 cup of raisins

Cream for pre-baking

Honey for glaze

Directions

  • Make the dough by mixing the flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl
  • mix the water and milk together and add the yeast
  • When the yeast has started to foam, add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.
  • Add in the butter and vanilla and continue to mix.
  • knead the dough a few times on the counter then place the dough in a clean, buttered bowl and let rise for at least an hour.
  • mix the sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest together in a small bowl and set aside
  • After the dough has risen, dump it out onto a well floured surface. Roll the dough out into about a 18 x 12 inch rectangle.
  • spread the soft butter over the dough, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture and the raisins.
  • Starting with one of the longer sides, roll the dough into a log. 
  • Using a serrated knife cut off the scraggly ends. Then cut the remaining log into 12 rolls. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and let proof until they have doubled in size. You can either bake the rolls now, or place in the refrigerator over night (like I did). 
  • To bake, preheat the oven to 375°F, and brush the top of the rolls with cream.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes until they are a deep golden color, you may want to rotate the sheet halfway through baking so the rolls cook evenly. 
  • Heat about 1/3 cup of honey in the microwave for 20 seconds until very liquid.
  • spread the honey over the rolls and let sit for a few minutes before eating and sharing. 

Semolina Sourdough

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I don’t like to brag but… my bread skills are improving everyday. I’m averaging 2 loaves a week. I’d love to make a loaf or 2 a day, but work really gets in the way of my baking (and social life).  I’ve really been investing in my new passion. I have now bought every tool recommended in the Tartine Bread book. Most recently; the proofing basket, Matfer Lame, and the lodge combo cooker.

I think I’m finally starting to know what the dough should feel and look like when it’s ready to be shaped, and baked and all things in between. I was going to make a batch of normal sourdough Monday night. I mixed my water and leaven and then I realized I was out of whole wheat and white whole wheat flours. I really wanted to add something to the bread flour out of fear that a white loaf would taste like paste so I went looking through my cupboards. I came across semolina flour that i have used for pasta dough and pizzas and thought it could add a nice rustic bite to the bread. I was concerned though, because I’m still trying to understand gluten levels in different flours so I didn’t have very high hopes for this loaf. Regardless, I mixed my loaf and let it proof over night in the fridge. The next morning before work I shaped the loaf, placed it in my new basket and placed it back in the fridge to rise again until I had a time to bake it.

I baked it late last night in my new cast iron combo cooker. The dough was pretty sticky as I was transferring it from the basket to the cooker and it somewhat fell flat as I was placing it down. Also, the dough was very fluid and it spread out as soon as it was flipped out of the basket. I scored the top of the loaf, covered the cooker and with low expectations placed it in the oven. After 25 minutes, I removed the top cast iron part and to find a somewhat deformed yet nicely risen loaf. The bread continued to bake for another 30 minutes before i took it out and let it cool over night.

In the end, although the shape was somewhat awkward, the crust was perfectly golden and crispy. The flavor was nicely developed and the holes! There is an amazing crumb to this bread. It is so airy and chewy in the inside and the crunchy crust is the perfect counterpart to the interior. I will make this again even if I do have whole wheat flour on hand to make a normal loaf.

I’m submitting this to yeastspotting.

Recipe

350 grams warm water (about 80° F)

