Honey White Challah and Cinnamon & Sugar Challah (DB)

May’s Daring Bakers' was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.

I was eager to try this recipe, and made one honey white loaf and one cinnamon & sugar loaf.  The honey white was good, but the cinnamon & sugar loaf was to die for! The recipe was easy to follow, though I had to add about 1 extra cup of flour before the dough wasn't too sticky to work with.  I was rather concerned as I was adding so much extra flour, but in the end I still had fluffy loaves with a nice crumb.

To create the cinnamon and sugar filling, I used 2/3 cup brown sugar (packed) mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.  After separating the dough into three equal pieces, I simply rolled each piece into a rectangle and then spread 1.5 tablespoons of softened butter on to each rectangle.  I then spread one-third of the cinnamon and sugar mixture on to each one and then rolled the rectangles up lengthwise. Then I simply braided the three rolls like I did with the regular honey white loaf.

The result was a bread that basically tasted like a delicious cinnamon roll, sans icing.  I realized as I was getting ready to put the bread in the oven that I was out of eggs, so my loaves were without egg washes, but I brushed them with a little bit of milk to add just a little more color to them.  The cinnamon & sugar loaf didn't last very long in our household, and I will definitely be making it again.

Thanks, Ruth, for hosting this month.  If you'd like the recipe, you'll find it posted below, and on Ruth's blog.

Honey White Challah
from Tammy's Recipes

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (360 ml) warm water, separated

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) (15 gm/½ oz sugar

2 Tbsp. (2-2/3 packets) (30 ml) (18 gm) (2/3 oz) dry active yeast

½ cup (120 ml) honey

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) oil (light colored vegetable oil, or olive oil if you prefer)

4 large eggs

1 ½ tsp. 7½ ml) (9 gm) (1/3 oz) salt

5 cups (1200 ml) (700 gm/25 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus more as needed (up to 8 or 9 cups total)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water

Directions:

1. In mixer bowl/large mixing bowl combine ½ cup warm water, 1 Tbsp. sugar and 2 Tbsp. yeast.  Allow to proof approximately 5 minutes until foamy.
2. To the yeast mixture add the remaining water, honey, oil, eggs, salt and 5 cups of flour. Knead (by hand or with your mixer’s dough hook) until smooth, adding flour as needed.  Knead for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to a clean, oiled bowl, turn to coat or add a bit more oil on top.  Cover bowl with a kitchen/tea towel.  Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ hours. 
4. Punch down the dough, divide it into two sections.  Use one half to make each loaf (shaped or braided as desired).
5. Place loaves on parchment lined or greased baking sheets, cover with a towel, allow to rise 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Brush tops loaves with egg wash.  (Sprinkle with seeds or toppings here if wanted.)
8. Bake loaves 30-40 minutes until done.
9. Cool on wire racks.

Dutch Crunch Bread (DB)

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Bakers' hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

Technically, Dutch Crunch doesn’t refer to the type of bread, but rather the topping that is spread over the bread before baking. In Dutch it’s called Tijgerbrood or “tiger bread” after the tiger-like shell on the bread when it comes out of the oven. The final product has a delightful sweet crunch to it that makes it perfect for a sandwich roll. It’s a common option at sandwich shops all over the Bay Area and is often one of the first breads to run out.

I've never had Dutch Crunch bread before, so I was curious to try this one out.  It was a pretty straightforward recipe, and I did not come across any issues making this bread.  It was actually kind of fun schmearing the topping all over the bread prior to baking :) (would be fun for the kids to get involved too!)

I wasn't too creative with my sandwich making.  I just went with a classic BLT.  I'm a bacon lover, so the lettuce and tomato are basically just there to make me feel less guilty (otherwise I'd just be eating plain bacon!).  The dutch crunch topping was a nice textural change to plain bread, but I think this type of soft white roll would have lent itself better to another type of sandwich.  The BLT seems to work better with traditional toasted bread.  Still, I had fun with this challenge and I am glad I tried it.

Thanks Sara and Erica, for hosting this month's challenge.  You'll find the recipe below - be sure to read the note at the bottom about rice flour if you are not familiar with this ingredient. Also be sure to check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see what kind of sandwiches everyone else came up with.

Soft White Roll

Servings: Six sandwich rolls
This recipe approximates the quintessential white sandwich roll found throughout the Bay Area. The recipe is simple, quick, and addictive.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon (1 packet) (15 ml) (7 gm/ ¼ oz) active dry yeast
¼ cup (60 ml) warm water (105-110º F) (41-43°C) (No need to use a thermometer – it should feel between lukewarm and hot to the touch).
1 cup (240 ml) warm milk (105-110º F) (41-43°C) (We’ve tried both nonfat and 2%, with no noticeable difference)
1½ tablespoons (22½ ml) (20 gm/ ⅔ oz) sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil (plus additional olive or vegetable oil for greasing bowl during rising)
1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (9 gm/⅓ oz) salt
Up to 4 cups (960 ml) (600 gm/21oz) all purpose flour

Directions:
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).
2. Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. (The photo to below is with the first 2 cups of flour added).

3. Add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, as shown in the photo below (For us, this usually required an additional 1½ to 2 cups of flour).

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
5. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size (see photo comparison).
6. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions (if you’d like to make rolls) or 2 equal portions (if you’d like to make a loaf) (using a sharp knife or a dough scraper works well). Shape each into a ball or loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (try not to handle the dough too much at this point).
7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
8. Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping as described above. While the original recipe recommends letting them stand for 20 minutes after applying the topping, I got better results by putting them directly into the oven.
9. Once you’ve applied the topping, bake in a preheated moderately hot 380ºF/190°C/gas mark 5 for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.
Our finished products: Note the roll in the foreground on the left. This is what happens if you don’t put enough topping on the bread – no cracking! So be sure to load on the topping.

