Bread #3! Ciabatta

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a nice weekend filled with good food! I know we did! I baked a loootttttt of bread! Annnnddd all the attempts were super successful! Yay!

So here’s the thing: if you prep this bread now, you can eat it tomorrow. I KNOW, I KNOW.
But patience! I think warm,crusty bread with a wonderful, chewy interior is worth it.Oh,and flavourful!So flavorful!This is so weird! Can bread be flavourful? I dunno but MAYBE.This one was. SO GOOD!

Get ON this!
From Girl VS Dough (<—–love)

Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

For the biga (dough starter) –

1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast (OR 1/12 teaspoon active dry yeast)
1/4 cup room temperature water

For the dough –

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (or one domed 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
Biga (from above)

Directions:

Make the biga: In a small bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together the ingredients until a smooth, cohesive dough forms, about 3 minutes. Cover tightly with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until tripled in size and bubbly, about 6-8 hours (you can leave it sitting out for up to 12 hours). Stir it down, then cover it and place it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

AFTER STIRRING DOWN:
Remove the biga from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you mix together the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flour and yeast. Whisk in the salt. Add water and biga. Using paddle attachment, mix everything together on low speed (#2 on the stand mixer) just until the flour is moistened; then, increase speed to medium-high (#6 on the stand mixer) and beat 3 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Decrease speed to medium (#4 on the stand mixer) and beat another 2 minutes. The dough should be fairly wet but hold together in one long strand when you pull it with the paddle attachment).

Using an oiled spatula, transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until tripled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
POST FIRST RISE:

When dough is risen, generously sprinkle a countertop with flour. Using an oiled spatula, transfer the dough to the floured surface; sprinkle top with flour. Use your palms to pat the sides of the dough inward to push it together slightly. Using four of your fingertips, make deep dimples in the top of the dough about 1 inch apart. Push the sides together again slightly.

Carefully transfer and invert the dough onto a parchment paper or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Use your palms again to shape the dough so that it is approximately 4 1/2 inches wide, 10 to 11 inches long and 1 inch tall. Sprinkle top with more flour, then cover lightly with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until about 1 1/2 inches tall, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before baking, prep oven: Place an oven rack on the lowest level and another one just above it. Place a cast-iron skillet on the lower rack and a baking sheet on the upper rack. Heat oven to 475 degrees F.

When dough is risen, remove plastic wrap or tea towel and gently place the baking sheet on top of the sheet in the oven. Pour 1/2 cup ice cubes into the cast-iron skillet and close the door quickly. Bake loaf at 475 degrees F for 5 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 450 degrees F and bake another 20 minutes, or until loaf is a deep golden brown. When loaf is done, turn off oven and prop door open slightly, leaving the loaf in the oven for 5 more minutes.

Remove the loaf from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.

Note: The whole recipe minus the step by step pics, are hers. I didn’t want to put my own insturctions because she’s explained it really nicely and did a better job at explaining then I would do.Oh, and the bread is NO FAIL!

Enjoy!

Bread #2: Baguettes at Home!

Yay!I’m so happy that you guys are as excited about bread-week as I am!
So, I was planning on posting Ciabatta today (which I had success with!) but it’s a pretty long process and I thought doing baguettes first would make sense!

The recipe is from here and the instructions are super clear and really easy to follow!But I feel like I should give my own instructions so that I can guide you with the changes that I made instead of just randomly linking the recipe and then adding my variations.
I didn’t have bread flour nor do I have a bread machine and i’m guessing that a lot of you don’t either.
So don’t worry because I hand-kneaded the dough and used ap flour and the baguettes turned out GREAT! Very restaurant restraunt quality!
So, without further ado, here we go:
FAST FRENCH BAGUETTES:
1 cup water

3 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed

2 teaspoons salt

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast(I used this) or 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

In a large bowl , whisk yeast into 1 cup water and let sit 5 minutes.DONT TOUCH IT. you can give it a stir but that’s it.Add 3 cups flour and salt and mix, using paddle attachment in the bowl of an electric mixer, until just combined.Now you can either switch to the dough hook or knead by hand. Knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes (10 minutes if kneading by hand), until the dough is smooth and elastic.Shape it into a ball and palce in a lighly greased bowl , covered with cling film , in a warm place till dough has doubled in size.
Punch down risen dough gently and split into two. Roll each piece into a foot-long rope and place side by side, about 3-4 inches apart, on a lightly greased + floured baking sheet or a tray lined with lightly floured parchment paper. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Once oven is preheated and dough has risen slightly (about 30 minutes), remove plastic wrap and using a very sharp knife make diagonal cutson the baguettes(not too deep! just barely). Place baguettes in oven, reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cold water and allow to cool on cooling rack completely before slicing.

