MyKitchenInHalfCups

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Category Archives: Sweet


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BBB ~ Wool Roll Bread

Flour Water Yeast = Basic

Flour Water Yeast = Basic + Technique + Shape =

Spectacular Magic Unique Breads

Our host kitchen of the month is Judy at Judy’s Gross Eats. She can tell you about this bread taking the internet by storm. I’m going to tell you about how this is simply amazing. Our son and his three kids raved about the milk bread they baked all during the pandemic. They loved how you could squeeze it and it came back. They just really loved it. Whole grains…ha, those were awful tasting things that ruined any bread. This was all white. This was real bread. I loved watching their productions, the photos and the movies and what they put on their slices. But white bread just isn’t my thing. I didn’t try it.

Then here comes Judy with this milk bread. AND here’s a friend with a birthday. Wow! Great opportunity to bake a spectacular white bread that I can give away. So I baked white bread…I was taking it to the party…there was wind and rain…party got canceled…didn’t give away bread…Gorn loved it.

Truly, this makes for spectacular baking but in my mind, on my taste buds, white bread even with the fillings I used (and they were really really good) I just find white flour bread bland. I feel sure there will soon be a time I bake this again and make it with some character flours.

The magic of three basic ingredients always blows my mind. With this bread, it is a technique and shaping that bring it into the realm of the GLORIOUS. Technique is cooking the flour into a paste, the tangzhong, and adding that to the dough. Shaping adds the final magic. I’m astounded by breads that look spectacular and difficult…then turn out to me relatively simple to execute, and this definitely fits in that category.

My fillings. Well, this recipe called for dividing the dough into five pieces. That gives you the opportunity to use five different fillings all in the same loaf. I used Biscoff Crunchy Cookie Butter, peanut butter, brown sugar & cinnamon, chocolate and left the last plain. Not surprisingly I liked the Biscoff and the peanut butter the best. Fillings can be sweet or savory and my mind swims with the possibilities.

I lost track of width I should have made the five rolls and ended up with misfit. Judy’s misfit I think was stunning, mine not so much but it still worked. I did like the idea of different fillings. Fermenting in my mind, you could make these five rolls smaller and make more pieces and create many surprise flavors. That might make more work but it sounds interesting.

Japanese Milk Bread from King Arthur Baking Company

Tangzhong

• 3 tablespoons (43g) water

• 3 tablespoons (43g) whole milk (used half & half)

• 2 tablespoons (14g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups (298g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

• 2 tablespoons (14g) Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk

• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar (used 35 grams)

• 1 teaspoon (6g) salt

• 1 tablespoon instant yeast

• 1/2 cup (113g) whole milk (used half & half)

• 1 large egg

• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, melted

1.      To make the tangzhong: Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain.

2. Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Three minutes.

3. Transfer the tangzhong to a small mixing bowl or measuring cup and let it cool to lukewarm.

4. To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine the tangzhong with the remaining dough ingredients, then mix and knead — by mixer or bread machine — until a smooth, elastic dough forms; this could take almost 15 minutes in a stand mixer. I started doing this by hand as I like that best BUT I quickly felt I would get a much better result with the kitchen aid AND I got the smoothest dough ball ever.

Baby smooth bottom! Twelve minutes in the KitchenAid.

5.      Shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest in a lightly greased bowl, covered, for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.

6. Dough shaping: Divide the dough into 5 pieces. Roll each piece into a thin, oblong shape, then, using a sharp object (I used my 6 inch bench scraper), start about 2/3s from the designated top and make 1/8” to ¼” cuts.

This is almost five minutes long I’m sorry, I have to learn some editing 😌 Yes, we have pesky fruit flies in the film. Please excuse the straw like grey hair that gets in the way.
Continue reading →


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Cruffins ~ BBB ~ July 2021

What you may ask is a Cruffin? Since the Babes are Baking Cruffins this month, that would be a fair question. In simplest terms a cruffin might be a cross between a croissant and a muffin but it is neither a croissant nor a muffin. Mostly what you need to know about a Cruffin is: they are insanely beautiful and taste marvelous! That’s really what a Cruffin is BUT if you want to know more details check out Aparna’s post at My Diverse Kitchen.

I think these should be named oatmeal mushrooms.

There is an art to writing a recipe BUT there is an art to reading a recipe as well and clearly I am woefully lacking in reading skills. Perhaps my math is just as lacking. The recipe Aparna gave us clearly stated “this recipe makes 8 cruffins” … I ended up with 17. Can’t read, can’t count.

My cruffins are dark – I used half white whole wheat with half regular AP flour and brown sugar – and I’m ok with that. I will admit the BBB’s who bake with white flour got a gorgeous gourmet picture perfect golden cruffins. I’ll settle for the subtle caramel flavor I get with the brown sugar.

Cruffins

Recipe by Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen

This recipe makes 8 Cruffins (see it said it right there)

For the Dough :

25 grams brown sugar (this was just sweet enough for us)

1 1/4 tsp dry yeast

100 grams white whole wheat flour

101 grams white AP flour

50 gm unsalted butter, chilled

1/4 tsp salt

183 oat milk (did not use any water but used all oat milk)

For Lamination :

120 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature

To Decorate/ Serve :

Speculaas spice/Cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS :

I add the dry yeast directly to the flour with other ingredients.

 In a medium bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and chilled butter cut into small pieces. Add milk and knead into a soft and elastic dough that comes away from the side of the bowl. The dough should not be sticky. Add a little more milk or flour, as required to achieve this consistency of dough. I found I needed at least half cup more of regular AP flour to obtain a soft supple dough that was not sticky.