100 grams leaven

400 grams bread flour

100 grams semolina flour

10 grams salt

Directions

  • Place 325 grams of the water in a large mixing bowl. Add the leaven by squeezing between your fingers until the mixture is homogenous.
  • Add the two types of flour and mix with your hands until you have a shaggy dough.
  • cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes
  • add the remaining water and the salt. Incorporate by squeezing the dough through your fingers. At first your dough will break up, but eventually the dough will come back together.
  • Place the dough in a clean bowl or proofing container and let rise for an hour.
  • Wet your hands with warm water and reach into the container to pull the bottom of the dough up and over top 4 or 5 times.
  • repeat this ever half hour or so for 4 hours, making less folds towards the end (you do not want to deflate all the air). At this point you can refrigerate the dough over night (my preferred method), or continue to the next step.
  • Generously flour a work surface with All-purpose flour and dump the dough out onto the flour. The dough will be very loose.  Prepare a proofing basket (or bowl) by lining it with a clean kitchen towel and sprinkling a mixture of rice flour and all-purpose flour on it.
  • After the dough has rested, flour your hands and get to work shaping your loaves! The best way to do this is to gently flatten the dough, and then fold the top third of the dough down towards yourself, followed by folding the left and right sides in towards the center, and then the last bottom piece up and over. Think of it like you’re making a burrito.
  • Next cup the dough ball’s sides gently with palms up and pinkie fingers closest together, and the majority of the surface of the dough still on the work surface, pull the dough towards you gently to create a skin on the outside of the dough. You want there to be tension in the skin, but you do not want to pull it hard enough to rip this outer layer.
  • Flip the dough over and place it seam side up in your basket (or cloth lined bowl)
  • Let the dough rise at least for 30 minutes, I prefer over night to help develop the flavor.
  • Preheat your oven with the dutch oven or combo cooker inside to 500°F for 30 minutes
  • place the loaf seam side down in the shallow side of the combo cooker. Use the lame and gently score the top of the bread.
  • Cover the loaf with the deep side of the cooker and place in the oven turning the temperature down to 450°F
  • bake the loaf covered for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 30 minutes longer.
  • Remove the loaf from the oven and let cool before slicing 

Week Night Roasted Chicken

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I know it’s hard to believe, but on occasion I make things besides buttery, sugary carbs. Actually, I cook almost as much as I bake, but for some reason I have yet to post anything besides baked goods. I think it’s because when I cook I’m hungry and in a hurry to feed myself, and usually a hungry brother, dad or boyfriend. Also, I grew up in a family where everything is on the table and you take what you want, there’s never any formal plating, or picture opportunities. But today that’s all changing.

I’ve made a roasted chicken lately I absolutely love. Everyone that has tried it loves it too. And here’s the best part… it takes about an hour, and only has 3 ingredients: chicken, salt and pepper. I know what you’re thinking… “this doesn’t sound special”… but it is. It’s so juicy and flavorful and EASY. So why did I not jazz it up with anything that seems fancy? I was reading Thomas Keller’s favorite roasted chicken recipe and he said he only uses salt and pepper, not even butter or oil to help it brown. He talked about how the extra moisture from the butter/oil actually can make the chicken steam, not roast and that he tries to keep the oven as dry as possible to get a nice crispy skin. His rational made enough sense, and after all… he’s Thomas Keller… he probably knows what he talking about so it’s worth a shot.

The only thing is that Roasting a chicken can take too long. By the time I get home from work at 630 after stopping by the market that means dinner wouldn’t be ready till almost 830. I decided to try this whole butterflied chicken I had seen people use on the grill because it cooks through quickly, but in the oven. I started doing some research (once again) and saw that you can broil a butterflied chicken in about 30 minutes! Sold.

I’ve made it a few times now, and I’ve had varying cooking times depending on the size of the chicken but it seems to average 45 minutes, with a 5 minute prep and 15 minutes to rest. I usually bat my eyes at the butcher and have all the dirty work done for me at the store by removing the backbone, neck and other fun stuff I’m too american to eat.

This goes well with pretty much anything. A heaping green salad, gnocchi sautéed in butter, and my recent favorite vegetable dish – succotash. You could also shred this for soups, sandwiches, or maybe even chicken pot pie. I’m getting ahead of myself now…

Recipe

1 4lb chicken, back bone removed

1/4 cup salt

1 tablespoon pepper

Directions

  • Place a cooling rack inside a rimmed cookie sheet, turn your broiler on and mix salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
  • wash a dry your chicken inside and out. You want to make sure there is no moisture on your bird.
  • Starting with the inside of your chicken, generously season the bird. 
  • Flip the bird and season the other side. You may need more salt and pepper. Make sure that you get all the nooks and crannies.
  • Place the chicken skin side up on the rack in the cookie sheet and place under the broiler. 
  • After about 20 minutes, flip the chicken using a tongs. Be very careful! The chicken is heavy and everything will be very hot!
  • let the chicken broil for another 10-15 minutes. Check the internal temperature with thermometer. You want it to read 160°F for the chicken to be cooked all the way through. It is best to place the thermometer in a think area like between the leg and thigh.
  • If your chicken is not fully cooked, flip it again, and let it finish skin side up. 
  • Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes. You do not want all the yummy juices to be wasted on your cutting board. I like to cut the chicken into 8 pieces: the legs, thighs, wings and breasts. 

