Good Friday breakfast

I'm still trying to establish some Easter traditions in our little family across the ocean and Good Friday breakfast is one of them.  Luckily we don't have Friday morning commitments or the non-public-holidayness of the day here in the States might get in our way.

I have managed to perfect my sourdough hot cross bun recipe after another practice batch last weekend and took the ingredients to work yesterday so they would be on their final rise in the fridge in time for breakfast this morning.  I think they were the best batch I've made this year - lots of spice, plenty of raisins and fruit, and ready just when I wanted them to be - but I had some frozen ones from last weekend's batch just in case they didn't work out.  Although I swear by the sourdough method for the flavour and texture of the bread, I haven't established my method enough to the point that I trust it will work when I want it to.  I am very happy with the starter I'm currently using, I hope I can keep it alive.

For a savoury dish I made a Julia Child quiche, sans pastry.  The name she gave the recipe is Quiche Lorraine (cream and bacon quiche) - a traditional French style quiche.  Thank you Mrs. Child for introducing me to cream in my quiche.  The cream made it so light and fluffy, we didn't notice the lack of pastry.  I highly recommend baking your eggs and bacon in a quiche over cooking them on the stove top for breakfast.  It takes longer but it's far less stressful and they've baked together so they are ready simultaneously.  You can also get a large portion of your dishes finished while you wait so your kitchen is relatively tidy while you eat.

Pink grapefruit and tea were lovely accompaniments to this breakfast. 

A great Hot Cross Bun bake-off

It seems hot cross buns have been in the supermarkets back home - probably at a dollar for a packet of six - for a good long time because there have been lots of status updates about them on facebook.  I thought the tradition was to have them on Good Friday but wiki tells me they're generally served during lent.  All I remember from my childhood is Easter eggs were definitely a no-go before Easter Sunday. Regardless, I've been craving them for a while but kept forgetting to prepare the sourdough starter the night before I had some time to bake bread.  Finally I prepared it during a morning when I thought there would be some spare time within the next 48 hours.  Because I am more wary of my starter working, I decided to also bake some dried yeast hot cross buns.  That way I knew there would be some successful buns (dried yeast always rises) and I could compare the two types of breads.  Both recipes called for 1/4 cup of sugar but because I'm still trying to be basically sugar-free, I only put in a teaspoon or two to help encourage the yeast to activate.  

The first photos are the yeast buns, the second are the sour dough buns.  They both rose beautifully and have a soft, yummy looking crumb.  However, we both thought the sourdough buns were better.  Somehow they seem to have more substance to them, with a richer crumb.  The dried yeast ones were so light and fluffy, they were like eating air.  I was surprised as they called for two eggs and twice as much butter.  I'm definitely hooked on sourdough bread - it's the good stuff.  It was very hard for me not to spread a berry jam on the final outcome but I didn't succumb, settling for melty butter instead.

Yeast can be a tricky substance

It looks like marmite is all set to return to New Zealand shelves.  We still have an unopened jar, as well as a jar of vegemite 'just in case'.  I was rationing more than usual as I didn't think I'd be able to get a replacement.  It took a year for the factory to be up and running and then several months to get the yeasts right.  

I've been having difficulty with my yeasts recently too.  I think I got a bit blase about the rising process and have subsequently killed two separate whole wheat sour dough loafs as well as a naan bread.  I think I gave them too much rising time and did the different foldings and restings at inappropriate times.  You leave dough to rise too long, and the yeast dies.  The temperature of the room was probably another factor: too cold and the dough needs a lot longer to rise.  Or maybe I didn't handle the starter properly, allowing it time to activate after aerating it.  Or that I have inadvertently killed the starter.  Mostly, I think I need to go back to following the instructions exactly as they are written because I have been too cocky, expecting myself to remember the stages and times, but not getting them quite right.  It is pretty annoying to spend so much time making bread just to have it go wrong, but I should take it as I always tell my students: we learn best through the mistakes we make. 

Very-special French toast

It was Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday and to celebrate we had some very-special friends over for breakfast.  They're very-special because the girl lives all the way in up-state New York so we only rarely see them together.  That makes all of our friends in NZ and other parts of the country and world very-special too.  Just so you know.

Because they're so very-special, I wanted to make the breakfast a special affair.  I found a lovely recipe in my new book Tartine Bread for delicious French toast designed specifically for that fussy country bread I've been making.  I call it fussy because last time we tried using it for French toast, the egg cooked so that it was like having a fried egg inside bread.  Weird.  I found this horrid concoction so stressful that I had to take some time in our bedroom to myself.  The recipe calls for first sealing the custard mixture and bread with a quick burst on heat on the stove top and then baking it for 30 - 40 minutes.  This gives the base a caramelised, crispy texture while the egg mixture custardises beautifully as it slowly cooks in the oven.  The baking time also takes the stress off kitchen deadlines as everything else can be prepared in the meantime.

