The best way to have a beer... (in my wine-preferred opinion)

Oh. My. Gosh.  If you are gluten free I am SO sorry. Really, I am. This might even be worth the tummy ache...

I read that beer bread is amazing.. but I just don't think words can describe...

Flavor: think savory, sweet, and just a tad bitter... I prefer wine over beer but you don't have to be a beer lover to be in love with this bread.

Texture: crunch on top, dense and moist inside

Looks like: a drop biscuit in loaf form. beautiful golden crust

Smells like: heaven. Even if you are gluten free, please make this bread just for the smell. You know how some people don't drink coffee but love the smell of it.. yeah, its kind of like that.

and.. on top of it all... its the easiest thing to make - ever. Easier than any other quick bread. Way easier than cookies, cake, pie.. you name it.

I got this recipe from Gimme some Oven. Since I'm not much of a beer drinker, what do I know about the type of beer to use in a bread like this? So I read a few hundred comments and decided to go with a Belgian wheat beer.

Honey Beer Bread:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
• 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (you can double this if you'd like, I didn't)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x 5x 3-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you'd like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Buttermilk Biscuits

These are just like Bojangles biscuits* (see fine print).  Need I say more?

Last week I made the rustic blueberry tart/gallette (featured twice already on this blog so no need for a repeat) and here I am again with buckets of buttermilk. If I haven't ranted about this already I find it ridiculous that they sell buttermilk in such large quantities. Almost every recipe I have ever seen calls for 1 cup, at most, but usually even less. I still have some three cups to use. So, buttermilk biscuits -- why not?

Okay, I'll get off my soap box. Aside from being sold in (unnecessarily) large quantities, buttermilk gives a unique flavor to the finish product so its worth the couple of bucks (even if you have leftovers).  Something tells me buttermilk biscuits wouldn't be the same if you used regular milk + vinegar -- a common substitute for buttermilk when baking. Vinegar milk biscuits = not appetizing.

Cook's Illustrated Buttermilk Biscuits

(recipe from CI, biscuit method from AB (aka Alton Brown)

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (do not omit)
2 tablespoons shortening 
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter (optional)
1 cup cold buttermilk

1. Cut butter into 1 inch chunks and place with shortening into freezer for about 10 minutes.

2.  Preheat oven to 450F  and lightly grease a cookie sheet

2. Dump flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a food processor. Pulsate once or twice just to combine.

3. Add cold butter and shortening. Pulse about 4 times for just a few seconds each iteration. This should leave you with some pea sized chunks of butter. Do not grind until you get the "wet sand" look. The larger butter pieces is what makes the biscuit fluffy.

4. Transfer to a bowl, preferably some type of metal and (using a fork) stir in all but 2 tbs buttermilk.  Be gentle but make sure you've incorporated all of the flour. Add the remaining 2tbs buttermilk if needed. The dough should be moist but not (too) gooey. Move the bowl to the freezer for 10 minutes  -- no need to cover.  (metal = conductor which means the butter will chill faster)

5. After dough has chilled, use your fingers to mash the butter bits into nickle sized disks.  (You don't need to be very precise and don't worry about getting every single one. Just have fun with it. .. and make sure that the butter stays cold!)

6. Flour your work surface and roll the dough into a ~10 inch circle, about 1/2 inch thick. 

7. Cut the biscuits using a 3 inch biscuit cutter (or thin glass :) making sure not to twist when you push down. This will effect how the dough rises. 

8. You can brush the biscuits with the melted butter -- but I skipped this since I thought 1 stick of butter and 2 tbs of shortening was plenty already.

9. Bake for ~15 minutes or until golden.

ENJOY!

*I'm no expert on fast food biscuits. I can only make the Bojangles comparison because just a few weeks ago I rode with my Dad to get coffee -- he ordered a couple of biscuits and I had a bite. Or maybe they're more like KFC...?  If you're a true biscuit lover please try this recipe and let me know how it compares.

