Sunday Bread - Napoleons (Not Nearly As Hard As You Think)

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Jul 17, 2011 at 07:37:55 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

Okay, I know , I know, this recipe was promised for last week so you all would be able to have it for you Bastille Day celebrations, but the best laid plans of mice and men will often go astray and all that.

Be that as it may, this week we are going to tackle a pastry treat that many people find intimidating. The thing is there is no reason for that intimidation. A napoleon is really just some pastry you bake flat, cut up and then stack up with layers of pastry cream between. There is nothing here that should deter the home baker.

In fact this is a great recipe to practice making puff pastry and your pastry cream on. If you don't panic and have even a moderately steady hand, you'll do just fine.

So, without further adieu, let's bake!

Napoleons

Ingredients:

For Blitz Puff Pastry Dough

2 ½ cups bread flour
1 ¾ cups cake flour
1 lbs (4 sticks) butter
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup cold water

For Pastry Cream

4 cups whole milk
½ cup sugar
4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
¾ cup corn starch
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (use the good stuff not imitation vanilla flavor, damnit!)  

For Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Baking pans and special equipment: 1 sheet pan (15"x12"), Pastry bags or 1 small and 1 large zip top bags, 1 13"x9" baking pan.  

Sunday Bread - Best Ever Apple Pie!

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Jul 03, 2011 at 07:55:31 AM MST

Happy Holiday Sunday Bread Heads!

So here we are in the midst of a holiday weekend and an eating holiday at that! So since there is nothing more American than Apple Pie, I thought I'd share with you my recipe for Best Ever Apple Pie!

This is a rather rustic style of pie, but it has some so the best flavors you can get. Now you'll notice that this calls for cinnamon sticks and half of a vanilla bean. These are kind of the premium ingredients and I do know that not everyone stocks these things in their kitchen. You can make it with vanilla extract and ground cinnamon, and I'll give you the portions for each of those as well. While there is a difference in taste, sometimes taste has to bow to cost and practicality.

This recipe uses Granny Smith apples. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that you can get Northern Spy apples, use those instead, they are sooooo much better, but they are not available everywhere.

This is a two crust pie, and yes you really should be making the crust yourself. It is very easy (I promise, if you can make a scone (and there should be no one who admits to not being able to make a scone) you can make pie crust). Besides next week we are going to make napoleons which is harder so you want to practice you skills this week! All of you are baking along with this series, right?

Enough foreplay (is there ever enough? But that is a totally different topic!) let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Hazelnut Baklava

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Jun 05, 2011 at 08:55:10 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week my neighbor turns 40 and she was a bit down. She asked if I'd make her some baklava. So, now you all get to learn how to make my version of baklava. There are tons and tons of different recipes for this Middle Eastern treat. Most of the time you'll find them with just walnuts or with pistachios as these are nuts that were introduced into the area long ago.

I take a different tack with this recipe. The idea was (it didn't work as well as I liked) to approximate the taste of Frangelico, which is a hazel nut liqueur. While I did not get the result I expected the combination of wild flower honey and roasted walnuts, almonds and hazel nuts did produced a distinctive baklava that have a darker and warmer flavor than traditional recipes. That is what we are going to make today!

Now, baklava is not hard, but it does take basically 24 hours to complete. Part of this is there are several steps and you have to wait for the cooked dish to cool completely before putting on the syrup and then it has to set for at least 8 hours. However it is completely worth the effort!

Unlike every other recipe I have shared with the Bread Heads, we will be buying our phyllo dough. Why? Because making onion skin thin bread dough by hand is something that only master bakers can do, and 99.6% of them buy phyllo dough for these applications in any case.  It is just too much brain damage for an outcome that will not be detectably better.

Now I know that some folks are nervous about phyllo dough. It can get wet and mushy, it can get dry and break and it just seems like a drag all the way around. Well, get over it. Really it is just about technique and being prepared. And if it breaks or tears, who cares? Just remember the basic rule of this series, don't panic.

So, without further adieu, let's make some baklava!  

Sunday Bread - Chocolate Almond Babka

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun May 22, 2011 at 07:43:10 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

There are about as many recipes for Babka as there are stars in the sky, but this one is mine! Babka are almost always twisted or spiraled in their form, allowing the fillings to be layered without actually layering them. This one is an Chocolate Almond Babka with raisins and walnuts. I also bake in cake pans that allows for the unique spiral affect.

There are a lot of steps in this break but it really only takes about 4 hours (including rising and baking time) and none of the steps are particularly hard. So if you want a really special and fairly easy treat for a brunch or tea this is your bread.