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to an oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it well. Cover and let the dough rise till double in volume. This should take between an hour to two depending on ambient temperature. Mine took about an hour and 45 minutes.

In the meanwhile prepare your baking pan and keep aside. Butter and very lightly flour the cavities of your muffin or popover tray.

Dust your working surface lightly with flour and turn the dough out. Lightly knead to deflate the dough. Divide into four equal pieces. Roll out each piece to a 60x20cm (24X7 inches) sized piece. The dough sheet will be very thin. If you have a pasta machine you can use that as it is easier to roll out thin sheets with it. I cut the dough into two pieces (60cm x 40cm each) and cut into 4 pieces after buttering each.

Spread about 30 to 38 gm butter (I started with 150 grams of butter and had 50 left) of soft butter over each rolled out piece of dough. I sprinkled half with cinnamon sugar and the other half with speculaas spice. Cut each piece into half, lengthwise, creating two thin strips.

Roll one thin strip into a tight roll. Place this at the edge of the second strip and continue rolling till you have one thick roll. This will give your cruffins more layers.

Cut roll in half lengthwise. Roll each half, like a circle (cinnamon roll style)with the cut layers side showing the outside. Make sure to tuck both ends under so it doesn’t open up on baking. Place the roll in the prepared muffin or popover pan.

Repeat with all the dough pieces. Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 45 minutes. The rolls should look puffy and have risen to almost the edge of the cavities.

Bake the cruffins at 190C (375F) for about 30 minutes or till golden brown and done. My smaller size baked in about 24 minutes. Turn them out onto a rack and let them cool. I skipped toppings and thought they were just perfectly delicate and sweet enough. Serve warm with coffee or tea.

My Cruffin were small (17 instead of 8) and more brown than golden but still insanely beautiful and marvelous tasting with coffee in the morning, hot tea in the late afternoon, coffee in the morning, hot tea in the late afternoon … oh gosh, it’s time to bake again as I know you will want to do. I want these again with my morning coffee … and my late afternoon tea!

Coffee or tea?

And I do thank you just very much for cruffins Aparna!


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Povitica/Potica ~ BBB ~May 2021

Our Kitchen of the month was Kelly (Hobby Baker) at A Messy Kitchen and she brought us a doozy of a bread but wow oh wow it will give you cause to celebrate. Maybe you got your vaccination, maybe you got a new car, maybe you got sunshine when rain was expected, maybe the cat came home, maybe you can’t think of a reason to celebrate: if you bake Potica you’ll have reason enough to celebrate.

The start.

I baked again with my friend Mary. She baked a rye loaf for her family and then took photos of the Potica.  What that really translated to is the story of how we’ve all let looking at a picture and reading through a recipe intimidate us into not trying.  I still remember Bread Chick in the Daring Bakers putting up Julia Child’s baguette recipe some 30+ pages long and thinking REALLY, then stepping back and just taking it one step at a time gets you started on the journey. Before you know it you’ve come to: Bake it in the oven and BINGO you have bread!
Now Mary wants to come back to bake with me again to tackle Potica and I want to try the poppyseed filling with walnuts and chocolate…and I want to try a Spanakopita filling.  I am absolutely sure spanakopita will be spectacular. Sort of hoping one of the Babes went that way.

Do not be intimidated by photos that make things look difficult.  Do not let long directions in a recipe intimidate, just take one at a time.  You truly can do this!
Bake with us.

Povitica or Potica 

Add in butter.

DOUGH
100 grams whole wheat pastry flour
185 grams pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon 0.05 oz (1.4 g) dry yeast (~½ tsp)
135 grams whole milk
0.5 oz (15 g) water, used more milk instead
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg 
40  grams sugar, divided
22 grams butter melted, divided
WALNUT FILLING
9.9 ounces (280 g) walnuts
3.35 ounces (95 g) sugar
½ tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
0.1 oz (3 g) cinnamon powder
pinch of salt
2 ounces (58 g) unsalted butter
2.1 ounces (60 g) whole milk
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING, Looks pretty but adds too much sugar for my taste

Makes seeing when a dough doubles so much easier.

POPPYSEED FILLING This is the filling I used but NEXT bake will use walnuts and/or chocolate added to it.
250 g poppy seeds (8 oz or 1-1/2 cups)
50 g sugar (1/3 cup)
50 g honey (2-1/2 tablespoons)
50 ml milk (4 T) to start (may need up to 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg (can be omitted)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons rum (or other spirits)
1 tablespoon vanilla
grated rind of 1 lemon

1. In a bowl or stand mixer, combine the flour together with the dry yeast.  Then add the milk, water, egg and salt.
Mix the ingredients in the bowl until a fairly smooth and homogeneous dough is obtained.
Add the sugar in two additions, kneading each time until it is fully integrated.
Knead the dough until it is smooth and silky with at least a medium gluten development.  Work in the butter in about three additions until smooth again.
Knead for about 12-15 minutes to develop the gluten well and obtain an elastic, soft, and very well developed dough.   It may be slightly sticky but should pass the windowpane test.  If it does not, the final stretching will not be possible without tearing.

2. When the dough is properly developed, form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it doubles its volume. This can take up to three hours.

