sweet dough

Sweet dough takes a long time. Not necessarily to make, but to ferment and relax. It is an enriched dough made with milk and eggs in addition to flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and water. You can make or make variations of challah, brioche, cinnamon rolls, pecan rolls, and the base for creating laminated dough (croissants, Danish). And that is to name just a few.

So, I was excited when I saw that the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, also contained recipes for sweet breads (again, as in bread, not the thymus gland). The recipe for challah was so easy to make, it ferments two hours and then sits in the fridge to relax overnight. Wow!

And then it hit me. The sweet dough I make at work, although it takes longer since I'm usually making it with a minimum of 12 pounds of flour to a max of 36 pounds (which eventually leads to 96 pounds of dough), I also let it ferment for two hours before putting it in the walk-in overnight to relax.

It's the same method.

Sometimes, there are no shortcuts.

And now I am left wondering why it took me so long to figure this out.

Pain grillé français avec le remplissage de Nutella OR Pane tostato francese con il materiale da otturazione di Nutella*

Huh?

I thought I would give it a "fancy" name, but what I am saying in English is here is French Toast with Nutella filling.

What?

Several nights ago I made French toast with my left over rustic bread, then I spread Nutella (my only vice-ha!) over one slice and then topped it with another to make the best sandwich ever. I served it with a vanilla, cinnamon and cayenne spiced yogurt. Well, what I really made for dinner was a dessert, but once in awhile, why not?

Okay, what is Nutella, you may ask?

1. A spreadable mix of roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and chocolate.
2. Originated in Italy in the 1940's during WWII while chocolate was scarce but hazelnuts were not.
3. Expensive (unless you purchase it from Gordon Foods or Cosco)
4. Regardless of the cost, it is worth it.
5. I am completely addicted, and you should be too.

To tell you the truth, I originally didn't understand what the big deal was. And then I tried it. Then I tried it again. Suddenly, I was going through a small jar once a week. Now I buy the super sized version of this marvelous jar of goodness and try to limit myself to eating it once a day.

Perhaps I need to write an ode. No, that would take valuable time away from consuming my favorite snack...then again, it would give me an excuse to eat more of it...?

Anyway, perhaps you should try some and see what you think while I contemplate my ode. I would recommend you first try some on fresh crusty bread that has been slightly warmed. This is still my favorite way to have Nutella. You may wish to melt some (never place jar in microwave; the seal is metal, and if you have any remaining on the jar, there may be sparks in your oven), then pour it over ice cream. Use it as a filling in crepes. And when you finish the jar, dump in some vanilla yogurt and scrape away anything that was stuck to the sides of the bottle. Seriously.

As for the French Toast, I really just made a regular custard base with eggs and vanilla soy milk (heavy cream, 1/2&1/2 or milk work well too, but then add your vanilla). Make sure you have enough eggs for the amount of milk. I go by looks. It needs to be more yellow than off-white. Sprinkle in some cinnamon. Soak your bread, flip it over, soak some more, pull it out, place on a hot skillet, cook until toasty, flip, cook again until toasty, remove, spread on Nutella, place another slice on top, slice into triangles, sprinkle 10x on top, dip into yogurt sauce, and finally, consume. Phew, I need to take a breath. So, did you get all that?

Yogurt Sauce. This was so good. I was a little concerned my 6-year old wouldn't like it since it had some zip to it, but she loved it (unfortunately she doesn't usually share her mother's love for spicy hot food). I was inspired to use flavors of Mexican chocolate. Make sure you measure accurately (I jest).

Vanilla yogurt: 6 oz or whatever
Vietnamese cinnamon: to taste
Cayenne Pepper: to taste, but less than the cinnamon

Mix together.

Like I said, this dinner should have been a dessert, and next time I will serve it as such.

Here, visit http://www.nutellausa.com/index.html for more information AND for a $1.00 coupon.

*And for those who are curious, the first translation is French, the second is Italian. The translations come from a google website specializing in such things.

Pink eggs

There is a significant reason why I have eggs as my background; I just love them!! When I was pregnant and nursing, I would eat them everyday. I would make them every way possible, but my favorite was turning them pink.