Dutch Crunch Topping

Servings: This recipe should make sufficient topping for two 9x5 loaves (23cmx13cm) or 12 rolls. If you make only 6 rolls in the first soft white roll recipe, you can cut the topping recipe in half.

You should not prepare the topping until the bread you’ve selected to bake is almost finished rising (~15 minutes from baking). 

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (2 packets) (30 ml) (15 gm/½ oz) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) warm water (105-115º F) (41-46°C)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (30 gm/1 oz) sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (3 gm) salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (240 gm/8½ oz) rice flour (white or brown; NOT sweet or glutinous rice flour) (increase by 1 cup or more for home-made rice flour)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, as shown below, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.
2. Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping. We tried coating it with a brush but it worked better just to use fingers or a spoon and kind of spread it around. You should err on the side of applying too much topping – a thin layer will not crack properly.
3. Let stand, uncovered, for any additional time your recipe recommends. With the Soft White Roll, you can place the rolls directly into the oven after applying the topping. With the Brown Rice Bread, the loaves should stand for 20 minutes with the topping before baking.
4. When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

A Note about Rice Flour: If it’s not in your local grocery store, check in a specialty shop (somewhere that would sell gluten-free foods) or online (e.g., amazon.com). Be sure not to buy the sweet or glutinous variety, though either white or brown rice flour works just fine.

If you are unable to find it, or if you’re just curious about how to make it yourself, it’s not very hard to do at all. There are a number of tutorials online, but the basic idea is to put rice in a spice grinder or something else that can break grains, and grind it until it is a fine flour-like powder. You will likely need to sift the final product through a sieve.

Home-made rice flour alters the balance of ingredients in the topping recipe, specifically requiring more rice flour to make it the appropriate paste-like consistency.  You want the topping to form a thick layer on the bread. If it’s too watery or drippy, it will not stay on top of the bread and crack like it’s supposed to.

Irish Soda Bread (TWD) and Vitacost Deal on Coconut Oil

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia was hosted by Carla of Chocolate Moosey and Cathleen of my culinary mission.  The chosen recipe was Irish Soda Bread.  So named because instead of yeast, baking soda is used as the leavening agent in this bread.

It's pretty similar to most quick bread recipes (or biscuits), in that you mix all the dry ingredients together in one bowl, then pour the liquid ingredients in and mix it all together.  This recipe does call for a quick kneading, however, and I found the dough to be way too wet to knead.  I had to add quite a bit of extra flour before I could handle it.  Otherwise, this was a super easy recipe and it came together in just a matter of minutes!  I added dried cranberries and chopped dried apricots to mine, which gave it a slightly sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet flavor.  I saw that a few other bakers added cheese to theirs and I think that will be my next rendition of this recipe :)

Thanks to Carla and Cathleen for hosting; you can find the recipe on their blogs here and here.  Make sure you check here, too, to see all the other variations on this classic Irish bread.

Also, if you missed the last Vitacost deal I posted about, their free shipping promotion has been extended through 3/26 at 9am EST.

Right now, Vitacost.com is offering FREE shipping on orders that contain over $20 in Vitacost brand products.  (Normally their shipping fee is $4.95 for orders under $49 and free shipping for orders $49+)  Pair this free shipping offer with their $10 off $10 promo (for new customers) and you can get $20 worth of products for just $10.

You can get the 54oz Vitacost Coconut Oil for just $11.95 after the discount.  It's normally $18.89 on Amazon, so this is quite a savings.

Here's how:
1) Use this link to sign up and get a $10 promo code sent to your email.  After you register for an account with Vitacost.com (it must be through the link provided) you will receive an email with the subject line "Here's your $10 coupon for Vitacost.com" (this may take an hour)

2) Then add the Vitacost Coconut Oil to your cart for $19.95 (used to be $20.99 so it would qualify for free shipping alone).  Add the apple cider vinegar ($2) as a filler to bring your total to $20+.  Then use the $10 off code sent to your email, bringing your order total to $11.95 for both the coconut oil and the apple cider vinegar!

Of course, feel free to look around their website for other items.  You can view all Vitacost brand items that qualify for this free shipping offer here. 

Also, don't forget to add 2 free samples to your cart before checking out (they've got a few different teas and other samples available).  Happy shopping!

Green Onion, Cheddar & Asiago Beer Batter Bread (DB)

The Daring Bakers' February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

I was in the mood for something savory, not sweet (crazy, I know!) so I went with the green onion, cheddar & asiago beer batter bread!  Everything came together quickly and easily, and the smell of the bread baking in the oven was magnificent! I used a slightly smaller loaf pan (8.5" x 4.5") and that did not seem to affect the baking time much.

My bread was moist and fluffy and full of flavor! I love how the top of the loaf became crisp from brushing the butter on top! So good.  I think next time I'll also sprinkle some cheese on top as it's almost done baking to get a crisp, cheesy crust.  And maybe bake it in a muffin pan, to increase the ratio of buttery, cheesy crust to middle :) The best thing about this bread? It comes together so quickly! I'll definitely be making this one again.

Thanks Lis, for hosting this month's challenge.  You'll find the recipe below - be sure to read all the tips/notes below the recipe, as there is some useful information on quick breads there. Also be sure to check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed the challenge.