3. Make the filling while the dough is rising. Grind poppyseeds in small batches in coffee grinder for about a minute. The resulting mixture should look and feel like damp sand.
Melt honey and butter in milk, add sugar, and stir till dissolved. Add poppy seeds and stir. Simmer for a few minutes, adding more milk if needed. Take off stove. Beat egg with rum, then stir it in gradually so the filling doesn’t curdle. Add other flavorings. Add more liquid if needed and continue to simmer till thick. (Don’t overdo this–it thickens as it cools.)
Makes about 2 cups.

In a food processor add nuts together with sugar, cinnamon, salt and cocoa powder.  Blend until the nuts are finely chopped and transfer to a bowl.
In a saucepan or microwave, heat the milk along with the butter until it just boils. Remove from the heat.
Pour the milk into the nut mixture.  Add the vanilla and the egg yolk and mix until completely homogenized.
Set aside at room temperature, covered, until ready to fill the povitica.

4. Stretching the dough:

Lay out a sheet or cloth on a wide, flat surface.  I used a drop leaf table and a linen table cloth but a card table would probably be the perfect size.
Sprinkle the work surface very lightly with AP flour.  
Turn out the dough and de-gas it gently.
Roll the dough out into a very thin rectangle with a rolling pin, then continue to carefully stretch with hand to about 25½x18-in. (65 x 45 cm) rectangle.  
**The dough should be about three times as long as your pan.  Very gently and slowly work the dough with your hands, stretching from the center to the edges.  It should remain soft and elastic and stretch without tearing as long as the gluten was developed and the process is taken slowly.

Stretching the dough.

5. Roll up the dough.
Starting with the long edge that has filling to the edge, roll the dough on itself making sure that there is no gap between each layer. Start at one end and just turn up the edge all the way across.  Then continue to roll from edge to edge carefully and with the help of both hands. 
I rolled from both long edges into the center then laid it into a bundt pan; it only went around one and a half times.

Rolling Rolling Rolling
Come together now…

6. Once the entire sheet is rolled up, carefully pinch and seal the long edge.
Shape the roll into an S and place it into the pan.  It will take two hands, scoop in from the ends and carefully lift into the pan.  
Other shaping methods including rolling up in a circle like a snail and baking in an earthenware baker, or cutting the roll into sections and lining them up in the loaf pan.  Using sections and a smaller loaf tin will yield a taller loaf.

And throw it in the pan!

7. Cover with plastic and let the dough rise until the dough has puffed up somewhat. This will be most evident looking at the ends of the dough to see any increase in size. Again, this can take 1-3 hours.

Bake Povitica.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Brush the top of the loaf with half of the butter and place in the center of the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300ºF and leave for 45 minutes more. The total baking time is 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining butter. More butter is always better.
Let it rest in the pan for 20 minutes.  Then turn out the loaf and allow to cool completely on a rack.  Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Top line is putting dough into pan seam side down. Bottom line is where the dough was doubled.

8. This loaf should ideally be cut from the bottom to keep the outside edges/top from crumbling.  Excellent with coffee or tea! 

Really, you think you could keep this in the house 5 days …. I don’t think so.

This loaf will keep for 4-5 days in a sealed bag or a week in the refrigerator.  
That is totally laughable because with two people in my house half of this was gone in a day and a half. My friend took the other half home and it was gone that night.  It is either store it or look for bigger pants.
It may also be frozen in portions.

 We would love for you to try this impressive looking and very tasty bread and bake along with us this month!  (It’s not as difficult as it looks!)  No blog is necessary to participate, a picture will do. Just send a picture or your post of your finished povitica to Kelly by the 30th of this month at eleyana (AT) aol (DOT) com.  New recipes are posted every month on the 16th. Check out our Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.


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BBB ~ Green Tea and Orange Loaf

Saint Patrick’s Day or Spring this is the CELEBRATION BREAD to CHEER!!

This is a naturally-leavened loaf made with matcha green tea powder and flavored with candied orange peel and orange blossom water. It doesn’t include any extra sweetener which neither Cathy nor I thought it needed.
It is a beautiful green color before baking and becomes a lighter green after baking.  

LEARNED: 
Again: homemade is better.
DO NOT wear your favorite white while messing with matcha … unless you want it to be green which is fine for St Patrick’s Day.
150 grams of orange peel will probably make prettier loaves but with less orange sweetness.
Allow the homemade orange peel to dry at least 24 hours or more.  Plan ahead to made it several days in advance.  I used Cathy candied orange peel process found here (https://www.breadexperience.com/making-candied-orange-peel/)  

My first bake I used a total of 510 grams flours made up of 255 grams organic AP, 100 grams white whole wheat and 155 grams bread.
My second bake I used 260 grams organic AP and 250 grams white whole wheat. 
While both bakes gave me dense loaves, I believe the bread flour bake gave me a slightly less dense loaf. 


CANDIED ORANGE PEEL: 
When I was in high school, I remember my mother making candied grapefruit peel to give as Christmas gifts one year. Her comment was it was spectacular, certainly the most spectacular thing she had ever made and she would never do it again…and she didn’t. I will tell you I cursed most of the five hours it took for me to remove the pith from the rind.  I followed Cathy’s candied orange peel recipe HERE. The orange peel I bought was dramatically fatter (contained lots of pith). It was bitter when tasted alone and much less sweet when baked in the bread.  Still, the friend I gave a loaf of the second bake loved the bread.  Would I do it again … maybe, it would depend on how gracious I was feeling.
When I used the homemade orange peel, I baked with it the following morning. Kneaded in, it caused the dough to come apart and took considerable time to come back together. 