Nutritional Facts per biscuit -- these are not diet friendly (serves 12):

Calories: 194, Fat: 10g, Sat Fat 5.8g, Carbs 27.5g,  Protein 3.4g

There are some vitamins in these but they get canceled out by the outrageous amount of fat. ;) 

Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

(do I even need to say it... pls excuse the poor photo quality)

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

At first I thought to myself.......Isn't this the same as the December challenge?? Nope!.... And a meringue in the middle; thats strange. Wrong again. While similar to the Stollen this was a unique recipe and the meringue in the middle was fabulous. Believe it or not it kept the dough moist and chewy, kind of like a butter brown sugar mixture used when making cinnamon buns... but with way less calories ;) 

This dessert was not overly sweet. Perfect with coffee as is or drizzled with honey, pairs well with tea.  The dough and meringue are a neutral palate and give you the flexibility to make this into what every you want. I used walnuts and dark chocolate chips (as the recipe suggested) - another variation used Indian spices and cashews. 

FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature

10 strands saffron for Ria’s version (Saffron might be hard to find and it’s expensive, so you can substitute with ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom or ground nutmeg. Or simply leave it plain like Jamie’s version)

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:

Jamie’s version:
1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate - and next time I'd use only about 3/4 cups.

Ria’s version:
1 cup (130 g / 5 oz.) chopped cashew nuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala (You can make it at home – recipe below - or buy from any Asian/Indian grocery store)
1 cup (170g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips )

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

**Garam (means “hot”) masala (means “mixture”) is a blend of ground spices and is used in most Indian savory dishes. It is used in limited quantities while cooking vegetables, meats & eggs. There is no “one” recipe for it as every household has a recipe of their own. Below, I am going to share the recipe which I follow.

4 or 5 sticks (25 g) Cinnamon Sticks (break a stick and open the scroll)
3 ½ tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cloves, whole
100 g. (3.5 oz.) Fennel seeds
4 tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoons (10 g / less than half an ounce) Peppercorns
25 g (less than half an ounce) Green Cardamom pods

In a small pan on medium heat, roast each spice individually (it hardly takes a minute) until you get a nice aroma. Make sure you stir it throughout so that it doesn’t burn. As soon as each spice is roasted, transfer it to a bowl to cool slightly. Once they are all roasted, grind into a fine powder by using a coffee grinder, or pestle & mortar. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

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

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Ria’s version: add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

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

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

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

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Christmas Stollen - fruitcake or fruity bread?

Merry Christmas!

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

I loved this challenge! And, from what I could tell, so did everyone else! My aunt called me three times to tell me how much she enjoyed this cake and that it’s been Stollen for breakfast every morning since Christmas.  J

We were all in agreement that it was delicious but none of could settle on whether this was a “cake” or a “bread”.  I think it’s a bread. Sister, on the other hand, was completely convinced that since it contained lots of dried fruit it should be considered a fruitcake. I’m not on board with that for a couple of reasons. For one thing, and let’s be honest, you don’t start salivating at the thought of fruitcake.  But more importantly anything that uses yeast as a leavening agent and has to be kneaded is considered bread (or at least by my standards). Well, whatever – its pretty irrelevant. Bottom line is that this is kind of dense, a little chewy and only slightly sweet and really delicious. 

Stollen Wreath

Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people (uhm, this served 6 of us at Christmas dinner and that was only 1/3 of the wreath!)

Ingredients

¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C)

2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast

1 cup (240 ml) milk

10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter - I wouldn't recommend that)

5½ cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) (770 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting)

½ cup (120 ml) (115 gms) sugar

¾ teaspoon (3 ¾ ml) (4 ½ grams) salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)

1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 grams) cinnamon

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange (I only used orange)

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (very good) vanilla extract (I used my own homemade! J)

1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract or orange extract (I skipped this and just added the juice of an orange when soaking the dried fruit)

¾ cup (180 ml) (4 ¾ ozs) (135 grams) mixed peel (link below to make your own)

1  2 cups (240 ml) (6 ozs) (170 gms) firmly packed raisins loosely packed dried fruit – a mixture of your choice. I used dried blueberries, dried cherries, golden raisins and craisins.