Green Onion, Cheddar & Asiago Beer Batter Bread  
Makes one 9” x 5” (23 x 13 cm) loaf
Adapted from Recipe Girl’s Cheddar Chive Beer Batter Bread

Ingredients
1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil
1 cup (240 ml) (100 gm/3½ oz) sliced green (spring) onion
3 cups (720 ml) (420 gm/15 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (45 gm/1½ oz) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
1 cup (240 ml) (115 gm/4 oz) grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup (120 ml) (2 oz) grated Asiago cheese
One (12 fl oz/355 ml) (about 1½ cups) bottle beer (such as amber ale)
¼ cup (60 ml) (55 gm/2 oz) butter, melted and divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5. Spray 9”×5″ (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add green onion and sauté 3-4 minutes or until tender. Cool to room temperature.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl; make a well in the center of the mixture. Add onion, cheeses, and beer. Stir just until moist.
4. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons of butter. Bake for 35 minutes; brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake an additional 23 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Quick bread primer

• Quick breads can be sweet or savory, they are a modern innovation they became common after the introduction of baking powder and baking soda.
• Baking powder is a combination of acid and alkaline that reacts together when moistened to form gases that raises the baked quick bread. Usage 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of flour.
• Baking soda (an alkaline salt, sodium bicarbonate) is used when the liquid is acidic, such as buttermilk, honey, molasses, tomato sauce etc. Usage ½ to 1 teaspoon per cup of acidic liquid.
• Be sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh.
• Measure ingredients accurately, using the measuring tools and techniques suggested.
• Preheat the oven to the correct baking temperature. Arrange racks so that the bread will bake in the center of the oven which has the best heat distribution in the oven.
• To allow for good air circulation while baking, leave at least 1 inch of space between pans and between pans and sides of oven. Switch pan positions and rotate pans halfway through baking.
• The two top secrets to moist, tender quick bread is 1)in the mixing always use a quick light technique so you don't over-mix the batter 2) don't over-bake since this cause dryness in the final baked product. .
• Quick breads can be created by the following methods:

Muffin (or the two-bowl) method – The dry and wet ingredients are kept separate and then are combined quickly and gingerly by adding the wet to the dry, and folding the two together with only a few strokes. The idea is to not over-mix, basically moistening the ingredients and leaving the batter slightly lumpy, with wisps of flour showing (even small lumps are fine) so as not to overdevelop the gluten in the flour which will keep the bread tender. An over mixed batter creates tough and rubbery muffins/quick breads. Since over-mixing will cause "tunnels" – holes where the air bubbles can escape – which will make the quick bread tough.
Creaming method – The butter and sugar are beaten and creamed together until smooth and fluffy. Next, the egg and liquid flavoring are added to the butter and sugar mixture. The dry ingredients and other liquids are folded in last. This method is best when baking cakes since a lot of air pockets are added into the mixture. Folding in the ingredients creates even more air pockets to keep the cakes light and fluffy.
Cutting in method – The chilled fat is cut into the flour. The fat results in a flaky texture since the fat melts while in the oven. This method is best used when baking biscuits, scones or pie crusts.

• Depending on the recipe and the type of quick bread, there are also three different types of batter:

Pour Batter: This type of batter has a dry:liquid ratio of 1:1. Because there is so much liquid in this type of batter, the result is very moist and dense.
Drop Batter: This batter has a dry:liquid ratio of 3:1. This batter will result in a moist but fluffy baked good.
Stiff Dough: This batter has a dry:liquid ratio of 7:1 This batter will result in a very light and fluffy baked good.

• Lower gluten flours are best to make quick breads you can replace 4 tablespoons in each cup of all-purpose flour with cake flour in most recipes or replace 2 tablespoons in each cup of all-purpose flour with corn flour (cornstarch) if you wish to lower the gluten levels of your flour.
• Flour should be sifted to aerate it which gives more rise therefore a lighter crumb to the final baked goods.
• Add fruit, nuts, etc. after lightly combining the wet and dry ingredients. Then give the batter one more light-handed stir and you're done. Is the batter still thick and lumpy? That's exactly what you want
• If you're adding dried fruit, try soaking it first. This will moisten the fruit, make it tender and juicy, and also preserve the bread's moisture. Don't sprinkle dried fruit on top of quick bread before baking, as it will burn before the loaf is done.
• To lower the fat, for example, you can substitute some (or all) of the oil with an equal amount of almost any fruit puree (apple sauce, plum baby food, pumpkin puree, mashed bananas).
• Glaze your baked quick breads for a nice finishing touch and burst of flavor. Make a simple mixture of confectioners' (icing) sugar and a little milk or fruit juice. Try orange and lemon juices, for their fragrant, tart zing; add curls of zest for extra color and flavor.
• For most quick mix recipes as a general rule – less butter and sugar in a recipe makes it more bread-like, while more butter and sugar produces something closer to cake.
• To prevent moist quick breads from spoiling, let them cool completely after baking. Then wrap them tightly in foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. If your bread is made with cheese, cream cheese or other perishable foods, it should be refrigerated.
• Quick breads such as banana, zucchini and cranberry slice and taste best when served a day after baking. Wrap the cooled bread in foil or plastic wrap; leave at room temperature overnight. Others like cornbread and coffee cakes are best served warm.
• The quick bread is done if a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If it is not done, test again in a few more minutes.
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, unless recipe directs otherwise. Turn loaves out onto a wire rack to cool. Most quick bread should be cooled completely before slicing to prevent crumbling.
• Using a sawing motion, cut loaves with a thin sharp knife. Use a serrated knife for quick breads that have fruits and/or nuts.

Common Problems and troubleshooting (ref http://allrecipes.com/howto/baking-quick-breads/)

Bread sticks to pan. Unless you're using high-quality non-stick metal or silicone baking pans, you should always grease the pans before you pour in the batter. The best thing to use for greasing the pan is shortening, because its melting point is higher than any other kind of fat, which helps maintain a "shield" between pan and batter while the bread is baking. A high-quality cooking spray--one that won't bake on to your pans and discolour them--is also a fast, easy fix. You can also prevent sticking by removing the bread from the pan sooner: let the bread cool for at least twenty minutes in order to set (Bundt loaves should cool twice as long) before inverting the pan.

There are big holes and "tunnels" in the bread, and/or the bread is tough. These problems are usually caused by over-mixing.

There's a big crack down the middle of the quick bread loaf. Don't worry--it's normal for quick breads. The crack on top happens when top of the loaf "sets" in the heat of the oven before the bread is finished rising. Drizzle the loaf with icing or dust with confectioners' (icing) sugar.