Cathy admonished us not to cheat on the orange peel. Being the Babe I am of course I had to increase what was called for in the recipe. Yes I used 200 grams. The increased amount made it harder to incorporate it into the dough and probably caused a more rustic and rougher surface (less pretty) but I think the addition was worth the exponential increase in taste.
The first bake I added the matcha with the salt. It took considerable kneading to get an even distribution. The second bake I added the matcha with the flour.  I will add it to the flour from now on and have changed the directions to reflect that.

First Bake on left, 2nd Bake on right.

Green Tea and Orange Loaf

Recipe From: Cathy (breadexperience) Adapted from The Larousse Book of Bread by Eric Kayser
Yield: 4 small loaves 
Levain
50 grams all-purpose flour
50 grams water
25 grams sourdough starter (I used 100% hydration starter)

Final Dough
500 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
250 – 300 grams water, divided 125, 125, 50
10 grams salt + 15-20 grams water
30 grams olive oil
25 grams orange flower water
10 grams (2 tsp) matcha tea powder
150 grams candied orange peel, chopped or finely diced

There are two ways to incorporate the starter in this bread. 
1) Feed your sourdough starter the evening before you plan to bake, let it rest overnight at warm room temperature, then use 100 grams of the fed sourdough in your loaf.   If you choose do use the fed starter without creating a levain, you may need less water. Cathy actually used more water with this method.  
2) Create a levain.  This method is presented below. 

Levain

In the evening of the day before making the bread: Place the starter, flour and water in a small bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is stirred in well.
Cover the bowl with a plate, or bees wrap, and let it rest overnight in a warm place.

Final Dough


1. Pour 125 grams water, orange blossom water and olive oil over the levain.  
Mix completely to break up the levain.

2. In a large bowl, add the flour and matcha.  
Pour the levain/water mixture over the flour and mix to incorporate.  Add the rest of the water, gradually, and as needed to fully hydrate the dough.  I used the 300 grams.

Cover, and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes, then sprinkle the salt over the top and dissolve it with 15 grams of warm water.

3. Cover, let rest for 30 minutes, then fold in the candied orange peel and knead the dough until it becomes smooth, and elastic.   
Add more water if the dough starts to tear.  My dough tore horribly and required more kneading to come back together.
Note: Cathy’s dough was sticky after adding the candied orange peel and almost too dry up until that point. My dough never seemed dry.
Shape into a ball, cover, proof for 2 hours.  Stretch and fold the dough after 1st hour.  Let rest for final hour.  It should increase in volume by the end of the final proof.

On left: very moist adding orange peel. On right: broken up after adding salt in 20 grams water 1st bake. Did better 2nd bake with just 10 grams water.

4. Remove the dough to a lightly dusted work surface.  Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, about 300 grams each.  Cathy’s divided into 260 grams each.  
Shape into balls, cover with a dish towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

5. Roll the dough pieces between your hands to create tension, and form smooth and well-rounded boules.
Place the loaves, seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Cover with a damp cloth and let proof for 1 hour 15 minutes.  I allowed mine to proof for 2 hours. I put the four loaves on parchment and covered them with a large stainless steel bowl that also then was used to cover them in the oven. 

6. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. with a baking stone on the bottom shelf . 
Score the loaves in a crosshatch pattern (or the pattern of your choice).
Transfer the loaves on the parchment to the preheated oven.  Then place covering pan/bowl on top.  
Bake for 18 minutes.  Mine took an additional 16 minutes to come to an internal temperature of 200°F.  Whole grains take longer to bake.  Don’t burn them.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Would you like to bake with us?

Bread Experience is the host kitchen for March, and would love for you to make this Green Tea and Orange Loaf with us!  You’ll get your own Buddy Badge!  Plus a delicious bread to enjoy.

Bread Submission Guidelines:

  • Just bake your version of this bread and post about it on your blog (by March 29th).
  • If you don’t have a blog, no worries, just post a photo in the Bread Baking Babes Facebook Group
  • Mention Bread Baking Babes with a link to the Kitchen of the Month, that’s – Cathy of Bread Experience.
  • Then send an email to breadexperience (at) gmail (dotcom) with BBB Green Tea and Orange Loaf, and Cathy will send you your Buddy badge to display on your blog.

If you make your own or buy the candied orange peel, I know you will enjoy this bread!! Go for it.


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BBB ~ St. Lucia Saffron Buns, Lussekatter

I don’t know about where you are but where I am it’s dark really early. Before 6 in the evening the sun is long gone and it’s gotten to dark. Our Kitchen of the Month, Judy, has picked a wonderful roll/bun to light up the short early dark days of December! Saffron is the spice to provide the light. These are a traditional Christmas celebration bread in Italy and Scandinavia.

I found this a wonderfully silky dough to work even using a lot of white whole wheat flour. I always try to bake with some whole grain flour.

Why did I feel compelled to convert this to a sourdough? I think just because I’ve recently gotten a sourdough going again and so I’m trying hard to keep it going. The way I did the sourdough does add considerable time to the process and I’m sure if you follow Judy’s yeasted recipe you’ll have these little bun coming out of your oven much sooner. Still I really enjoyed the longer time and am totally delighted with the end product.

My only regret is when I got to the shaping and my hands were deep into this I’d forgotten the simple shaping of making these into cats. I really want to do that next time. I think Elizabeth will be doing cats but won’t be posting yet for several days. Maybe one/some of the other Babes will be doing the cat shape but I’m sure one/some will have some variety so check them out.