3 tablespoons (45ml) rum (I used 3 tsp rum extract)

12 red glacé cherries (roughly chopped) for the color and the taste. (optional)

1 cup (240 ml) (3 ½ ozs) (100 grams) flaked almonds (I used slivered almonds and toasted them – gave it more of a crunch)

Melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath

Confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath

Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.

Directions:

Soak the raisins

In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside. (I used a mixture of golden raisins, craisins, dried blueberries and dried cherries from Trader Joe’s. I soaked this mixture in 3 tsp rum extract and 3tbs freshly squeezed orange juice. I dumped all of this into the dough – liquid and all)

To make the dough

1.     Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.

2.     In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (240 ml) milk and 10 tablespoons (150 ml) butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.

3.     Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.

4.     In a large mixing bowl (4 qt) (4 liters) (or in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment), stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.

5.     Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

6.     Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries if you would like. Be delicate with the cherries or all your dough will turn red!

7.     Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.

8.     Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Shaping the Dough and Baking the Wreath

1.     Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.

2.     Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

3.     Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

4.     Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.

5.     Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.

6.     Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.

7.     Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough

8.     Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap

9.     Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size. (I was in a rush to get this done for Christmas Eve dinner so I expedited the process by proofing in the oven. The lowest my oven will go is 150F. I put a shallow pan with hot water on the lower rack and the stollen on the upper rack. I proofed for about 1 hr this way and then followed the directions for baking in step 7)

10.   Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

11.   Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.

Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.

Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.

The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.

Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh - especially if you intend on sending it in the mail as Christmas presents!

12.   When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.

The stollen tastes even better in a couple of days and it toasts superbly…. so delicious with butter and a cup of tea….mmmmm  (agreed!!! You know, I’m wondering if it would make good French toast ;)

Storage

The more rum and the more coatings of butter and sugar you use the longer it will store.

The following is for the recipe as written and uses the 45 mls of rum and two coatings of butter and icing sugar

1. Stollen freezes beautifully about 4 months

2. The baked stollen stores well for 2 weeks covered in foil and plastic wrap on the counter at room temperature and

3. One month in the refrigerator well covered with foil and plastic wrap.

Nutrition Facts: (1/20th recipe)

303 Calories, 9.6g fat, 47.2g carbs, 2.3g fiber, 14.6g sugar, 7g protein

New Books & Hamburger Buns

haha, I'm just now noticing that really obvious color "dot" on the photo...Thats the best I could do with a free photo editing software...the idea was good though, right?
I love all kinds of books. Novels, coffee-table books, how-to's, magazines, news papers, the list goes on - I'm not so sure if I'd go as far as to say I love text books, but after a few years of school I've kind of developed a liking for them too. (You can't think I'm totally crazy - after all, they've done me well so far.) And wouldn't you figure... I love cookbooks. :)  I order all my cookbooks from ecookbooks.com. With my most recent order I got a free book. From a choice of about 10 I thought "Build a Better Burger" sounded the most promising. 

All blogger's rave about this book and I had to see what the fuss is all about. True, there is very little that is better than the smell of freshly baked bread - maybe freshly cut grass, but thats a different kind of fine.

+

Don't shy away if your taste buds don't usually beg for beef - there are plenty of recipes for all kinds - shrimp burgers, lamb burgers, chicken, beans - you name it. This book is a collection of recipes from the winners of the Build a Better Burger Contest hosted by Sutter Homes.

=

Buttermilk Burger Buns & Curry Chicken Burgers with Carrot Salad

White Breads: Three Multipurpose Variations
Variation 2
(makes 12 burger or dog buns, 18 dinner rolls, or two 1-lb loaves)

4 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
1 large egg, slightly beaten, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, margarine or shortening, at room temperature, or vegetable oil.* I used butter.
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or whole milk) at room temperature

1. Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer).  Pour in the egg, butter and buttermilk and mix with a large metal spoon (or on low speed of the electric mixer with the paddle attachment) until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball.  If the dough seems very stiff and dry, trickle in more buttermilk until the dough is soft and supple.