Yay! Now slice and enjoy with butter + jam!

Tommorow, we’ll take the ciabatta! and then….some whole-wheat goodies are coming our way!
Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Bread Baking!(YOU can do this!)

Hey there!
I’m really awkward at introducing stuff so let’s get right to it!
Over the next one week we’ll be dealing with bread!Quick breads and yeast breads BOTH. Just a whole lotta bread.
I figured baking bread is the only way to get better at it(who woulda thought?) so doing this will be a great way for me to expand my horizons and get into more bread baking.Because honestly, I think I’m going through a lot of sugar here.

heh heh heh.
Today however, we’re putting TWO of my favourite things into one loaf(<—heh heh heh): sugar + bread!
this recipe will make only two small loaves.
So let's get to it!

Chocolate chunk bread:
inspired by this
Ingredients:

bread -
◾1.5 cups all-purpose flour+ extra for kneading
◾1 T sugar + a pinch, divided
◾ pinch salt
◾1.25 tsp active dry yeast
◾1/2 cup warm water
◾1 T oil
◾1 egg
◾1/3 cup chocolate, roughly chopped

egg wash -
◾1 egg +1 t water beaten together

Directions:
1.Whisk together flour, a tablespoon sugar, and salt. In a cup whisk a pinch of sugar, yeast, and warm water together. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.Now, Whisk in oil and eggs. Add wet to dry. stir till just combined. Add in enough flour to form a soft dough.
2.Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes).
3.Now fold in the chopped chocolate and form a ball. Place it in a small greased bowl nd let rest for 20-30 mins.
4.Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface.Form a ball and cover will clingfilm. Let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.
5.Preheat the oven to 350 F/150 C. Brush loaf with egg wash and bake in heated oven for 15 minutes or till slightly domed and a light brown.

So there it is! Our first bread!
IMPORTANT!!
So, what would you like to see next? I’ve already blanned on covering the baguette and a basic sandwich bread. Any breads in particular? Or would you like to see step by step instructions? I’m working a ciabatta next and will update my instagram account with progress!Here’s the link to follow me. I’ll def. follow you back

Roasted Almond + Raisin Biscotti

Whew! I was in the kitchen from 2:30 to 4:00 today!wowwww……I was SO sweaty when I finally got out!But tired? No way!
WHAT was I doing?Here’s a preview:

I baked my very first baguette! and it was awesome.
and easy.
BUT today is biscotti day!

This is the perfect cookie to dip in your coffee.Or tea!
Annnnnddd it’s really easy. Though it’s takes some effort to make, it’s not hard.Just time consuming.
(<—–before baking)

Roasted Almond + Raisin Biscotti
2 logs
adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook
2.5 cups ap flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp soda + salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup roasted almonds
1.25 cups raisins( I used a mix of flame + black raisins) soaked in hot water for 10 mins or till plump
1 egg beaten + 1 tbsp. water for eggwash.

Preheat the oven to 375 F/150 C.
Mix together the dry ingredients. Now add the eggs and vanilla and mix till a dough forms. Now fold in the almonds + raisins.Divide the dough into two balls and roll into logs like shown in the picture above.
On a lightly greased baking sheet, place the logs and egg wash.
Now bake for 25 mins or till golden brown.
Then, leaving the oven on, get the logs out and cool for 10 mins. CAREFULLY, slice them diagonally once they are COOL.
Reduce the temperature to 350 F.
place them (cut side down) and bake on each side for ten minutes each. Let cool and serve with coffee.

Note: The slicing can get a little messy so let them cool slightly before you cut them The dough inside will be sticky. This is normal.

Chocolate-Chip Olive Oil Cookies With Sea Salt

So, I think I found the perfect cookie!

