0 Almond Joy

Okay, I think it's official. I am going through baker burn out. I know it's not very "daring" to admit it (I am a Daring Baker after all), but I'm really exhausted from all the baking that I did during the holidays. Although I love baking and it's definitely my favorite hobby, it almost felt like a chore during the holidays. Of course it was a totally self-imposed task. No one asked me to bake as much as I did. So after Christmas, I decided to take a little hiatus from baking which is why I haven't posted anything since the yule log. I was disappointed that I somehow turned baking into a chore so I needed to take some time to recover and rediscover the joy.

I hope to pace myself this year and avoid the "feast-or-famine" style of baking that I've been doing lately. Slow and steady is what I'd like to achieve so that I avoid future episodes of burn out. Although I'm still not 100% refreshed, I did do some baking. Most of what I normally feature here are simple baked goods. And these almond paste bars were definitely simple. Sometimes I call these bars "almond joy" but please don't confuse them with the candy bar of the same name. There is no chocolate and no coconut. Just the joyful goodness of almonds. These were a great way to ease back into my baking routine.



Almond Bar Cookies
(from Gourmet magazine Dec 2004)
(makes one 9-inch square pan)

1/2 cup (about 5 ounces) packed almond paste*, coarsely crumbled
*(do not use marzipan)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 large egg, separated
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup (about 1.5 ounces) sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan, line with parchment paper or foil, and butter the parchment/foil.

Pulse almond paste, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor until finely ground, about 1 minute.

Using a stand mixer, beat butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in almond mixture, egg yolk and almond extract until well mixed.

On low speed, mix in flour until just incorporated. Spread batter in prepared pan. Lightly beat the egg white and brush some of it over the batter (You might not use up all the egg white. You'll just need enough to help the almonds stick to the batter.). Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes until top is golden. Cool completely before slicing.

0 A Tree Falls in the Forest

The Daring Bakers are making some noise with this month's challenge. Keeping the holiday season in mind, the founders of the Daring Bakers, Ivonne and Lisa, chose a holiday inspired recipe. The yule log (which is also known as Bûche de Noël) is a genoise filled with buttercream and rolled up to form a log shaped cake. Then it's frosted and decorated to look like a log. It's a strange concept to have food that mimics a fallen tree trunk and mushrooms, but I guess it's no stranger than making houses out of gingerbread cookies. I didn’t think I would have the time to do this month's challenge and I was totally saddened by the thought of missing a challenge for the first time since I joined back in February (when we were just 10 bakers!). But even though I've had a super busy month, I luckily found the time to make the yule log.

I felt totally comfortable making the genoise so I had no problems with the cake part of the recipe. After letting the baked genoise cool, I trimmed the edges and then rolled it unfilled on a sheet of parchment that was dusted with powdered sugar. This sort of "pre-rolling" makes rolling the filled sponge a bit easier.

I was a bit nervous about making the buttercream since the chatter among the Daring Bakers was that this buttercream had a tendency to curdle if not handled properly. There are different types of buttercream. The basic American-style buttercream is just softened butter beaten with powdered (icing) sugar. Italian buttercream is made by pouring hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites. Then softened butter is added slowly and whipped until it's light and fluffy. Swiss buttercream is made by warming the egg whites and sugar over a water bath (bain marie) and then whipped until it's cool. Then softened butter is added slowly and whipped until it's light and fluffy. This buttercream was Swiss.

My buttercream started out silky and gorgeous albeit a bit runny so I was hopeful that I had made it correctly. All hope was dashed as soon as I added the espresso mixture to the cream. The buttercream broke and never quite returned to its silky state. I know that my meringue was cool enough before adding the butter but I think my butter may have been too soft. I didn’t want to waste all that butter and start over again so I threw in some powdered sugar to help bind the broken buttercream. That seemed to work but the extra sugar made the buttercream a bit too sweet. In hindsight, I should've added some cream cheese instead of the powdered sugar to salvage my buttercream.

To decorate our yule logs, Lisa and Ivonne gave us the option of making mushrooms out of meringue or marzipan. I chose meringue. I was doubtful that my meringue would even resemble real mushrooms but I was pleasantly surprised at how realistic they turned out. And the meringue mushrooms were so easy to make too. I ended up with a lot of extra mushrooms but they stayed nice and crisp for a few days so I had some sweet nibbles whenever the mood struck.