The shapes are really pretty self explanatory and simple to do.

St. Lucia Saffron Buns, Lussekatter

Yield: 18 rolls

LEAVEN
60 g starter
70 g water
60 g white whole wheat
DOUGH
All of the above leaven
105 g water
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
3 tablespoons King Arthur dry milk powder
220 g white whole wheat
120 g bread flour
110 g AP flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
56 g unsalted butter, softened
60 g of sour cream
30 g wildflower honey
2 large eggs
Raisins, currants, dried cherries, cranberries, blueberries
GLAZE
1 egg, beaten

The night before mix together the leaven. Cover and leave at room temperature for 10 to 14 hours until bubbly.

Warm water and saffron in microwave about 20 seconds.  (I held the butter for the second fold, next time I may try adding it when I’ve finished kneading it the first time and before starting the folding).  Stir in the honey, sour cream and eggs until blended.  Let cool until about 80-90°F, or warm to the touch.

Whisk flours, dry milk powder and cardamom: I held out the salt until after the first folding.

 Make a well in the center of the flour and add the saffron-water mixture, the eggs, and the sour cream. Mix the ingredients until well incorporated.

Knead the dough: Knead to incorporate. Do this until the dough is still a little sticky to the touch, but does not completely stick to your hands when you handle it.

Let dough rise: Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl. Cover. 
Butter and salt: I added these at the second fold. The dough really came apart. Next time I will add Butter and Salt earlier: after kneading let rest 20 minutes then add butter & salt.
Let sit in a warm place for 2-3 hours, Do at least 2 fold about 45 minutes apart then let the dough rest until about doubled. This dough became silky smooth, lovely to work.

 Form dough into shapes: When the dough has doubled in size, gently press it down and knead it a couple of times. I weighed the dough and divided by 18 which required each roll to weight about 60 grams. Break off a piece and form it into a ball about 2 inches wide. Roll the ball out into a snake, about 14 inches long.
Then Curl the ends in opposite directions, forming an “S” with spirals at each end. Place on a lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough. There are a number of shapes commonly accepted for these rolls.

 

Let sit for final rise:  Cover and place in a warm spot until the dough shapes double in size, mine took an hour.

Brush with egg wash, place raisins in buns: Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Using a pastry brush, brush some beaten egg over the tops and sides of the uncooked buns. Place raisins, cranberries or cherries by really poking them in deeply otherwise they may well jump ship.

Bake: Place in the oven and bake at 400°F (205°C) for about 18 to 20 minutes (turning halfway through cooking to ensure even browning), until the buns are golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before eating.

Would I do these again? In a heart beat. The shapes can be varied easily and are all interesting. The sparkling sugar gives the buns just the perfect crunch and sweetness along with the honey. I would try a little more saffron next time as I really didn’t taste or even see much of it in the bun. These are just beauties.

If you wish to bake with us as a Buddy, please submit your post and photos by December 29th to be included in the roundup and earn your baking badge.  Send to jahunt22 at gmail.com.

Visit the other Babes to check out their versions of Lussekatter.


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BBB ~ Ciambella Mandorlata (An Italian Easter Bread)

Totally an Awesome bread, just slightly sweet.  Thank you Aparna!
History and origin may call this an Easter bread but I say it’s nice just about anytime. It makes terrific toast with tea or coffee, morning, noon or night.
Two cautions:
I got a nice oven rise with this but with all bread flour I think it might have been truly huge and so … as Aparna did, placing a ramikin or ring in the middle might be a good idea to keep a hole open in the middle of the ring.
Aparna saw no reason to toast the almonds before baking and neither did I: this is baked with the almonds on top at 400°…how are they not going to toast? As Karen said, watch this and cover with foil so that it doesn’t get too dark.

Aparna Balasubramanian April 2019 from Ultimate Bread Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno
Yield: one round

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DOUGH:
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
430 grams 1/2 bread flour; 1/2 AP

35 grams ground flax seeds
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons maple sugar
grated zest of 3 lemons
113 grams unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup water
TOPPING:
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons maple sugar
1 cup blanched almonds, roughly chopped
1 egg yolk

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the butter, eggs, and milk.
I’m trying to use up what is on hand and only had 1/2 the bread flour called for so used AP.

2. Mix in the flour from the sides of the well. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, to form a soft, sticky dough.
I used all the water called for.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth, springy, and elastic, about 10 minutes.

4. Put the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a dish towel. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 4 hours. Punch down the dough, then let rest, covered with a dish towel, for about 10 minutes.

5. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each piece into a 16-inch-long rope. Twist the two dough ropes together.

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6. Place the dough rope on a buttered baking sheet. As you might see here, I used a skillet. Shape it into a ring by bringing the two ends of the rope together. Pinch them to seal and cover with a dish towel. Proof until doubled in size, about 11 ⁄2 hours.

7. To make the topping mix the cinnamon, sugar, almonds, and egg yolk in a bowl. I used my hands to spread the mixture as evenly as possible over the top of the ring.

8. Bake at 200C (400F) in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, until golden -cover with foil to prevent it getting to dark- and hollow sounding when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

We would love for you to try out this recipe and join in as a buddy baker this month!  This is a wonderful bread to quickly bake. You don’t have to have a blog to participate, a picture will do.  Just send a picture or your post of your finished bread to comments my kitchen at mac dot com, along with a photo and your baking experience by April. 30 and be sure to put BBBuddy in the subject line. You will receive a Bread Baking Buddy graphic to keep or add to your post, and be included in our Buddy round up at the end of the month. New recipes are posted every month on the 16th. Check out our Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.
Enjoy the BAKE!


by 9 Comments

BBB ~ Baked Cherry Doughnuts

These were fun and easy to put together. We enjoyed them, friends thought they were excellent. The sugar is perfect in these, not over the top sweet but still a treat.