Pink? Yes. When I was a kid, my mother would make what she called steamed eggs instead of serving them sunny-side up or over-easy. And by steaming them, you turn the yolk "skin" pink, but not the entire yolk itself. Of course, my brother and I could never remember to ask for them steamed, so we nicknamed them "pink eggs."

Steamed eggs? Never heard of them except maybe in reference to a Chinese dish? Let's take a step back and look at the different kinds of cooking methods.

• Baked
• Shirred (baked in ramekins)
• Quiche (baked in pie/tart shell)
• Sauteed
• Scrambled (sauteed by continuous turning)
• Omelets (left to cook flat, filled & folded)
• Frittatas (open-faced omelet)
• Pan-Fried
• Sunny-side up (not turned)
• Over easy/medium/hard (turned after partially being cooked on one side)
• Basted eggs  (cooked over low heat and basted with hot butter or by adding a small amount of water and then covering the pan, therefore, steaming them.
• In Shell (Simmered)
• Soft/Hard boiled
• Poaching
• Coddled (poaching but inside a ceramic container)

Well there you have it, steamed eggs are the same thing as basted eggs (with water).

Sometimes you can get a pink egg by cooking it over easy or by poaching, but by steaming them you will turn them pink every time (unless you overcook them to hard). And why does the exterior wall of the yolk turn pink? Google hasn't helped me at all here. And neither have my cooking books. AND I still don't know enough about food chemistry. But what I can tell you is how to make a steamed (basted) egg.

1. Heat pan. Lightly spray nonstick coating.
2. Drop in egg, making sure it doesn't break.
3. Pour in hot water, making sure only a modedst amount is used (enough to cover bottom of pan).
4. Cover (ideally with a glass top).
5. Watch until egg turns pink and there isn't any liquid goo (I mean uncooked albumen) around the egg.
6. Remove immediately and eat.

Ever wonder why buttercream tastes like sugared grease? Here is a recipe that doesn't.

Okay, so in my hints and allegations, I refer to Italian buttercream as what changed icing for me, but I haven't given a recipe yet. I now have had a formal request for one. You will find it below, but I must stand on my soapbox first.

It wasn't until I attended baking classes that I understood that there were significant differences in buttercream. I grew up with either 7-minute icing (that is for another entry) or something that came out of a cardboard container from Betty Crocker. My mother knows how to bake (and she an excellent cook), but baking really has never been her thing, so cakes were only made for birthdays, and even then, sometimes those cakes came from the grocery store bakery.

Do you know what is in the icing of most grocery store bakeries? Well, it isn't butter. Vegetable shortening definitely has its purpose, but it isn't in buttercream. And that is why there is a greasy film in your mouth after you consume many such store bought cakes.

Maybe the best way to understand the differences between buttercream icings is to just list the basic ingredients/method.

American (Simple) Buttercream ('cause we Americans like short cuts): Butter and 10x (powdered) sugar. Some individuals will replace the butter with other fats (see above) for convenience but usually for price. Others may add egg whites or meringue powder (powdered egg whites and other ingredients).

Italian Meringue Buttercream: Butter, granulated sugar, egg whites. Sugar cooked to 240 degrees.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Butter, granulated sugar, egg whites. Sugar cooked until dissolved (about 130 degrees)

French Buttercream: Butter, granulated sugar, egg yolks. Sugar cooked to 240 degrees.

As I stated, my favorite is Italian. I know my egg whites are cooked, the texture is light, and flavor is smooth. With Swiss, the concern is that the whites are not necessarily cooked. To get around this, many chefs use pasteurized egg whites or meringue powder. French Buttercream is in its own league by using egg yolks. The result is an incredibly rich and smooth icing (Opera cake, anyone?)

You can make buttercream in advance and just leave it out on the counter. If you are extremely concerned about food safety (I am, but usually just at work), refrigerate it, but make sure to either take it out HOURS in advance and rewhip it, or take 1/4-1/3 of the needed icing and microwave it until very soft (I've even accidentally melted it), and then rewhip it with the colder stuff (This is how we do it at work). If you've made too much, just stick it in a plastic ziplock, flatten it out, and freeze it. I have stacks of different flavors in my freezer the way some people have different kinds of soups. At the same time, if you know you'll be icing again in a week or two, just keep it refrigerated. It will last.

So, I'll get off my soapbox and finally give you the recipe.

