Category: Enriched

Week 97: Pan co’Santi

Leave a comment

ITALY: Just when I think I’ve settled on my favorite loaf, another one comes along that moves it down to second place. This Italian sweet(ish) bread is tradionally made around All Saints’ Day during October and November. It’s packed with raisins and walnuts (the Saints) and flavored with cinnamon, black pepper and red wine. Serve it with a green salad, some cheese, a vin santo, and call it dinner!

Step 1: Make dough

  • 400 g bread flour
  • 25g sugar
  • 7g salt
  • 2g cinammon
  • 3/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon yeast
  • 125g raisins
  • 150g chopped walnuts (they taste better if you toast them, but it’s optional)
  • 125g water
  • 75g red wine (like a Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • 50g  extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk for brushing on surface just prior to baking
  1. In a med-large bowl, measure the flour, sugar, salt, spices and yeast together and whisk well to combine.
  2. Add the raisins and mix with the whisk, breaking up any clumps
  3. Measure the water, wine and oil into a separate container and stir to mix.
  4. Add to the flour.
  5. Mix with one hand until a soft, but fairly stiff dough forms. You don’t want any dry bits of flour. If it doesn’t come together fairly quickly, after about a minute, then make sure you’ve poured in everything from the container that had the water/wine/oil, and add just 1 Tbsp of water. That should do the trick. Don’t worry about any bits of flour stuck in the walnuts, it’ll get absorbed.
  6. Scrape off any bits that are on your hand into the bowl. Pat it down so the surface is fairly flat, i.e. not a ball.
  7. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight, 12 – 16 hours.

Step 2: Shape and proof

  1. Next day, remove dough from bowl and do some stretch & fold kneading. It’s a tight dough, so it won’t stretch a whole lot.
  2. Flip it over and let rest 2 hours in a warm place
  3. Remove the dough ball onto an oiled countertop.
  4. Stretch the sides out, then fold over into the middle. Turn over and shape into a ball. Place on a baking sheet, cover and let rest another 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 3: Bake

  1. Brush with a beaten egg yolk, then score with a cross.
  2. Bake 50 minutes until dark brown and glossy.
  3. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool thoroughly. It’s best if you can wait a day before opening.

Week 93: Pączki

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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 78: 육쪽마늘빵 Cream Cheese Garlic Bread

Leave a comment

KOREA: Cream cheese garlic bread is a beloved street food in Seoul, can be a bit of an acquired taste for some of us. It’s chock full of garlic and herbs, but the sauce is sweet, which is not uncommon in Asia as many breads lean heavily towards being dessert-style. You can buy already made dinner rolls and just stuff them, but it’s fun to make the rolls, and then you’re guaranteed to have the correct shape and consistency.

I’m really happy to have an opportunity to introduce everyone to this food blogger. Even if you have no desire to make this, you should watch the video, and try your hand at just making the bun. It’s got a great tutorial on hand kneading, is really quirky and also kind of mesmerizing.

Week 76: Yeasted Honey Corn Bread

Leave a comment

This is a close second to Anadama Bread (Week 38). It’s not as complex, but that can be a good thing: the ingredients list is shorter and it doesn’t take as much time. I found the recipe on the Red Star Yeast website, which is a reliable source for bread recipes, and also has a great Resources page for all sorts of tips on bread baking. If you’re new to baking, it’s worth taking a look at it before you get started — and you should also check out Breademic’s Tips and Video pages, as well!

I made a few adjustments to the method, and included a couple of optional ingredients. My updated version is below; the original recipe is here. And, in case you’re wondering what the difference is between cornmeal, corn flour, polenta, and grits, this article from Epicurious has the answers!

