Category: Celebrate!

Week 106: Couronne Bordelaise

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If Pain de Campaigne (Week 59) is the king of breads, then the Couronne Bordelaise is most definitely the queen. It’s easier to make than it looks so give it a try! Professionals use a special basket to shape the crown, but you can make one at home with a 9″ cake pan and very small heat-proof bowl/ramekin.

Day 1: Make dough

  • 340g bread flour
  • 40g whole wheat flour
  • 4g sugar
  • 7g salt
  • 1/4 tsp yeast
  • 300g room temperature water
  • 15g olive oil
  • (additional ingredients below)
  1. In a large bowl, whisk flours with sugar, salt and yeast to combine.
  2. Add water and olive oil and mix thouroughly, so there are no dry bits left. You can use your hands, a dough whisk, or the handle of a wooden spoon.
  3. Scrape sides down to clean it off and incorporate all the dough into one place. It’s very wet and sticky, so that’s fine.
  4. Cover, and let rest overnight.
2 Tbsp flour
Flatten, and put some flour on top
Fold and roll kneading
Shape into a ball

Next Day

  1. Scrape dough out of bowl into a very well floured surface, about 2 level tablespoons worth.
  2. Knead to incorporate flour into the dough so that it’s not as sticky and easier to work with, using a bench scraper if it starts sticking to the counter.
  3. Seperate dough into into seven pieces, six weighing 110g and one a bit larger, weighing 124. (Total weight should be around 784g.)
  4. Shape pieces into a ball by flattening them out, then folding the edges up over towards the middle. Turn over and shape into a ball. (See video page for a visual)
  5. Cover the six smaller ones so they don’t dry out.
  6. Flatten the larger ball and roll out to an 9″ disc. Dust with flour if necessary if it is sticking to the countertop.
  7. Brush outer edge with oil so that it won’t stick to the dough balls
7 pieces of dough
Press out to flatten
Lift sides and fold over
Turn over and shape
Roll out to 9″
Brush edge with olive oil
  1. Prepare the cake pan:
    • Place a heat proof glass bowl/small ramekin in the center of the cake pan.
    • Coat a tea towel with flour and rub it in.
    • Drape the tea towel over the ramekin, into the cake pan.
  2. Drape the dough disc over the ramekin as evenly as possible. You want a good amount of dough to be on the bottom so that it covers well the dough balls.
  3. Place the dough balls around in a ring evenly spaced, seam side up.
  4. Cut across the top of the dough that is stretch over the ramekin, then cut 2 more lines to create 6 triangles.
  5. Fold the triangles back over onto the dough balls.
  6. Cover and let rest about 30 – 60 minutes until dough balls have expanded and puffed.
  7. Meanwhile preheat oven to 450 degrees.
I missed one – make sure you cut 6 triangles!

Bake

egg white, salt, herbs de provence, sesame seeds

  1. Beat the egg white with 1 Tbsp water and a pinch of salt
  2. Place parchment paper over the dough, then the baking sheet (I use a10-1/2″ iron skillet) and flip. Remove the tea towel and ramekin.
  3. Brush tops with the egg white wash, then sprinkle with the herbs de provence and sesame seeds
  4. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown, and 190 degrees inside.

This video shows how to shape the crown once you’ve made the dough

Week 93: Pączki

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POLAND: Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) is celebrated in Poland on the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Poles celebrate by eating pączki, doughnuts filled with rose jam or plum preserves. The tradition has carried over to Polish-American communities across the country, and many bakeries have long lines Fat Thursday mornings, with customers waiting to get their pączki fix. Unique to pączki is the addition of a small amount of alcohol that’s added to the dough before frying, supposedly to prevent the dough from absorbing too much alcohol.

Continue reading “Week 93: Pączki” →

Week 91: Mardi Gras Babka

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Last year, during Week 43, we made a traditional King Cake, which is more like a yeasted cake than a bread. This year we’re doing a take on the most popular version that is sold in bakeries today, with a rich, sweet, brioche-type dough, a cream cheese filling, and covered with a butter and cream cheese frosting on the top.