Now, let's bake!

Chocolate Almond Babka:

Ingredients:

For the Sponge:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 packages (4 ½ teaspoons) yeast
½ cup milk
1 ¼ cups hot (120 - 130 degrees) water

For the Dough:

½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cardamom
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 cups all purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter at room temperature.

For Filling:
16 oz almond paste
8 oz bitter sweet chocolate, melted
1 cup raisins, plumped in brandy or water
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Sunday Bread - Pogacsa (Hungarian Cheese Scones)

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun May 15, 2011 at 07:47:55 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we are going to make my take on a classic Hungarian cheese scone called Pogacsa. It is great little snack but serves just as well for breakfast or lunch.

While I made this recipe in the traditional wedge form, you could just as easily use a biscuit cutter to make 3" round versions (these are particularly good for a brunch with as the bread for little sandwiches).

So, let's bake!

Pogacsa (Hungarian Cheese Scones)

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 packages (4 ½ teaspoons) yeast
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks butter)
1/3 cup milk
½ cup sour cream
1 egg yolk
1 cup of Romano cheese  (if you only have Parmesan in the house that is fine, but use the good stuff!) grated.
Egg wash of 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of milk

Sunday Bread - Sugar Loaf

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun May 08, 2011 at 09:38:27 AM MST

Happy Sunday and Mothers Day, Bread Heads!

This week we'll make a bread that is sure to be a hit (aren't they all?)! It is a variation of cinnamon sugar bread called Sugar Loaf. Instead of rolling up a dough covered with cinnamon sugar this bread uses sugar cubes, dusted with cinnamon to produce pockets of nearly liquid cinnamon sugar randomly dispersed through the bread. It makes for an interesting loaf to have with brunch. As well as a special sweet treat for any moms.

So, let's bake!

Sugar Loaf:

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar cubes
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 cups bread flour
1/3 cup whole milk
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups hot (120 to 130 degrees) water
3 tablespoons butter

Baking pans - 2 8"x4" loaf pans, greased or non-stick

Sunday Bread - Chocolate Orange Bread!!

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun May 01, 2011 at 07:14:46 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

We're going to be continuing on our "batter bread jag" this week. Last week on of the Bread Heads asked for a bread that was not leavened with yeast but baking soda instead. While this weeks offering is not leavened with baking soda it does using backing powder and no yeast at all.

It is a Chocolate Orange bread. This dark and barely sweet bread is the combination of chocolate, triple sec (you can use orange juice if you don't have any triple sec in the house) orange zest and honey, in a nice dense quick bread that is great at breakfast or with a nice mug of tea in the middle of the afternoon.

So, now that I have you drooling, let's bake!

Chocolate Orange Bread

Ingredients:

4oz unsweetened chocolate
½ cup (1 stick) butter
4 eggs
2/3 cup honey
2 cups mashed potato
½ cup triple sec or orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla (use the good stuff!)
Zest from 1 orange
2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt.  

Sunday Bread - Peanut Butter Batter Bread

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Apr 24, 2011 at 07:31:40 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we are going to continue on our batter bread jag. I've been making these breads because they are fast, easy, delicious and they don't require any kneading. Some of the readers of this series don't have a stand mixer and do have arthritis so it has kind of left them out of the bread making-palooza that this series has become. I thought we should be more inclusive, thus a run on batter breads.

This week we have a fun and super easy on, Peanut Butter Batter Bread! It is a great loaf for the kiddies (even those in their 50's or later) with its great nutty flavor and texture. Think of it as the way to have a PB&J and you only have to spread on the J!

But enough talk, let's bake!

Peanut Butter Batter Bread

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cup hot water (120-130 degrees)
¼ cup finely chopped salted roasted peanuts
¼ chunky peanut butter (any brand you favor)
¼ firmly packed brown sugar (dark preferred)
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) yeast

Baking pans - If you have a 9"x5" pan you can make this in one pan, otherwise 2 8"x4" pans  

Sunday Bread - Bacon Italian Bread

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Apr 17, 2011 at 08:13:19 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

A while back we did a Bacon Spoon Bread which got some good responses (how could it not? Bacon makes everything better) but I did get a request on an easier method. I have been thinking about it for a while and today I am ready to unveil the Bacon Italian Bread!

In looking at the bread I decided that the way to get the light airiness of the soufflé without all the eggs and the tendency to fall we would need to give up on the cornmeal and go with some kind of batter bread. I wanted to still have it be something other than a white bread, so I included some whole wheat. Adding just a touch of coriander to the mix brought up the bacon flavor and really brought the whole bread together.