My overall experience with this recipe was mixed, but I probably won't make it again. It's not the recipe, it's me. Even though my yule log wasn't very pretty, I think my yule log was more about the way it looked than the way it tasted. Many of my tasters agreed with that sentiment. I'm sure the other 400 or so Daring Bakers might disagree with me, so go read what they have to say about their yule logs. Best wishes for a very happy holiday season and I'll see you in 2008!



Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)

Plain Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
3/4cup of sugar
1/2cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off
1/4 cup cornstarch

One 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.

3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).

4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.

6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.

7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.

9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

Filling and frosting the log:

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.

2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.

3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.

4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).

5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.

6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.

7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.

8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.

9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.

10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.



Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.

2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.

3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

4.Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.

0 Bogged Down

Last week I spent most of my evenings making cookie dough and baking dozens and dozens of cookies to give to my office mates and those in my husband's office too. For some reason I wanted everyone to have a variety to choose from so I made 6 different cookies this year. And I wanted my cookies to be as fresh as possible so I baked them over the course of 2 nights with the intention of passing them out at the office the following day.

Never have I been happier to have lots and lots of parchment paper! The parchment made baking all those cookies so much easier. I would scoop the dough onto clean sheets of parchment and they would be ready for the next available baking sheet (after the sheet cooled down of course). I prefer to bake my cookies one baking sheet at a time so you can imagine how long it took to bake 20 dozen cookies.

The 6 cookies I made were crystallized ginger cookies, sables korova aka world peace cookies, soft amaretti, espresso cookies with coffee icing, and the 2 different cranberry cookies included in this post. The first cranberry cookie had dried cranberries. The pistachio and cranberry rugelach were super flaky and rich. They looked so festive with the ruby red cranberries, the green pistachios and the shimmer from the sugar.

The second one had fresh cranberries combined with oatmeal and 2 kinds of chocolate. The tartness of the fresh cranberries went really well with the sweet and creamy white chocolate and the intense bittersweet Valrhona 85% cacao chocolate.

Except for the 2 cranberry cookies, I hardly have any photographic evidence of the fruits of my labor. I was so exhausted from the whole production that I opted not to take any photographs of the 60 individually wrapped and decorated packages. I just wanted to clean up and go to bed. As much as I love baking, I think I'll make just 2 or 3 types of cookies next year.


Pistachio and Cranberry Rugelach
(makes 30-32 cookies)

Dough
4 ounces (8 tbsp/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temp
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade

Optional: 2 tbsp granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

To make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy and had increased in volume, about 5 minutes on medium. On low speed, add flour, sugar and salt. Beat until well combined.

Scrape dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap dough and form a disk about 1-inch thick. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

To make the filling
Heat the marmalade in a saucepan over very low heat to liquefy. Set marmalade aside. In a small bowl, combine pistachios, cranberries and sugar. Set aside.

Assemble the rugelach
Take dough out of refrigerator. If it's too firm to roll, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 12 x 16 inches. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each measuring 8 x 12 inches).

With the 12-inch side in front of you, spoon or brush a thin layer of marmalade over the dough. Sprinkle half the pistachio-cranberry-sugar mixture over each rectangle of dough leaving a 1-inch wide strip of dough at the far edge uncovered (there will only be marmalade on this 1-inch wide strip). To make sure the filling sticks to the marmalade and dough, gently press the filling down into the dough.



Starting with the edge close to you, tightly roll the dough away from you. When you reach the strip of dough with the marmalade only, apply a bit of pressure to seal and roll the log so that it is seam side down. Carefully slide the logs onto a tray or baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate logs for 30 minutes or up to 1 day.

Bake the rugelach
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Slice each chilled log into 3/4-inch wide slices (you should get 15-16 slices per log). Place cookies 1-inch apart on prepared baking sheets (sliced side up). Sprinkle with more granulated if desired.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Allow rugelach to cool on baking sheets for 15 minutes before removing from the baking sheets.