2. Sprinkle flour in the counter, transfer dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook), adding more flour if necessary, to create a dough that is soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky.  Continue kneading (or mixing) for 6-8 minutes.  (In the electric mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick ever so slightly to the bottom.)  The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 80F.  Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size (the length of time will depend on the room temperature.)

4. Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and divide it in half for sandwich loaves, into eighteen 2-oz pieces for dinner rolls, or twelve 3-oz pieces for purger or hot dog buns. Shape the pieces into boules for loaves or tight rounds for dinner rolls or buns.

5. For loaves, lightly oil two 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans and place the loaves in the pans.  For rolls and buns, line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment.  Rolls require no further shaping. For hamburger buns, gently press down on the rolls to form the desired shape.  Transfer the rolls or buns to sheet pans.

6. Mist the tops of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until nearly doubles in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 350F for loaves or 400F for rolls and buns.  Brush the rolls of buns with the egg wash and garnish with poppy or sesame seeds.  Sandwich loaves also may be washed and garnished, or score them down the center and rub a little vegetable oil in the slit. 

8. Bake the rolls or buns for approximately 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown an register just above 180F in the center.  Bake loaves for 35-40 minute4s, rotating 180 halfway through for even baking, if needed.  The tops should be golden brown ad the sides, when removed from the pan, should also be golden. The internal temperature of the loaves should be close to 190F and the loaves should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

9. When the loaves have finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing or sering.  Rolls should cool for at least 15 minutes on a rack before serving.

Nutritional Facts: (1/12 of recipe)
Calories 227, Fat 5g, Carbs 38.7g, Fiber 1.3g, Sugars 4.8g, Protein 6.4g
Iron 13%

Review:  The procedure was simple. The texture was good. The buttermilk definitely gave them a distinctive flavor which would complement a grilled/fried chicken fillet or a mild, grilled fish such as tilapia. Next time I think I will stick to plain milk - its flavor would be much more versatile. But these will have to do for a while. I've got a number of them still bundled in plastic wrap, stacked neatly in the freezer.


BTW, I got both Alton Brown books: I'm Just Here for the Food and I'm Just Here for More Food. Both utterly amazing.


Follow this link for the Curry Chicken Burger with Carrot Salad recipe.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls - Made as a surprise morning treat for a close friend (and to celebrate of a (nearly) perfect exam grade 98 on supply chain - yay! :)

A good friend of mine (and roommate) Brittany was having a bit of an off day - if you're a baker you already know what I'm thinking.. yep, she needs something sweet - that will make everything better! (and will give me a chance to dig through the recipe box to find something fun I've been needing an excuse to try ;)  

Recently I celebrated my 23rd birthday and in honor of the holiday I bought myself an Alton Brown DVD set. Okay, maybe thats not really a splurge. But its not a commodity good either (although, now I might argue otherwise :). All the same it was a valid purchase, after all it was my by birthday. Anyhow, one of the episodes is all about making cinnamon buns. I usually make a quick version (from Fine Cooking) that uses cottage cheese and is done in about an hour, including baking time. The Fastest Cinnamon Buns is undoubtedly a fantastic go-to recipe!! I love it and would highly recommend it but I have since befriended recipes that use yeast and Alton Brown's cinnabuns looked delicious. Alton Brown usually never fails - I mean its almost a 99% guarantee that his recipes are going to be outstanding so I was shocked when I read the reviews on Food Network's website. People were complaining about the dough being too stiff. Ah! okay, maybe I'll try his buns some other time - for now I need to find something that works.  And so I did. 

