Yogurt Berry Bread

Whipped up this delightfully fruity bread for sharing with my co-workers on a night shift. Seriously, night shifts will be the end of me... don't get me wrong, I love them. But for some reason I always end up working with people who seriously love to order take-aways to gnosh on through the 12 hour shift. I tried to be all healthy by bringing this yogurt berry loaf, but then we all ended up pitching in for pizza, someone brought chips, another person brought brownies and someone else brought pop... o_O But anyways, here's the recipe for my somewhat "healthy" contribution to the food fair.

Yogurt Berry Bread

Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 egg

- 1 1/4 cup sugar

- 100g of your favorite yogurt

- 1/3 cup margarine

- 1/4 cup milk

- 1/2 cup berries

Method:

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and margarine until fluffy. Add in the egg, mixing until well combined; then, add in the yogurt.

3. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Now alternate with 1/2 of the milk.

4. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, alternate again with the milk and finish off with the remaining dry ingredients. Add in the berries and continue mixing thoroughly.

5. Pour into a prepared rectangular loaf pan and bake at 350degrees for 45-60minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

I had to make this challenge early, because guess what? I'm going on another little trip. Yup, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, as one of my friends asked me if I wanted to go with her to Las Vegas. After my trip to London, I realized that these little getaways were just what I needed to stay refreshed and not feel completely over-worked... so I said yes, and now I'm packing for the flight that leaves on the 27th. Vegas for 5 days!! WOHOO!! But now, on to the recipe.

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.

Filled Meringue Coffee Cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

- 4 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dried yeast
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature

For the filling:

- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate

For the meringue:

- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ cup sugar

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

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

2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and butter is just melted.

3. 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.

4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface 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.

5. Place the dough in a lightly greased 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 mins.

Prepare your filling:

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

Make the meringue:
1. Do this once the dough has doubled. In a clean mixing bowl 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:

1. Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. 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 rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch 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).

3. 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.

4. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inchintervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

5. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

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

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

8. 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.

9. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

10. Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

This recipe is definitely a winner! It was ooey-gooey, chocolatey and moist. I have a serious addiction to bread, and since this recipe allowed for me to practice baking with yeast and improve my bread making skills I was very happy to whip this up. All in all, this Daring Bakers' Challenge was pretty easy to complete, and a perfect light snack for tea.

Daring Baker's Challenge: December 2010 - Stollen Wreath

I know it's been a while since my last post... a month to be exact, but don't worry, I'm still alive and kicking! I've just gotten a bit distracted by another blogging side-project. Tumblr's got a hold of me and while I haven't been posting a lot of my baking adventures, if you check out my Tumblr blog (www.silverrock.tumblr.com) you can take a peak into my other obsessions.

But, even though I haven't been blogging recipes recently, I will always do my best to keep up to date with the Daring Baker Challenges. So, here's my Stollen Wreath for December's challenge.

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.

Stollen Wreath

Ingredients:
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract or orange extract
- ¾ cup mixed peel
- 1 cup firmly packed raisins (I substituted 1/2 a cup with cranberries)
- 3 tbsp rum
- 12 red glacé cherries (chopped) for color & taste (optional)
- 1 cup flaked almonds (I didn't use these, as my sister is allergic)
- Melted unsalted butter for coating
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Method:
1. In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside.
2. Pour ¼ cup warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
3. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 10 tbsp butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
4. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.
5. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
6. Then stir in 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. 7. Add in mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with hands to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries, if using. Be delicate or your dough will turn red
8. Sprinkle flour on counter, transfer dough to the counter, and begin kneading to distribute the fruit evenly, add additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for ~8 minutes. 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.
9. 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.
10. Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge 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
11. Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly. 12. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
13. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
14. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches and ¼ inch thick.
15. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.
16. 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. 17. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.
18. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
19. Proof for ~2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
20. 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. 21. Transfer to a cooling rack; brush the top with melted butter while hot
22. Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sifter.
23. Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over-top.
24. The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
25. Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar 3 times, since the many coatings help keep the stollen fresh.
26. When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.