~*~
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Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
(adapted from Bon Appétit December 2004 )
(makes about 30)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
5 ounces (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup high-quality white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

Preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and oats and stir until just combined. Stir in both chocolates and the cranberries.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until edges are light brown about 16 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

0 Pecan Pie in the Sky

Pecan pie is a fairly sweet pie and rightly so. But I don't like pecan pie when it's overly sweet. I know that "overly sweet" is subjective, but I wanted to craft this recipe to my family's tastes. Instead of using one cup (8 fluid ounces) of corn syrup (which is the amount that most recipes for a 9-inch pie seem to require), I cut back on the corn syrup and I even replaced some volume with maple syrup. When combined with the corn syrup, the maple syrup adds a very subtle yet different dimension of sweetness to the pie. Whole pecans are really stunning and pretty in a pecan pie, but I like using chopped pecans since I have difficulty cutting nice pie wedges when I use whole pecans. I have to say that making the filling is as easy as pie. I know, bad pun, but it had to be said.



Maple Pecan Pie
(makes one 9-inch pie)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
One 9-inch pie shell, pre-baked as directed below*

*Flaky Pie Dough
(makes enough dough for two 9-inch pies)

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice water
1/2 tsp vinegar

Cut the butter into tiny cubes and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Sift flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer. Place bowl of dry ingredients in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove butter and mixer bowl with dry ingredients from the freezer. Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix on low for 2-3 minutes until the butter is the size of peas. Combine ice water and vinegar and add to dough. Mix until dough just comes together, about 20 seconds.

Gather dough and divide into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour (and up to 3 days).

Take out one disk of chilled dough. Save the other disk for another use. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick and 2-3 inches larger than the pie pan. Transfer dough carefully to a 9-inch pan. Let the pie shell rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes (and up to 1 day) before baking.

Preheat oven to 375F. Blind bake the pie shell by lining with parchment or buttered foil. Fill the parchment/foil lined shell with pie weights.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375F. Remove parchment and pie weights. Continue baking for 10 minutes more until light golden. Set pie shell aside on a baking sheet while you make the filling. Decrease oven temperature to 350F.

To make pie filling

Whisk brown sugar and eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in corn syrup and maple syrup. Mix in melted butter, vanilla and salt. Mix in chopped pecans. Pour filling into pie shell.

Bake at 350F until the sides of the filling are slightly puffed but the center is still a bit "sunken", about 35 to 45 minutes.

Allow pie to cool on a wire rack. Serve pie slightly warm or at room temperature.

0 You Say Potato

The lovely Tanna of My Kitchen In Half Cups has been baking bread for many years and definitely considers herself more of a savory instead of a sweet baker. So it's no surprise that she decided on a savory bread recipe for November's Daring Baker challenge. The tender potato bread she chose is a refreshing change from the egg, cream, chocolate, butter, and sugar laden recipes used for past challenges. It's nice to mix it up since baking involves both the sweet and the savory. Before I joined the Daring Bakers I had never used yeast in my baking. Although I've only used yeast 3 times (and all happen to be for past DB challenges - bagels, cinnamon buns, and now potato bread) I'm very happy to say that I am no longer afraid of yeast.



As scientific as baking can be, baking can sometimes also rely on intuition. Visual or tactile cues can help a baker determine whether it looks or feels right. I know when flour is just incorporated or when whipped egg whites have been folded into a batter enough to be combined but not over combined. Intuition was definitely needed with the potato bread.

The original recipe for the tender potato bread from "Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid gave slightly vague quantities of potatoes and flour. "4 medium to large floury potatoes" really means nothing to me as potato sizes can vary widely. I did notice in another recipe in the same book that they called for 3 medium floury potatoes which they said was about 1 pound of potatoes. From this I assumed that one medium potato would weigh about 1/3 pound. But the ever helpful Tanna suggested that bread beginners use no more than 1/2 pound and advanced bread bakers use no more than 1 pound of potatoes. I ended up using a russet potato that weighed 14 ounces before I peeled it.