  • 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup (85g) honey
  • 1 cup (237ml) whole milk
  • 1 cup (140g) yellow cornmeal
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups (300-360g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
  • 1 (0.25oz) package (7g) or 2-1/4 teaspoons yeast
  • OPTIONAL
    • 2 Tbsp orange zest
    • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • Butter for the top
  1. Warm the milk with butter until butter melts. You can do this on the stovetop, or microwave.
  2. Add the honey, and stir until combined.
  3. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl.
  4. Add cornmeal and whisk to combine.
  5. Let rest until temperature reaches120-130°F.
  6. Measure in 300g of flour, and the salt and yeast.
  7. Place bowl in the mixer which is fitted with the paddle attachment.
  8. Knead on medium-low speed for 5-7 minutes. If you need to add more flour, just add 1 Tbsp at a time — no more than 4, tops. Dough should be coming away from the sides, and be sticky, but not wet.
  9. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 – 2 hours.
  10. Remove dough onto a lightly oiled surface, and flatten out to an 8″ rectangle.
  11. Starting on a short side, roll up the dough and place seam-side down in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan.
  12. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled again, about 30 minutes to an hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F.
  13. Bake until the top is golden, about 40-45 minutes.
  14. Remove from tin, and brush with butter (it’ll melt as it touches the hot loaf).
  15. Let cool before slicing.

Week 74: 10-Grain Cereal Bread

Leave a comment

This healthy loaf is easy to put together, and doesn’t take a lot of time. You can get in the habit of making it on a weekly basis so you’ve always got some bread on hand for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. It makes great toast, is sturdy enough for sandwiches, and can also be made into dinner rolls.

  • 1/2 cup multi-grain hot cereal mix
  • 1-3/4 cups boiling water
  1. Measure cereal mix into the bowl of stand mixer and add boiling water.
  2. Mix, then let stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 110 degrees.
  • 333g bread flour
  • 100g whole wheat flour
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp salt
  • 7g yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
  1. Meanwhile, whisk flours, sugar, salt and yeast together in a medium bowl.
  2. Once grain mixture has cooled, attach the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
  3. With mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture, about a 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until combined.
  • 3 Tbsp butter, softened
  • Optional
    • 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
    • 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
  1. Add butter, about one tablespoon at a time, and continue mixing, then add seeds if using.
  2. Knead on medium-low speed until dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl. If that’s not happening, add some flour – just one tablespoon at a time. You can use a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides to help it along. But you want it to be in a big ball around the dough hook.
  3. Continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes.
  4. Transfer dough to a very lightly floured work surface and shape it into a smooth, taut ball.
  5. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rest until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  7. Lightly oil a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
  8. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and pat into a rectangle
  9. Shape into a loaf as shown below:
  1. Place loaf in tin, cover, and let rise until it’s about 1″ above the rim of the tin.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 ~ 2 Tbsp rolled oats
  1. Mix the egg white with 1 Tbsp water and lightly brush the top of the loaf and top with oats.
  2. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with oats.
  3. Bake until lightly browned, and the internal temperature registers 200 degrees 35 to 40 minutes. Tent wtih foil if the top starts to brown too much before it’s thoroughly baked.
  4. Remove loaf and cool on wire rack before slicing, about 3 hours.

Dinner Rolls: Follow video on Tips page for how to shape rolls. This recipe makes about 15, and they’ll fit in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.

Week 73: Shake Shack Buns

Leave a comment

According to eater.com, one of the reasons Shake Shack’s burgers are so popular is their soft, squishy buns. They’ve been using Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls since Shake Shack opened their first location in NYC in 2004. The buns are not readily available here in the PNW, so I did a little digging and came up with a version you can make at home. I’ve never had the burger, but you could give J. Kenji López-Alt’s Fake Shake a try – everything he does is fantastic.

STEP 1: Prep potatoes

  • 1 russet potato (at least 300 grams)
  • 2 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  1. Peel and then roughly chop the potato
  2. Place them in a small pot, add water to cover, and boil until tender.
  3. Reserve 5 Tbsp of the boiling liquid into a small bowl, then drain the potatoes, returning them back to the pot.
  4. Heat on low to evaporate as much of the moisture from the potatoes as you can.
  5. Mash well, then put 1 cup of the mashed potatoes in a bowl.
  6. Add butter to potatoes and mix in until melted.
  7. Add the egg and sugar to the potato water and mix.
  8. Let potatoes water cool.