Italian Meringue Buttercream:
-Yield: 5 lbs, 5 oz (this makes A LOT)
-All ingredients should be at room temp.

Egg Whites                    14 oz (about 14)
-Place in mixing bowl (ideally a stand mixer w/ a whisk)

Granulated Sugar           1 lb, 11 oz divided
-Place 9 oz in bowl near mixer
-Place remaining 1lb, 2 oz in heavy saucepan with enough water to moisten
-Bring to boil
-Add sugar to whites and begin whipping whites when temp reaches 135 degrees
-Take off burner at softball stage* at 240 degrees
-Immediately pour into whites while eggs are whipping by pouring a steady stream b/w the side of the bowl and the beater. Be careful not to hit the beaters (this could cause sugar lumps).
-Continue beating at medium speed until the whites are cool (touch outside of bowl). The idea is not to melt the butter. At this point, congratulate yourself...you've just made Italian meringue. Now for the butter.

Unsalted butter, softened 2 lbs, 12 oz
-Gradually add the butter to the meringue. Do not change to a paddle attachment.
-When it looks curdled or like cottage cheese, don't give yourself a heart attack. This is part of the normal process; the butter just needs to be incorporated into the meringue. Keep beating it.
-When all the butter is incorporated and it is smooth, add flavoring ingredients as desired.

Ideas:
-Vanilla
-Chocolate (10 oz of melted and cooled bittersweet) Make sure you add vanilla too...the flavors complement each other.
-Lemon or other citrus (zest or extract)
-Coffee (Instant espresso powder or brewed coffee, cooled)
-Any liqueur of your choice (think lemon chiffon cake, Chambord icing, raspberry jam filling)


Have fun! But you are on your own when it comes to decorating. If you're really interested cake decorating, you might want to start at your local Joann's store and Wilton. I also recommend any book by Wendy Kromer (the wedding cake designer for Martha Stewart's books). FYI...I am not a big Martha fan, but Wendy is fantastic!! http://wendykromer.com/

*Ever wonder why it's called soft crack or hard ball when it comes to cooking sugar? Perhaps you can guess, but in a later entry, I will tell you how the legendary Escoffier made caramel.

Should I kill mother*?

I have a problem. I am no longer making sourdough bread because it takes an incredibly long time to make, ferment and proof (especially without a proofer).

So, should I let my mother die? The starter that I raised and fed for the nearly 11 months? It saddens me to even contemplate this.

Of course I shouldn't kill mother. There are two things I can do instead.
1-Freeze her.
2-Find other recipes besides bread.

But maybe I should start from the beginning of my story. Why would anyone even want to create a mother? What is a starter? Why is it called mother? Oh boy, I'm finding that I could write an awful long time about sourdough and starters, but that wasn't my original intention of this entry. Nor do I want to write all night.

What I am going to do is write about my mother's brief history, why I like non-yeasted starters over yeasted starters, why sourdough is still worth the wait and other things you can bake with a sourdough starter.

First, as I already mentioned, a sourdough starter can be made with or without yeast. *It is called a mother because, just like us human mothers, good things come from her. Some bakers also refer to a natural starter as a chef, probably for the same reasons as why it's called mother. The best way to catch wild yeast is to move to San Francisco. Just kidding. However, it is easier to catch wild yeast in a busy kitchen and in warm temperatures. There are four things that are needed to create a starter: water, bread flour, fruit peel or honey, and time.

I made my mother last April for my baking class. The original recipe calls for grapes, but because we didn't have any (nor did we have apple, orange or lemon peels) because Sisco didn't make their delivery, I used grapefruit. The key to remember is to always keep your water and flour weights the same.

Water:           6 oz
Grapes/peel:  3 oz
Bread Flour:  6 oz
-Combine and mix thoroughly
-Place lid tightly or use plastic wrap
-Store a room temp for 24 hours (70-75 degrees)

-Remove grapes

Water:            3 oz
Bread Flour:  3 oz
-Add to starter and mix thoroughly
-Cover and store at room temp another 24 hours

You will need to feed (ideally) mother every three or four days or so (I go a week). Again, remember to always add equal amounts of water and bread flour. Also, never add more than half the total weight. So, if your mother weighs 16 oz, never feed it more than 4 oz of water and 4 oz of flour. Also, the more you feed your mother, the more pungent/flavorful it will be. This is also the reason if you really like a San Francisco sourdough why you would want a natural starter versus a simple starter (yeast). Flavor is also the reason why it is worth the wait. Sourdough is and will always remain my favorite.