My blueberry muffins look green! By reacting with the alkaline baking soda, the blueberries' pigments can turn green. Toss the berries with the flour mixture before combining the ingredients; the coating should help. If you're using frozen berries, don't thaw them before using them.

The bread looks done on the outside but it's still raw in the middle. This is one of the most common quick bread problems, and it can be caused by a few different factors. The oven temperature could be too high. (Use an oven thermometer to check: they're cheap and available at most supermarkets.)

Try lowering the oven temperature and/or putting a loose tent of foil over the top of the bread so it won't burn before the middle has time to catch up.

Another cause of "raw center" syndrome could be using a different pan than the recipe calls for. One of the nice things about quick breads is that you can use the same batter to make muffins, mini loaves, jumbo loaves, or rounds. But each size requires different baking times--and some require different baking temperatures. The larger and thicker the loaf, the longer it's going to take to bake. If you're using a different size pan than your recipe calls for, adjust the baking time accordingly and check the bread often.

Basic White Loaves (TWD)

This is our inaugural post for the new group, Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia.  After four years, we are finally done baking our way through Baking: From My Home to Yours, and now we're diving head first into Baking with Julia. If you would like to join us, just grab a copy of the book Baking with Julia and sign up here.

Our hosts this week were Laurie and Jules.  They chose the basic white loaves.  Without actually looking at the recipe, I was a bit concerned that this would be a time consuming or difficult recipe because, of course, anything to do with Julia and yeast dough must be difficult, right?!

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this recipe was pretty simple.  There are two 1-hour rest periods, but the actual prep time is about 15-20 minutes.  I started this recipe in the morning, and as Dorie notes, my loaves were done by lunch time.




I actually didn't make the basic white loaves. I decided to kick them up a notch.  To my first loaf I added a generous smear of butter and then some Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle from Penzey's.  To my second loaf I added a generous smear of butter and then cinnamon and sugar.  I didn't really measure anything out, just eye balled it, and in retrospect, probably need to add a lot more cinnamon and sugar next time to get the flavors to really come out.  That said, my loaves turned out perfectly! They were golden on the outside and so soft and tender on the inside.  I will definitely be making this one again!

If you would like the recipe, you can find visit Laurie and Jules' blogs, Slush and Someone's in the Kitchen.  You can also go here, to see who else participated in this week's Tuesdays with Dorie.

* Recipe notes:

- I actually made this twice because the first time I used almost dead yeast.  So the second time around I was out of bread flour.  I made it with regular bleached all purpose flour and the bread still turned out fantastic! I am sure it is better with bread flour but if you don't have bread flour that's ok too.

- Another filling I would love to try the next time I make this: pesto or nutella!

French Country Bread (DB)

Our Daring Bakers' Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

Sourdough is made without adding any yeast or leavening, by fermenting your own sourdough ‘starter’. The natural yeasts in the flour do the work of making a lovely loaf of bread – we just facilitate that process. Sourdough is basically bread as your great-, great- grandmother knew it, before the days of Chorleywood (i.e. factory-made, steamed, sliced, additive-filled) bread and packaged yeast. It takes time, but not too much active work. 

I have to say that while I had a lot of fun with this recipe, it was a colossal fail!  I've never made a starter before, and watching this one develop and bubble up was really cool.  Unfortunately, I let my dough proof too long (didn't realize that would be an issue), and while I ended up with what looks like a beautiful loaf, it was extremely dense and didn't quite develop the crumb I was hoping it would.  I was hoping to get a good picture of the cut loaf, but since I failed to successfully get a good crumb, I didn't photograph the inside of the loaf :(

The great thing about this recipe, though, is that you're left with a starter that you can keep on using... so I look forward to trying this recipe again! :) Thanks Jessica, for hosting this month's challenge.  Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else rose to the challenge.

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking
Wheat Starter - Day 1:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total scant ½ cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.
Wheat Starter - Day 3:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.
Wheat Starter - Day 4:

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 ¼ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven

Ingredients
1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 ⅔ oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/1¾ oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

French Country Bread
Stage 2: Making the final dough

Ingredients
3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons (7½ ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon (3⅓ ml) (3 gm/⅛ oz) table salt
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 ½ oz/2 lb 3½ oz)

Directions:
1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS3raEGdwk
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPO97R4iO4U
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDoJRCMfclE
6. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
7. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack.