Like I’ve said before, I love a cookie with CHEW.Annnnddddd…….this is it! So much chew!
so, I was going looking for a cookie recipe here and when I saw cookies made with olive oil, I was intrigued. So I made them, sprinkled them with a little sea salt and waited.

SO GOOD.
I ate these for breakfast…..amd you should too.Oh, and they don’t have any butter. Who am I?

Chocolate-Chip Olive Oil Cookies With Sea Salt
Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies {makes about 30}
Recipe adapted from Take a Megabite which was from Slice of Feist via Crepes of Wrath (<—-woah!)

Ingredients:
◾2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
◾1 1/2 t kosher salt
◾1 t baking soda
◾1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
◾1 t vanilla extract
◾3/4 cup granulated sugar
◾3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
Note: I used 3/4 + 3/4 cup of raw sugar because that's all I had at hand.They were still realllyyyyy good!
◾2 eggs
◾1-2 T milk, optional
◾1 heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sea salt to sprinkle on top if desired.
1.Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.I needed 3 of these.
2.Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat together the olive oil, vanilla, and sugars until it looks like wet sand. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until mixed in completely.i have a handheld mixer so I crack the eggs into a separate bowl and pour it into the bowl with the other hand. With a mixer, beat in the flour mixture gradually until just mixed. Add a tablespoon or two of milk if the batter is too dry. If the batter is too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until handle-able. Stir in the chocolate chips.Mine was just right.
3.Using a spoon scoop mounds onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.Wait for them to cool before peeling off<—-this is IMPORTANT!! Eat at least 4 since these are healthy, butter-less cookies.(<——best advice ever)

Easy 15 minute Cherry Crumbles

It’s ch-eeeerrrryyyy season! At least here it is. I wait all year long for this time of the year, when all my favourite fruits are in season: peaches, cherries and litchis.
Yay!

So, a word about crumbles : I’m scared to death of making them. Everytime I do a streusel topping on muffins or something, I BURN it. It’s horrible,really. I mean, I keep waiting for the top to turn golden brown and when it does I poke a toothpick through the center of the muffins and- it’s uncooked.
And guess what happens by the time they finally cook? The top burns.
I cry.
But with this recipe it’s not like that! It’s got no batter on the bottom, just fruit.SO once the top is golden brown, GET IT OUT OF THE OVEN.

CHERRY CRUMBLE:
serves 2-3 generously

1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup oats(quick will do as will old-fashioned but no instant)
1/2 cup brown or raw sugar
2 tbsp. cold butter
pinch salt, omit if using salted butter

2 cups pitted sliced cherries
2 tbsp. white sugar(see note)
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 150 C.
Toss together the flour, oats, salt and sugar. Work in the butter till a crumbly texture is reached. it should be well combined.

Now mix together the cherries, lemon juice and sugar.Add this to a couple of ramekins or a larger deeper oven-safe bowl like I did. Add streusel on top.BE GENEROUS, I’M WATCHING YOU.
Bake for 8 mins or till golden brown. WATCH IT! serve warm with vanilla ice-cream.

Note: My cherries weren’t particularly flavourful.If that’s the chase with you, then soak the cherries in 1/4 cup of cherry liquer for half an hour or so with 2-3 tbsp of caster sugar. if they are tart, so the same but omit the liquer and add a little more sugar. You can also try this if you think the crumble needs a little boost.

Caramelized onion + Sweet Potato galette

So, I know I was gone for like a week. Again.
But that was only because the weather is really terrible and there was no signal, so I wasn’t able to update the blog.
Or, something like that. Maybe, a CSI marathon was involved.Maybe.

Uh huh, i’m not telling.
So, let’s eat.

This is deliciousness. Honestly, the gallette itself is so delicious and buttery and crumby(too many ands?), you’ll want to eat it plain without any toppings.
BUT the toppings? Yowza. Lets just say I’ve been putting caramelized onions in everything I eat. Heh heh heh.

Get the recipe here:

oh, and I ate this yesterday:
BBQ pulled pork on a corn bun with sweet pickled onions. No, I didn’t make it.
But I do have a great burger recipe I want to share.
PS: It was huge, like the size of my head. Somehow, I managed to eat a couple of macaroons after that.
I don’t even know…