Step 1: Make dough

  • 115g (1/2 cup) milk
  • 70g (5 Tbsp) butter, softened/room temperature
  • 1 egg
  1. Warm the milk to about 100 degrees
  2. Add the butter in small pieces and stir until melted
  3. Add the egg and whisk to combine.
  4. Set aside
  • 260g flour
  • 50g sugar
  • 5g yeast
  • 2g (1/4 tsp) salt
  1. Measure dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk to combine.
  2. Use the paddle attachment, and on low speed, add wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined.
  3. Mix on high for 30 seconds, then low for 30 seconds.
  4. Dough should be soft, but not sticky, when you press your fingers on it. If it’s really sticky, add flour, one tablespoon at a time. Shouldn’t need to add more than 1 or 2.
  5. Scrape dough out and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. It won’t double in size like other bread doughs, but it does need to have risen a bit.

Step 2: Make fillings

  • 8 oz cream cheese (1/2 packet) You need the solid block type.
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup blueberry jam
  1. Put cream cheese in a bowl and warm it just a bit so that it softens and is easier to spread, but don’t melt it.
  2. Add sugar and mix until well combined. It’s kind of hard at first, but it’ll happen.
  3. Once it’s all mixed in, use a whisk to soften it up a bit more.
  4. Measure out the jam.

Step 3: Fill and Shape

  1. Line a 8″ x 4″ loaf pan with parchment paper
  2. On a heavily floured surface, roll dough into a 16×12-inch rectangle. If your household is warm, do this on a piece of parchment on an upside-down cookie sheet, so that you can put it in the fridge to stiffen a bit.
  3. Spread cream cheese mixture onto dough, leaving a 1-inch border on one short end, then add jam on top.
  4. Starting at the other short side, roll up dough, jelly roll style, pressing the edge to seal.
  1. Trim ends if they don’t have filling in them.
  2. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut roll in half lengthwise.
  3. Overlap one roll onto the other to form an “x” with cut sides up.
  4. Carefully twist dough pieces around each other, then lift and place in an 8 x 4″ loaf pan, cut side up. It’ll seem like you can’t lift it, but just do it. It’s okay if it’s messy – once it lands in the pan it’ll be just fine.
  5. Tuck the two ends underthemselves.
  1. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 4: Bake

  1. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes, covering the top if it starts to brown too much. Inside temperature should be 190 degrees.
  2. Let cool on a wire rack completely before icing

Step 5: Decorate

  • 4 oz butter, softened
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • purple, green ane yellow sugars*
  1. Mix butter and cream cheese until combined
  2. Add powdered sugar and mix
  3. Beat by hand with a whisk to fluff it up a bit
  4. Spreead on top of babka, and decorate with coloured sugars

Homemade coloured sugars

  • 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • purple, green, yellow liquid food coloring
  1. Use 3 zip-lock bags to make coloured sugar, placing 1/2 cup sugar and 8 drops food colouring in each one. Shake to combine.

I adopted my recipe from Charlie Andrew’s New Orleans Cream Cheese filled King Cake. I highly recommend it, if you want to give it a try!

Week 85: Eggnog Tea Loaf

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Just after Halloween, I make a large batch of aged, aka boozy, eggnog (my favorite is Michael Ruhlman’s 30-day Eggnog) and put it in the back of the fridge until Christmas time. This year, we had a little bit left over so I decided to make a tea loaf with it, and wow, what a treat! SO good with a cup of Earl Grey in the afternoon, and even better after dinner with some Traditional Swedish Egg Coffee. It’s super easy to throw together, and also makes for a nice hostess gift over the holidays.