We insisted on the favourite NZ combo topping - syrup, banana, and bacon.  Jbird has been given a large bottle - at least a litre (!) of real maple syrup which shone in this meal.  I also threw a few blueberries on top and Jbird sifted icing sugar over everything.  As side dishes we served some mini lemon/poppy seed cupcakes - my current favourite since my birthday - and we chopped up some grapefruit.  We offered plunger coffee and tea.  It was a pretty special breakfast, worthy of any NZ cafe.  And any very-special friends.

A fresh starter, a fresh start

For my birthday, I requested some items to help my sourdough bread endeavour including a dutch oven from Jbird, a bread knife from my sister, and my very own copy of Tartine Bread from Alana.  I totally recommend this book if you want to start baking country bread like a true baker.  

Since my last disgruntled post, I've been developing another sourdough starter.  I made this one from the powdered yeast again.  I figure I will work with that until I can get a natural starter working.  This morning I baked my very first loaf in the dutch oven and it turned out delicious. With a dutch oven, I keep the lid on for half of the baking which allows the loaf to rise in its own steam.  This, along with the heat conducted by the cast iron, replicates a baker's hydrated oven.  After about 20 minutes baking time, the lid is taken off to create the delicious crust.   I wanted to make sure the starter was working so I made a plan white loaf but I will return to trying to perfect my whole wheat loaf next time. 

What do you think?  See the large holes in the crumb?  I should have left it in longer but I had a student here when I was taking it out so I couldn't think about it.  Jbird and I have already demolished nearly half of this loaf. 

A set back

I had a set back with my bread baking endeavour when I threw out my starter (!?).  I feel really mad at myself for doing this.  My primary reason was because I wanted to make a natural one from the yeast found in my kitchen both because I think I'm clever enough to do this and because I've heard that type of starter will last longer.  I also wanted to have it in a smaller container in the fridge.  Unfortunately, it is really cold right now and we're trying to save on electricity by not leaving the heaters on constantly.  Consequently our kitchen is not the ideal spot for a starter to ferment.  After a couple of days of sitting with only some tiny bubbles to show for it, I tried giving it a little boost by sitting it in a warm oven.  Silly me - I didn't preheat the oven thinking I'd just blast the heat for a minute and turn it off.  I got distracted and left the heat on which basically started cooking my starter attempt AND the plastic container started to soften so I had to throw it all out.  

The thing is, the starter I had was working really well and it seemed to be lasting well too.  I should have kept using it until I had a consistent secondary starter all ready to go. In the meantime, I have nothing to use for the loaves of bread I want to bake right now so I'm just going to have to go with a slow rise normal bread.  Very annoying.

A continuation of the sourdough journey

I haven't eaten store bought bread since I last wrote about making sourdough as our staple bread.  Because of my desire to practice and try different recipes, I only make one small loaf at a time, about twice a week.  Unfortunately most recipes call for much larger quantities.  It may seem easy to halve a recipe, but they also call for varying techniques which I don't always notice in time, so I'm often ad libbing what needs doing (with mixed success).  For example, some recipes suggest making a sponge with the starting and leaving it to grow over night, incorporating most of the flour in the morning.  Others suggest combining all of the ingredients to rise overnight.  Or proof as they call it here.  Many call for extra yeast alongside the starter but I'm trying to go without adding any more yeast so I tend to ignore that.  Mostly it works out fine.  I haven't yet been very successful with my whole wheat breads.  They come out a little bit like vogel* and are very delicious toasted, but I would like to see them rise to be as lovely and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside as my white breads.  

There are a few things I forget which I need to try and remember which may help my journey. Salt is at the top of that list.  I don't know how but I often forget to add this to the ingredients, leaving the bread somewhat flavourless.  I also forget to slash the dough before putting it into the oven.  I think it rises better when slashed, and is not likely to gain an empty air bubble which I have seen on occasion.  I forget to spritz the dough with water before (and at least once during) baking.  This adds to the crunchy texture and great crumb.  It's a must.  I am a bit absent minded these days and sometimes forget to follow through with whichever step of rising I'm up to. I left bread rising in the oven over night last night which I had meant to bake yesterday evening.  This only left time for a 40 minute second rise this morning, instead of an hour or two.

My most successful bread so far was a white sweet and buttery brioche.  Light and delicious, I can't get enough of it.