The end result is a bread that has an open crumb, the flavor of bacon and the chewiness of a good Italian bread. Best of all for those who don't like to knead it is a batter bread so there is no requirement to knead. On the down side, mixing this by hand is a work out. It is easiest done in a stand mixer but I have done it by hand and had success so you should be able to as well.

Now that I have your mouths watering, let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - French Bread For Fondue!

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Apr 10, 2011 at 08:18:31 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we're going to make a French style bread that I developed for Fondue. I have always thought that the best part of the bread for Fondue is the crust and the first inch inside the bread. When you use a Baggett you really don't get enough outer curst.

In order to get around that problem I modified a French bread recipe. It is braided which gives more area for crust, but it still wasn't quite right. The crumb needed to be airier with more little pockets.  To get this effect, I used a technique that I was taught in a peasant bread recipe. By deflating the rising dough six times before letting it complete its first rising, the bread develops many of the little air pockets and gives this light crumb.

As a final added step I bake it on a pizza stone. This gives a little more bounce to the bread as it bakes. If you don't have a pizza stone, don't sweat it, I have made this recipe on just a baking sheet and it is 95% as good.

Now that you have an idea of what has gone into the creation of this recipe, let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Schiacciata Con Zibibbo (Flatbread with Raisins)

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Apr 03, 2011 at 07:57:43 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

Last week I got asked for a ciabatta bread recipe. Well, I don't really have a specific one that is mine, ciabatta is really just a batter bread that has enough flour to be shaped a little bit and baked. I am going to work one of my own up but it is going to take some experimentation before I have something I can share with you and be sure that it will turn out when you make it.

So, instead of ciabatta I am going to share with you a really old school Italian flat bread called Schiacciata Con Zibibbo (Flatbread with Raisins). I got it from the grandmother of a friend of mine, after I started sharing some of my bread with his family. This is a sweet bread that you can find just about anywhere they grow grapes in Italy. How will you be able to tell if it is really old school? Well, it uses lard, it calls for a pan that is 16"x 11" (which you won't have, I don't even have a pan those dimensions) and the way the sponge is made is like nothing else I've ever baked.

But don't worry, this is not hard, it is just a little odd and I've updated it to this century. This bread with rosemary and raisins and a sweet top is truly unique and definitely worth your while.

Now, let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Oat Raisin Bread

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Mar 27, 2011 at 07:25:29 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we're going to bake something for the kiddies. There are a lot of fussy eaters out there and getting something with some real nutrition down their little throats is sometimes hard than it really should be.

That is where Oat Raisin bread comes in. It is a loaf with whole oats, whole wheat, bran, raisins and molasses. The breads is hardy and a little bit sweet, all of which makes it a favorite breakfast bread for the little guys.

The sweetness comes from the ¾ cup of molasses in the dough, if you don't have rugrats in house or just want it to be a little less sweet don't be shy about cutting that down to ½ cup or even a ¼ cup.

But enough of that time and yeast wait for no man, so let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Parmesan Pepper Bread

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 07:14:15 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

I hear that there is some kind of sporting contest or tournament or some such going on that have millions of people camped out on the couch. Maybe you've heard of the March Misanthrope, I think it is called?

Anyway these rabid sports fans are going to be consuming a lot of crap, from chips to pizza to queso dip. What they really need is a good flavorful loaf to make a nice sandwich on, and we are going to provide them with a recipe that is not only easy but makes just a spectacular base for a sandwich!

Parmesan Pepper Bread is just what the doctor ordered! It is a white bread loaf with a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper, and best of all (for some) it is a batter bread, which means no kneading required!

Enough chit chat, let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Tiramisu

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Mar 13, 2011 at 14:45:46 PM MST

Okay, so not such a happy Sunday for the world, is it Bread Heads? I went back and forth about posting this today, what with the disaster in Japan (earthquake, tsunami, partial meltdowns, volcano's) but I finally came to the conclusion that there has to be some normality, even in the face of disaster. It is to that end that I post this recipe for Tiramisu.

Tiramisu used to be wildly popular, both in the US and in Italy. It has now been relegated to over-processed and dubious servings at Italian restaurant chains. Which is really sad, because there is nothing very hard about making it, if you have a hand mixer and about an hour of work time and 6 hours of chill time you can have it tonight.

This dish owes its inspiration to the English dish trifle which stale cake, usually soaked in some kind of rum or other liquor and then folded into whipped cream. This dish gets it richness from the egg yolks and egg whites that a whipped separately then combined with whipped cream.