However, the downside of making sourdough bread is the reason why I have currently stopped making it. Time. It takes a lot more time to make since the dough lacks the amount of yeast other recipes require.
And I don't have the inclination to create a homemade proofer (cardboard box, rack, sheet pan, hot water) especially since I have started experimenting with the "Five Minute" method.

So what should I do? I have already said that I don't want to kill mother. I could freeze her. Yeast remains alive even in the freezer by going dormant until it is in warmer temperatures again (you kill yeast by baking; it dies at 140 degrees). But then I will miss her (she's like my pet).

Then that leads to the other alternative of finding new recipes where I can use mother. Enter "Baking with Sourdough" by Sara Pitzer, a Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin. You should be able to find these bulletins quite inexpensively at independent booksellers and on Amazon. Anyway, according to the sourdough bulletin, you can adapt standard recipes into sourdough recipes. On page 9, Pitzer writes the following directions.

"To adapt a yeast recipe, begin with a small amount of starter, about 1/4 C for recipes using less than 6 cups of flour and about 1/2 c for recipes calling for more flour. Mix the the starter with some of the flour and some of the liquid from the basic recipe you want to convert. Figure 1/4 C starter has replaced about 1/4 flour and slightly less than 1/4 C liquid in the recipe....In baking powder recipes (this is pretty cool...think brownies) figure the same way, but use as much as a cup of starter even in recipes calling for only 2 or 3 cups of flour.

"Allow the mixture of starter, flour and liquid-the sponge-to stand and bubble for 4 to 24 hours depending on the sourness you want."

Recipes that I have tried from the bulletin have ranged from okay to fantastic. The sourdough pancakes are absolutely incredible. You just need to know your making pancakes 24 hours in advance...and to have your starter ready to go!

So, go make your mother, be kind to her, and the next time I make the pancakes, I will be sure share the recipe.

So easy, so why is it in a jar?

In our busy world, sometimes it is indeed easier to purchase "ready" items. I love canned tomatoes. Is it easy to concasse tomatoes? Yes. Does it take A LOT of time? No. But am I going to get a great tasting tomato in the middle of winter? No. And is it kind of a pain? Yes. Dei Fratelli is my favorite brand of tomatoes, by the way. In fact, we did a taste test in my purchasing class last semester, and Dei Fratelli was the winner hands down in taste AND price.

However, when it comes to pre-made sauces, I have an issue. Although even bolognese sauce takes more effort than opening a can (but so worth it!!!), Alfredo sauce and Marsala really do not. Not only are these sauces easy to make, you are using real ingredients instead consuming all of the extra stuff that make industrial canning possible. Alfredo sauce only has THREE ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to make. I have included the recipe below.

Fettucini Alfredo  (4 servings)

Pasta,                                               8 oz
  ideally fresh, but dried and even GF (Tinkyada) will work
-Boil, keeping slightly undercooked. Refresh and drain.

Heavy Cream                                12 oz
Unsalted butter                                2 oz
Parmigiano reggiano, grated            2 oz (or more to taste)
-Combine, bring to boil & reduce slightly

Salt & pepper
-Add pasta to sauce, season accordingly.
-Boil until sauce is thick and pasta is cooked.

**To really finish it off, temper an egg yolk at the very end.

A new way to make bread

Wow! It's been awhile. I am finally recovering from a sourly mix of pneumonia and bronchitis.

Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time lounging around reading. One of the books that has intrigued me is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I have made their master recipe, and it was quite good. I really like the idea that I premake my dough and then pull it out 40 minutes or so before baking. However, I will not be convinced until I try some of their other recipes (these are very small loaves, and I need to play around with the recipes). The secret is that you use a wet dough. It is almost poulish-ish (starter) like in consistency. Stay tuned.

Other books read during the last month:
Garlic and Sapphires - Ruth Reichl
Watier Rant - The Waiter (Steve Dublanica)
Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating - Ari Weinzweig
Major Barbara - George Bernard Shaw