Step 2: Make dough

  • 350g bread flour
  • 6g yeast
  • 6g salt
  • Mashed potatoes and butter
  • Potato water/egg/sugar mixture
  1. Measure out the flour, yeast and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
  2. Add the mashed potatoes and mix with the handle of a wooden spoon to loosely combine.
  3. Place bowl in mixer, and with the dough hook on low speed, slowly add the water mixture.
  4. Mix until the dough starts to form and there are no dry bits left.
  5. Increase speed to medium-low, and knead until it’s smooth and elastic, and comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Step 3: Proof

  1. Empty dough out until a very lightly floured countertop.
  2. Give it a few kneads and form into a ball.
  3. Place, seam side down, into a greased bowl, cover and let rise 30~60 minutes.

Step 4: Shape

  1. Remove dough from bowl, and shape into a log.
  2. Cut into 8 pieces, weighing about 85g each.
  3. Follow “How to shape up perfect bread rolls” instructions on the Tips page to shape the pieces into rolls.
  4. Arrange the dough balls, seam side down on baking sheet evenly spaced apart.
  5. Press dough balls down to form uniform disks.
  6. Cover, and let rise for 30~60 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, preheat over to 425 degrees.

Step 5: Bake

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 Tbsp water
  1. Lightly beat egg yolk with the water.
  2. Brush tops with a beaten egg yolk.
  3. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.

Week 71: Pan di Ramerino

Leave a comment

ITALY: I love these little buns! They are both sweet and savory, and when served with cheese, make for a hearty teatime snack (although in Italy, it’s more common to have them with coffee or a sweet wine). They were traditionally made for Giovedi Santo (Holy Thursday), but are now sold in Florentine bakeries all year long. In the middle ages, the rosemary was thought to ward off evil spirts, and the grapes and flour represent the Holy Communion.

The video instruction is in Italian, so I’ve listed the ingredients below. I decided not to coat them with the syrup, as I found they don’t really need to added sweetener, and it makes them difficult to handle.

When ready, bake at 350 degrees.

BIGA LIEVITINO

  • 7g/2tsp yeast (video shows fresh yeast, so I’ve converted to granular yeast)
  • 4g (1 tsp brown sugar)
  • 100g warm water
  • 100 all purpose flour (that is our equivalent to 0 flour)

RAISINS

  • 150g raisins
  • 50g vin santo (Italian dessert wine. Sweet sherry, or any sweet white wine will do)
  • 200g water

ROSEMARY

  • 5g rosemary (3-4 sprigs)
  • 90g extra-virgin olive oil

DOUGH – (you can mix and knead in a stand mixer all at once – even the raisins.)

  • lievitino
  • 50g brown sugar (I used just 25g)
  • 150g water
  • 400g all purpose flour
  • 10 gr of salt
  • rosemary olive oil

TOPPINGS

  • 1 egg, to brush tops before baking
  • 75g sugar + 75g water for tops after baking

Week 64: Everything Bagel Bread

3 Comments

Want the savory punch of a bagel without the time-consuming process of either baking them yourself or going out to get some? Then this bread is for you – delicious, easy and satisfying. It does require an overnight rest, but after that, you don’t need to spend much time on it at all. The Everything Bagel seasoning is mixed into the dough in addition to being sprinkled on top, making it the perfect foil for some avocado toast. This is one of my favorite breads so far!

I found this on Leite’s Cuisine, one of my top ten food blogs. It’s been around since 1999, and has thousands of tested, well-written recipes, from hundreds of professional contributors. All bread recipes are written in both US and Metric measurements, which is super convenient.

Click here for the recipe. Trader Joe’s makes a good seasoning mix, but if you can’t find it, Leite’s Cuisine’s recipe is below:

  • 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1-1/2 Tbsp black sesame seeds
  • 1-1/2 Tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 4 tsp dried minced onion
  • 4 tsp dried minced garlic
  • 2 tsp flaked sea salt or coarse salt

If you want to try your hand at bagels, we made them during Week 51. Recipe and lots of tips here.