Yes, that is right this is a raw egg dish so there is some chance of salmonella but it is pretty small. To reduce it even further I use the freshest eggs I can find. People do get sick from this kind of thing, all I can say is that I never have, so you will have to be your own gage on this.

So with that word of caution, lets bake!  

Sunday Bread - Pain Noir (French Style Black Bread)

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Mar 06, 2011 at 08:44:10 AM MST

This week we're going to take a walk on the wild side and try a Pain Noir. This is a French style of black bread. It is a combination of rye flour, corn meal, whole wheat and white flour. How do you get those grains to have such a dark color? Well you cheat, of course, using molasses and unsweetened chocolate we get this great dark color!

One word before we start. This dough is sticky. I mean early stages of brioche sticky. You have to have a good spatula and a willingness to get your hands goopy if you are going to make this bread, even with a stand mixer. If you are going to do it by hand then you will need a dough scraper to help you turn and fold the dough.

A dough scraper is a good investment in any case. It makes it easy to clean the work surface after making things like croissant dough, or Danish dough. You can find them at your local restaurant supply store for a few dollars. I like the metal ones but I have many friends who swear by the plastic ones. It is totally your call.

Now; let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Jalapeno Cornbread

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Feb 27, 2011 at 09:19:58 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week you're going to get two recipes for corn bread. Why? Because one of the Bread Heads doesn't have a stand mixer and can't knead bread with his hands and asked for more than one cornbread recipe that he could make. Since we're going to be moving on from cornbread this week, that means two recipes for the price of one!

We'll be making two of my favorite American style cornbreads this week. What I call Regular Cornbread and Jalapeno Cornbread. The Jalapeno bread features not only the spicy peppers but onions, cheddar cheese and creamed corn. You can make them as loaves but I like to make them as muffins. They turn out just slightly spicy and a little bit sweet, with great texture and a complex flavor.

The Regular Corn bread is rich and moist using cream, milk and butter in the mixture. It is moist enough not crumble but still firm enough to serve with stews or chili.

Now that I've got your mouths watering, let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Chocolate Covered Cherries

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Feb 13, 2011 at 09:35:41 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we're going to do something a little nice for your Sweetheart, we're going to go make chocolate covered cherries!

As with just about every recipe I am going to tell you that there really is nothing very hard about this, and it is true! The big thing you need to make these treats is a candy thermometer. If you have that and this recipe you can make one of the all time great "I Love You" treats and you don't have to buy it from the store!

Part of the trick of chocolate covered cherries is getting the fondant to melt from the liquid in the cherry. There are several different types of fondant that will do this. I like one that does not completely melt because I have found it stores better. What you get is a liquid center around the cherry then a bit of white fondant and then the chocolate. I like a rum flavor with this, so I buy cherries in the summer then store them in dark rum in a canning jar to be ready for use. Since that means we should have been talking about cherries in July for this, you can substitute with maraschino cherries.

But enough talk! Let's make some candy!  

Sunday Bread - Bacon Spoon Bread (Cornmeal Souffle)

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Feb 06, 2011 at 08:37:20 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we'll continue our exploration of cornbreads with a favorite out of the Virginia, Bacon Spoon Bread. It is not really a bread but more of a soufflé made with corn meal, bacon and cheddar cheese. That is why it is called spoon bread, you can't really turn it out onto a rack to cool (you wouldn't want this cool anyway) you have to serve it with a couple of spoons.

For all of that it is a great side dish. It comes out light and fluffy with a great corn smell that goes very well with just about any roasted meat.  

Sunday Bread - Broa (Portuguese Corn Bread)

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Jan 30, 2011 at 08:55:30 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week were going to start on a round of corn bread recipes. Now, I should warn you that this is not just going to be variations on the standard quick bread corn bread which is really a batter and does not rise except in the pan. We'll probably do some of both.

In any case we are going to kick things off with Broa, which is a Portuguese style of corn bread. What makes this bread unique is that you pulverize the corn meal in a blender or food processor. It gives the bread a lighter crumb and texture than you run-of-the-mill corn bread. The addition of olive oil also brings a different flavor to the party.

But enough talk! Let's bake!  

Sunday Bread - Royal Hiberian Brown Soda Bread

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 08:24:20 AM MST

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week we're going to continue on the mini-Whole Wheat binge I've been for the last couple of weeks. Almost everyone has made or had Soda Bread before. It is a bread that is not kneaded and uses only baking soda for its leaving. These little breads can be quite tasty but they are often really dense.