I give you: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

 from Pink of Perfection

After a few trial and error runs she crafted this recipe - which is truly delicious! The dough is soft, fluffy, a little chewy and just melts in your mouth.  She prefers an icing made with powdered sugar, milk, butter and maple syrup. I loved it but I think next time I'll add a little cream cheese to make it a bit thicker. Everyone said they wanted more icing. Also, I'm a huge fan of nuts so I think they'd be a superb edition but, since my roomies aren't nutsy kind of people, I omitted them. Per usual I've posted the recipe along with some of my changes and remarks. I'll definitely be making these again - so I'll keep you posted!

Makes 12-15 rolls

dough
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour** see my notes
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

filling
1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

glaze (its a bit different than the original recipe)
1 cups powdered sugar
3 tsp maple syrup
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoons (or more) milk
1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt *i omitted this

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted. Let cool until lukewarm. (about 90-100F degrees)

In the bowl of a standing mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add eggs and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. (I only used about 4 1/4 cups).  When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed - but be careful not to add too much flour because you'll get cinnamon rocky rolls instead of soft fluffy ones!

Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together filling ingredients. (I think this method would have been better- what you see below is where I melted the butter, spread it and then sprinkled on the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture but it seemed like so much so I left about 1/4 of it out - The end result was good but would have been even better with the remaining sugar so next time I'll do it her way)

Roll out dough into approximately a 9×12 inch rectangle. Spread dough evenly with filling mixture. Roll up dough from the long end and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls (I made about 15) and place cut side up in a 9×12″ baking pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Cling wrap is Glad's best invention yet- I despise saran wrap and avoid it when possible!)

The next morning, remove cinnamon rolls from refrigerator and let sit on the counter for about 30 minutes to take the chill off. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  ** One thing I did differently than the original recipe called for was an idea from Alton: I proofed my rolls. Place a pan full of boiling water on the lower rack of your oven and place the rolls on the upper rack. Set oven to lowest possible temperature and leave the rolls to proof for about 10 minutes. Then, remove the tray of water, crank up the heat to 375F and bake for about 20 minutes. (it only took around 17 in my oven)

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together glaze ingredients, adding more milk to thin glaze, if necessary. Remove rolls from oven, and pour glaze over hot cinnamon rolls. Serve warm. Store in air tight container and reheat in microwave as needed.

Notes & Comments

• Careful not to overwork the dough! or add too much flour.
• I think nuts - maybe chopped pecans would be fantastic rolled up in these gooey buns!
• Experiment with different icings: try adding some cream cheese, orange zest or other flavorings
• These reheat great in the microwave for about 20 sec and they're soft and chewy again! (I'm not so sure how they would freeze though- maybe not the best)
• You can try dark brown sugar for the filling instead - although I just like the milder flavor of light brown sugar

And just for the record - I have never understood why Pilsbury calls spiral-like cinnamon goods "cinnamon buns" and the ball-like cinnamon goodies "cinnamon rolls" - I guess like a dinner roll? Go figure, but as far as I'm concerned what you see here is a cinnamon roll : )  ENJOY!!  

Nutritional Facts: (makes 15 rolls- including my version of the icing)

Calories 373, Fat 12.6g, Carbs 59g, Fiber 1.6g, Sugars 28g,  Protein 5.9g

Artisan Bread

Crunchy. Crispy. Crusty.  Light. & Airy.

Everything you should expect from "...a bread that is crafted, not mass produced." - wisegeeks.com

I used to love going to the grocery with my mom when I was younger. We would always buy french baguettes. Impossible to resist the aroma of freshly baked bread, it was unlikely that the whole loaf  made it home. We would pinch off portions and nibble all the way home. (and it was not a short ride.. 20 minutes at the least.) I acknowledge now that this was a horrible habit but at the time it was a guilt free indulgence.

Since my entire family shares an affinity for carbs of all kinds I excitedly awaited my mom and sister last night for dinner with broccoli soup accompanied by this Artisan bread reminiscent of our car rides home.

The original recipe comes from a book called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" but I used the version posted at Culinary Covers.