Pat from “Feeding My Enthusiasms” found and adapted this from a recipe by Robert Jorin, of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY
The spice is perfect and the cherries were excellent. The grandkids would think these were fabulous and they could participate.
For my part, this is not the way I would want to use my sugar calories so I probably won’t make them again. Besides, since I grew up with my Dad’s fresh fried yeast doughnuts, not much else comes even remotely close.  I am glad to have baked them so I thank you Pat.

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BBB ~ Baked Cherry Doughnuts
1 cup dried Michigan cherries
1 quarter oz. (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cups brown sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour (I added about another 1/2 cup in 1 tablespoon increments)
I had no AP flour so used: 130 grams bread flour, 250 grams whole wheat pastry flour + extra bread flour about 1/2 cups
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup milk all I had was buttermilk, warmed
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
113 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus 4 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
parchment paper

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1. In a medium bowl, cover currants – or diced dried fruit of your choice – with hot water and let stand until softened, 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water and a pinch of sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 minutes.
I have not done this for years. I simply add the yeast to the flour and the liquid all at once.

3. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, combine flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon with 1/4 cup of sugar. Add milk, egg, egg yolk and half of softened butter; beat at low speed for 3 minutes. Beat in yeast mixture, then add salt. Beat dough at medium speed until soft and silky, about 8 minutes; the dough should pull cleanly away from bowl.
My KitchenAid mixer is still packed and I believe in the shed. I didn’t really have any problem mixing this by hand. I did add extra flour before it became a silken dough.

4. With machine on, add remaining softened butter to dough in walnut-sized lumps, beating at low speed between additions until incorporated.

5. Drain Michigan dried cherries in my case, pressing out any excess water. Add to dough and beat in at low speed.

6. Transfer dough to a greased bowl, turn to coat dough with grease. Cover and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 hour. Punch dough down, form into a ball, and return to bowl. Cover and let stand until billowy, 1 hour.

7. Grease two large baking sheets. (Or line with parchment or foil.) Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface & cut it into 12 equal pieces. Pinch each piece into a ball and arrange six balls on each prepared baking sheet, smooth side up. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes.

8. Using lightly floured hands, press each ball into a flat 4-inch disc. Using a 1 1/4-inch round cutter stamp out center of each disc. Return holes to baking sheets. There will be six donuts and six donut holes on each sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour, until risen slightly.

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9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position racks in upper and lower thirds. Bake donuts and holes for 25 minutes, shifting pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time. Donuts are done when they are golden and puffy and when the internal temperature at thickest part registers 200 degrees F.

10. Spread sugar in a shallow bowl. Brush hot donuts and holes on both sides with melted butter and dredge them in sugar. Transfer to a serving dish and serve at once.

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And yes I used the crunchy sparkling sugar! that is worth the WOW.

Hope that you enjoy these between now and December 29th…which will get here sooner than you think. If you do, send Pat an email at plachman at sonic dot net along with a photo and your baking experience and she’ll include you in the Buddy post, plus send you a gorgeous Buddy Badge designed by Elizabeth.


by 15 Comments

BBB ~ Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls

Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls

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I confess. These didn’t immediately excite me but they are bread and a Babe should bake. 
And then for me the magic took over.  I just do enjoy the magic of the yeast and flour and water.
My intent when I divided the dough was to shape half in traditional fashion as a log and half as crescents … but the crescent was so easy I did them all that way.  In retrospect, I think I might have enjoyed them more as a log: the outside would have gotten a uniform coating and maybe been more enjoyable with my coffee BUT these were marvelous even as crescents!
Aparna, I thank you.  These were really no trouble to make.  The dough easy to work.  Flexible enough to do well with a long rest in the fridge. 
I think they would do equally well perhaps shaped and rested in the fridge overnight and then go into a hot oven in the morning.  They would be company show stoppers for sure at any time.
And for the drama through poor reading … yes, I still have issues with reading. 
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Right well the best I can say is the smell communicated better than the reading and I was able to blow most of it off the brown sugar before I’d mixed it in.  Aren’t we lucky to have … smell! 

Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls
Recipe By: Aparna Balasubramanian
Yield: 16-24 rolls
For the Dough :
2 teaspoons active dried yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
426 grams white whole wheat flour
75 grams Kumet flour
20 grams flax meal
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
For the Filling :
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder (optional)
For Coating :
A little milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup brown sugar

Whisk together the flours, flax, yeast, sugar and salt.
Mix the milk, melted butter and eggs.
Mix the dry and wet together.
Then knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough. I found this easy to knead by hand. Firm dough.

Cover loosely and let the dough rest for about 2 to 3 hours or till it has doubled in volume.
It became obvious to me that life was not cooperating with these directions and the dough went into the fridge overnight.

I took the bowl out as soon as I was in the kitchen fixing coffee in the morning.  That allowed the dough to warm up and it was ready to work 2 hours later.  Press down the dough gently and divide the dough into two equal parts.

There are two ways of shaping Filipino Spanish Bread. One is to roll out each portion into a round and spread the filling over it.