Notes:
• Good bread starts with good flour. Beyond trying to find good quality, local (organic if possible) flour, Whitley recommends finding out three things: how was it milled? (stoneground ideally, to retain more nutrients); how much of the original grain is left in the flour (ideally 95-100 % for bread making); and lastly, how much protein is in the flour? (the more protein, the more gluten, leading to a more stretchy dough – ‘strong’ or ‘bread’ flour indicates a higher level of protein).
• Normal tap water is fine in most cases, unless you live in a municipality that heavily chlorinates the water. Chlorine will kill almost all bacteria, including your yeast, so you’ll want to use filtered water if you can. Whitley says that leaving water in a pitcher overnight can rid most of the chlorine.
• If you clean your kitchen with anti-bacterial products or harsh cleaners, try not to do it before baking and make sure your bowls are clean but have no chemical residue left on them! Many a bread has been deflated by an overly-sterilised kitchen.
• All of these recipes call for sea salt because it retains a higher level of minerals and has a stronger salt taste, meaning you can use less of it. Never add salt directly to your starter – it will kill the yeast, so use the following method: dissolve your starter in water, stir your salt through your flour, then mix the wet with the dry ingredients.
• When greasing pans for baking, try to use hard fats like butter because oil can drip down the pans and lead to a fried bottom on your loaf!
• When working with the dough, you might feel inclined to heavily flour your work surface or your hands. Resist this urge! Sourdough is meant to be wet and sticky – this helps to give the bread a nice crumb once it has baked. I work most doughs with my hands, but sometimes use a dough scraper to help lift and fold the dough. When I need to pick up or shape a loaf, I find damp hands work better than floured ones!
• If you don’t have dough scrapers, old bank cards/credit cards work just as well! But wash them thoroughly first.
• Try to work with your hands to make these recipes – mixing and kneading the dough by hand means you’ll get a better sense of how your dough should feel! We learn by doing!
• Remember, a lot of these timings are guidelines – pay attention as, depending on temperature and your starter, you may need more or less time to proof your dough. You want a dough that resists poking a bit (if you poke it, the hole will disappear) but not one that quivers all over and seems really fragile.
• Cutting the top of your loaf before it goes in the oven helps it to expand or split at those points. This means you don’t end up with funny outgrowths from your bread! You want to be quick, gentle, and use a very sharp blade – see the video at the end for tips.
• Notes on scheduling: For the Rye loaf, and all the other starters, I find it helpful to start the process on a Monday, so that come Friday/Saturday you are ready to bake. I refresh my starter (Stage 1) the night before baking, then do Stage 2 in the morning. For the French Country Bread, I refresh the starter in the morning, make the final dough at lunchtime, and bake at dinner time. For the Rice Sourdough, I soak the flaxseeds on a Friday morning, refresh my starter on Saturday morning, the prep the final dough at lunchtime, ready to bake at dinner.
• I would set the difficulty level of these recipes as: Rye – Easy!, French Country Bread – Med-Hard!, Rice Sourdough – Easy!
• Once you’ve finished baking, you’ll have some leftover starter. Keep this in a Tupperware container, as this is what you will use to start your next loaf (and so on…)! Some of the best starters are hundreds of years old – and they get better with time. If you bake daily, you can keep your starter at room temperature. If you bake weekly, I’d keep it in the fridge. You can also freeze starter if you bake very infrequently, but I find it does fine in the fridge so long as you feed it at least once a month. Simply refresh your starter according to the recipe – or with equal parts by weight of flour and water – and let it come back to life at room temperature.
• You might notice that your starter starts to smell a bit like acetone – this is completely normal. It may develop a grey liquid on top, which you can either pour off or stir back into the starter. When I refresh mine, I discard half of the original starter and add in fresh flour and water for the yeast to feed on.
• Sometimes, very rarely, a starter might get moldy. This is often due to being left at room temperature without feeding. If there is a lot of mold throughout the starter, I would discard it. But the odd bit is not always a problem. It is nearly impossible to kill a starter, unless you get salt or chemical products in it – so don’t fret! Often it is just a matter of feeding it over a few days and nursing it back to life.

Povitica (DB)

 

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat! It is a specialty bread that normally costs $25 a loaf! Yes, $25!

Yes, I know it's November and October is long gone, but I am so terribly behind in my blogging.  I actually finished this dessert bread before the posting deadline and have several other things I have made that I just haven't gotten around to blogging about! Please bear with me as I get back into my blogging groove.... being sick for most of September and part of October just threw me for a loop and then the last week I was very very busy making a super special birthday cake for my daughter (post to come)!

So on to the challenge... this dessert bread was different from anything I've tried before, but certainly delicious.  You basically make your regular yeast dough, then roll it out super thin (kind of like making phyllo dough) and then add in whatever filling you like.  Then you roll it up like you would a cinnamon roll and coil it up onto itself into a loaf pan.  The result is a beautiful spiral filled dessert bread.

 

We were given the liberty to either fill our bread with an English walnut filling, or the filling of our choice... and since I don't really like nuts I went with a cinnamon apple filling.  I browned some butter and brown sugar in a pan, sauteed the apples, and then layered them into the bread with cinnamon and sugar.  I didn't have enough apples at home (only 3) so my filling was a little scarce, and I would definitely add more next time. 

When I first removed my pan from the oven, there were lots of juices from the baked apples bubbling in the pan.  I found, however, that after leaving the pan out overnight that most of it had been soaked up by the bread, making it oh so gooey and delicious. It almost tasted like cinnamon apple cinnamon rolls but with thin layered dough.

Thanks Jenni, for hosting this month's challenge.  Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else this specialty bread!

Povitica
(makes 4 loaves)

Ingredients

To activate the Yeast:
2 Teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) Sugar
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
½ Cup (120ml) Warm Water
2 Tablespoons (30ml/14 gm/½ oz/2 sachets) Dry Yeast

Dough:
2 Cups (480ml) Whole Milk
¾ Cup (180 ml/170gm/6 oz) Sugar
3 Teaspoons (15 ml/18 gm/2/3 oz) Table Salt
4 Large Eggs
½ Cup (120ml/115 gm/one stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
8 cups (1.92 l/1.12 kg/39½ oz/2½ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Walnut Filling:
7 Cups (1.68 l/1.12 kg/2.5 lbs) Ground English Walnuts
1 Cup (240ml) Whole Milk
1 Cup (240ml/225 gm/2 sticks/8 oz) Unsalted Butter
2 Whole Eggs, Beaten
1 Teaspoon (5ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Cups (480ml/450 gm/16 oz) Sugar
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) Cinnamon

Topping:
½ Cup (120 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
2 Tablespoons (30 ml/28 gm/1 oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

To Activate Yeast:
1. In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into ½ cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
4. In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, ¾ cup (180 gm/170 gm/6 oz) sugar, and the salt until combined.
5. Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz) of flour.

6. Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.

7. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick. Note: I did not use all 8 cups of flour

8. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (they will each weight about 1.25 pounds/565 grams)
9. Place dough in 4 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.


To Make the Filling
10. In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.
11. Heat the milk and butter to boiling.
12. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
13. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
14. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
15. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:
16. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.
17. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)
18. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter.

19. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.
20. Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.
21. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
22. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.

23. Spoon filling (see below for recipe) evenly over dough until covered.

24. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.

25. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.
26. Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan.
27. Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of ½ cup (120 ml) of cold STRONG coffee and 2 tablespoons (30ml/28 gm/1 oz) of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.
28. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.
29. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
30. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
31. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.
32. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.
33. Check the bread at 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.
34. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Remember, the bread weighs about 2.5 and it needs to be able to hold its own weight, which is difficult when still warm and fresh out of the oven. Allowing it to cool in the pan helps the loaf to hold its shape.
35. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.


Smaller batch measurements courtesy of Audax
Half Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes two loaves each 1.25 lbs/565 grams)
To activate the Yeast:
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 ½ gm) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
¼ Cup (60 ml) Warm Water
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/7 gm/¼ oz/1 sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:
1 Cup (240 ml) Whole Milk
6 Tablespoons (90 ml/85 gm/3 oz) Sugar
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/9 gm/1/3 oz) Table Salt
2 Large Eggs
¼ Cup (60 ml/60 gm/½ stick/2 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups (960 ml/560 gm/19¾ oz/1¼ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:
¼ Cup (60 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/14 gm/½ oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

Half Batch Filling Ingredients (enough filling for the two loaves(
3½ Cups (840 ml/560 gm/1¼ lb/20 oz) Ground English Walnuts
½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
½ Cup (120 ml/115 gm/1 stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter
1 Whole Egg, Beaten
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup (240 ml/225 gm/8 oz) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) Cinnamon

Quarter Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes one loaf 1.25 lbs/565 grams)
To activate the Yeast:
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2¼ gm) Sugar
¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Warm Water
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/3½ gm/0.125 oz/½ sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:
½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
3 Tablespoons (45 ml/43 gm/1½ oz) Sugar
¾ Teaspoon (3¾ ml/9 gm/0.17 oz) Table Salt
1 Large Egg
1 tablespoon (30 ml/30 gm/¼ stick/1 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz/0.62 lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/7 gm/¼ oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake (DB)

The March 2011 Daring Bakers’ 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. Jamie found this recipe on a piece of yellowed paper in her dad’s collection of clipped out and hand-written recipes from the 1970’s, no source, no date, and she tried the recipe and loved it! It's a gorgeous brioche-like dough rolled jellyroll style around a layer of whipped meringue, cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate chips, then shaped into a wreath and baked.

I halved this recipe because I didn't really see the need to have two coffee cakes around the house tempting me! The recipe was easy to follow, and instead of kneading the dough by hand I let my KitchenAid dough hook do the work for me.  I did have to add a little extra flour until the dough was ready and was no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl, but otherwise the recipe was really straightforward.  I used the filling recommended by Jamie, sans nuts, and simply doubled the amount of cinnamon in the mixture.  It came out just right!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the meringue layer that is rolled into this cake, but as Ria and Jamie describe, the meringue "miraculously melts into the dough as it bakes leaving behind just a hint of sweetness and adding to the perfect moistness of the cake."  Some of it does ooze out between the slits cut into the cake, and that part of the meringue bakes up into slightly crisp, ooey gooey goodness!


Thanks Ria and Jamie, for hosting this month's challenge.  It was delicious and I'll definitely be making it again. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this wonderful breakfast treat.

And don't forget - I'm giving you two chances right now to enter to win a $100 Visa gift card.  There are just a few days left to enter the giveaway that ends on March 31st.  You have until April 11th to enter my second giveaway here.

FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:
4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
10 strands saffron for Ria’s version (Saffron might be hard to find and it’s expensive, so you can substitute with ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom or ground nutmeg. Or simply leave it plain like Jamie’s version)

For the meringue:
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:
Jamie’s version: (this recipe is for 1 coffee cake)
1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Ria’s version:
1 cup (130 g / 5 oz.) chopped cashew nuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala (You can make it at home – recipe below - or buy from any Asian/Indian grocery store)
1 cup (170g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips ( I used Ghirardelli)
Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

**Garam (means “hot”) masala (means “mixture”) is a blend of ground spices and is used in most Indian savory dishes. It is used in limited quantities while cooking vegetables, meats & eggs. There is no “one” recipe for it as every household has a recipe of their own. Below, I am going to share the recipe which I follow.
4 or 5 sticks (25 g) Cinnamon Sticks (break a stick and open the scroll)
3 ½ tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cloves, whole
100 g. (3.5 oz.) Fennel seeds
4 tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoons (10 g / less than half an ounce) Peppercorns
25 g (less than half an ounce) Green Cardamom pods

In a small pan on medium heat, roast each spice individually (it hardly takes a minute) until you get a nice aroma. Make sure you stir it throughout so that it doesn’t burn. As soon as each spice is roasted, transfer it to a bowl to cool slightly. Once they are all roasted, grind into a fine powder by using a coffee grinder, or pestle & mortar. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

Directions:
Prepare the dough:
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Ria’s version: add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue.

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.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) 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.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) 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 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

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

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – 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:
Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

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 (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) 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).

Now, 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.
Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

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

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

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.

 

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.

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.

Irish Soda Bread and a Giveaway

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Julie of A Little Bit of Everything: Irish Soda Bread.  It's called that because it uses baking soda instead of yeast as the rising agent.  As such, this recipe is quick and easy and does not require any "rising time."

I found this recipe to be easy and straightforward. The recipe calls for golden raisins and currants, but I had neither on hand so I added dark raisins and dried cherries to mine.  The only problem I ran into was the dough being extremely sticky.  Melissa says to use "a little flour" if needed, to form the dough into a large round.  I had to add a lot of flour to mine before it was even manageable.  I was worried that in doing so, I over worked my dough and the bread would not turn out very good, but in the end I still had a nice bread to show for it.  Traditional Irish soda bread doesn't contain any dried fruit in it, it was only in later years that the dried fruit was mixed in, but I found the fruit to be a nice addition.  I've never had Irish soda bread before, but I really don't think that I would like the version without the dried fruit.


Thanks, Julie, for hosting this week. Overall, I thought this bread was good but I think I much prefer yeast breads over this one (even if they do take longer).  If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this traditional Irish treat!