The only bread I have ever made are these dinner rolls but I was looking for something very specific in texture and taste to accompany my soup. At first I was a little intimidated by the recipe because it specified the bread to be baked on a baking stone. (Basically this keeps things from burning and absorbs more moisture than a cookie sheet.)  But I decided to risk it and I made fabulous bread on a cookie sheet!

This could not be easier. No KNEADING !

I halved the recipe, and made four small loaves - I was trying to make bead bowls but they were a little too small for that. Next time I will make the whole recipe but instead of the two loaves it yields, make three or four. I wrote out the recipe based on the original, I kept some of the author's verbiage but also changed some of it to what I thought would be helpful.

The Master Recipe: Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf)

Source: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Makes four 1-pound loaves.  The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method
cornmeal

1.  Warm the water slightly:  It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature, about 100 degrees F.

2.   Pour the water into a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl and add the salt and sprinkle the yeast directly on top. Let the yeast foam while you measure out the flour. (If you're going to be mixing by hand just add to a large bowl - about 5 qt)

3.  Measure the flour using the "spoon and sweep" method by scooping up flour with a spoon, filling the measuring cup, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula.  [You should always use this method when baking. Improper measuring can result in in-proportionate liquid to dry ingredients ratio. Here is a good article explaining the importance in more detail.] Using the dough hook attachment mix in the flour on low to medium speed - adding the flour continuously. Mix until the flour is well incorporated, about 1 -2 minutes and then mix for an additional minute.  (If you’re hand mixing, use a wooden spoon or your hands. Don’t knead- it isn’t necessary.) 

 The dough should be wet and loose and fall gently. It might also look a little lumpy but its okay. 

4.  Allow to rise:  Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on top), approximately 2 hours, depending on the room’s temperature and the initial water temperature.  Longer rising times (up to 5 hours) will not harm the result.  You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period.  Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and is easier to work with than dough at room temperature. *I did not have any problems working with the dough at room temperature.  The authors recommend that the first time you try this recipe, you refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping a loaf.



5.  The gluten cloak:  don’t knead, just “cloak” and shape a loaf in 30 to 60 seconds.  First prepare a cookie sheet by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking to it when you slide it into the oven. (This step is important if you're using a baking stone - You could probably easily just use parchment paper. I just kept the loaves on the baking sheet and popped them in the over just like so.)  Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour.  Pull up and pinch off a 1-pound (grapefruit-sized) piece of dough, or desired size. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick to your hands.  Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.  Most of the dusting flour will fall off; it’s not intended to be incorporated into the dough.  The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out and adhere during resting and baking.  The final product with be smooth and cohesive.  The entire process in this step should take no longer than 30 to 60 seconds.

6.  Rest the loaf and let it rise Place shaped ball on cornmeal-covered baking sheet (If you're using a baking stone please see original recipe).  Allow the loaf to rest on the sheet for about 40 minutes (it doesn’t need to be covered).  You may not see much rise during this period; more rise will occur during baking. *I actually saw a bit of rise.

7.  Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising of the bread. I put a glass 8 x 8  Pyrex baking dish on the lower rack.

8.  Dust and slash:  Dust the top of the loaf liberally with the flour, which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Make sure you are using a sharp knife!! Slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross, scallop, or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top, using a serrated bread knife. (*I used a very sharp steak knife. Worked perfectly.)

9.  Baking with steam:  After a 20 minute preheat, you’re ready to bake. Put the cookie sheet with loaves on the middle rack.  (Or - (If you're using a baking stone please see original recipe.)  Quickly but carefully pour about 1 cup of hot water from the tap into the broiler tray - or small baking dish - and close the oven door to trap the steam.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.  Because you’ve  used wet dough, there is little risk of drying out the interior despite the dark crust. * I did not have any problem with this what so ever. Also, my smaller loaves only took about 22 minutes to bake.*  Allow the loaf to cool completely, preferably on a wire rack.

 
 You can store the remaining, unused dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days.  The dough “matures” over the 14 day period, improving flavor and texture of your bread.  Cut off, shape and bake more loaves as you need them.