This recipe was challenging for me, as I'm not that gifted when it comes to baking with yeast. As my regular readers may know, yeast and I do not get along very well... we're fair-weather friends, one might say. But thanks to my patience and sticking to the recipe to a "t", I was able to produce a Stollen Wreath which I was most proud of sharing with my family and friends for a Christmas potluck. The wreath was wonderfully moist and sweet, thanks to the many layers of butter and icing sugar, and it was the perfect addition to our holiday banquet. I will definitely be making this recipe again, come next winter-time.

Irish Soda Bread Take 2

Having already made Irish Soda Bread (and having loved it the last time), I thought I'd try a different recipe to revive the ol' classic. I made the soda bread to go a long with a stew that my dad had prepared for me and brought over to my place... I don't know what could have given him the impression that I don't do home cooking when living on my own (doesn't he read my blog?? or is that too "new agey" for his generation?) but the stew was a welcomed surprise.

Anywho, on with the bread! I love Irish Soda Bread because it's delicious, easy, only uses a few ingredients and you can not screw it up. So, here's the recipe...

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup buttermilk (or 2% + 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar, left to sit for ~10mins)
- 2 tbsp mixed grains (optional)

Method:
1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl.
2. Using a pastry cutter, or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Continue breaking up the butter until you get pea-sized chunks.
3. Working with the dough as little as possible, add the buttermilk into the dry ingredients.
4. Shape the dough into a rough ball and place on a greased baking tray. Flatten the dough slightly, dust the top with the mixed grains and score the top of the dough with a knife.
5. Bake at 350degrees for 35-40minutes, or until golden brown.

This was such an amazing bread. Really quick, and really simple to conjure up. I think that from start to finish, the entire bread only took about 45minutes to create (including baking time!). I almost didn't even need to eat the bread with the stew, but the smell of my dad's stew was just too alluring to pass up. So, with an amazing comfort-food meal of soda bread and stew... my evening was complete.

Welsh Rarebit

Again, thanks to my new found obsession with the show Come Dine With Me I've gotten a hankering for some not-so-Canadian dishes. Not that I'll be cooking anything like Laverbread, skirly, Howtowdie wi Dappit Eggs and Tatties or any black pudding (at least not anytime soon), but I did find myself craving some Welsh Rarebit. The ingredients were on-hand in my kitchen and the recipe didn't seem too labor intensive or complicated for a quick afternoon snack, so... off I went.

Welsh Rarebit

Ingredients:

- 6 slices of French bread

- 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste

- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tsp mustard powder

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 cup butter

- 3 tbsp flour

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (I only had marble)

- 1/3 cup dark ale (I used Guinness)

- 1/2 cup milk

- chopped spring onion (optional)

Method:

1. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and fry garlic until golden brown and fragrant.
2. Add in the flour and mix over medium heat to form a roux.

3. Slowly pour in the dark ale, and continue to mix until well combined. Then, slowly add in the milk and cook over medium until mixture begins to thicken.

4. Add in nutmeg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt to taste. Continue mixing, and add in the cheese. Stir sauce until cheese is well melted and mixture is nice and thick.

5. Place slices of French bread on a baking tray; spread cheese-ale sauce over top of slices and place tray in the oven. Set oven to broil and cook until cheese topping bubbles and browns, and French bread begins to brown.

6. Optional: Serve rarebit topped with a garnish of chopped spring onions.

The Guinness flavor was really strong in the rarebit, but boy was it tasty. Man! The Brits really know how to eat their toast! I mean, toast and beans, toast and eggs, toast and cheese... all sound uber-tasty to me but I've never seen it served as a snack food in Canada. I will definitely be making this recipe again, I just gotta go out and buy more ale... I finished off the last can of Guinness, because hey... what else could I do since my recipe only called for 1/3 cup of the malty, creamy nectar?! (Did I mention that Guinness is my favorite draught... probably why it was the ale that ended up in my rarebit)... uh, oh... gotta sober up before work :P jkjk

Panda-ish Bread

I've actually had this recipe saved on my computer for the longest time and just hadn't gotten around to making it because I was far to inexperienced with bread to even attempt to look at the recipe :P However, now that I've purchased a bread machine I'm a little less fearful of yeast baked goods and so I decided to give this panda bread a shot.