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 c granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/2 c flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup eggnog (measure it into a Pyrex liquid measuring cup)
  • Glaze:
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 3 tablespoons eggnog
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • pinch of salt
  1. Butter and flour an 8.5″ x 4.5″ loaf pan and preheat oven to 350.
  2. With electric beaters, or a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until well combined.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly mixed in.
  4. Measure the flour, salt, and baking powder into a separate bowl, and whisk to combine
  5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in batches, alternating with the eggnog, and mixing to combine after each addition.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  7. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
  8. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean. If the top starts to brown too much before it’s ready, cover it with a tin foil tent. Do not over bake!
  9. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Measure everything into a bowl and whisk to combine.
  10. Remove loaf from pan and let cool of a rack.
  11. Drizzle with glaze, and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.

Week 54: Hot Cross Buns

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(Since we’re still waiting on our starter, here’s a bread for Easter weekend!) ENGLAND: These yeasty, heavenly spiced buns are typically eaten on Good Friday, celebrating the end of Lent. There are a multitude of references to the cross representing the crucifixion of Christ, and suggestions that the spices signify those used to embalm, but as food historian Ivan Day says, “The trouble with any folk food, any traditional food, is that no-one tended to write about them in the very early period.” Which is to say, most of this is conjecture, and it is just as likely that the cross is a way to separate the bun into sections. Back in the day, folks would grate, then save the bread that was baked on Good Friday to use as a medicine in later years, and some believed that the buns would never go moldy, so they nailed up in the house as a good luck charm.

I found many versions of hot cross buns (12M results on Google!) and tested three. I am happy to report that Bake with Jack’s Hot Cross Buns is the clear winner — and he just today posted an accompanying video with tips and updates, since that recipe was originally posted on his blog in 2017.

Bake with Jack’s Hot Cross Buns Recipe

My tips:

  1. Sultanas are golden raisins
  2. Yeast measurement is 14g total (seems like a lot, I know)
  3. Caster sugar is very fine granualted sugar. Go ahead and use granualted sugar (not light brown sugar which would be too wet).
  4. I used 2 medium lemons and 1 large orange which equaled about 1 Tbsp zest for each.
  5. I got 3/4 cup juice from the lemons and orange, so added 3/4 cup granulated sugar to that for the syrup. I simmered it for 15 minutes. It gets thick as it cools.
  6. Mixed spice is very similar to our pumpkin pie spice, and that would make a fine substitute. But the mixed spice is a little more complex, so I’ve listed the ingredients below if you’d like to make your own.
    • 1 Tbsp ground allspice
    • 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
    • 1 Tbsp ground nutmeg
    • 2 tsp ground mace
    • 1 tsp ground cloves
    • 1 tsp ground coriander
    • 1 tsp ground ginger
  7. I had a hard time piping the flour/water paste in even thickness/straight lines. I did one strand all the way around, and then ended up using a wet table knife to cut the individual strands before moving on to the next bun.
  8. Gas mark 180°C is 400°F

Video below has tips that would be useful in making this recipe.

Links to some of his videos that would be useful for this recipe

Video 150: Incorporating Dried Fruit in Real Time – https://youtu.be/TEa-D0yoHfc​
Video 149: Do You NEED to Soak Dry Fruit for Bread? – https://youtu.be/j9_KuJ0voq0​
Video 131: Kneading Bread Dough in REAL TIME – https://youtu.be/BBRmfxumyh0​
Video 87: FIVE signs your Bread Dough is Fully Kneaded – https://youtu.be/rHgtvDMrffc​
Video 148: Make it EASY for yourself – https://youtu.be/_FTA2maeqh8

P.S. I really wanted to like Dan Lepard’s Spiced Stout Buns recipe — link here — because they seemed like a grown-up version, and feature the no-knead method. But the special ingredients, the length of time with it’s overnight ferment, and tricky method if you’re a beginner, just didn’t seem worth it in the end. They are tasty though, and it’s a no-knead method, so have at if you’re interested!