Spread the filling before cutting.

Then cut each into 8 triangles like you would a pizza. Each triangle can then be rolled up croissant style.

The more traditional way is to shape each half of dough into a log and divide into eight equal parts. Roll each piece into roughly a 3- by 5-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and sugar (or cinnamon sugar if you prefer). Roll the piece like you would a jelly roll, starting from one corner and rolling towards the opposite corner.

One dough ball gave me 10 rolls, the other gave me 12.  I did like the smaller size and would make smaller regardless of shape.

Alternately, roll each half the dough into a largish rectangle about 10” x 10”.  Then brush the surface generously and completely with melted butter. Sprinkle half the breadcrums and the cinnamon and sugar mixture over this evenly. Now cut the dough into half from top to bottom. Again cut each half into 4 left to right. You will have 8 rectangles about 5″ x 3.3″

Which ever way you shape your Filipino Spanish Bread, place the pieces seam side down on a lined or greased baking sheet. Let the shaped rolls rise for 30 minutes.

Brush them with a little milk and sprinkle with more breadcrumbs and sugar. You can also roll the shaped dough in the breadcrumbs and sugar if you like.

Bake until golden brown at 190C (375 F) for about 15 to 20 minutes. Because I made the rolls with all whole wheat, they took 22 minutes to bake.
Cool on a rack.

We’d love for you to bake with us as a Bread Baking Buddy. Here’s how it works.

Bake this month’s bread using Aparna’s recipe and post it on your blog before the 28th of this month. Mention the Bread Baking Babes and link to her BBB post in your own post. Then e-mail her at aparna[AT]mydiversekitchen[DOT]com with your name and the link to the post, or leave a comment on her blog post with this information. She will include your bread in the Buddy round-up at the end of this month.


by 14 Comments

BBB ~ Sprouted Wheat Sweet Potato Cherry Brioche Coffee Cake

BBB ~ Sprouted Wheat Sweet Potato Cherry Brioche Coffee Cake

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Recipe By: Inspired by Judy’s (Gross Eats) recipe for Blueberry Brioche Coffee Cake

I do love combinations … but one should be much more careful when combining two recipes OR one should engage the brain much more than I did. 
I aimed for whole grain and I got that by using a recipe I found in Peter Reinhart’s Bread Revolution.  Sprouted Wheat Sweet Potato Brioche!  Please be aware that the amounts and directions are my own.  You will need to take a look at his book “Bread Revolution” for his recipe.  

I should have known I was working with whole grains AND adding sweet potato was going to make this extra. BUT when I went to look for the baking time I looked at Judy’s  recipe that used white flour … and went my merry way.  It was way under-baked and still this was spectacular.

I’m going to let you check out Judy’s web site for the recipe she brought to us but I’ll show you the recipe as I did it here.

Since Gorn is an all time cherry lover, I made my filling cherry jam!  I really cut the sugar. The Cherry Jam was so successful, I had to make it again the next day to put on the plain Brioche and just simple toast when the Brioche ran out.

My Cherry Brioche Coffee Cake

Brioche Dough
650 grams sprouted whole wheat flour
20 grams brown sugar
12 grams salt
18 grams yeast
50  grams 1 egg
72 grams 4 egg yolks
150 grams sweet potato puree
190 grams half & half
300 grams butter unsalted at room temperature
Cherry Jam
30 ounces frozen sweet cherries, 3 bags
1/3 cup brown sugar
lemon  , zest and juice
Streusel Topping
1/3 cup oat bran, heaping
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, my addition
1/3 cup brown sugar, short
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, salt and yeast.
Mix together the egg, egg yolks, sweet potato puree and the milk forming a soft dough.
I used my Dad’s old KitchenAid.
Use the dough hook and mix on medium low until the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl.

2. Cut the butter in 4 to 8 pieces.  Add one at a time mixing on medium low speed.  Watch for each piece to be fully incorporated before adding more.
The dough should now feel soft, tacky and supple. It should feel bouncy when patted.  If very sticky add a little more flour.

3. Using a bowl scraper, transfer the dough to an oiled work counter.
Stretch and fold the dough over itself four times: once each from the top, bottom and each side.

4. Either oil the bowl to place the dough into or oil your hands and pat the dough all over and place it in a large bowl.
Allow the dough to rest on the counter 30 minutes covered (I use a shower cap).

5. 12 hours/overnight in the refigerator. After resting at room temperature for 30 minutes, place the bowl covered in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.  The dough is best baked within two days because of the high yeast content.

6. Remove the dough for some time before you bake. Time in the refrigerator allows the whole grain to fully hydrate and cooling all that butter makes it easier to handle.
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7. Coffee Cake shaping This was a trick for me.  I had no spring form pan.  The closest I could even remotely come to was an angle food cake pan.  Somehow I managed to line the outer side of the pan with several pieces of parchment paper and anchored them with the removable bottom.

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I used about 2/3 of my total dough for the coffee cake and made a small plain loaf with the remaining 1/3.

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The coffee cake dough I divided into three approximately equal pieces, rolled each into a circle to fit the pan, gently poked and then stretched a hole in the middle and dropped it over the middle tube put cherry jam on that, two more layers of dough with cherry jam between each layer of dough.

8. Cover the pan with shower cap and allow to rise 90 to 120 minutes.  Mine took the 120 minutes.

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You love cherries! This is the one.