I used the recipe from Do What I Like and followed it to a "T", except for the major oopsie I did with the arrangement of the dough pieces. I don't quite know what I was thinking, but for some reason I thought I would put a slab of green dough in between the eyes (why a panda would have a random blob of green between its eyes, I don't quite know). Maybe I was tired, and it looked right at the time... I should probably be getting more sleep T_T. I actually realized the mistake after I had placed the final section of white dough around the green slab and the eyes, but by that time it was too late to fix my mistake... the dough was quite sticky and I couldn't fix the panda's face without mangling his eyes. So, I left it and thought "how bad could it turn out?"

My irreversible mistake!!! I think I thought I did it right b/c I was distracted by how cute the bread looked... kinda like a leaf on the panda's face.

Having to live with my mistake and finish the bread... at least it still looks kinda cute.

After I sliced it... I realized how unpanda-like it looked :(

Well, the answer is pretty badly... the panda no longer looked like a panda; even as I tried to pass it off as the daikon panda from Nerima (see picture below) by sister still thought it just looked like random swirls in a loaf of bread.


Dang-it!!?! Oh well, at least I attempted something so ambitious... maybe I'll try this recipe again in the future, and be more careful about how I arrange the dough.

Wheat-stalk Shaped Bread

I've always loved attempting to make something that I'd never tried before, and shaping bread simply reminds me of playing with play-doh in pre-school! It's so therapeutic and relaxing, and you can eat the end-product :P So, for dinner yesterday I decided to bake up a loaf of bread using my favorite dinner-roll recipe and slathering on an herbed egg-wash just to give it an extra little kick.

Dinner Roll Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp butter or margarine
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Egg wash Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp each: dried thyme, rosemary and parsley

Method:
1. Place ingredients into bread machine in order listed.
2. Set the machine on the "dough" setting and press start.
3. Once complete, remove the dough from machine. Cover with a large bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. On a floured surface, shape the dough into the "wheat-stalk". This is done by working the dough into a long, thin baguette shape and then taking a pair of sharp scissors to into the dough at 45degree angles roughly 1.5-2 inches apart (making sure not to slice through the dough).
5. Push the consecutive sections of dough in opposite directions; i.e. one piece goes left and the next piece goes to the right.
6. Place shaped dough on a baking sheet that is covered in a single-layer of cornmeal (to prevent the bread from sticking). Cover and let rise for 30-45minutes.


7. Prepare eggwash by beating all the ingredients together. Once bread is risen, coat liberally with egg wash.


8. Prepare oven by placing 1 cup of water in a broiler-pan on the lower-rack. Place loaf on the middle-rack of the oven and bake at 350degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

I really enjoyed the taste of this mildly sweet bread. The outside was a little less "crunchy" than I would have liked, but other than that it was a very nice way to serve dinner rolls. The bread was nice and fluffy and almost didn't need any butter because of the wonderful flavor that the herbed egg wash imparted. The wheat-stalk shape was really fun to make, and gave off the impression that it would have taken a lot of effort to prepare. It's a great way to impress when wanting to show off your culinary skills.

Fruitcake Bread

Well, I've been meaning to use up this can of mixed fruit peel that's been in my fridge for the past 3 months. Why did I buy it? Well... it's pretty much the age-old habit of buy it because it's being cleared by the supermarket because nobody wants to buy it... meaning that it's a great value! But, I couldn't think about what to do with it besides nibble at it piece by piece (hehehe... yeah, I have a very strong sweet-tooth). Finally, after 3 months of pondering (or being so stressed out with school that my mind just wasn't thinking straight), I remembered how much I use to love hot-cross buns. So, I decided to use a hot-cross bun recipe to make a loaf because who doesn't love a hot and fresh loaf of fruity bread in the early morning?

Fruitcake Bread
Yields 1 loaf and you still have a bit of dough left over for approximately 3-4 buns!

Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp instant powdered milk
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/8 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup mixed fruit-peel
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg yolk

Method:
1. Put warm water, butter, skim milk powder, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, egg white, flour, and yeast in bread maker and start on dough program.
2. When 5 minutes of kneading remain, add fruit-peel and cinnamon. Leave in machine until double.
3. Punch down on floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes.
4. Shape into log, and place enough dough into a greased loaf pan. Whatever dough is left over can be shaped into little buns. Cover loaf and buns and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 35-40 mins)
5. Mix egg yolk and 2 tbsp water. Brush on top of loaf and buns.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

Sadly, I didn't remember to place the fruit-peel in the machine when 5 minutes of kneading were left. I thought actually placed the mixed peel in the machine when 5 minutes of rising were left, so the peel didn't become very well incorporated into the dough. The result was a loaf that had speckles of fruit-peel along the edges of the loaf and buns. Other than that, I would say that the loaf was pretty much a success. Although I may have handled the dough too much after the first rise in the machine, causing the loaf to be a little less raised than I would have liked, the texture of the bread was very soft and delicate. The fruit-peel added a nice sweetness to a regular old white loaf, and the crust was perfectly crusted. The important thing to remember with this recipe is that you must grease the pan well... otherwise you'll end up with some of pieces of loaf getting stuck and simply ripping off because the bread is so delicate. I might attempt making this recipe again, but in the hot-cross bun form... that way I get to make those pretty little crosses on the top of some cute little buns :)

Using the bread machine to make PIZZA!

Lately I've been seriously craving pizza. I normally enjoy trying out new pizzerias in my area, in search of that perfect crust+topping combination (that reminds me, I'll have to post some reviews for my local pizza shops) but being kind of broke and too lazy to drive out in search for the perfect pizza I decided that I'd make it myself. Now, you may be saying to yourself... "if you're too lazy to drive and buy pizza, how are you possibly un-lazy enough to spend time making your own pizza". Well, my first response would be... I am so dangerously addicted to baking and cooking that I don't even see it as work, and it actually invigorates me... and gives me more energy to power on through the rest of the day. Weird eh? And my second response would be... I have a bread machine to do most of the hard work for me! Yeah!

After my bread machine pumped out some amazingly tasty sticky-buns, I was ready to try making something on the more savory side. I was ready to find out how the machine would fair in making a pizza crust... and it did not disappoint.

Homemade Bread Machine-Assisted Pizza
Yields 2 pizza crusts

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water (warm at around 90F)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 1/4 cup bread flour (I used 3 1/4 cups AP flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour)
- 2 tsp active dry yeast

Method:
1. Measure ingredients into bread pan, in order listed
2. Select DOUGH setting.
3. Press START
4. Wait for bread to finish and COMPLETE SIGNAL to sound
5. Remove dough from the pan, place in a large ceramic bowl that has been well greased. Cover bowl with cling-wrap and let dough sit for 10 minutes.
6. Divide dough in half, roll each half into a circle large enough for your 2 pizza pans. Grease the 2 pizza pans with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal.
7. Place one rolled-dough circle onto one pan, pinch edges to make a crust and then top with pizza sauce, cheese and your choice of toppings. Repeat for second rolled-dough circle.
8. Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, or until edges are golden and cheese is bubbling.

This bread machine is a wonder! It made the most fluffy, beautiful smelling and delicious tasting crust I have ever made or tried!

This pizza was designed by my sisters; they enjoyed onions, Italian sausage, Ukrainian sausage, pizza sauce and lots of cheese.

My mom and I designed this pizza. It's an all-veggie one, topped with zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, green olives, tomato sauce and cheese.