And last but not least - I've just posted another big giveaway - you have until April 11th to check out my Stouffer's review and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card.  Also, if you haven't already entered my other giveaway, make sure you click here and enter to win before March 31st.

* Recipe notes:

- I found that this bread took much longer to bake than indicated.  I had to bake mine an additional 10-15 minutes before it was done.

Stollen (DB)

"You stole what?" Yes, that is the response I got when I told my husband that I was making stollen!

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.

I had actually never heard of or tried stollen before, so I had no idea what to expect.  Stollen is a very traditional German Christmas bread.  It is made with yeast, water and flour, and usually with zest added to the dough. Candied orange peel and candied citrus is often also added.  What you end up with is a bread-like fruitcake.


I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  When you bake something until it is a "dark mahogany color,"and sounds "hollow when thumped on the bottom" you kind of expect something dry and hard.  This was quite the opposite, actually.  It was moist and had a nice, tender crumb.  The citrus zest and candied orange peels really gave the bread an interesting flavor that reminded me of the Italian sweet bread panettone.  I have to admit that the sugared butter coating was my favorite part of this bread (the finished bread is coated with three layers of melted butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar).  Without it, the bread wouldn't have been nearly as good. 

Thanks Penny, for hosting this month's challenge.  I actually made this weeks ago but my post is a few days late because we just got back from a trip to (rainy) California and I completely forgot about this until now! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet German holiday treat.

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year's!


Stollen Wreath

Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients

¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C)
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) milk
10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
5½ cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) (770 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting)
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gms) sugar
¾ teaspoon (3 ¾ ml) (4 ½ grams) salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 grams) cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (very good) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract or orange extract
¾ cup (180 ml) (4 ¾ ozs) (135 grams) mixed peel
1 cup (240 ml) (6 ozs) (170 gms) firmly packed raisins
3 tablespoons (45ml) rum
12 red glacé cherries (roughly chopped) for the color and the taste. (optional)
1 cup (240 ml) (3 ½ ozs) (100 grams) flaked almonds
Melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
Confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath

Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.

Directions:

Soak the raisins
In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside.


To make the dough

Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (240 ml) milk and 10 tablespoons (150 ml) butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.

In a large mixing bowl (4 qt) (4 liters) (or in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment), stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.

Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) 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.

Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries if you would like. Be delicate with the cherries or all your dough will turn red!

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. 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.

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.
Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) 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 and Baking the Wreath

1. Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
4. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.


Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.

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.

Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.

Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.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.

Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.
The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh - especially if you intend on sending it in the mail as Christmas presents!

When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style. The stollen tastes even better in a couple of days and it toasts superbly…. so delicious with butter and a cup of tea

Storage
The more rum and the more coatings of butter and sugar you use the longer it will store.
The following is for the recipe as written and uses the 45 mls of rum and two coatings of butter and icing sugar
1. Stollen freezes beautifully about 4 months
2. The baked stollen stores well for 2 weeks covered in foil and plastic wrap on the counter at room temperature and
3. One month in the refrigerator well covered with foil and plastic wrap.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bread (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Natalie of Oven Love: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread. Yikes! I actually made this a week ago but almost forgot to post today!

The recipe is super simple and I love that it mostly uses applesauce instead of oil or butter. I omitted the nuts from the streusel topping, and still got a nice, sugary, crumbly crust on top (my favorite part!). As the name implies, the bread is packed with a good bit of oatmeal, but I have to say that I could not really taste much of the oats. Still, the combination of spices was wonderful (I might add some apples to this the next time I make it) and the oatmeal definitely made the bread seem "healthier" so the entire loaf was devoured within 24 hours in our household ;) 

Thanks Natalie, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this wonderful breakfast treat!

Raisin Swirl Bread & Sugar-Crusted French Toast (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Susan of Food.Baby: Raisin Swirl Bread.  I love cinnamon raisin bread! In fact, my go-to recipe is this brown sugar raisin bread recipe.  So, I was excited to try this recipe out and see how it compared.

I'm no stranger to yeast breads (though I used to be terrified of them!) so this recipe was fairly straightforward for me.  I did split the recipe into two days, just to simplify my life a little.  It's hard to find a huge stretch of time to bake these days (even though a lot of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise) when my little monkey wants all my attention! :)


Unfortunately I let my dough warm up too much after taking it out of the refrigerator so I had a terribly hard time rolling up my dough.  Thankfully this did not affect the taste, but it did make for a not-so-pretty swirl.  If you want to see a perfectly swirled loaf, you'll have to visit Susan's blog (the host for this week).


The only optional spice that I added was the cocoa, at the recommendation of another baker.  I was truly surprised that I could not taste the cocoa at all, it simply enhanced the cinnamon flavor. Despite this, I think this recipe was lacking in the cinnamon department. If you're going to make a raisin bread, it's got to have a nice strong cinnamon flavor to it! Even though I could probably double (or triple) the amount of cinnamon in this recipe next time, I think my go-to recipe is still going to be the brown sugar raisin bread I've made in the past.  That bread is so good!


I do have to say, however, that I made the sugar-crusted french toast recipe that Dorie includes with this, and it was fantastic! It will probably be my go-to french toast recipe from now on :) Just make sure you let your french toast brown long enough on each side in order to allow the sugar to caramelize properly.  I'd recommend maybe 4-5 minutes on each side instead of 3 minutes like Dorie suggests.

Thanks Susan, for hosting this week.  I've included Dorie's french toast recipe below, but if you would like the recipe for the raisin swirl bread, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet, cinnamon-y treat!

* Recipes notes:
- I would recommend doubling or even tripling the amount of cinnamon in this recipe.
- This bread is definitely much better the next day, and even better as french toast!
- Wrapped airtight, this loaf will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- For tips from other TWD bakers, click here.