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake Loaf

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I’ve stopped following recipes lately. I think I like testing myself to see if my baking intuition is as good as I think it is. Sometimes… well sometimes things just aren’t blogged about. Other times… I get a huge ego boost when people ask “where did you get the recipe?” and I get to say, “oh its nothing special,  I just threw some things together, poured it in the pan and crossed my fingers”.

Of course what those people don’t know is that there have been flops – even when I follow recipes. I have a tendency of forgetting baking powder or salt, one time I even forgot oil. Because of this, I appreciate when things turn out the way I want them to (or even better than I hoped for on occasion).

My secret is I read. A lot. I read recipes, I read other blogs, I read almost every page in all the monthly food magazines to pick up tips and secrets. Once you realize the purpose of all the ingredients, it becomes much easier to throw things together successfully. For example beating the butter and sugar together first before adding the other ingredients helps make a tender and fluffy cake. The eggs are the glue that holds everything together, and flour… well… it pretty much is the mass of the cake. If you want more information on what role ingredients play in baking I recommend this link.

This loaf cake was something I made up as I went along. My family has had a bundt cake that was a box of yellow cake mix with a chocolaty-cinnamon swirl through the center which was my inspiration. I thought a vanilla cake with this swirl and a cinnamon crumb topping would be a hit at the house and just went with it. I pulled some non-traditional ingredients into the mix for fun as well like fresh ricotta and black cocoa. I used the ricotta for two purposes, as a butter substitute and also for moistness instead of sour cream or water or only milk. The black cocoa was out of necessity… I bought a few months ago and have been scared to use it. It was expensive and I haven’t found any great black cocoa recipe. But I didn’t have any normal cocoa powder and it worked in this application. Also, I separated the egg whites from the yolks and whipped them and folded them into the batter as the last step to add more lift to the cake.

Lastly…. my secret to an evenly cooked pound cake was used. Start with a cold oven, put the cake in and then turn to the correct temperature. My gut tells me that this helps the cake cook evenly the same way starting with cold water boils potatoes or eggs evenly. I’m not 100% sure on the reason, but it works beautifully. I recommend it for any dense cake.

Recipe

cake

1 stick butter, softened

4 oz ricotta

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup ricotta

1/2 cup milk

Chocolate cinnamon swirl

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Crumble topping

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

  • grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan with butter or line with parchment paper
  • mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Beat the first amount of Ricotta and butter together
  • Add sugar and beat until fluffy. You want it to look like a whipped frosting consistency.
  • add the egg yolks and vanilla (i used vanilla paste because I had it in the pantry and I really like the bean specks it creates in the batter)
  • add half of the dry ingredients to the batter
  • add the second amount of ricotta and milk to the mixture
  • add the last amount of the flour and set aside
  • with clean beaters, whisk the egg whites in a small bowl until you have soft peaks. I like to wipe the bowl down with half a lemon as the acid helps make sure that the eggs with whip up. 
  • gently fold the egg whites into the batter. set aside.
  • in a small bowl mix the cocoa and cinnamon together
  • in a different small bowl make the crumb topping by mixing all ingredients together. If ti does not look chunky enough add a tablespoon more flour. 
  • assemble cake by pouring half of the batter into the prepared pan, followed by sprinkling the cocoa mixture over the layer and following with the rest of the batter. Next sprinkle the crumb topping over the loaf.
  • Place in a cold oven, close the door and turn the oven up to 350°F.
  • Let bake for about an hour 10 minutes, or until the loaf is set and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.