My mom and dad really enjoyed the pizza! They were surprised at how much it tasted like an authentic pizza from a classy Italian pizzeria. It tasted much more fresh than those frozen Delissio pizza we usually eat. And since we made the crust ourselves, we were able to put whatever we wanted on the pizza which is always fun! By making our own pizzas, we can guarantee the freshness of ingredients, and also guarantee that no body will be picking topping pieces off of their slice! I'm glad I tried out this recipe, and I think my parents are starting to appreciate the money I put in to buying the bread machine... whew! When you're parents begin to accept that a pricey purchase is truly valuable, that's always a good thing :)

A Bread Machine and Sticky Buns

I have often wondered how some of my favorite bloggers manage to have such great success with baking with yeast... happyhomebaker, dowhatIlike and bakingfiend (see links on the right) always manage to create such beautifully creative, fluffy and perfect loaves of bread... chinese buns and mantou. Oh, how I have been envious of their success with yeast because it seems no matter how hard I try and how decent my breads/buns/pretzels turn out, they're never as fluffy, fragrant or tastey as I would like them to be.

But what's this!?!?

A bread machine!!?! Yes, yes it is... I finally sprung for a bread machine! Yay! I feel like I've been spending a lot of money on random things lately (online shopping, craigslist stuff, baking accessories) but thankfully this bread machine did not cost an arm-and-a-leg. It was actually on sale at Walmart for only $55. When I saw the price, I thought that I had to be dreaming... but once I realized that this amazing deal was calling out to me I decided that I had to buy it. I actually had a discussion with my conscience that went something like...

"You don't have $50 bucks to splurge on a bread machine" "But think about all of the money I'll save by not having to buy bread each week" "--- erm... okay"

(I know, my conscience isn't that great of an arguer :P)

Anyways, the second I brought my bread machine home I was already thinking about different recipes that I wanted to try. But before I could make anything, my conscience spoke to me again and said "read the manual! and don't try anything stupid!" luckily, my erratic mind decided to listen. After reading the manual and inspecting all of the parts for damage I was ready to make something... and I decided to bake STICKY BUNS!

Cranberry Sticky Buns
Yields 12 buns (fits in an 8-inch cake pan)

Ingredients for Dough:
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
21/4 tsp active yeast

Ingredients for Filling:
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp cinnamon (or more if really like cinnamon)
1/3 cup dried cranberries (may substitute raisins)
2 tbsp brown sugar

Ingredients for Glaze:
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup pine nuts (or your favorite crushed nut)

Method:
1. Combine first 8 ingredients in bread machine, as per bread machine instructions. Set cycle to dough.

2. Once dough cycle is complete, remove mixture from the machine and roll to a 9x14inch rectangle.

3. Pour 2 tbsp melted butter on rectangle and spread over the dough evenly; sprinkle on the brown sugar, cinnamon and cranberries.

4. Roll like a Swiss-roll and slice into 1 inch pieces

5. Prepare an 8-inch cake pan with the sticky glaze by adding melted butter, brown sugar and pine nuts to the pan. Mix thoroughly and then arrange the bun slices into the pan. Cover pan with cling wrap and leave to rise for 30-45minutes

6. After rising, bake at 350degrees for 25-30minutes.

7. Remove from oven, invert onto a serving plate and dish out!

This bread machine was amazing! I just had to add all of the ingredients to the machine as it was instructed in the manual and voila! In 1 1/2 hours, I had a beautifully fluffy dough that was ready for me to play with. These buns were very tasty and even rivaled the cinnamon buns from Cinnzeo! I don't think I'll ever by cinnamon buns again :P The only thing I would change would be to not place the buns in such a small pan. Although the bread was sweet and full of flavor, the small pan didn't allow the rolls to expand to their fluffiest potential :( instead, they were forced to stay more dense.

Note: the above picture shows the lovely white rolls and their sad denseness :`(

Oh well, practice makes perfect... and that gives me an excuse to use the bread machine again! Oh... and I forgot to mention, the aroma of fresh dough wafting throughout the house is the most amazing smell in the world!! They should patent that fragrance and sell it as perfume :P

Earl Grey Tea Bread

So, with finals drawing nearer what better way to de-stress than to make some bread?? Bread and .... hmmm, tea! I always like to "chill out" (or is it warm up?) with a nice cup of tea. My favorite by far is earl grey, with jasmine tea coming in a very tight second. If I'm in the mood sometimes I enjoy a nice cup of chai or matcha with a splash of milk, but I generally enjoy my tea straight... no sugar, no milk, no nothing. So in wanting to relax with bread and tea, I decided to be silly and mix the two! I used an old "sweet-bread" recipe that I had used before to make
Melon Pan but when combining the milk and butter in a saucepan (in Step 1), I added in the contents of 2 Earl Grey Tea Bags. As the milk warms up, the tea begins to infuse... at first it doesn't seem like the tea will have any effect on the taste, but as the bread goes through it's proofing process twice, the tea continues to permeate the dough, creating a lovely Earl Grey color, aroma and taste.