The recipe also called for 6.5 to 8.5 cups all-purpose flour. I've learned that the amount of flour needed for making bread dough can vary depending on many factors including but not limited to the weather, brand of flour, protein content of flour or a vague amount of potato. The dough will tell you when it's had enough flour. See what I mean by intuition? Since I'm still a bread novice and haven't fully developed my bread intuition yet, Tanna told us that the dough is ready when it's smooth and soft and still just a little sticky. Instead of measuring out 8.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, I combined 6.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour with 2 cups white wheat flour for a total of 8.5 cups. (According to King Arthur Flour, it's okay to substitute about a third of all-purpose flour with their white wheat flour.) I ended up using about 7.5 cups of the 8.5 cups for my dough.



Tanna gave us the freedom to shape our bread dough any way we liked. I ended up making one 8.5 x 4.5 inch pan loaf, one 10x15 inch flatbread, two 3x5 inch pan loaves (one plain, one swirled with parmesan cheese). I adjusted my baking times as necessary but I wrote the recipe with the original sizes, shapes and baking times.

The bread turned out as tender as its name implied. The crumb of the loaves was tight and even. The flatbread had those irregular random air pockets that I associate with artisan bread. I thought the large and miniature loaves were a bit plain, but the one with parmesan was a bit more flavorful. My overall favorite was the flatbread. I brushed the top of the flatbread with some herb and caramelized shallot compound butter leftover from Thanksgiving and then generously sprinkled it with coarse sea salt.




A big warm virtual hug to Tanna for picking a great recipe that helped to expand my horizons and helped me gain more confidence when working with yeast. And thanks to all the wonderful Daring Bakers who shared helpful bread making tips. Our membership grows with every passing month. I really love being part of the Daring Bakers.




Tender Potato Bread
From "Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World"
by Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid
(Makes one 9x5 inch pan loaf and something more. Something more = one 10x15 inch flatbread or 12 soft dinner rolls or one small loaf.)

For the bread:
8 to 16 ounces floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cups water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6.5 cups to 8.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 cup whole wheat flour

For the toppings:
For loaves and rolls: melted butter (optional)
For flatbread: olive oil, coarse salt, and herbs (optional)

Instructions:
Put the potatoes and the 4 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook, half covered, until the potatoes are very tender.
Drain the potatoes, SAVE THE POTATO WATER, and mash the potatoes well.

Measure out 3 cups of the reserved potato water (add extra water if needed to make 3 cups). Place the water and mashed potatoes in the bowl you plan to mix the bread in – directions will be for by hand. Let cool to lukewarm – stir well before testing the temperature – it should feel barely warm to your hand. You should be able to submerge you hand in the mix and not be uncomfortable.

Mix dough by hand (Tanna said no stand mixers were allowed for this challenge):

Mix and stir yeast into cooled potato water and mashed potatoes and let stand 5 minutes. Then stir in 2 cups all-purpose flour and allow to rest several minutes. Sprinkle on the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter; mix well. Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour, stir briefly. Add 2.5 to 3 more cups of all-purpose flour and stir until the flour has been incorporated. At this point you will have used 4.5 to 5 cups of all-purpose flour.

The dough will be a sticky mess. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, incorporating more of the all-purpose flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will be very sticky to begin with, but as it takes up more flour from the kneading surface, it will become easier to handle; use a dough scraper to keep your surface clean. The kneaded dough will still be very soft. When the dough is soft and smooth and not too sticky, it’s probably ready.

Place the dough in a large clean bowl or your rising container of choice, cover with plastic wrap or lid, and let rise about 2 hours or until doubled in volume. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead gently several minutes. It will be moist and a little sticky. Divide the dough into 2 unequal pieces in a proportion of one-third and two-thirds (one will be twice as large as the other). Place the smaller piece to one side and cover loosely.

Shape the large 9x5 inch loaf with the larger piece of dough:

Butter a 9X5 inch loaf/bread pan. Flatten the larger piece of dough on the floured surface to an approximate 12 x 8 inch oval, and then roll it up from a narrow end to form a loaf. Pinch the seam closed and gently place seam side down in the buttered pan. The dough should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled in volume.

Pick one shape for the remaining dough:

Shape the small loaf: Butter an 8 x 4 inch loaf/bread pan. Shape and proof the loaf the same way as the large loaf.