9. Reinhart says to bake loaves at 400° for 50 to 60 minutes.
I baked mine at 375° for 50 minutes.  It was under-baked.  I think next time I’d bake at 380° for 60 to 65 minutes, ideally I’d have my thermometer and look for an internal temp of 195°.  The jam may make an accurate measurement difficult.

Notes:

This was so wonderful.  Thank you Judy!

If you would like to bake along with us as a Buddy, send Judy a description of what you did and some photographs by August 29th, and it will publish in the Buddy Roundup and you’ll receive a Buddy Badge.  Email is jahunt22 at gmail.com.


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Nazook – Gata ~ BBB

Nazook, Gata ~ BBB 

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What makes it bread? If it has yeast, does that make it bread? How big does bread have to be before it’s a roll or a bun?  Bread can be sweet, most would agree? Is this bread or pastry?
If the Babes are baking it, it’s bread. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I think these will stick with you too.
Kelly is our kitchen of the month! As she notes, it maybe an odd name and it does have many names from various places but whatever you call it and whatever you stuff it with, these are utterly delicious.  Hooray for cookie like yeasted sweet bread. I thank you for these small gems.  Gorn thanks you for each one of the 15 he’s placed in his mouth in the last 2 hours. I only rolled two logs because I just had a feeling these were going to be way too big a hit. So the dough is back in the fridge and I’ll bake more tomorrow and take some to the library girls.
Changes? Oh but very small. I added my usual ground flax meal, used more vanilla, added lemon zest to dough (because if you’re going to juice a lemon why waste the zest) and since I found maple roasted walnuts I used those in place of plain. So maybe my changes were more than small but whatever they were, they worked well.
Regret: I didn’t think of using coconut flour until after I mixed the filling.

Kitchen of the Month:  Kelly blogging at A Messy Kitchen

Nazook, Gata ~ BBB 

Recipe By: Mom’s Authentic Assyrian Recipes
Yield: 48 yeasted sweet breads/pastries

DOUGH
2 1/4 teaspoons (7g) active dry yeast
1 cup (227g) sour cream – quark
3 1/4 cups (390g) White Whole Wheat flour
30 grams ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon (6 g) salt
1 cup (226g) chilled unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tbsp (12g) vegetable oil
zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon (5g) lemon juice
FILLING
1 cup (226g) butter melted (+ 3tbsp melted, optional)
2 cups (240g) White Whole Wheat flour … coconut or almond meal/flour!
1 cup (198g) brown sugar
1 cup (113g) maple roasted walnuts finely chopped
1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla
1 teaspoon (2g) cardamom
1/8 teaspoon Malib optional but I have some
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg optional
Cinnamon
GLAZE
2 egg yolks beaten
1 teaspoon (5g) yogurt OR quark (water?)

DOUGH:
Combine yeast, flour, salt and butter and blend with your fingers until crumbly.
Add egg, oil, lemon juice & zest, and sour cream. Mix until incorporated.  Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, or until no longer sticky.  Add more flour if necessary.  (I  added some more flour).
Form into a ball, and to follow tradition, mark with a +, symbolizing a cross. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 5 hours, or overnight.

FILLING:
Mix flour, brown sugar, walnuts, and cardamom. Add vanilla to melted butter and pour slowly into flour mixture while stirring.  Stir until the mixture is smooth.  (Mine ended up a beautiful streusel consistency, at first a paste and then nice and crumbly as it cooled.)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

ASSEMBLY:
I omitted brushing the dough with more butter as I thought there was already plenty of butter.
Remove dough from refrigerator and divide into 8 equal portions. (I weighted the dough and divided by 8 then cut off that amount to shape.)  Roll each dough ball into a 10 x 6” rectangle.   Spread 1/8th of the filling over each rectangle, leaving a ½-inch border.  Cover with a piece of parchment paper.  Press down lightly with your hands, so that the filling adheres to the dough.  Fold the edges in ½-inch over the filling.
Roll into a cylinder.  Gently flatten with the palms of your hands. (Do this because they puff quite a lot in the oven.)
Cut each roll into 6 pieces and arrange on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets.  Brush liberally with the egg glaze.
BAKE for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.  Excellent with coffee or hot tea.  Not too sweet, just sweet enough!

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Notes for future baking:

This dough would make terrific mincemeat cookie shaped like this, would need to make it drier – maybe more nuts or coconut flour.
Fruit Filling: DATES, FIG, mixed with the nuts, this could be fairly dry.
Savory Filling: This dough begs for any number of savory fillings.  Spinach, feta or goat cheese, red chili pepper- perhaps oat bran would dry/thicken.

I would have no hesitation to brush the flattened dough with a mix of cinnamon and brown sugar roll them and bake…even just brushed with butter and rolled plain these would be lovely.  Since you get 8 rolls, it seems to me you have 8 opportunities to play in the sandbox.

Note that vanilla, cardamom, (and cinnamon for that matter), enhance the perception of sweetness, so if you don’t use both the vanilla and the cardamom, they may want a tiny bit extra sugar.  As it is, there is only 1 tsp sugar per pastry and they are super satisfying because they are so rich.

These are actually fairly simple and easy to knead and assemble.

We would love for you to bake along with us!  Just bake your version of this bread by March 30th and send Kelly a note with your results and a picture or link to your post at eleyana(AT)aol(DOT)com with Buddy Bread in the subject line and you will be included in our buddy round up at the beginning of next month. You’ll also get your Buddy badge graphic to keep and/or add to your post.  You don’t have to have a blog to participate, a picture is fine!

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So much better than anything from the store!