Also in variation from the Melon Pan recipe, I did not form the dough into individual rolls. Instead I used a special flower-shaped canape tin (see here) to form my bread. I placed enough dough into the greased+floured tin to fill it 2/3rds of the way (leaving room for expansion) and baked it for 40 minutes. I had some dough left over to make a very, very miniature loaf... good for appetizers at a party or something. I would serve is with some sweet butter or your favorite jam...

What a cute flower-shaped loaf... awww...

Here's the loaf, in it's uncut glory

Anyways... I should probably get back to studying don't you think??

October's Daring Bakers Challenge: BBQ Chicken Pizza

I know I've been silent for a long, long time... but don't count me out of the baking scene just yet. I'm still raring to go and baking up a storm. Today, I just realized that I was way behind on the Daring Baker's Challenge for this month. I don't know how I simply forgot about it, but I wasn't about to let the challenge pass me by. I decided to make pizza for lunch this afternoon and the daring baker's recipe turned out splendid! Anywho, here's the recipe... with my topping of BBQ Chicken and a hodge-podge of veggies. The recipe actually makes a lot of bread dough, and I wasn't sure if everyone else in my family wanted pizza, so I made a couple "special" buns with the excess dough. I'll post the picture of my "special" bun at the end of this post ... kinda forces you to read the entire post eh?! I'm sneaky... "Hey! Don't even think about scrolling to the bottom... I mean it :P"

Basic Pizza Dough

Adapted from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart

Yields 6 (9-inch) pizza crusts

Ingredients:

- 4 1/2 Cups unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled

- 1 3/4 tsp Salt

- 1 tsp instant yeast

- 1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) olive or vegetable oil

- 1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)

- 1 tbsp sugar

- Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE (I did mine in one day!)

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer)

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.

The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Toppings

For my BBQ Chicken Pizza, I used only the best-quality ingredients :P

- Freshly sliced onions

- Freshly diced tomatos

- Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce (Hickory Smoke)

- Oven Roasted Chicken shredded

- Freshly grated, medium-aged cheddar cheese

I must say, I've made my fair share of pizzas before, but this recipe was pretty darn good! I ate up a whole 3 pieces (okay, that may not seem like a lot... but I'm tiny, and have a small stomach). The BBQ sauce was wonderfully tangy, and the chicken was seasoned very nicely (thank you Superstore). The tomatoes added a nice juiciness to the pizza and the onions were baked to perfection, tasting not too strong but still maintaining their crispness.

Yeah! I've completed the DB challenge, just in the nick of time. Oh, and before I forget... here's my "special bun"...

Mmmm... should make a nice quick lunch for tomorrow (that's mayo on top by the way... not a fried white worm :P) Just needs some ketchup, corn and chives and I've got myself a T&T like chinese bun!

Daring Baker's June Challenge: Danish Braid

This was my second Daring Bakers Challenge and I was really excited to see what this month would have in store. Last month's Opera Cake was a very challenging task, and in comparison this month's task didn't seem too daunting... so I pressed on. In fact, I was so eager to complete this challenge that I started and finished it on the day the challenge was originally posted on the DB forum... this was awesome because it meant I could start the month off on a great note, but also sad because it meant I would have to find other good recipes/things to do with the rest of the month.

Anyways, on with the challenge, I was excited that I would be able to put my newly aquired yeast-baking skills to good use (I use to be hopeless with yeast, but now yeast and I have become very good friends :P). I followed the recipe exactly as posted, but seeing as how the braid dough would make enough for 2 braids and the DB recipe only gave one filling option, I was free to play around a bit with the spare braid. So, one of the pastries was filled with the DB apple filling and my experimental pastry was filled with blueberry preserves and cream cheese. Both of them were equally delicious, and my sister who is in love with blueberries really enjoyed the blueberry cream cheese filling.