OR

Shape the rolls: Butter a 13 x 9 inch sheet cake pan or a shallow cake pan. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball under the palm of your floured hand and place on the baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch between the balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 35 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled.

OR

Shape the flatbread: Flatten out the dough to a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches with your palms and fingertips. Tear off a piece of parchment paper or wax paper a little longer than the dough and dust it generously with flour. Transfer the flatbread to the paper. Brush the top of the dough generously with olive oil, sprinkle on a little coarse sea salt, as well as some rosemary leaves, if you wish and then finally dimple all over with your fingertips. Cover with plastic and let rise for 20 minutes.

Baking instructions:

Place a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles, if you have them, if not use a baking/sheet (no edge – you want to be able to slide the shaped dough on the parchment paper onto the stone or baking sheet and an edge complicates things). Place the stone or cookie sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Bake the flatbread before you bake the loaf; bake the rolls at the same time as the loaf.

If making flatbread, just before baking, dimple the bread all over again with your fingertips. Leaving it on the paper, transfer to the hot baking stone, tiles or baking sheet. Bake flatbread until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack (remove paper) and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Dust risen loaves and rolls with a little all-purpose flour or lightly brush the tops with a little melted butter or olive oil (the butter will give a golden/browned crust). Slash loaves crosswise two or three times with a razor blade or very sharp knife and immediately place on the stone, tiles or baking sheet in the oven. Place the rolls next to the loaf in the oven.

Bake rolls until golden, about 30 minutes.

Bake the small loaf for about 40 minutes.

Bake the large loaf for about 50 minutes.

Transfer the rolls to a rack when done to cool. When the loaf or loaves have baked for the specified time, remove from the pans and place back on the stone, tiles or baking sheet for another 5 to 10 minutes. The corners should be firm when pinched and the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Let breads cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Rolls can be served warm or at room temperature.




cheese swirl

0 Another Raspberry Something

I don't know what's up with my thing for raspberries lately. It's almost Thanksgiving and I'm still using a summer berry. I try to buy seasonal and local produce whenever I can and I'll admit that occasional cravings will override my good intentions. Raspberries should be out of season, but the container says they're from California. Even so, I felt slightly guilty for buying them. Just because they can grow them during the off season doesn't mean that they'll actually taste good. This was definitely the case with these raspberries. They looked good but they turned out to be bland. So instead of tossing them into the compost bin, I used them in these quick and easy cream cheese muffins. Right before adding them to my muffin batter I sprinkled a bit of sugar over my raspberries to add a bit of sweetness. I normally use a dollop of fruit preserves to top the muffins, but any fresh or frozen fruit will work just as well.

On a separate note, I want to apologize for my lack of posting lately. I haven't really been baking much during the last couple weeks. I spent most of this weekend preparing for Thanksgiving. Deciding on the menu, cleaning the house, washing the platters, serving bowls, and fancy glasses. I've done most of my grocery shopping and I just need to pickup the turkey and some sourdough bread for stuffing. I made a gigantic vat of turkey stock, a "scarborough fair" herb shallot butter for my turkey and a chunky cranberry sauce. The cheeses have been grated for the spinach gratin and I also made enough pie dough for my pecan tart and pumpkin pie. I still haven't decided if I'm going to make a third dessert. I'll see how I'm feeling later in the week. I still have a lot of chopping, slicing, brining, cooking and baking until T-day so I'll leave you now with a wish for a wonderful Thanksgiving! Have a happy and healthy one!



Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins
(adapted from Better Homes and Garden Nov 1997)
(makes 24)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened at room temp
4 ounces (8tbsp/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
10 ounces raspberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 24 (approximately 3.5 fluid ounce capacity) muffin wells (or use paper cupcake liners).

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat 1 minute.

On low speed, add half of flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Mix in milk and then add remaining flour. Mix until just combined.

Divide batter among prepared muffin wells. Place 3 or 4 raspberries on top of each. (If your raspberries are not sweet enough, toss them with a bit of sugar before using.)