*vogel = a popular take on German bread made in NZ.  Full of holes, and delicious textures.  The butter drips through when toasted.  Missed my many an expatriate Kiwi.  I brought 6 loaves home with me from New Zealand last year thanks to my in-laws.

The start of a journey

I have recently been reading about the health benefits of sourdough and it has become my personal mission to try and bake it myself.  Regularly.  I've made a starter.  I added yeast to mine because I didn't know any better, but a true starter is made with flour that has been fermenting in water.  I think yeast grows in this naturally from your fridge/household.  I figure that the longer I can keep my starter alive, the more natural the yeast will become.

My first loaf was TERRIFIC.  Beautifully holey in the middle and crunchy on the outside.  But it was a white flour recipe - a sure fire way to make sure your bread rises is to use white flour.  I made my second loaf out of only wheat flour and found that it rose very nicely because I left it long enough, but it lacked the texture of my first loaf.  This may be because I forgot to spritz it with water which I have been informed creates the outside crunch and the inside texture - or it may be because I barely used any white flour.  I have my third loaf rising as we speak - it needs 12-15 hours for the first rise.  It's another white bread from a slightly different recipe, but I may turn it into cinnamon and raisin bread when I form the loaf.  I'm really excited about this process, it's the oomph I needed to get myself baking our bread again.

Bagels for lunch

My sister inspired me to bake bagels.  As today was house work day (ugh), I thought it'd be a nice thing to do between mopping floors and dusting surfaces.  Unfortunately, all the online recipes seem to have been written by non-bread makers.  They barely allow time for their dough to rise and do not give consistent boiling and baking times and temperatures.  This meant my attempt today was a lot of guess work.  I've never made bagels before, how do I know what the boiling is going to do?  I have an inkling it helps the dough to rise.  I forgot to add sugar to the water which would've surely put the yeast into a spin of delight.   I'll have to give them a few more tries before I perfect them but today's attempts were chewy and delectable.  I had one with bacon and eggs. 

I guess I was spoiled by Julia Child's excellent teaching skills when I made those croissants last week.  Do any of you have any tips for me?  Or suggestions for what I should make next? 

Part Intuition / Part Guess Work

While living in Bangladesh, I became quite the scone baker.  Good bread was hard to come by so I'd often whip up a batch of scones for a Saturday afternoon treat. I've always used the Edmonds Cookbook recipe but in recent years I haven't been able to bake them without that salty flavour.  As the recipe calls for 6 teaspoons of baking powder, that's not surprising!  I've tried sieving the dry ingredients and giving them a good whipping before cutting in the butter - it's still salty. 

The saltiness is easily disguised with plenty of butter, jam, and whipped cream if you have some.  We got our cream from the German butcher in the Bangladesh days (see this post).  But I felt dissatisfied with this - why should my guests have to pretend the scones are great when they're not?  Here in the States, I've taken to buying biscuits in a can when I find them on sale but they're full of artificial butter and flavourings.  Though they're delicious, I'm dissatisfied with that remedy too. 

As a little girl, I remember having scones which were rumoured to be made with a can of sprite and a cup of full cream.  They left a strong impression on me as the most incredible scones ever: smooth, creamy, and delicious.  I was excited to find somebody who knew the recipe this year, but then I returned to the States, to the land of the 'wrong' flour, so I never made them.  This morning I thought I'd try a little cooking science and I managed to adapt the recipe.  I'm feeling pretty chuffed - they are the same as my hallowed memory.  I didn't add raisins this time because I wanted to get the basic mixture right first, but raisins, or even cranberries, are my favourite addition to make.  I've included the recipes below, for comparison sake.  You'll see that the NZ recipe is much easier because there's already sugar in the sprite and it calls for self raising flour but I never have any of that stuff.

Cream Soda Scones in the USA

Ingredients
1/2 Cup soda water - I didn't have any lemonade

1.5 teaspoons sugar water - I'm not sure why I didn't just put in granulated sugar

1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream - Yes, that is the title used for normal cream here in the States

1.5 tspn baking powder

1/4 tspn cream of tartar - I don't know why I included this, I've just seen it in lots of recipes and thought it might do something good

pinch of salt

1 1/2 Cup flour - I started with 1 cup but needed to add another. I kept it a really sticky batter.

Directions

1. Sift dry ingredients

2. Gently fold in wet ingredients

3. Plonk onto tray  - You never want to touch your scones too much, they'll turn out dry

4. Cut as best

4. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 + minutes. Should make about 7.

Compared to the:
Lemonade Cream Scones in New Zealand

Ingredients

4 Cups self raising flour

300 ml cream

one can lemonade/sprite

pinch of salt

Follow the directions as above, except there's no need to sift the dry ingredients, and you'll need 220 degrees Celsius. Should make about a dozen.