The Danish Braid

So, this challenge entails making and working with yeasted laminated dough. The original recipe comes from Sherry Yard's "The Secrets of Baking" and is titled "Danish Braid"

Cool To Know:

• Danish dough is in the family of butter-laminated or layered doughs with puff pastry being the ultimate. Danish dough is sweet and is yeast-leavened, however, where as puff pastry is not.

• The process of making Danish dough is less complex than that of puff pastry, but equally as important to achieve best results, and a great starting place to begin to learn about laminated doughs in general.

• Danish dough is extremely versatile, and once made can be used for a variety of baked goods. The possibilities are endless.

Terminology:

• Laminated dough – is layered dough created by sandwiching butter between layers of dough

• Detrempe – ball of dough

• Beurrage – butter block

• Turn – each “fold & roll” of the dough produces a single turn in a 3-step process where the dough is folded exactly like a business letter in 3 columns. Each single turn creates 3 layers with this method.

Baking Notes:

• Use well-chilled ingredients. This includes flour if your kitchen temperature is above 70 degrees F (~ 21 degrees C).

• It is recommended that long, continuous strokes be used to roll the dough rather than short, jerky strokes to make sure the butter block is evenly distributed.

• The 30-minute rest/cooling period for the dough between turns is crucial to re-chill the butter and allow the gluten in the dough to relax.

• Excess flour accumulated on the surface of the dough after turns should be brushed off as pockets of flour can interfere with the rise.

• Yard calls for a “controlled 90 degree F environment” for proofing the constructed braid. Please refer to this chart to assist you in this stage of the challenge:

• When making cuts in the dough for the braid, make sure they are not too long and provide a solid base for the filling.

Additional Resources:

Flickr.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/basmatiheather/935273632/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/haniela/2381828293/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanverus/2112201250/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14537151@N06/2141409184/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64143414@N00/2414102571/

Danish Pastry technique on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg-zXn_YpLI&feature=related

Julia Child: Lessons with Master Chefs http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/meet/ojakangas.html# (Video cut for a Danish Pastry Braid by Beatrice Ojakangas who is the featured baker of the Danish Braid recipe in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.)

The Recipe

DANISH DOUGH (Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough)

Ingredients For the dough (Detrempe)

- 1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

- 1/2 cup whole milk

- 1/3 cup sugar

- Zest of 1 orange, finely grated

- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

- 2 large eggs, chilled

- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

- 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Dough Directions:

1. With standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed.

2. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well.

3. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated.

4. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky.

5. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6. Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk.

7. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.

8. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even.

9. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.

10. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

Butter-block Directions:

1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.

2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING (Makes enough for two braids)

Ingredients
- 4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling Directions:

1. Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. (Fuji apples will be caramelized, but still retain their shape!)
3. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet.
4. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID (Makes enough for 2 large braids)

Ingredients
- 1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
- 2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)
- For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

Braid Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.

3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

This challenge was really quite fun. It didn't take as long as I had thought it would, and the time spent waiting between turns of the butter-block passed by very quickly. The orange zest and the cardammom in the danish dough added a wonderful aroma to a very rich and flakey pastry. Even if there wasn't any filling, I would be content to eat the dough all by itself.

The additional resources really helped with the assembly of the braid. And after looking through the method, and reading about the steps it took no time at all to put the braid together. The puff pastry was nice and flakey and so very buttery. As for the filling, I think I could have chopped the apples into smaller pieces; it may make it easier to fold the braid without having apple chunks pop out. The blueberry-cream cheese filling was very smooth in texture and allowed for the braid to made quite tight, with no filling leakage.

Overall, this challenge was a success. I will definitely be making this recipe again, but will probably half it because two braids was way to much pastry for my family to consume. Hooray for DBers and congrats to all who completed this month's challenge!