Sugar-Crusted French Toast
from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

6 slices of raisin swirl bread (each 3/4 to 1-inch thick)
6 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
3-1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar, plus 8 tbsp more for sprinkling
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter

Mix the eggs, egg yolks, whole milk, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a large bowl. Soak the slices of bread in this mixture for 3 minutes.  (Make sure you don't leave them in too long or else your bread will get too soft and difficult to handle!)

When the bread is ready, put two large nonstick skillets over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons butter to each one and melt the butter. Sprinkle each skillet with 2 tablespoons of sugar and put 3 slices of soaked bread in each one.

Cook until the bread is golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes (I'd recommend leaving them for 4-5 minutes). Sprinkle the tops of the bread with sugar--again, using 2 tablespoons sugar for each skillet--and carefully flip the slices over.

Add more butter to the pans if needed, and cook for another 3 minutes, or until the undersides are also golden brown.

Serve the toast immediately with fruit, syrup, creme fraiche or jam, or with all of them.

Yield: 3-6 servings

Mom's Banana Apple Bread (SMS)

I'm a day late, but this is the kind of recipe that is better the next day anyway ;)

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Joy of Hot Oven, Warm Heart: Mom's Apple Banana Bread. It's a great twist on a very classic recipe - one that was quite delicious.

It's your basic banana bread recipe, with some caramelized apples thrown into the mix. I had small apples, so I added three instead of two - and that probably ended up being more apples than you're supposed to include, but I loved having some apple in every bite. The only complication I ran into was that I had too much batter for my loaf pan, due to the extra space that the apples took up.


I added one whole teaspoon of cinnamon to the apples as I was cooking them in the brown sugar and butter, just because a half a teaspoon just didn't seem like enough. This ended up being just perfect, as the spices in the loaf came out just perfect - not too strong, but prominent enough to enhance the flavor of the bread.


This is probably one of my favorite banana breads, along with the super moist Classic Banana Bundt Cake I made recently. Thanks Joy, for a great pick. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the SMS Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this wonderful treat!

* Recipe Notes:
- Double the cinnamon to 1 tsp when cooking the apples.
- I had to bake my loaf for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, a bit longer than the recipe indicated. The top will start to brown quite a bit towards the end, so be sure to put a foil tent over it if yours takes longer to bake like mine did.

Fresh Mango Bread (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys: Fresh Mango Bread. I love mangoes and was very curious to see this recipe. I wasn't really sure what to expect because I've never had cooked/baked mangoes before - I always enjoy them fresh.


This recipe is about as simple as any banana bread recipe, except dicing the mangoes may take some practice for those who are not familiar with eating them. If you've never cut a mango before, you can find instructions (with pictures) here.

The aroma coming from the oven as this bread was baking was wonderful. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but this bread tasted very similar to banana bread. The mangoes did impart a very subtle flavor to the bread, but it wasn't very prominent. I think I'll stick to enjoying fresh mangoes, but if I ever end up with an abundance of ripe mangoes, I would definitely make this bread again.



Thanks Kelly, for choosing this recipe - it was interesting and different. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the TWD Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this unique recipe.

* Recipes notes:
- My mango was just over 0.75 pounds and yielded 1.75 cups of diced mango. I would recommend either purchasing a large mango that is at least 1 pound, or at least 2 half pound mangoes.
- I had to place a foil tent over my bread about 40 minutes into baking to prevent it from over browning.
- I had to bake my bread for an extra 15 minutes before it was done in the middle.
- For more tips, click here.

Kugelhopf (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl: Kugelhopf. I had never heard of Kugelhopf before. It's part bread, part cake. Dorie explains that it is similar to brioche, but not as rich because there's less butter in it. What's left out of the dough, however, is made up for in the end - as the cake is soaked with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar after it's baked.


Apparently, there are special Kugelhopf pans available. They're called turk's heads or turbans, due to their slender shape and curves. I don't have room for another pan in my kitchen, so I used my Bundt pan instead. I have a 10-15 cup Bundt pan while this recipe calls for an 8-9 cup pan. Consequently, my Kugelhopf ended up more short and squat and not so much slender and curvy ;)


I have a 6 quart KitchenAid stand mixer, so my dough hook had some difficulty mixing the dough thoroughly. So I used the paddle attachment initially to mix everything up, then switched to the dough hook for the last ten minute knead. Instead of raisins, I used orange flavored cranberries from Trader Joe's, just because that's what I had on hand.


The dough was incredibly sticky to work with. When it came time to flop the dough to deflate it, it wasn't like the brioche dough we had previously made - it stuck all over my fingers.


If you're going to make this recipe, make sure you allow plenty of time. The dough needs to rise for at least 1.5 hours (mine took 2 hours to double in size), then you need to deflate it every 30 minutes for 2 hours. Then, it requires a final rest in the refrigerator overnight, followed by 2-3 more hours of rising at room temperature in the pan. Look at all those nice little bubbles that rose up...


The Kugelhopf was just okay, but not great in my opinion. (My husband actually said, "Honey, I love you, but that just isn't good.") I think I was expecting something sweeter, and this had a very mild, buttery flavor. Soaking it in butter and drizzling sugar over it definitely made it better - it would have been drab otherwise. Perhaps I would have liked it better with (gasp) more butter? :) The dried fruit was very good in it, but there wasn't nearly enough - I would recommend doubling the amount.


Thanks Yolanda, for choosing this week's recipe. It was an interesting experience making and tasting Kugelhopf for the first time. When it comes to such a long, drawn out process, however, I think I would much rather have brioche (or cinnamon rolls) than Kugelhopf, so I probably won't be making this again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the TWD Blog Roll to see what everyone else thought of this buttery treat.

*Recipe notes:
- I would recommend doubling the amount of dried fruit in this.
- I used skim milk instead of whole milk.
- I used salted butter and cut the amount of salt in the recipe in half.
- I also used salted butter to soak the cake - the salty taste of the butter combined with the drizzled sugar was fantastic!
- For more recipe tips, click here.