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Cool. If desired, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

0 Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Every once in a while someone shares a recipe with me hoping that I will make it. I'm more than happy to do so because sometimes it's tough for me to decide what to bake. When there are too many recipes to choose from I can become paralyzed by indecision and end up baking nothing at all. So I'm more than happy when the decision is made for me. This is especially true when it's a recipe I would normally not pick by myself. Like with the Daring Bakers challenges, it's a nice break from my usual M.O. and a great opportunity to break out of my baking box. I always enjoy the experience and always learn something new.

My coworker WW mentioned that he saw a pumpkin chiffon pie in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living and was taken by the jewel like strands of candied pumpkin atop the pie. He searched Martha's website for the pie recipe but came up empty handed. So he purchased the magazine and asked if I would try my hand at making the pies. I was definitely up for the challenge.

I've made many pumpkin pies before but never a pumpkin chiffon pie. Just like a chiffon cake is supposed to be light and airy, I guessed that a chiffon pie should have a light and airy filling. In this case, the filling is a pumpkin pastry cream which is lightened with a meringue (basically egg whites beaten with sugar) and set with the help of some gelatin. The filling was pretty delicious and very different from the usual pumpkin pie filling, but I found it a tad on the sweet side and not particularly pumpkiny. I would probably decrease the amount of sugar in the filling if I make it again.

The crust was simply commercial gingersnaps blitzed in a food processor with some sugar and butter to hold it all together. This was the first time I've ever bought Nabisco brand gingersnaps. I tried one straight from the box and didn't really like it. I expected the gingersnap to be crisp but it just seemed hard. I hoped that the crust would taste better than the gingersnap itself. The crust did taste pretty good when filled. The gingersnap crust provided textural contrast to the fluffy filling but maybe too much of a contrast. In the future I might try using those thin ginger cookies that you can buy at Ikea instead.



The garnish was fun to make. I didn't have a sugar pie pumpkin but I did have a sweet dumpling squash. It was pretty easy to shave thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler and it was just as easy to candy them in the syrup. I only had a black and white copy of the recipe and photos from the magazine and I thought I messed up since my candied squash ribbons didn't turn out bright orange like I imagined they would be. Mine were more like a greenish tinged yellow. But when I presented my finished pies to WW he said that they looked just like in the magazine. The garnish was a nice finishing touch. Before laying the candied squash ribbons on my chiffon pie, I dabbed the ribbons with a clean towel to take of any excess syrup.

Even though I love the Martha, my success rate with her recipes has been 50/50. But despite the tiny issues I mentioned, I still must count this pumpkin chiffon pie in the win column. So thank you Martha and thank you WW for your wonderful suggestion.



Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
(adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine October 2007)
(makes six 5-inch pies)

Crust
34 gingersnaps*, coarsely broken
(*I used Nabisco brand gingersnaps)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 envelope (1 scant tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Garnish
1/4 small sugar pumpkin or another sweet hard squash*, peeled
(*I used a sweet dumpling squash)
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 piece (2 inches long by 1 inch wide) peeled fresh ginger, sliced 1/4 inch thick

To make the crust

Preheat oven to 350F. Grind gingersnaps, sugar and salt in the food processor until finely ground. Add melted butter and process until combined.

Divide crumbs among six 5-inch pie plates, pressing into the bottom and up the sides. Bake until slightly darkened and firm, about 11 to 13 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes. Using an offset spatula, carefully remove crusts from pie plates and cool completely before filling. (Since I had to transport my pies to the office, I kept my pie shells in the pie plate.) Crusts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

To make the filling

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.

Combine pumpkin, egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, milk, salt and spices in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, about 8 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin mixture until completely dissolved. (At this point I strained my pumpkin mixture to catch any lumps. Apparently my strainer's mesh was too fine and it took a while for the mixture to make its way through the mesh. But I wanted to make sure it was lump free.) Let mixture cool completely.

Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Whisk one-third of beaten egg whites into cooled pumpkin mixture. Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon into pie shells and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. (I refrigerated my pies overnight and they seemed okay.)

To make the garnish

Using a vegetable peeler, shave pumpkin into thin, wide ribbons. Bring water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and ginger to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add pumpkin ribbons and reduce heat. Simmer gently until tender and translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and cool completely. Garnish can stand at room temperature for up to 3 hours. (I put mine in the refrigerator overnight before garnishing the pies.)