Baking Croissants

Would you like to know the difference between baking an ordinary white loaf of bread and baking croissants?  According to Julia Child, it's a stick of butter (112 grams), excessive amounts of resting time, and a special rolling/folding technique.  My romantic notion of baking my own croissants and having them fresh for lunch, stuffed with ham and cheese, was soon forgotten.  They took me the entire afternoon.

 I found The French Chef Cookbook at a book fair, and have her dvd set.  Though I find many of her recipes too rich and impractical for every day use, it's fun to watch her and then try that recipe when I feel like I'm up for some kitchen entertainment.

I didn't follow her exact resting/proofing times as I was impatient.  Despite this, it took me 5 hours.  I enjoyed allowing myself to wallow in smashing and mashing up the butter with the rolling pin, and my palm.  To spread the butter through the dough, she folds and rolls, folds and rolls, rests the dough.  And then does the same again.  The result is 82 layers of dough and 81 layers of butter.  

How do I express my delight at the end product?  After two years of making croissants out of the can or buying them at the super market (both of which use vegetable oil), these were infinitely better.  Light, buttery, delicious, fresh.  I've put half of them in the freezer, not yet baked, to enjoy hot from the oven one day for breakfast with Jbird.  What a treat!  I put some ham and cheese into a couple.  Unfortunately I have a tendency to snack on our chocolate chips so I was out of luck for making chocolate ones this time.

What a delight to have the time to indulge. 

Slow cooker goodness: yum yum yum

Because we bought the slow cooker in the summer, I may have overdone it a bit in those hot months and almost forgot to use it for its intended purpose - warm soul food, a must for the winter.  I pulled it out this week, when I was feeling particularly lackadaisical about cooking and it has revived our evening meals.  Thick, juicy beef stew, beef and bean chili con carne (or simply 'chili' as we call it here), and chicken tikka masala.  A yummy, hearty meal which smells divine while it is slowly cooking and then is always ready without much fuss.  With only two of us, it always stretches to at least two meals.  

I'm going to go and make some corn bread for tonight's chili.  My stomach is growling at the prospect.

Christmas = Food

After a day of barely anything: mulching around, dinner at friends; today is pre-Christmas baking day.  Soph’s on Christmas mince pies and I’m making a cherry pie and maybe some focaccia bread.  I’m dieing to make a panettone but that will depend on time and energy.  Perhaps I’ll do it after Christmas.  

Our food on Christmas day has been loosely planned.  Breakfast will be a mighty affair with cinnamon buns, bacon and eggs, coffee, cider, eggnog.  Some of the easy to assemble items for later in the day are the antipasto, brie smothered in croissant pastry.  We’ve got asparagus to wrap and cauliflower with a cheese sauce.  A potato and ham bake.  Pork tenderloin is our meat of choice, it came in a delicious marinade.  We will wash it all down with the pie and spiked apple crisp shooters.

Don’t forget the Christmas fruit cake – this family traditionally starts eating that on Boxing day.  I hope I survive all the eating! 

The Perfect Day

I have had a perfect day.  I did nothing.  I didn't even get out of my p.j.s until our buddy, Morris (of the red peppers) insisted it was my job to run down to the store for booze at 4pm.  Well, it kinda is.  Yet in the nothingness, I baked cookies (we were all out, it was a necessity), crocheted a Chrissie pressie (I'm super excited but my lips are sealed), watched a movie, and had brunch with Jbird aka lover-boy.  Now I'm in a huge hurry to get the focaccia bread in the oven but I had to blog.  So here I am, writing an obligatory blog (it's my first one, give me a break).  Unfortunately, I discovered some buddies from Texas and Canada have been writing a blog and all I want to do is read it.  Bah to that.  Gotta go. xxx

Anyone wanna confirm or deny my use of the Oxford comma?  I lost a grade on my paper because of it (well, actually, because I didn't use it)!  Bah to that too.

Baking Bread

Monday is housework day and to make me feel better about all the housework, it’s also bread baking day.  Baking bread has become one of my all-time favourite things to do.  The obsession stems from that smell when I was a child and mum baked Hot Cross Buns.  I think.  Then I started getting a bit more serious about it when I lived in a third world Asian country and real bread was not available (though many other delights were).  Recently I watched the Julia Child French Chef DVDs and got the tip from her to keep the dough super moist and not knead it quite so much.  So now I follow recipes but I never add as much flour AND I hardly knead it.  My bread is light and fluffy and delicious.  Today I made two loaves of cinnamon raisin bread – a big one and a smallish one.  Needless to say, I have gobbled the small one in less time than it took me to bake it.